Ori Creates Shape-Shifting furniture with Robotic Furniture Technology

FDT Bureau

Ori, a Brooklyn-based startup furniture design company, has come up with innovative and elegant furniture solutions for city dwellers to maximize their tiny apartments in the best possible way. In metropolitans, where apartments are expensive and small, the maximization of space is becoming important these days. Know more about it on FURNITURE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY (FDT).

Ori aims to develop robotic furniture that can glide and slide into places as and when needed. Ori’s furniture can be easily tucked in or lifted and kept away when not in use. The brand reportedly creates expandable apartments that are powered by furniture pieces that can lift a queen size bed to reveal a couch or slide a media center to unveil a home office.

Ori meaning to fold in Japanese; the brand’s concept of transforming a space and folding it in the same way as an origami folds and transforms paper. Founded by MIT graduate Larrea, Ori had been launched to reimagine cities. Reportedly, Ori installation can cost $5,000 to $10,000. However, the company sells its solutions to apartment developers who rent furnished apartments and not directly to consumers. With as little as much 350sqft space, Ori offers renters an affordable cost per month. In case of power failure, the furniture can be operated manually. Its built-in safety features sense obstacles to stop robotic movement.

One of its few wonders, Pocket Office and Pocket Closet are ideal for studio apartments and spaces where home offices and larger closet space are unachievable. These products offer the user the ease of compartmentalization in studios or other living spaces where the kitchen, bedroom, and living room quite literally become one. Ori’s Cloud Bed drops from the ceiling when the user wishes to sleep. A game-changer for tiny apartments, the bed hides in the ceiling when not in use, thus creating a living room environment with a sofa and coffee table underneath it.

Reportedly, Ori has signed a partnership with Ikea on the Rognan furniture range, where the products will be sold in Ikea stores. Furthermore, the partnership is expected to fly overseas to Hong Kong and Japan. Additionally, Marriott International has also partnered with the brand as part of the hotel’s new R&D lab Marriott Design Lab. Through this partnership, reports suggest, Marriott will outfit its guest rooms with Ori’s transformable furniture and space solutions technology, giving travelers more flexibility and access to new kinds of rooms and experiences.

Image credit: Ori