On the occasion of the 2013 edition of IMM Cologne, Italian furniture manufacturer Lema presents the new Booken bookcase, designed by design studio Raw Edges in their first collaboration with the brand.

Booken reinvents the idea of a bookcase in a unique, unexpected way, taking into account the evolution of the book in the last years, from physical artifact to e-book. Raw Edges worked on the idea of the book as an object that becomes usable material, transforming and reinventing its function, creating a multifunctional object that serves simultaneously as a side table, shelf and bookcase.

Inspired by the idea that people don't usually re-read the novels they have on their shelves, Raw Edges sought to use books as a support surface. "Obviously they can always be used and read, but simultaneously they assume a new function," Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay point out. A light wooden structure allows all books to be hanged, transforming the bookcase from a vertical element into a horizontal one.