Collapsible Design

The Folding Problem: Collapsible Furniture from Campaign Beds to Flat-Pack

The Object in Hand

The campaign bed of King Georg V weighs more than you expect. Forged iron frame, maroquin leather sleeping surface, brass-capped joints sized for fingers working in dim light after a day's march. Unfold it and the bed stretches to 211 centimeters—a full sleeping platform, no compromise. The leather has darkened unevenly over two centuries; the iron shows the hammer scale of forge work rather than the uniformity of rolled steel. Turn the cushion over and you find the inventory stamp: "Georg Rex Royal...