Bend it Like Piegato: Flat Pack Shelving
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10. 5.07
Made from just a single sheet of laser-cut steel, and requiring just two screws to mount it on the wall, Piegato shelves are a great way to add storage using minimal space and materials. You get to decide how its configured -- the shelves can be packed flat as a piece of paper and shipped in a big envelope -- and thanks to some pretty thoughtful design (the bottom braces that keep the individual shelves from folding like a taco), the shelves can hold a surprising amount of weight; we're surprised to see lots of books on the shelves, but the designer swears it's true.
Because the shelf system is a single piece of steel, this baby is also highly recyclable, if/when you decide it's useful life is through; we could definitely see this in the downloadable design realm. Check out more at ::Piegato via ::MoCo Loco
That's such a great idea. I'd love to have at least two. And why mount on a wall, when you could turn a regular set of shelves sideways, mount this on the rear and add that much more shelf space to your existing ones. I've put two shelves back-to-back as a room divider, so this would be perfect for that, too.
However (there's always a "however" right?) it's about 130 Euros in price, with shipping for the first 9kg at about 100 more Euros. 230+ Euros is pretty steep for what this is. I predict someone showing this to Wall-Mart (or any other big-box store) and we start seeing the knock-offs in a year or two. Alternately, how about showing this to IKEA so I can get it for less in the US and it fits into their model of flat-packing everything :-)
Only, the recycle part of me says, give the buyer a rebate if they send the box back to the factory to be reused for the next person. Just a thought.
At 130 pounds ($200?) that is an awfully expensive piece of sheet steel. I'm curious what it would take to make your own with a sheetmetal nibbler and a drill?
-Lego
Oh yeah right, and that's what we all want: knock-offs at Wall-Mart and IKEA, instead of supporting a young design company.
It seems that some people don't really get what it is all about (esp. at treehuger?!)
I make my shelves from wood. Its a renewable local resource.