Core77

Who Needs Joinery? Experimental Furniture Held Together with Straps

The Combines collection, by furniture design studio Antti Tuomi

By Rain Noe - March 14, 2023

in Furniture Design

This highly unusual Combines collection of furniture, by Helsinki-based furniture design studio Antti Tuomi, jettisons joinery. Instead the pieces rely on slits, straps and the occasional wedge to hold everything together.

This shelving unit is a strap-free outlier in the series:

"The intention was to create flat-pack furniture that could be assembled and disassembled entirely without traditional screws. Depending on the product, the assembly relies on ratchet or rim screw mechanisms. All the parts are removable and interchangeable, and the series as a whole can be adapted to various colour and material combinations. The name Combines is borrowed from Robert Rauschenberg, who was the first visual artist to create 'three-dimensional paintings,' which he called Combines. However, the name also refers to the number of combinations the system can inspire, as well as the combined use of natural and synthetic materials."

o
1

Favorite This
Q
4

Comment

Comments

Brian Hackett

a year ago

Z

1Z

Reply

Be sure to schedule your annual Furniture Tightening Day.

!Report as spam
Fraser Pyke

a year ago

Z

Z

Reply

The threaded tensioning system under the stool is a much more elegant than a ratchet strap.
I wonder if the stool legs lock into the seat frame to stop it sliding down the leg when it is weighted?

!Report as spam
Michael DiTullo

a year ago

Z

Z

Reply

Nicely done!

!Report as spam
Ryan Cee

a year ago

Z

Z

Reply

I've got a bookcase/shelving made out of flat boards and industrial crates, and rather than use gravity to hold it together I used a tie-down ratchet strap. These techniques look like a much more elegant purpose made solution though.

!Report as spam