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autoprogettazione by greg.org
2 Mari X IKEA
slats. Theyre essentially a bundle of but buying processed wood from the
1x2 boards stapled to a canvas tape. At [T]hese items are not intended as al- other side of the world in a 100,000-sf [In the early 1970s, Enzo Mari suggest-
$9.99, theyre cheaper per board-food ternatives to industrial ones, their cre- store seemed to contradict the spirit of ed using 1-by pine lumber to make his
than actual lumber at Home Depot. ation is intended as a sort of critical ex- the autoproggetazione project. autoprogettazione furniture because it
Once I get my calculator warmed up, ercise on design, and this is the reason was cheap, standardized, easy to cut,
and then my tape measure, Ill know if why this experiment was called home Under those circumstances, Jeff Bezos and universally available at the corner
an original Enzo Mari dining table can design, not home production. The critical response to the furniture design hardware store. Now, my local hard-
be had for $19.98, $998, or, $14,998. user, in repeating the operation, which industry made more sense. [When he ware is a Home Depot, and the boards
can never be a slavish repetition...the started Amazon, he made the desks they sell come from New Zealand. So
http://greg.org/archive/2007/11/11/au- designs have no measurements and out of hollow-core doors and saw- in keeping with the spirit of Maris
toprogettazione_the_making_of_an_ while you are making them you can horses, a scrappy tradition the com- design, Im going to use components
enzo_mari_dining_room_table.html make changes, variations...when mak- pany continued.] But I didnt want the from Ikea furniture kits instead.]
ing the object the user becomes aware aggressively cheap improvisation of a
of the structural reasoning behind the Bezos Table in my house. The dining table Im going to make
Ch. 1: Mashup object itself, therefore, subsequently he is called either F or EFFE, depending
improves his own ability to assess the The place where I saw the biggest on which plans you look at [Maris
posted by greg at May 10, 2008 11:50 PM objects on the market with a more criti- piles of untreated pine lumber was, own autoprogettazione book uses the
cal eye. ironically, Ikea. The warehouse sec- former; Peter Stambergs 1976 blue-
I wrote a few months ago about making tion near the stores exit has palletsful print anthology, Instant Furniture,
a dining room table following Italian The EFFE table I want to build [above] of bookcases, chairs and beds, all flat- which reproduces four of Maris
designer and theorist Enzo Maris 1974 requires two sizes of board: 1x2 inch packed and ready for assembly [home
Proposta per unautoprogettazione, pine for the structure, and 1x8 planks production?]
roughly translated as A Project for for the top. In 1983, Mari explained
self-design. Maris goal was to effect that, As regards material, the easi- What would happen if you treat Ikea
a critical examination of the objects est to acquire is undoubtedly still the as your corner hardware store, and
around us and the system of design, wooden plank. Undoubtedly. So I use their flatpack-optimized, mass-
manufacture, distribution, marketing, headed down to the nearest hardware produced furniture components as the
and commerce that brings them into store, where there were several hun- raw materials in an entirely different
being. dred varieties of curtain rod finials, but design?
no lumber. The 2002 reprint of Autoprogettazione from Corraini
autoprogettazione designs, uses the The Mandal has the added benefit of
latter.] being factory sealed with a smooth
acrylic finish. If its important to stick
It calls for wood in two sizes. The close to Maris original idea of unfin-
truss and leg structure is made of 1x2 ished wood, the far-and-away win-
in lengths ranging from 10 1/2 to ner is the Ivar storage system. Ivars
51. The top calls for four 79-inch 1x8 component-based, which means the
planks, which actually comes to about shelves, side units, and corner posts
30 across. [After its dried and fin- may be all you need to make a table.
ished, 1x8 boards are usually 3/4 x 7
1/2. I had no idea.] One pine top shelf [$19] is 3/4 x 11 3/4
x 82 5/8 inches Cut off the embedded
There turns out to be far fewer useful metal brackets from each end, and its
sources of lumber in Ikea than I origi- right at 79 inches. Theres also a ver-
nally thought. [The idea hit me when I tical piece to cut off [or to not attach
passed giant warehouse shelves filled in the first place; the shelf I saw didnt
with rolled up pine bed slats.] But have it at all.] If you use three shelves,
most of the pine pieces in Ikea furni- the table will be 35 1/4 inches wide,
ture are only 1/2-inch thick, too thin to which adds 5+ inches to the horizontal
use for underpinning a table. pieces underneath the table, too.
Though I stuck to pine on principle, Corner posts are 1 3/4-in. square and
there is some solid wood furniture, filled with drilled holes [$8, $12]. The
mostly birch, and some oak. But by far,
most of the wood-looking furniture is
made from veneered particleboard; Too notchy: Trofast storage system [image: ikea.com]
who knows whatd happen if you cut
it? 5/8-in. thick sides of the tallest Tro- pre-drilled holes along the base of each
fast storage units [above] are either 11 piece, though, which kind of bugs.]
3/4 in. or 17 in. deep, but only 69 in.
tall. And some of them have regularly Maris table calls for more than 66 lin-
spaced grooves for sliding bins. ear feet of 1x2 wood underneath. Its
close, but the Mandals inner support
[Though it felt like cheating, I did rails may provide enough wood with-
check out readymade tabletops. The out buying extra pieces.
Too thin: Ikea pine bed slats [image: ikea.com] Vika Furuskog tabletop comes in pine,
and is 78 3/4 in. long, but only 23 5/8 The siderails are smoothly finished,
I dont doubt you could make a quint- in. wide; too narrow to use, too wide too, and each 78 in. piece is 3 in. wide
essentially Ikea Mari table by using to double up on.] on the outside face, tapering to 2 in.
only these kinds of components; the wide on the inside face. The unfin-
sleek, plastic-over-sawdust goodness The new Mandal bed [king-size, $249] ished pieces underneath the bed are Ivar shelving system [image: ikea.com]
of Ikeas signature Lack tables and comes really close to being the perfect either 7/8 x 1 3/4 in. [i.e., 1x2], or 1 3/4
shelves could make for a very concep- Mari table kit. It has a smoothly sealed square. Four 1 3/4 sq. pieces are 27 1/2 side units are their own standard di-
tually tight mashup, but thatll be the headboard and footboard of solid pine, inches long, just 1/4-in. longer than the mension--1 3/4 x 1 1/4 inches--which
second or third piece Id make, not the which, on the king size model, are each table leg specs. could be pulled apart and used as lum-
first. 78 in. long. The headboard is 23 1/2 ber. But its also tempting to use the
wide, and the footboard is 12; placed If more wood is needed, a $20, twin- ladder-like pieces whole. Both parts
The other major constraint is the top-to-top, theyd be 35 1/2 wide, sized Sultan Lade bed slat offers one of come in 70 1/4 and 89 lengths [$12,
length of the boards for the top. Only which isnt too far off. As a bonus, they the best options for raw wood. The 15 $15].
three products have decent width both have tapers on the bottom edge, slats are 2 3/4 x 3/4 x 38, with slightly
pine boards within range of 79 inches which would be nice on the underside beveled top corners. Maybe you could cut down [sic] on
[which is 200cm, if youre wondering of the tabletop. [There is also a row of the sawing required by just making
why Mari picked that length]: The the table to Ivars dimensions instead
of Maris. Then instead of a length-
wise shelf, you could build a top from
shorter 33 x 11 3/4-in. shelves [$6] set
crosswise.
And I repeatedly find myself creating a fit it to Maris exact specifications, the Conveniently, Maris neat-but-arbi- conceptual awesomeness and shitty
conceptual justification for the path of process was becoming quite complex trary 200cm tabletop length was almost workmanship?
least resistance. All conceptual stunts and forced, and I realized this entire exactly the length of an 82-in. Ivar shelf
being equal, Im drawn toward the one point was being lost. with the metal bracket ends cut off. Id I know Maris autoprogettazione was
that involves the least labor and mess. just need three shelves to...whoops, in a critique of mass production and con-
Which turns out not to be the same as So I began seeing the Ikea lumber sui the intervening months since I began sumption, but is it a renunciation of
requiring the least time, cost, or effort, generis: it is not a source of raw ma- my calculatin, the shelves were dis- craft, too? If a laborer is virtuous for
as the 8-month over-analysis of mak- terial, it is the raw material. An Ikea continued. So on the fly, I ended up hammering together his own furniture
ing a simple table attests. Mari table would look like what it is, buying four 33-in. wide shelves, which at home, is he somehow less virtuous
I figured. So I decided to adapt Maris Ill place width-wise to make a 72-in. if he puts a hand-rubbed, organic tung
http://greg.org/archive/2008/06/08/ tables dimensions to the standardized long table. Its the opposite of Maris oil finish on it? As much as I embrace
enzo_mari_x_ikea_mashup_ch_2_ dimensions of the Ivar components. long plank top, but it seems better than Maris principles and the raw elegance
parts.html either a) scouring the countrys Ikeas of his design, as I look at my pile
Id heard from other folks who built an for leftover shelf stock, or b) buying a of low-grade pine shelving leaning
EFFE table that the 1x2 boards dont finished tabletop, which Ikea merrily against the wall, I confess, Im having
Ch. 3: feel that sturdy for table legs. Most sells by the containerload. a hard time giving up my desire for
Ivar boards are even thinner, so I de- a sweet, luxe patina. So while I could
Decisions cided to use the thicker, square corner But that means new proportions, new break out my awesome new Japanese
posts as legs. Rather than cut them dimensions, and figuring out how to saws and pound this table together in
posted by greg at April 17, 2009 12:02 PM down to boards and reassemble them brace short, wide boards as opposed to a day-- and I know itd feel extremely
as a 14-in. truss, I decided to leave the long, thin ones. Which got me wonder- Ikea if I did, and thats tight --I cant
So Im finally going to make my Enzo pre-assembled 12-in. Ivar sides intact, ing about the table tops functionality do it. Im going to get all finish fetishy,
Mari autoprogettazione table from then double them up to use as trusses. and stability. Do I need to end glue and see if I can make this table beauti-
Ikea components. A publicist from All these minor changes in dimension the shelves together for strength? Or ful as well as cool. Well see.
Ford had offered a Flex station wag- and proportion rippled through Maris is that kind of more involved wood-
on for a road trip, and last weekend, original design, requiring almost every working a betrayal of Maris original http://greg.org/archive/2009/04/17/
I took them up on it. Which meant I cut to be recalculated. knock-it-together concept? And what enzo_mari_x_ikea_mashup_ch_3_de-
could bring back the 89-in pieces of is the proper relationship between cisions_decisions.html
wood Id scoped out. So I did. Next I
will cut and finish the pieces. Then I
will assemble the table.
planks together. From a strictly utili- that dont have any tung oil whatso-
tarian point of view you can use ply- ever in them. Many tung oil products
wood or chipboard. depend mostly on phenolic resins. You
have to buy from a source that is ex-
For the same reasons the construc- pert enough to know precisely what
tions are attractive if they are left is in their products and trustworthy
rough, with the saw marks, neither enough to tell you. In Canada, thats
planed nor varnished. Lee Valley, in the USA, Sutherland
Welles [http://www.sutherlandwelles.
I found this slightly obsessive discus- com/].
sion of finishing solid pine furniture
[http://www.sankey.ws/pine.html] to Sounds good to me.
be quite helpful, if a little daunting.
Two Ivar shelf sides cut to length form the tables center truss. Two more are cut down for the horizonal pieces of But already, it saved me from myself Sure enough, the extremely helpful
the table ends. [image: greg.org] and helped me lift my wood finish- folks at Sutherland and Welles guided
ing sights beyond the lying corporate me toward the right product for the
Mari added a few technical hints. shelves of Ace Hardware: project, a table with a top that will see
Ch. 4: Finish I love them, especially the quotation regular use. I expect Ill have enough
marks, even as I prepare to ignore First, however, a warning is needed: polymerized tung oil varnish and seal-
Fetish them a little and end up with some- there is zero truth in advertising in er to give the table a good five coats, if
thing less belle than it could be: the finish industry. Absolutely any- not the 10-12 that Sankey prefers.
posted by greg at April 25, 2009 12:17 AM thing can contain absolutely anything,
...Then, from a purely formal (sym- no matter what the label says. There Meanwhile, I mapped out each piece to
For the 2002 reissue of his 1974 bolic) and instructive point of view, are products out there labeled tung oil be cut onto the Ivar shelf components
catalogue, PROPOSTA PER table tops are attractive [belle] if
UNAUTOPROGETTAZIONE, Enzo they are made by putting several small
Cheat: I glued up four Ivar shelves for the top. I went to a wood shop so I could use big clamps, and I happily
used a table saw to remove the shelf brackets. Since I couldnt fit the full top in my car, I made two asymmetrical
My father-in-law gave me these awesome nokogiri Japanese saws. The Ivar side trusses are glued and stapled leaves. I joined them with perpendicular braces underneath, as the tabletop does not rest on the center truss. Mari
together. I worried about hitting a staple with the saw, but they were avoidable or removable. [image: greg.org] also added braces to his original design for the Metamobile kits. [image: greg.org
Mari X IKEA 7
basement. The picture above was how several short pieces, spliced together.
the wood sat for a week between the The shelves are the crappiest of all,
first coat and this morning, stacked on all glued up strips of varying quality,
our radiator [I moved it up after about which made it really hard to find rela-
24 hours when it wasnt quite cured, tively clear, relatively straight pieces.
and then my schedule got away from
me for the week.] Maris original instructions for the au-
toprogettazione furniture was to leave
Im sure its toxic and flammable and it completely unfinished and unsand-
what not, but the tung oil varnish is a ed. And that would have taken a hell
real, easy pleasure to work with. Goes of a lot less time, work, and money. I
on and off really nicely. Anyone whos expect the majority of buyers of Ikeas
made something from wood probably unfinished Ivar shelving system leave
knows this already, but the gradual it as is, too, opting for cheapness and
surface and finish improvements speed over a finish they just dont care
brought on by each step of the sand- about. Which means that assuming
vacuum-tack-apply-sit-wipe-dry-cure they dont think its wasted com-
cycle are fascinating to see. And you pletely, to most people, all the extra ef-
Sutherland Welles Tung Oil Varnish [image: greg.org] start to realize how most modern fur- fort to finish what is really low-grade
niture is really just an industrialized wood will be unappreciated, uninter-
with blue tape. I plan to cut everything approximation of what is only rarely esting, unwanted, or unnoticed. Its
to length, finish the parts while I can Ch. 5: In done by hand. Its like living in a world better than lipstick on a pig, but its
reach all the corners, and then assem- of Miracle Whip and never knowing pointed in that direction.
ble the table. And then give it a last Process [Rev.] theres a thing called mayonnaise.
coat or two for good measure. Some changes mid-course to the
posted by greg at May 23, 2009 2:07 PM Another couple of observations: Ikeas design:
The wood cost $120, the tung oil, $82. wood is really crappy, but some wood
An update on the Enzo Mari x Ikea au- is much crappier than others. The Ivar I dont know how I missed this during
http://greg.org/archive/2009/04/25/ toprogettazione table project: corner posts feel denser and stron- the months of calculating, recalculat-
enzo_mari_x_ikea_mashup_ch_4_fin- ger than the sides, for example, and ing, staring, checking, and shopping,
ish_fetish.html I just finished putting on the second make me glad I decided to use them but 1 3/4 inches is not the same as 1 5/8
coat of varnish sealer, and now ev- for the table legs. All these long pieces inches. Its 1/8 of an inch different. Can
erythings drying and curing in the of wood are engineered, made up of you believe that?
Parts cut and ready for pre-assembly finishing [image: greg.org] Tung oil varnish curing after 2nd coat. [image: greg.org]
8 Mari X IKEA
Square Table, Enzo Mari, 1973, Metamobile kit of pre-cut [and pre-drilled] lumber assembled with both nails and
http://greg.org/archive/2009/06/07/
Ikeaness: Ivar shelf corner post, with scarf joint [image: greg.org] enzo_mari_x_ikea_mashup_ch_6_
ikeaness.html
[Thats how the original precut wood square with the artful flaw, a footprint after spending so much time finishing
kits from Simon Intls Metamobile se- from a wandering dog. this wood, Im starting to dig its indus-
ries were put together.] trial qualities, its intrinsic Ikeaness. Ch. Last
Woodworking aficionados get off on
What is obvious, but I didnt think of things like grain patterns and joinery, Ikeas IVAR shelving system is made posted by greg at November 24, 2009 11:28 AM
beforehand, is that the center truss the more intricate the better. So its at from unfinished pine, but thats barely
needs room to pivot. Id kind of as- once surprising and totally not that half the story. When you start looking A quick recap:
sumed the side truss diagonals could
be freehanded in, and that their angle
and distance from the center didnt re-
ally matter. But if theyre too close--as
they almost are on one of my trusses-
-they might not give enough radius
for the center truss, and youll have to
rubber mallet it into place. [And then
back out, since youre not done. And
by you, I mean me.]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/
gregorg/3671030083
Ch. 6:
Ikeaness
posted by greg at June 7, 2009 11:00 PM
An EFFE table based on a 1974 design side trusses. [The center truss uses two Though Enzo Maris original design
by Enzo Mari, but made entirely from trusses intact, while the end trusses calls for the low-grade pine to remain Related: Enzo
unfinished pine components of Ikeas use disassembled pieces.] The top is untreated, I decided to finish the en-
Ivar shelving system . The vertical and glued up from four Ivar shelves, which tire thing with Sutherland Welles tung Mari X Rirkrit
diagonal elements are the square cor- are braced underneath. [compare to oil varnish. Components received five
ner posts. [ Some revisions were made Maris original design below.] coats of wiping varnish, with sanding Tiravanija
mid-construction. ] Horizontal ele- in between, before the trusses were
ments are the pre-assembled shelving constructed [finishing nails and #10 posted by greg at April 25, 2009 5:01 PM
Untitled (Autoprojettazione, 1123 xE/1123 xR), Rirkrit Tiravanija, 2004 [image: kurimanzutto] Just builting 32 Enzo Mari tables [image: peter nencini]
there was a ping pong table ; several Then theres Wallpaper magazine few 1 or 2% understood the meaning that those two tiny, so-enlightened
corner assemblages using three Smith- [http://www.wallpaper.com/gallery/ of the experiment...Enzo Mari hoped populations are the same, but Im not
son-esque, non-site mirrors; and an interiors/autoprogettazione-revisit- that the idea of Autoprogettazione at all sure Mari would agree with her.
entire chrome pavilion in Bilbao. The ed-at-the-aa-london/17051392/21803] would last into the future. Autopro-
effect was to simultaneously aestheti- swooping in with Autoprogettazione gettazione Revisited reveals that it has
cize the original and dematerialize Revisted at the Architecture Asso- done just that. Not all of the artist/de-
the substantial object on display, turn ciation in London, where AA students signer responses in Autoprogettazione
them into non-objects. Which is kind and a few name designers show off Revisited can be duplicated by the en-
of ironic, since theyre among the most their Mari-inspired hacks, and theres thusiast, but they are inspirational and
atypically beautiful works the suppos- even a lecture by Mari himself, which without a doubt follow the Mari prin-
edly non-object-oriented [heh] artist is alternately animated and tedious, ciple that by thinking with your own
has made. and thanks to the on-the-fly transla- hands, by [making] our own thoughts
tion, twice as long as it would normal- you make them clearer. [http://www.
http://greg.org/archive/2009/04/25/ ly be. aaschool.ac.uk/Downloads/Autopro-
enzo_mari_x_rirkrit_tiravanija.html gettazione_Revisited_instructions_
But even as I worry a bit about miss- web.pdf]
ing a trend--or worse, finding my-
Autopro- self caught up in one--Im reading Ive always understood Maris project
the AAs catalogue and instructions to be a critique of the self-important
gettazione for the show --because yeah, Id to- distinction between the artist/de-
tally make Kueng-Caputos awesome signer and the enthusiast. In his
Updates From
la lampada a stelo, Kueng-Caputo, 09.2009 [image:
lamp [http://www.kueng-caputo.ch], lecture, Mari actually said that of the aaschool.ac.uk]
wouldnt you?--and I find this: many thousands of requests for Au-
All Over toprogettazione plans, only 1-2% of [thanks andy for the links.]
Mari was ultimately disappointed them were from design professionals.
posted by greg at October 28, 2009 1:21 PM with the original response to Autopro- I can totally imagine the head of an http://greg.org/archive/2009/10/28/
gettazione, believing that only a very architecture school gallery thinking autoprogettazione_updates_from_all_
Autoprogettazione Updates From All over.html
Over