Combining skills in mechanical engineering and furniture making can yield awesome results, like this Origami-inspired chess board from furniture designer Brian Ignaut.

 

Featuring four wooden panels connected together by stainless steel links, the multiple surfaces of the chess board fold relative to each other, producing a striking visual effect.

 

"In the design, four wood panels are connected by six stainless steel links, four of which are used in pairs while the last two are used alone," Ignaut writes on his Facebook page. "The link pairs keep the joined panels parallel during all movement, while the single links permit rotation between boards which is used when pivoting the board into its playing orientation.

 

 

"I originally tried using this mechanism for an expanding table concept, and only came across the secondary crossing functionality after I started playing with the first prototype. I’ve been dreaming about this design for well over a year so it was fun to finally see it take shape!"

 

Ignaut formerly worked at SpaceX, designing its unfolding solar rays. He then tried his hand at furniture making - designing and building unfolding furniture at the company he started, Degrees of Freedom. He's built a pretty sizeable following on social media, with his Instagram page reaching 37,000 followers.

 

 

He says he came up with the chess board idea while working on a new design for an expanding table. Check out the Degrees of Freedom Facebook page here.