Yalan Dan creates "first aid kit" for furniture using 3D-printed joints

Alice Laycock | 18 January 2024 Leave a comment

University of the Arts London graduate Yalan Dan has fabricated a series of 3D-printed bioplastic joints that can be used to repair furniture or construct it from scraps.

His Furniture First Aid Kit, FFA for short, provides users with the means to mend broken or discarded items and give new life to waste materials such as plywood or chipboard by combining them to form new items.

Chair made from pieces of scrap wood using Furniture First Aid Kit by Yalan Dan — Yalan Dan has developed a Furniture First Aid Kit

The project was informed by the concept of stooping and skip diving, which involves salvaging abandoned, damaged and unwanted furniture from skips or sidewalks.

Dan aims to change perceptions about furniture as being readily disposable and hard to repair in a bid to keep items in circulation for longer.

Orange and red plastic joints — It consists of four types of joints made from 3D-printed bioplastic

"FFA can change the neglect of street furniture materials and encourage more people to act on their own to remake furniture that is going to be thrown away," he told Dezeen.

"It also encourages people to be more active in picking up unwanted street furniture to create new value."

Table made from scrap materials using Furniture First Aid Kit by Yalan Dan — The bright red and orange joints create a visual contrast

Four distinct joints allow surfaces to be fixed at different angles, including L-shaped, T-shaped and cross-shaped pieces, as well as a joint that attaches a broad, flat surface to a narrow, upright piece.

Holes in the joints allow screws or nails to be inserted, holding the surfaces together.

The joints are 3D printed using polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastic, coloured red and orange to reference the visual language of medical first aid kits.

"[The FFA is] inspired by medical first aid kits – most are bright red, enabling people to see them quickly," Dan told Dezeen. "At the same time, it is an eye-catching cue to differentiate the restored furniture from other furniture."

Chair made from pieces of scrap wood — FFA encourages people to experiment with waste materials

So far, Dan has used the FFA mainly to join wood-based materials such as chipboard and plywood. However, the designer says the kit can also be used in conjunction with other types of surfaces.

"Based on my research, most of the waste furniture thrown away on the streets is made of wood or plywood," Dan told Dezeen. "However, [the FFA] is not limited to wooden furniture – it can be fixed on the surface of many hard things, such as plastic, plaster and stone."