Japan's flat-packed furniture doesn't skimp on aesthetics

Among the biggest draws of flat-packed or kit furniture is that it is usually cheaper to purchase and more convenient to transport than its traditional bulky counterparts, but there is much more design potential in manipulating flat forms into structures than cost effectiveness.

This month, On: Design focuses on interior pieces that are not only cleverly constructed, but also elevate the kit format with innovation and elegance.

Piece of cake

Originally launched in 2021, Plamo Furniture takes its name from the Japanese term for the hobby of plastic model making. Similar to puramo kits, which feature model parts attached to sprues, Plamo Furniture’s range of DIY stools and tables are built from components precut into 90-by-182-centimeter sheets of engineered wood — a design that minimizes material waste and can be conveniently transported.

The original Plamo Furniture series of furniture, designed by Takuro Izumi, is sold in flatpacks with parts pre-cut into panels of wood. | COURTESY OF PLAMO FURNITURE BAUM

Last month, the company launched Baum, a more sophisticated series of bespoke, large-scale furniture installations also made from flat panels of wood. Designed by Takuro Izumi of 9 Design and playfully named after the German baumkuchen cake, Baum pieces are constructed from numerous layers of wood that combine to create organic and wavelike shapes. Their undulating curves are formed by the individually contoured edges of vertically stacked panels, which also emphasize the fine striations of engineered wood.

The use of high-definition 3D laser scans of rooms and ShopBot digital woodworking machines ensure that every panel is cut to precision, making Baum’s products easily customizable — capable of not only satisfying a particular aesthetic but also seamlessly fitting in any space, whether they’re hanging from a ceiling or installed flush against an uneven wall.

Smart connections

Designer Mai Suzuki, a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s craft revitalization initiative Edo Tokyo Kirari, has been attracting significant attention for her unique 3D interpretations of kumiko, a traditional Japanese woodworking technique. Crafted translations of her digital explorations of form reshape the decorative and customarily flat latticelike joinery into unexpected sculptural works, including spherical lampshades, curved mirror frames and even dresses.

Designer Mai Suzuki and artisan Takahiro Tanaka’s Cell: Flexible Unit Kumiko transforms traditional 'kumiko' woodworking techniques into three-dimensional forms. | OURTESY OF MAI SUZUKI & EDO KUMIKO TATEMATSU

For her latest project, Cell, Suzuki collaborated with woodwork artisan Takahiro Tanaka to reimagine a classic kumiko pattern: tessellated hexagons. Her design deconstructs the pattern into individual 35-by-35-cm hexagonal units that can be connected by slim, transparent thermoplastic polyurethane hinges. The introduction of flexible joints allows designs to shift and move to transform tessellations into three-dimensional forms like polyhedra and columns.

Made of Akita cedar and available in two traditional hexagonal motifs — asanohana (hemp leaf) and kikyo (bellflower) — Cell is primarily designed for custom installations. However, it can also be purchased as smaller interior decoration kits with prices ranging from ¥80,500 for a set of seven units to ¥483,000 for 42.

A bit bananas

Sten Flame, Maruyama Stainless Steel Industry’s in-house brand of lifestyle goods, launched four years ago with a compact campfire pit that utilized the manufacturer’s expertise in industrial sheet metal cutting and processing. Since then, the brand, developed by Cement Produce Design, has released other lightweight stainless steel outdoor goods, including mini grills and a coffee dripper, most of which can be dismantled and packed away flat.

The Sten Flame Tree, designed by Cement Produce Design in collaboration with Cafe Banana owner Katsuki Kayama, is made of three flat pieces of stainless steel that slot together to form a sturdy stand for up to six individual bananas. | COURTESY OF MARUYAMA STAINLESS STEEL & CAFE BANANA

Sten Flame’s latest products — two banana stands — explore a new direction of interior goods (helped along by the friendship between Yoshihiro Maruyama, president of Maruyama Stainless Steel, and Katsuki Kayama, the owner of Cafe Banana, an eatery and fruit distributor in Yamaga, Kumamoto Prefecture.) The whimsical designs were overseen by Kayama, and each draws inspiration from Kumamoto’s nature and culture.

Both banana stands are made of three pieces of stainless steel sheet that can be stored flat and slotted together to form three-dimensional structures. Sten Flame Flower (¥9,900) features a single top hook to hang a bunch of bananas over a stencil-like base with a pattern inspired by Higo camellias, which have been cultivated in Kumamoto since the Edo Period (1603-1868). The Tree version (¥11,000) is modeled after Kumamoto’s famed ancient camphor trees and designed to display individual bananas like hanging fruits. Its crisscross trunk is sturdy enough to support six bananas on branches that each have a small slot to grip the stems.

Though created for bananas, both stands are multipurpose by design. If used with a lantern, the Flower model casts decorative shadows, while the Tree version makes for an attractive trinket or jewelry holder.