Libreria ad Incastri

“This project was the one that made me bring back the name Ebanisteria Meccanica (Mechanical Woodworking). My goal has always been creating something unique that exalted the many properties of wood. To do that I chose to give myself strict rules: every element had to be made from a single piece of wood, and gluing different pieces was forbidden. I shaped all the pieces to make sure transportation was easy: when undone it makes a cuboid shape, as the legs are exactly half the length of every shelf. Bolts and feet are held in a small independent case. Everything is structured so that wood can interact with wood just by matching shapes, and without needing to add any metal elements. All this together gives its structure great strength and stability, and it grows even sturdier with its contents weight. It is an invitation to fill it completely with your books and culture.”

“I was thinking about creating something like this for a while, to use just wood and tongues and grooves, as a way to reach true essentiality. One night I went to sleep, ruminating about solving the structure. It is often said that the night brings counsel, and right on cue I woke up with the vivid image of how the joints would have worked in my mind. I had solved it! My wife was asleep. I woke her up shouting “I’ve got it!”. She turned slightly towards me and snarled “go back to sleep!”.

“The morning after I started building it.”