ITEN

Manufacturability

Folded sheet-metal bookcase

How can sheet metal lose its sharp-edged appearance? By folding it back on itself around a generous radius until it becomes a substantial upright. Two uprights support shelves, cabinets and drawers: a proposal for a company already skilled in metalworking.

  1. 01The inherent character of sheet metal
  2. 02A wide fold turns it into volume
Type
Self-initiated proposal
Sector
Metal furniture
Status
Concept

01

The inherent character of sheet metal

We started with the material the company knows best, drawing on its extensive expertise in metalworking and electroplating. Sheet metal has a distinctive character: it is thin, and its edge looks sharp even before it is touched. We wanted to use it as the structure of a bookcase without it looking like a sheet simply folded at an angle, giving the piece a stronger sense of volume and presence.

On the left the upright: the sheet metal folded back on itself with a wide radius. On the right the exploded view of the bookcase with uprights, back panel and five shelves

02

A wide fold turns it into volume

Folding the sheet back on itself around a generous radius was enough. The upright acquires a soft, substantial presence while remaining a sheet of metal: minimal material and a simple manufacturing process. This became the basis of a system. Two uprights support modules 60 or 110 centimetres wide, fitted between them: back panels; metal, glass or MDF shelves; drawers; cabinets with flap doors; glass-fronted display cabinets; and LED modules. The same operation — the fold — creates both form and structure.

The bookcase in a living room: grey uprights, orange shelves, wooden back panel and drawers, lit display cabinet

Where it can lead

Reinterpreting a familiar furniture type by giving an everyday material — sheet metal — a new sense of volume.