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With Stratflex, Flatpack Furniture Goes Curvy

By Rain Noe - March 13, 2013

in Furniture Design

A newer design technology in the Wintec Innovation fold (see our post on their Winbloks) is their Stratflex system. It's essentially flatpack furniture with a twist, or rather, a bend: Plywood is scored through several of its layers at specific junctures, allowing the forms to ship flat, but flex during assembly. The gaps are permanently filled with a flexible polymer that can withstand the slight deformation.

A frame made from Saligna, a southern hemisphere hardwood, holds the pieces in shape.

Wintec is offering the Skin model you see here in one-, two- and three-seater versions; they've also got a stacking chair, the Impi, below.

Despite the small product lineup thus far, the potential for Stratflex seems huge. I hope Wintec has taken out a patent, as someone over at IKEA HQ must surely have noticed the system: It won the 2013 Innovation Award at Design Indaba.

Via Coolhunting

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Mike

11 years ago

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This is very cool! How's the longevity of the polymer in a high wear area like the seat?
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bob

11 years ago

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very clever and pretty cool with tron effect
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Gary Murray

11 years ago

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Thanks for the feature. Yes the Stratflex technology is patented under the international PCT convention - PZT/ZA/2012/00068. We are currently working on a number of other applications of the technology in both furniture and interior products.
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