It is a matter of fact that when we purchase a piece of furniture, we are often inevitably forced to deal with issues of assembly and transportation. These "problematic" aspects of furniture production and anatomy is where my project started and how the idea behind the Plug Table came to fruition. This table features alternative joinery and assembly/disassembly solutions that make moving and storing furniture a light and effortless process.

Design Team

Simone Affabris, designer

Design Philosophy

Since starting my university career, all my efforts have focused on designing products that constantly consider sustainability and the adaptability of these objects to the human being.

I have always tried to create furniture products by studying innovative solutions for assembly. Where it is possible, I try to design while avoiding dangerous and stressful elements like screws, nails or toxic glues. I am very interested in the interaction between the products I design and people who use them.

Design Process + Table Composition

My goal was to find a smart solution to all the assembly pieces that make up a table while thinking about sustainability, flat packaging and recycling processes. Specifically, I investigated a way to use wood joints to connect the legs with the tabletop.

The final form includes a circular metal shape inlaid with two wooden discs; one wooden piece is the base and the other is the top of the table itself. Between these two wooden discs there is a 2cm space where is possible to storage three extra legs. All the assembly pieces can be stored within the tabletop, which is only 4 cm thick.

Having lived in Sweden for two years, it inspired me to simplify as much as possible the aesthetic appearance of the table, until I reached just the essential and useful parts of it.

Technical Information

The metal ring is made of a "L" steel profile 2 meters long that is bent and welded.
The three metal parts that connect the legs with the table itself are obtained by cutting 4 cm of an oval steel pipe, an industrial material easily reachable in the market. The legs are made of ash wood.The two discs that lay inside of the metal ring are made of beech plywood.

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