Flat-pack furniture assembled with magnets by Benjamin Vermeulen
This range of flat-packed furniture by Benjamin Vermeulen does away with little bags of screws, fastenings or Allen keys and simply snaps together with super-strong magnets (+ movie).
His range of MAG (Magnetic Assisted Geometry) furniture is made of sheet steel and solid wood, with magnets in the wooden parts allowing each piece to be assembled in minutes with no tools.
"Shipping furniture unassembled is more economical and more environmentally friendly, but flat-packed furniture is often made from low-grade material and its assembly is far from straightforward," said Vermeulen.
The furniture can be assembled and disassembled many times over without losing its initial structural integrity, meaning it's fine to take it apart when moving house, storing it or selling it on.
Replacing parts is also easy since they come off and reattach with the same ease.
The chair has a two-part frame that slots together where the leg braces cross under the seat, before a sheet-steel seat and backrest are clipped into place.
Metal pegs at the corners of the folded steel table top slot into magnetic tubes inside the tops of the table legs.
The cabinet allows the user to select components based on the configuration they require. The basic cabinet is one layer high, but more layers of different heights can be added with or without doors.
Vermeulen designed the collection for his graduation from the Design Academy Eindhoven and presented it during Dutch Design Week.