This interactive partition system separates spaces physically, but unites people with playfulness!

Inspired by a detail found on Korean drums (where you adjust the drum’s tautness by interacting with the strings on its side), the Gyozip is a partitioning system that’s more focused on creating something that isn’t socially destructive. Rather than separating people in a literal sense, the Gyozip is a physical separator, but it’s also a canvas where people on both sides of the partition can interact with it, creating art in the process.

The Gyozip features an outer frame with multiple cords running vertically, and conical channels that slide up and down, either separating the cords or clustering them together. These conical channels help either distribute or accumulate the cords, changing how they look from afar. Arrange the channels in a variety of patterns and the Gyozip looks less like a partition and more like an art installation that serves the functional purpose of dividing a space. However, it still encourages social interaction between people on either side, inviting them to participate in the playful process of creating art on the Gyozip’s dynamic surface!

Designer: Ji Yoon Kim