The Sofan Table Folds Away Like A Yoga Mat For Extreme Portability

There are folding tables but have you heard about rolling tables? Not those equipped with wheels but one that you can roll up for portability like a yoga mat. We’re talking about the Sofan table by designer Qi An.

This award-winning furniture design, Bronze winner of the 2023 A’ Design Award, is comprised of a series of folding legs that support a segmented tabletop surface that rolls up into a cylindrical mass that’s compact enough to carry under your arm. The clever design uses the foldable legs as the structural framework. Fold them up in a diagonal angle and they give the tabletop surface its rigidity so it doesn’t collapse under weight.

When not in use, the legs fold flat for easy and compact transport. The Sofan table is made from toona (or redcedar) wood found in parts of Asia, specifically in Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, and North/South Korea. This project started in March 2022 and completed in September of the same year in Seoul, South Korea.

The table is constructed via a combination of hand-crafting techniques and CNC machining for high accuracy and low tolerances. The individual segments of the tabletop are linked together by steel pipes that run through them to create a set of hinged points.

The Sofan table is a minimalist yet fully-functional table that can support anything from cups, gadgets, books, plates, and more. It is spacious enough with a width and depth of 19.7″ respectively, and perfect as a coffee or center table at a height of 10.2″. This furniture was designed following an observation of the living environment of Chinese residents in Beijing and their need for mobility and portability in their furniture pieces amid storage problems.

Images courtesy of A’ Design Award