furniture: ecology and design

 

 

TOTEM has been dedicated to researching innovative systems for the construction of wooden furniture. We have developed products which simply, essentially and functionally express the synthesis between ecology and design, at a low cost.

what is eco-friendly furniture?

Eco-friendly furniture is above all high-quality , built to be long-lasting, robust and thus not a source of waste.

Is eco-friendly furniture made from natural materials ? In our opinion, yes, even though there are recycled materials which do not consume natural resources. Often, however, these materials are low-quality and production processes do not meet acceptible environmental standards.

The wood we use comes exclusively from forests managed responsibly, according to rigorous environmental, social and economic standards. ENVIRONMENTAL because the wood need to be cut in a sustainable way and trees replanted, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC because the forest is an eco-system where men and women live in harmony with nature: the extraction of wood needs to be a source of well-being and respect the eco-system of which people are part.

All of our products can be easily disassembled for transport and storage without using bulky packing materials.

The kits are designed so they can be put together and taken apart many times without effecting the strength and durability of the joints.


No tools are needed to assemble our products. The elements are held together by joints and mounted on each other.

The joints express the very nature of the objects, the logic underlying their construction and their function.

Furniture should be transformable depending on the needs of the customer, the dimensions and morphology of the space. Our bookcases change shape by adding or taking away modules, our designs for children change into other pieces so thay they can be used indefinitely, our couches become beds and leaves can be added to our tables..

Our products are designed to be used. The light-weight materials we utilize offer strength and durability. Thanks to the use of joints, wooden screws and spines, the structures created can bear up to 30 times their own weight. A bookcase which weighs 10 kg can safely support 300 kg of books without becoming deformed in time.