Paper-Thin Wooden Furniture

Norm Architects and Karimoku work in collaboration to design four pieces of wooden furniture for a newly renovated project in Kinuta. The Danish design studio and Japanese furniture manufacturer draw reference from both of its heritage in its design pieces. The designs feature a sofa with wooden frames, a coffee table designed after a Japanese temple, a paper-thin dining table, and a dining chair crafted from recyclable materials. These pieces are specifically made to furnish a series of townhouses on the west side of Tokyo.

The sofa is constructed from a type of cypress wood called hinoki, which is often used in Japan -- all of its joints are is display to reference traditional Japanese architecture designs as well as mid-century Danish furniture designs. The sofa's armrests extend around the seat to turn the backrest into a shelf as well. Japanese temples and shrines shape the frame of the coffee table and it is finished with a stone surface and wooden frame. The dining table explores dimensions so that it appears paper-thin from certain angles.


Image Credit: Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen and Masaki Ogawa