Although ready-to-assemble furniture first emerged in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the majority of flatpack furniture as we know it didn’t come until later when Gillis Lundgren, a Swedish draughtsman, wanted to design a table that he could fit inside of his car.
Soon after, Lundgren had created a ready-to-assemble table that he presented to his employers at IKEA, who then slowly built the rest of IKEA brand around the concept of ready-to-assemble furniture.
Sadly, Lundgren passed away on Feb. 25 at the age of 86.
After starting at IKEA in 1953 as an industrial designer (and the company’s fourth employee), Lundgren went on to design some of the company’s most iconic – and still widely used – furniture pieces including the Billy Bookcase, which is manufactured at a rate of 15 per minute and has sold in the millions.
“My design philosophy has always been that I design for the many people, I want to create solutions for every day based on people’s needs,” he said after receiving a design award in 2012. “My products are simple, practical and useful for everyone, no matter how old you are or what your life situation.”
