Tatamu 折疊凳 by Mate Meszaros and Hirotaka Mashiko

Tatamu 折疊凳 by Mate Meszaros and Hirotaka Mashiko is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award 銀獎 in 傢俱設計 Competition Category.

銀傢俱· 2020

Tatamu 折疊凳

by Mate Meszaros and Hirotaka Mashiko

Client: Tatamu

A' Design Award 銀獎 Winner in 傢俱 Category

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The Design

About Tatamu 折疊凳

到2050年，地球人口的三分之二將生活在城市中。 Tatamu的主要目標是為空間有限的人（包括經常出差的人）提供靈活的家具。目的是創建一種結合了堅固性和超薄形狀的直觀家具。只需一個扭轉動作即可展開凳子。儘管所有鉸鏈均由耐用的織物製成，但重量卻很輕，而木製側面則提供了穩定性。一旦對其施加壓力，由於其獨特的機制和幾何形狀，當凳子鎖定在一起時，凳子只會變得更堅固。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銀獎

Tatamu 折疊凳是 A' Design Award 銀獎得主，這是授予頂級、華美而令人印象深刻的設計的極為崇高的認可。銀獎得主是極其卓越、極具創造力的作品，展現出其設計師傑出的專業技能、才華與敏銳。預計Tatamu 折疊凳將成為一件出色的典範之作，兼具非凡的專業性與深刻的創新性。這件贏得 A' Design Award 銀獎的設計是一項備受矚目、令人欽佩的發明，造福並拓展藝術、科學、設計和技術的界限。Tatamu 折疊凳是一件令人羨慕的創作，它喚起渴望，帶來積極的情感，並激發驚嘆與讚嘆。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: When we started designing the Tatamu stool, we aimed to create furniture that combines robustness with an ultra-thin and lightweight material, while being intuitive to use. It takes only one twisting movement to deploy the chair. We wanted to keep the design as simple as possible, so there are only two materials: wood and fabric. The hinges made of specially manufactured durable fabric keep it light weight, while the wooden origami faces provide stability. Once pressure is applied to it, the stool only gets stronger as the faces lock in together in perfect mechanical balance.
Dimensions & Packaging: Weighing less than seven kilograms, the stool is easily transportable. In folded form, its thickness is 4cm, making it possible to stack several of them in extremely narrow spaces and niches, or hang them flat on a wall. When unfolded, Tatamu reaches its optimal seating height of 43cm. It can be stored and shipped in a flat-pack with the dimensions of 700mm x 700mm x 50mm.
Tags: furniture, foldable furniture, flexible furniture, furniture design, design, interior design, flexible
Production Technology: All Tatamu Stools are made in a traditional Japanese furniture workshop. Every single piece is hand built by dedicated craftsmen from start until finish, paying utmost attention to detail. All of the plywood and fabric pieces are first cut by CNC and laminated together in a hydraulic press, assuring that all parts have the perfectly shaped, and interlocked with precision. Since the chair design is based on elemental geometry, we can optimize quality control and keep production costs low.
Design Challenge: The greatest challenge throughout the design and research process, was to find a balance between structural strength and foldability. Modelling the mechanism of the chair in 3D has limited capabilities, so we had to work closely with the manufacturer in order to reach the desired result. After many detail tests and five distinct functional prototypes, we could manage to make the foldable stool easily operable, while retaining its strength.
Research: We used Grasshopper to simulate the working mechanism of the stool; the main load bearing axes have to work as hinges as well, so our research objective was to determine how to reach a stable state while retaining flexibility. We worked closely with our manufacturer, creating tests and prototypes. The Tatamu Stool is using unique solutions in its details, these joints can be used in the future for later designs. The folded form of the chair is getting more stable as more pressure is applied to it, so we would like to investigate the usage of this mechanism in construction technologies, as well.
Inspiration: Small apartments, narrow offices, tiny shops; urban space is a vanishing, precious commodity. By 2050 two thirds of the earth’s population will live in cities. We have to fit increasingly more activities in a shrinking physical space. The main inspiration behind Tatamu are mobile and creative people like us, whose ideas are bigger than their room. We also found that moving in and out of tiny city apartments often involves the disposal of old furniture, since transportation is very costly; we need light, deployable, reusable furniture that is a joy to use.
Project Duration: The design of the Tatamu Stool started in June 2019 with paper models and 3d modelling and we finalized the last prototype in January 2020. The furniture was designed entirely in Tokyo, Japan.
Operation Flow: Invite the whole gang over for dinner, board games or just a talk, without being limited by your space. Unfold some stools, and no one needs to be left out. TATAMU will fold down to fit anywhere, and its triangular shape allows it to fit even in the narrowest of apartment arrangements when deployed. When relocating, TATAMU moves with you; reducing the cost, time and stress of moving out. Over 258 million tons of furniture end up in landfills every year, only in the United States.
Team Members: Mate Attila Meszaros, Hirotaka Mashiko