Polyhedra by Haldane Martin

Anyone who follows this blog will remember our September interview and studio visit with designer Haldane Martin (read the interview here). At the time, I took a couple of snaps around his studio, including this beautiful paper model he was working on.

Now we're very excited to let you know that at Design Indaba 2009, Haldane will be releasing the outcome of all that model-making: it's his Polyhedra Modular Coffee Table system, and it really is something quite extraordinary.


The intriguing structure of this table is derived from the three-dimensional structures seen by electron microscopes inside human hip bones, as well as on the Weaire-Phelan foam bubble technology as used in the Beijing Olympic Watercube building.

The amazing thing about how Haldane Martin has used these five interlocking dodecahedron and tetrakaidecahedron shapes, is that they are completely reconfigurable, thanks to ingenious inbuilt magnets that hold them together. Haldane puts it well when he says "you could describe it at post-rational Lego for grownups"!

I can't wait to see this in real life, and will be doing exactly that when I visit Haldane Martin's stand at the Design Indaba Expo, opening on Friday 27 February at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).