POLYCARB HOUSE °*
TEETER DOCK °*
LENTICULAR COLUMN °*
CLOSED LOOP °*
HYPAR CANOPY °
SHARED BEDS °*
MATERIAL MUSEUM °
SPLIT HOUSE °
DRAPED STONE °*
FLAT STAND °
TIP TAP °
ROCKER °
ARCADE °
TAUT °*
VEER °*
SLING °
ENFOLD °
THREE LEVEL HOUSE °
CHI-OSK °
FIBROUS TECTONICS °
ACTIVE COMPOSITES °
PETRO HOUSE °
DATE 2018
LOCATION Houston, TX
TYPEFurniture
COMPETITIONWinner
DESIGN LEAD
David Costanza
DESIGN TEAM Ekin Erar
OVERVIEWFlat Stand was the winning proposal for the AIA Houston Model Stand competition in 2018. The AIA required a model stand for its many exhibitions in its downtown Houston space but lacked the room to store many model stands. Flat Stand proposed a collapsible model stand that can be stored flat instead of just stacked.
The design utilizes a folding technique and polypropylene, a plastic that can produce a live hinge, being bent back and forth without breaking. The geometry was inspired by the locking lid of a take-out box, in which the assembly process can be done using the flexure of the material without any tools or additional hardware. The design and development process required numerous iterations in which the geometry, the material, the means of folding, and the connection systems were tested and developed. In the end, the ⅛” polypropylene selected was machined using a CNC and assembled using flush hardware, allowing the entire cube to be folded flat. Finally, the initial cube later inspired a proportionally taller 36” stand and a larger 30” cube.