Arpro packaging turns into a TV stand

Getting your new wide-screen television out of its packaging feels a little like unwrapping a Christmas gift. There’s excitement, anticipation, joy…and then you have to work out where on earth you’re going to put all the wrapping! For some time, Tom Ballhatchet, a masters’ graduate from London’s Central St Martins College of Art and Design had been concerned about the high volume of non degradable waste which makes up most consumer packaging. Rather than working on ways to dispose of the plastic and cardboard, Tom decided to develop a revolutionary idea for turning the packaging from a television set into a piece of furniture.

The Arpro television stand is a unique two-in-one packaging concept. The television packaging is made from two-pieces of Arpro expanded polypropylene, a resilient, durable 100% recyclable material which protects the television during transit and afterwards locks together to form... voilà - a new television stand!

Four lower-density corner pieces which also serve to cushion the television during transit are designed to take the weight of the television. The stand can be adapted to suit a variety of television sizes and Ballhatchet asserts: “It’s even easy to assemble; you simply slide apart and re-attach the main pieces to form a very neat looking stand. All of the packaging is integrated so that nothing goes to waste. And there’s a cable tidy too.”

The stand includes storage space and is available in a range of colors and surface textures. It is designed to be set up in a matter of minutes and appealingly, can be converted back to its original packaging when it’s time to move house.

The Arpro television stand was recently shown at a home exhibition and Ballhatchet hopes to put the design into production with a TV manufacturer.

See youtube for a video demonstration of the television stand and for more details see the Tom Ballhatchet site.