This sustainable shelving unit is held together by a system of cable ties

Listón is a modular shelving unit that uses a system of cable ties and wooden slats to form an endlessly re-configurable and sustainable furniture piece.

Downsizing never looked better. As we continue to declutter our home spaces and replace bulky appliances with multifunctional, modular furniture pieces, designers are getting creative with ways to get us there. Much of the inspiration behind the recent trend toward downsizing is credited to environmental reasons.

Designer: Guille Cameron Mac Lean

With this in mind, many designers are approaching new furniture and appliance designs with sustainability being the driving force. Adding his design to the mix, architect, and designer Guille Cameron Mac Lean developed Listón, a new type of furniture system that uses cable ties and wooden slats to configure modular storage units.

The cable tie system allows users to create infinite configurations of varying sizes and shapes for essentialist shelving units that will look good in any room. Replacing hardware and tools, the cable ties systems provide secure fastening for each module that comes with Listón.

The system of cable ties and wooden slats also significantly reduces the amount of packing goods needed to ship the furniture system by 18 times in comparison to other flatpack furniture. In designing Listón, Mac Lean hoped to grant users autonomy over the look, size, and configuration of home furniture pieces.

Endlessly adaptable and changeable, Listón differs from conventional furniture pieces in that when one segment breaks, the rest of the unit won’t have to be replaced. If wooden slates chip or if cable ties break, users can simply discard the broken segments and replace them with new wooden slates or cable ties. The wooden slates come in two lengths, one longer piece and a shorter one. When put together, the wooden slates form cubic shelving units that measure 40 x 40 x 40 cm.