Alexander Pelikan's Flatpack Downloadable Chairs
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 01. 9.09
Cliclounger from Alexander Pelikan
We love downloadable designs. Why move material when we are interested in ideas, creativity and talent? Dutch designer Alexander Pelican does too. He designs modernist furniture inspired by Reitveld and writes:
cliclounger in bamboo
The future could be fully digital furniture where the customer only buys the file needed for manufacture, steps to the closest milling facility and lets his piece be produced locally on the spot.And in this way 'immaterialized' product would cut down a lot on transport- and material costs, be very environmentally-conscious and above all it would broaden the freedom of design…
Graham Hill just pointed out an interesting detail- the "click fit" fasteners that hold it together, cut right out of the plywood. That is a detail we have not seen in furniture before. Like a plastic snap-together unit, the tabs take the load while the snap fasteners hold it together.
clic dining chair and table
More at Alexander Pelikan via Below the Clouds
More Downloadable Designs in TreeHugger:
In An Absolut World Everything is Downloadable
Mass Customization: Design Your Table on Your Cell Phone
3D Printers Now as Cheap As Laser Printers Were in 1985
3Fold Desk From Formtank
Google Earth+CNC=Fluid Earth
Bend it Like Piegato: Flat Pack Shelving
TreeHugger Picks: Downloading Design
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
What exactly is the point of flat pack furniture?
If you are having it milled yourself, then you are not shipping it out anywhere. Also, once you have the furniture in your house I doubt very seriously you will have much need to take it apart and store it. How often does anyone move their dining table?
This might be useful for party furniture but we already have card tables and folding chairs.
Very clever to use materials that most people have access to, but lost the plot when it came to the milling machine. How about a scaled down and printable design with appropriate measures and angles that I can cut out and assemble with minimal tools and fasteners. The 'Picnic Table' is a classic example yet low on design value. I would propose a competition using a single 10mm sheet of plywood, 24 screws and saw and screwdriver. Zero waste earns extra points. Let's see what today's designers can come up with...