Celebrating 165 Discover the new visionaries

The Future Of Compact Living

It’s lucky designer Mike Mak doesn’t throw much away. The idea for his latest success, Bookniture, a stylish, simple and incredibly nifty foldaway seat, originated from a sample of honeycomb-constructed card that had been stuffed on his shelf for seven years. The strength of the hexagonal pattern was the seed for the multifunctional piece of furniture, which can be used as a seat, footstool or table, and resembles a coffee-table book when folded. Not surprisingly, crowdfunders on Kickstarter were raring to back the project when Mak uploaded it. The start-up reached 800 per cent over target on the funding site in just 39 days – a result that Mak says was “just jaw-dropping”.

“The people of Hong Kong’s flexibility is always my inspiration for design.”
– Mike Mak

Hong Kong’s postage-sized apartments might infuriate many, but not the designer. “The people of Hong Kong’s flexibility is always my inspiration for design. It’s interesting to see how we use each inch of space,” he says. Bookniture is one creative answer to the cramped living quarters lived in by many, but in the future he’d like to see that love spread around.

Hong Kong’s unique cultural character is in danger of disappearing without the population fighting to save its heritage, says Mak. “Hong Kong needs more heart – a true heart for the future,” he says. In the meantime, he’s keen for a timesaving design solution to be realised. “A jet pack – so I’m never late for anything,” he jests.

探索风尚新视界 165 周年庆

紧凑生活
新视界

设计师 Mike Mak 幸运的地方在于他没有扔掉太多的旧东西。他近期大获好评的作品 —— Bookniture，一“本”简约、时尚、小巧的可折叠座椅书，灵感便来自一张在置物架上存放了近七年的蜂窝状卡纸样本。稳固的六边形是这件多功能家具的构建基础，打开后，它可以作为椅子、脚蹬或小桌使用，折叠后则将瞬间变成一本装饰咖啡桌的书。如此别出心裁的设计，吸引了众筹平台 Kickstarter 上的支持者们争相为这一项目提供资助。在仅仅 39 天内，这一项目就获得了超出目标额 800% 的启动资金，而这个结果对 Mak 来说更是“惊掉了下巴”。

“香港人的灵活适应能力一直是我的设计灵感。”
– Mike Mak

香港的“火柴盒”公寓一直都困扰着很多人，但并不包括这位设计师。“香港人的灵活适应能力一直是我的设计灵感。研究我们如何用尽每一寸空间是件很有意思的事，”他说。 Bookniture 是为许多蜗居人士提供的创意解决方案，而他更希望这种助人之爱能够在将来散播到更多地方。

Mak 认为，如果没有人愿意努力维护香港的传统，那么这个地区独有的文化特征将面临逐渐消失的危险。“香港需要更多人用心的付出 —— 用一颗真正为未来着想的赤忱之心，”他表示。目前，这位设计师正对研发一个省时的解决方案充满热情。“我想设计一款喷气式背包，这样我就永远不会迟到了，”他开玩笑道。

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