AT:SF reader Jim (see his House Tour here) wrote to us:
I designed a little cocktail/side table for myself and realized it's awfully cute and clever and maybe there is a way I can get it on the market. I'm going to make at least a few of them to sell myself. Take a look at the first one.
Very nice table. While not identical, it is reminscent of Noguchi.
Unlike the ubiquitous Noguchi table, this has three identical legs that actually lock with steel pins into a Buckminster Fuller tensegrity structure.
http://kayingleside.com/TensegrityTable.jpg
Which means you put these three legs and three pins together. No glue, no screws, no connectors of any kind, nominal friction between any of the pieces. You can put any of the 5 pieces together then hold it up and it will fall apart, but put in the last piece and poof! it becomes a geometric structure that by its very nature wants to pull itself tightly together. Once it's put together you can grab it anywhere, pick it up with one hand, jump around, shake it, spin it and it won't fall apart. Then you can set it down and put a piece of glass on the top...
See http://www.tensegrity.com
omigawd! I think this table is amazing. It reminds me of a musical instrument from Vulcan.
"It reminds me of a musical instrument from Vulcan."
That made me chuckle.
JC, I think you should pitch the design to IKEA. They love anything that can be flat-shipped and consumer assembled.