Silver Furniture Design · 2023
Tai Side Table
- A' Design Award 2023 Silver Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2023
- CLIENT: Sunriu Design
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 32,797
- Verification code 072B00C2EA · Verify this award
About Tai Side Table
Tai is a side table made from retired substation metal sheets. The design extends the service life of discarded materials and reduces waste. Production requires only laser cutting and bending, so costly molds are not needed. The flat-packed parts are assembled by the user, which shortens production time. The exterior lines recall the image of hands folded in prayer, and the lower structure is inspired by the butterfly seat. A central opening holds an open book. The table measures 450 by 350 by 550 millimeters.
This product visualization presents SUNRIU Design's Tai Side Table, a work that participates in the enduring design tradition of flat-pack furniture while elevating the genre through refined material sensibility and geometric sophistication. The presentation methodology itself—displaying assembled form alongside deconstructed components—engages with a pedagogical visual tradition that democratizes understanding of construction logic, inviting viewers to appreciate the intelligence embedded within seemingly simple forms. The table's structural solution, employing curved metal panels that interlock with a central shelf and tabletop assembly, demonstrates the designer's commitment to achieving visual lightness through material economy, the negative spaces created by the splayed legs contributing as actively to the composition as the solid elements themselves. The chromatic choice of a warm, earthy red situates the piece within contemporary color trends while evoking associations with traditional lacquerwork and the warmth of natural earth pigments, suggesting a design philosophy that honors craft traditions while embracing industrial processes. The powder-coat finish, visible in its subtle textural variation across different components, speaks to durability considerations appropriate for domestic furniture while providing visual depth that elevates the piece beyond utilitarian flatness. Compositionally, the arrangement suggests a temporal narrative—from flat components to volumetric form—that celebrates the participatory nature of assembly furniture, positioning the end user as collaborator in the object's realization. The precision of component alignment in this visualization reflects the engineering accuracy required for successful flat-pack design, where tolerance margins must accommodate both manufacturing variation and user assembly. The table's proportions, with its cantilevered surface projecting beyond the leg structure, create a sense of dynamic potential energy held in equilibrium, inviting consideration of how furniture might occupy space with presence rather than mere mass. What relationships between efficiency and elegance, between accessibility and aspiration, might this design invite us to reconsider in our domestic environments?
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Use the discarded substation metal sheets and only laser cutting, and bending are required to complete the side table. Just like many of Taiwanese unique appliance's feature processing and assembling with existing materials. The Tai Side Table has a place where books can be temporarily placed in the center of the table without bookmarks. The below structure is taken from the butterfly stool. Also, its tabletop can be replaced with any material at our fingertips and can even be transformed into a low table or bench.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 450 mm x 350 mm x 550 mm
- Tags
- Side Table, Metal Side Table, Side Table Design, Upcycling Furniture, Circular Economy, Circular Design, Minimalist Furniture, Oriental Aesthetics.
- Production Technology
- There is no need to use costly molds and be limited by the minimum production volume. It only requires laser cutting and bending to finish the process. Even if you only make one side table, you can make it by hand bending. The flat-packed design can significantly reduce production time through assemble by user. It is just like the production concept of digital manufacturing.
- Design Challenge
- The most challenging part is that it is not easy to find a factory that can help because the discarded material needs to be cleaned and cut off the rusty part of the metal before the next step of the production process, and factories hardly ever encounter materials that need such treatment.
- Project Duration
- The project started in June 2022 in Taiwan Kaohsiung
- Operation Flow
- The metal edges are trimmed and round cornered to provide a good touch when moving the side table. The original lacquer of the transformer box can be retained or repainted. It's simple exterior and lines make it easy to match most interiors and even outdoor use.
- Research
- Global warming and environmental pollution have been very important issues for this generation. Reducing carbon emissions is a pressing issue in addressing global warming and environmental pollution. The key to reducing carbon emissions is to shift from a linear economy to a circular economy. The recycling of waste materials is an important part of it, which can significantly reduce waste, pollution and carbon emissions. Tai Side Table aims to effectively utilize retired substation metal plates, extend the service life of the materials, and maximize the use of resources to reduce the burden on the environment.
- Inspiration
- The exterior lines are inspired from IM Pei's The Luce Chapel. It has the image of praying with folded hands in the East. The reason for the flat-packed design which are easy to produce and assemble is to make better effectively use of the retired substation metal sheets to recreate furniture. Under the condition of not using excess sheet metal, we hope to create furniture that is easy to produce, beautiful, and eco-economical.
- Image Credits
- Jing Cyuan Tang, 2022.