Victor Papanek

James Hennessey

Offers ideas for constructing furniture designed to suit contemporary nomadic living

Being Both a Book of Instruction and a Catalog of Access for Easy Moving

Nomadic Furniture: how to Build and where to Buy Lightweight Furniture that Folds, Collapses, Stacks, Knocks-down, Inflates Or Can be Thrown Away and Re-cycled

How Things Don't Work

Victor Papanek and James Hennessey set out to change the world in the mid 1970s, empowering the people to create their own inexpensive furnishings. Their books, Nomadic Furniture 1 and Nomadic Furniture 2 are reprinted here in their entirety. In their vision of home design, everything is lightweight, folds, inflates, knocks down, stacks, or is disposable. They offer simple instructions for making beds, chairs, sofas, stools, and tables, using inexpensive and recycled materials. Their ideas open up channels for creativity, as well as for saving of money and lightening a household's footprint. This practical, lighthearted approach to living is certainly worth a revisit, in a world where environmental consciousness is quickly evolving.

James Hennessey

Books

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