Architecture, made buildable.
Nothing is hidden. Every design shows how it stands up, what it is made of and what it costs. Change it to fit, then build it yourself, one step at a time.
- Pieces
- 13
- Board
- 6.9 m
- Time
- 1.5 h
- Nails
- 38
Simple, visible structures, made to be changed.
See how it stands up
Every piece is drawn and lettered, and every joint is shown. You see what carries what before you cut anything.
Build it yourself
Step-by-step guides in 3D, using simple techniques: straight cuts, nails, screws and bolts.
Change it to fit
Set the length, width and height. The structure is simple, so it adapts, and the cuts, materials and cost follow.
Know what it costs
Every board, bolt and nail is listed with its price where you buy it. You know the cost before you spend anything.
Today a building is a black box. You get one price and no way to see what makes it.
What a building costs depends mostly on what it is made of and how it is put together. Here both are in the open: every material, every joint, and what each piece costs where you buy it.
What Sedia 1 is made of
Sweden, planed pine| Material | Pieces | Buy | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board 21 × 195 mm | A B C, 7 pieces | 1 × 3.6 m | – |
| Board 21 × 43 mm | D E, 6 pieces | 1 × 3.3 m | – |
| Nails | 2 at every joint | 38 | – |
| Total | 6.9 m of board | 482 mm left over | – |
Add what your yard charges and every design shows its cost. The same list comes with every design, from a chair to a barn: each post, rafter and bolt.
You can build more than you think.
Every design here comes down to three skills: measure, saw straight, and fix two pieces together. The guides show the rest, one step at a time, even if you have never built anything before.
Furniture
Enzo Mari · Autoprogettazione, 1974
Furniture anyone can build from boards and nails. Mari published the designs so people could make them, change them and understand them.
Structures
Being designed now. Not ready to build yet.Small timber buildings in the same spirit: posts, rafters, ribs and bolted laps you can see and count, in the sizes you choose, with every piece and its price listed.
Choose and change
Pick a design and set its size. See it in 3D, with the cost updating as you go.
Buy and cut
A shopping list in the lengths your yard sells, and every cut lettered as on the drawing.
Build it, step by step
Each step plays in 3D, with every nail, screw and bolt shown where it goes.