Mancala Shelves
2024
Poplar wood planks milled using a CNC, 25mm threaded steel balls, set screws, and threaded inserts. Two double-sided CNC’ed dividers. Stands 3 ft tall. All wood is self-processed from raw lumber and cut to size.
2024
Poplar wood planks milled using a CNC, 25mm threaded steel balls, set screws, and threaded inserts. Two double-sided CNC’ed dividers. Stands 3 ft tall. All wood is self-processed from raw lumber and cut to size.
The Mancala Shelves began as a series of experiments with various geometries on the wood CNC milling machine. Using Rhinoceros 3D, I created units that could be repeated and mapped onto a piece of wood, like a lattice structure. What I settled on balances a rigid uniformity with organic details, complemented with a specific sourced hardware piece. These threaded steel balls can be unscrewed to reconfigure each shelf along the patterned walls. The final result highlights the structural connections of the furniture piece, resembling the ancient game of Mancala.
