Wayback Machine: Foam Furniture Rises Like Bread, 1970

Here is a thirty-six year old idea for flatpack furniture that needs revisiting. We quote the article:

What goes up and doesn’t come down? A new kind of furniture called “Up.” You buy it flat-as-a-pancake in a vinyl package. Cut open the vinyl and the pancake automatically expands into a modern chair. Once expanded, it cannot be recompressed and cannot be punctured.

It works like this: At the factory in Italy the furniture is molded of poly-urethane foam, and covered with stretch upholstery. Then, in a vacuum chamber, the piece is compressed to force out the air, and sealed in the airtight package. Open the package and the foam absorbs air, expanding to its
designed size and shape.

The foam in this furniture is very heavy, and dense enough to fully support you when you sit. The chair below, for example, weighs 90 pounds-packed. Price? A child’s chair costs $63; the armchair below costs $588. ::Modern Mechanix