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Tipi

Tipi, a modular shelving system, designed by Assaf Israel for Joynout Studio, is inspired by the Native Americans' tepee and holds at the base African baskets.

The dynamic world of travel, which holds changes and discoveries, was the inspiration for a project contemplating the borders between transience and a permanent home.

Tipi project deals with elements of nomadism: the ease with which one can transfer, assemble, change, disassemble and rebuild it – all to discover anew an object which is usually associated with a static fixation. This product is suitable for private homes and for public places. It can accompany its users for many years and can function as an open wardrobe, a bookcase or even as a small desk. All this as a result of a research trying to find an alternative to the consumeristic attitude, involving also furniture, in which a piece of furniture has only a short lifecycle.

The cone-shaped structure allows an easy setting of the shelves, with no need of fixation – the diameter of each hole in each shelf was precisely measured so as to stand in the exact and desired height. The upper part of the poles is fixed with screws, so as to allow an easier positioning of the shelves. Tipi is an all wood construction: the poles and the shelves are made of solid wood and the rings tying between the poles are made of Birch plywood. Most of the parts are produced using CNC cutting: a precise and rapid production and the structure is ready to be assembled, using 12 screws only. The storage baskets are imported from Africa, and are traditionally handmade from a "Veta-Vera" grass. Tipi comes in natural color or black.