Bio-inspired storage system final : Spine Bookshelves

Compressed

Expanded

Rationale
This design is inspired from the vertebral body of human. I found human vertebral bones as a good inspiration for designing shelves. Spinal column allows you to stand upright, bend and twist. It is flexible; it allows movement in several places. It is very interesting as they are very rigid, solid and structured but at the same time it also have liquid-like properties that resulted from the S-shape of the whole structure.

The back of the shelves that holds the structure together shows a strong resemblance to the human spinal cord while the ‘leaves’ of the shelves resemble the vertebral bones. It is flat at the back as it is mounted against the wall and from the side view we can see the contours.

The shelves shows some resemblance with human vertebral body, for instance the color, which is white like bones, and the shape and the structure. The interlocking features of the shelves also inspired from the way spine body constructing and interlocking with each other, mimicking the 4 facet joints in each vertebrae body and how muscles, membranes and correct posture maintaining the structure. They are interlocking not only vertically but also horizontally, that what makes them so strong and balance eventhough it is flexible. The bottom part of the shelves shows bigger sizes in resemblance of the lumbar spine area at human spinal column for their weight bearing function.

This shelves is perfect for high density living space. It is mounted on the wall to save floor spaces and it can be dropped down when we are ready to use it. With the interlocking features in this shelves, these shelves can be compressed together and only take a very little space on your wall; in fact it only take around 51cm when it is compressed and when it is expanded it can reach about 103 cm. When you want to use it you can slide the button that connect each shelves through the maze on the 'spine' back and it is ready to used. The height of the shelves also adjustable so it meets many needs.

Technical drawings

Honeycomb Inspired Designs

Ampersand Wallpockets by Tim Karoleff 

MDF Honeycomb Wall, Germany

The Accordion Cabinet by Elisa Strozyk and Sebastian Neeb

ciao!

Further Research

These are some of the research I did a few weeks ago before I set my choice to the 3 final concepts. Hope these can help some of you who might need it :)

Save-spacing furniture

Save-spacing furniture

'Cocoon' by Mans Salomonsen

Anti-Gravity by Florian Gross for Konnex

Cocoon couches

Mangrove tree inspired building

Foldable chair - 'Grand' by Sanna Lindstrom and Sigrid Stromgren

The Mini Warp Bookshelf by Onur Müştak 

The Un-Deux-Trois Table by Vito Selma - inspired by spider's web

ciao!

Bio-inspired storage concepts

Concept 1 – Bookshelf inspired by human vertebral body

This concept is inspired from the vertebral body of human. I found human vertebral bones very interesting as they are very rigid, solid and structured but at the same time it also have liquid-like properties that possibly resulted from the S-shape of the whole structure. 

The core of the shelves that holds the structure together (the tall cylinder in the middle) shows a strong resemblance to the human spinal cord while the ‘leaves’ of the shelves resemble the vertebral bones. It is flat at the back as it is placed against the wall and from the side view we can see that the shelf have contours that is almost shaped like number ‘3’ or ‘S’ (rising at the top, then goes thinner in the middle and then goes bigger to the end). 

The shelf is designed to store books as it is placed against the wall but it is not necessarily limited to books, it may extend to other objects. But despite of the physical function of this shelf, the other aim of this concept is to evoke emotions to the users, to have the same feeling we have when we see human bone structures; the feeling of strength and power.


Concept 2 – Shelves inspired by termite’s nest

For this concept I got the inspiration from the complex structure of termite’s nest. The nest consists of many horizontal layers which are connected by spiral staircases. Termite’s nests are punctuated by a maze of tunnel-like galleries that effectively provide air conditioning as well as allow the termites to move through the nest. There are several entrance to their nest and they are well protected. 

Like the actual nest, this shelves consist of many horizontal layers that are stacked together, creating space to store objects from books, DVDs, or it can be used to store shoes and sandals as well. Mimicking the spiral staircases of termite’s nest, the structure of this shelves are well supported by stacks of layers (possibly using MDF sheet) that support each other balance.

Concept 3 – Spice rack inspired by honeycomb

Honeycomb has been an inspiration in many design process, I believe because a hexagonal structure uses the least material to create a lattice of cells within a given volume. What I’m trying is to apply this geometric efficiency as a solution in designing storage for small spaces. 

This spice rack is made from fabric or some kind of material that is elastic (I’m still keeping my options open). It can be flat-packed when it’s not used and while we are using it, it only needs to be hooked. It also has the flexibility to store more or less as required.


Which one is your fave?
Feedbacks are welcome!

ciao!