SINGLE PLY PROJECT

Enzo Mari’s defining furniture concept, Autoprogettazione (1974), is a radical DIY design manifesto empowering individuals to build their own practical furniture using only raw pine boards, nails, and a hammer. Mari's primary goal was the educational process of "making" rather than the final physical object.

The Enzo Mari chair is constructed from pieces of pine, all of the same width and thickness, cut into various lengths and pieced together to make a simple yet very solid piece of furniture. An incredible symmetry is created through the use of only one material, which also makes the chair easy to construct with zero waste. Anything additional to its purest function has been removed. Despite this apparent minimalism and functionality, the finished product has an individual character, a hand-made craftiness and a uniqueness that speaks of Mari’s quirky design spirit. The chair is part of Mari’s larger autoprogettazione project, which translates roughly as “self-design” and involves detailed instructions on how to build and customize items of furniture using simple materials, including readily-available timber, a hammer and nails. The project is composed of nineteen designs that include nine tables, three chairs, a bench, a bookshelf, a wardrobe, and four beds. The aforementioned chair, from this perspective, is part of a larger puzzle that talks of sustainability, creativity and experimentation in a world dominated by mass-produced and stylised design objects.