During a course  at college I was simply asked to design a ‘seating device’’ with the only constraint being time- 2 weeks. Without many requirements I gave myself two guidelines:

1) It had to be able to support as much weight as possible.
2) It had to be collapsible. 

Drawing inspiration from stone arch bridges, I came up with an idea for a seating device that used key stone shaped segments to hold the sitter. Instead of being held static in place, these segments sandwich a flexible sheet of stainless steel. As each panel is bent, the segments lock together creating a rigid seating surface and backrest. Not only is this construction extremely strong, but it can also fold completely flat when not in use.

Zip was originally designed as a student furniture project at The Cleveland Institute of Art. It was redesigned, fabricated and shown at an exhibition titled ‘Use Me’ with The American Design Club for ICFF, May 2011.

AWARDS

2007 IDSA Merit Award