URBIA Furniture System for Small Apts in Big Cities project reevaluates the age-old problem of trying to make the most with the least, while imagining what an urban existence of minimal materiality would feel like while affording also the possibility of “disassembling your house and taking it with you.” The concept is a furniture-based interior construction system that defines an architectural environment.

The System is composed of hollow wood panels and cabinet units that can partition a space vertically or horizontally depending on the potential of the existing interior. These units are designed for maximum structural performance, minimum weight and ease of installation, relying on hollow 1/2″ ash plywood construction and a maximum size of 2×8 feet that fits through doors and onto elevator cabs. The system can be deployed vertically to define partitions or horizontally to create loft floors by staggering the 8-foot panels to reinforce each other to a span up to 20 feet. It allows maximum use of minimum space with the possibility of endless reconfiguration and the potential of taking the rooms with you when moving out. Manufactured off-site utilizing CNC technology and requiring only dry assembly for installation, the panel construction relies on the use of semi-concealed fasteners, which punctuate the surfaces with access openings characterizing walls and floors with an “unintentional” ornamentation derived from necessities of assembly. 

Architect: Obra Architects

Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 4 March, 2010

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