Forget Boxes, Ikea’s Experimental Designers Created a Couch That Fits in an Envelope

Ikea has turn stuffing braggy thing into small packages into an art variety with its straight - packed , well-fixed - to - transportation piece of furniture . But how far can the company take itsobsession with deconstructing furniture ? How about a lounge that can becarried home from an Ikea memory board in an envelope ?

The “ Couch in an Envelope , ” debuted Tuesday , would be ground around a lightweight Al underframe that could be wholly recycled , while “ cellulose - base framework and mycelium foam ” could be used to make cushions and upholstery that would later on be fully biodegradable . The couch ’s unique design can even be assembled and disassembled without the need for any shaft , screws , or other hardware — the bane of everyone who ’s struggled through an Ikea furniture build .

The minimal purpose of lightweight materials means that all the parts can be stacked and vacuity - sealed into an envelope rather of a box which count in at around 22lbs , wee-wee it not only wanton to pack and ship around the creation , but much easier for customers to transport home after a gruelling march through Ikea ’s showroom labyrinth . Its innovation is also modular , so multiple Couches in Envelope can be combined to make new seating arrangements with or without a backrest , or even be convert into a flat layer for sleeping .

Image:SPACE10

SPACE10is an main research and design research laboratory that ’s entirely supported by Ikea , the finish of which is to “ research and plan innovative solutions to some of the major societal change expect to touch on people and our satellite in the years to come . ” One of those challenges is the negative gist that ice has on the environment , starting with one of the most important pieces of article of furniture in the abode : the lounge , which are usually made from materials and portion that are difficult to recycle and so often end up in landfills .

function with another design agency , Panter&Tourron , SPACE10 want to redesign this particular couch from the ground up , and so turned to AI platforms like Runway and Midjourney to serve hasten the brainstorming unconscious process . Unfortunately , using ‘ couch ’ as a prompting deliver familiar flesh the designers were to trying to avoid , but they eventually found that alternate prompts , such as “ platform , ” “ easy to move , ” “ lightweight , ” and “ sustainable , ” storm the AI to come up with a raw approach to how a lounge could be designed , grant to a imperativeness release .

So when can you lead to your local Ikea to buy one ? The company presently has no plan to formally put the Couch in an Envelope into production right now , or possibly ever . For the time being , it ’s just the result of an experimentation to see how AI systems can be leveraged as creative collaborator to come up with fresh and innovative ideas that could potentially be refine into unexampled product .

Image: SPACE10