un-lim is a modular furniture system that lets users change it over time

in an effort to reduce consumption habits and save our natural resources, ariyan davoodian presents a system that lets people design their own furniture and adapt it over time. composed of eight parts, ‘un-lim’ can be assembled and reassembled to meet users’ changing needs without the need for any special tools. 

preview of the whole system

all images courtesy of ariyan davoodian

to build the furniture pieces, modules are attached to each other with a star shaped extrude connector that slides through the holes and fixes different parts together. the dents of the connector enables adjustment of the angle between the modules as well as fixing them in their position. the connector itself stays in place with the help of its iron parts at each end and the corresponding magnets inside the modules.

a chair, desk and shelves all made using un-lim

in addition to the end product the system generates, ariyan davoodian also hopes it will teach users how to consume less by adapting their furniture over time to meet their needs, rather than going out to buy a new piece. un-lim comes in separate modules with a notebook that tells the story of its production from the perspective of the product itself, which begins from one tree to the end of the production line. the name of the workers who made the product is also mentioned in the narrative and included inside the package is a small piece of raw wood from the original tree.

a bed and bedside table made using un-lim

to manufacture the modular parts themselves, first a CNC machine cuts plywood sheets into their final form. then, insert nuts (threaded inserts) are placed in their positions. the plywood pieces are then assembled together, and to fix all the parts in their positions, screws will be driven into the inserted nuts. for joints, first a CNC machine shapes the solid wood piece and then the stainless steel bars are fixed in the grooves. at each end of the star shape connector there is a stainless steel piece attached for binding to the magnets along with a star like solid wood piece which makes inserting easier for the users.

un-lim instructional video

as can be seen from the images, the eight un-lim modules can be transformed into a variety of pieces, from a coffee table to a shelving unit. by empowering users to design, build and adapt their own furniture, and by making use of the right materials and the right manufacturing processes, un-lim is ultimately a product that aims to promote responsible consumption and production.

these 8 parts make it possible for users to design their own furniture

sample sofa chair

detailed view of un-lim textiles

sample coffee table

sample shelf

scaled prototype of a chair 

scaled prototype of a sofa chair 

scaled prototype of a small coffee table

detailed view of the connections in the scaled prototype

project info:

project name: un-lim

design: ariyan davoodian

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom