Kastel

KASTEL is inspired by an old SECRETARY, a Pyramid shelf -and of the relatively new material DIBOND.

My grandparents had a Secretary, with a lot of small spaces and drawers. Here documents, letters, keys and other bits were stored. And the most exciting was the hidden “secret” rooms, the enigmatic spots in furniture. Behind a decorative detail, in a corner or as a double drawer.
Another popular and disparaged piece of furniture is what we in Denmark call Amager shelf. It was formerly widespread in Europe known as Pyramid shelf.

Common for Secretary and Amager shelf is that here stood the things we would like to show off, things of sentimental value that mattered. It could be small works of art, collectibles, photographs or just a souvenir. Secretary and Amager shelf went out of fashion, and small items was left to window sills, vacant bookshelves, on chests of drawers, small tables and cupboards.

The only 3 mm thick Dibond, is a sandwich plate of plastic with thin sheets of aluminium on both sides, which allows a quite simple and surprising way to fold a piece of furniture.

The plate is milled in the track as the drawing shows. There are milled entirely through lengthwise, and almost entirely through in the transverse direction. Then, by dragging and pressing the right places, at only 2 minutes, you can fold the entire piece of furniture up and connect it along a single glued edge. Then supply the construction with a bottom and a top plate in addition to the square horizontal shelf surfaces, and the furniture is finished. A number of these shelves can also serve as a top in the small hidden drawer or “secret room”, which only comes into view, if one presses the box up with a single touch from the bottom with a finger.

Arts, crafts, books, knickknacks and other things that create identity, will always, whether we like it or not, find a place in our décor.

KASTEL releases windowsill and leaves things this place.

SE exhibition 2012

Client: Onecollection A/S, Denmark

Material: “Dibond” alu-sandwich plate, solid wood