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Hive-inspired shelving unit promises tool-free assembly and added strength

Hive-inspired shelving unit promises tool-free assembly and added strength
Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
View 16 Images
Shipped as a pile of aluminum or cardboard sheets, the pieces slot into one another to form an array of hexagonal and triangular shelves
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Shipped as a pile of aluminum or cardboard sheets, the pieces slot into one another to form an array of hexagonal and triangular shelves
Potential uses for the Ruche shelving unit range from holding your toilet rolls, to shoe storage to a home bar.
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Potential uses for the Ruche shelving unit range from holding your toilet rolls, to shoe storage to a home bar.
Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
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Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
Shipped as a pile of aluminum or cardboard sheets, the pieces slot into one another to form an array of hexagonal and triangular shelves
4/16
Shipped as a pile of aluminum or cardboard sheets, the pieces slot into one another to form an array of hexagonal and triangular shelves
Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
5/16
Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
Shipped as a pile of aluminum or cardboard sheets, the pieces slot into one another to form an array of hexagonal and triangular shelves
6/16
Shipped as a pile of aluminum or cardboard sheets, the pieces slot into one another to form an array of hexagonal and triangular shelves
Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
7/16
Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
Shipped as a pile of aluminum or cardboard sheets, the pieces slot into one another to form an array of hexagonal and triangular shelves
8/16
Shipped as a pile of aluminum or cardboard sheets, the pieces slot into one another to form an array of hexagonal and triangular shelves
Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
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Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
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Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
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Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office
Shipped as a pile of aluminum or cardboard sheets, the pieces slot into one another to form an array of hexagonal and triangular shelves
12/16
Shipped as a pile of aluminum or cardboard sheets, the pieces slot into one another to form an array of hexagonal and triangular shelves
In cardboard, the maximum load ranges from 10 kg (22 lb) for the small 15.5 in (34.5 cm) high version
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In cardboard, the maximum load ranges from 10 kg (22 lb) for the small 15.5 in (34.5 cm) high version
Potential uses for the Ruche shelving unit range from holding your toilet rolls, to shoe storage to a home bar.
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Potential uses for the Ruche shelving unit range from holding your toilet rolls, to shoe storage to a home bar.
Potential uses for the Ruche shelving unit range from holding your toilet rolls, to shoe storage to a home bar.
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Potential uses for the Ruche shelving unit range from holding your toilet rolls, to shoe storage to a home bar.
Potential uses for the Ruche shelving unit range from holding your toilet rolls, to shoe storage to a home bar.
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Potential uses for the Ruche shelving unit range from holding your toilet rolls, to shoe storage to a home bar.
View gallery - 16 images

Everybody loves the idea of flat-pack furniture arriving and not having to dig around for hex keys and tubes of glue to put it together. But this tool-free approach can also call into question the stability of the piece. Israeli industrial designer Ruthy Shafrir is confident she has arrived at the perfect compromise, with a snap-together shelving unit inspired by the shape of a bee hive.

Ruche, the French word for beehive, is a unique, adaptable shelving unit for the home or office. Shipped as a pile of aluminum or cardboard sheets, the pieces slot together to form an array of hexagonal and triangular shelves. Shafrir says this process takes less than six minutes.

Potential uses for the Ruche shelving unit range from holding toilet rolls to shoe storage to a home bar. It can also be wall-mounted or placed on the floor or another flat surface. According to Shafrir, this design comprising only regular shapes, is what allows it to bear relatively heavy loads.

Shipped as a pile of aluminum or cardboard sheets, the pieces slot into one another to form an array of hexagonal and triangular shelves
Shipped as a pile of aluminum or cardboard sheets, the pieces slot into one another to form an array of hexagonal and triangular shelves

In cardboard, the maximum load ranges from 10 kg (22 lb) for the small 15.5 in (34.5 cm) high version, to 64 kg (142 lb) for the large (39.4 in (100 cm). In the sturdier aluminum model, the small version can bear 18 kg (39.6 lb) and the large 80 kg (176 lb).

Shafrir is looking to raise funds on Kickstarter for the production of the Ruche. Pledge levels range from US$30 for a small cardboard shelving unit to $180 for a large aluminum. Shipping is slated for February if all goes as planned.

You can check out the pitch video below.

Source: Ruche

View gallery - 16 images
2 comments
2 comments
Purple-Stater
...and yet, it's nothing new. My parents have a knick-knack shelf very similar to this, built on the same principals, about 20-inches across, that's almost one hundred years old. Not a nail in the thing.
pladdable
I personally just love it and think it has a pretty shape. Would pleasurably place one Ruche like this in my house! And purple-stater, maybe it's not new but it is definitely the path many furniture makers should follow in order to make more eco-friendly and easy transport items!