Two student designers have seen the future and building toward it with a flexible, foldable, affordable and recyclable cardboard desk that support the weight of a whole person but can also be built in minutes without any tape or connective hardware. The desk has an adjustable height factor allowing it to be used while you are standing or seated.

From Refold creators Fraser Callaway, Oliver Ward, and Matt Innes: “the way we work is changing. We are more mobile and more connected than ever before. We have the ability to do our jobs from almost anywhere at anytime, but our workspaces have been slow to reflect this.”

Standing desks, its New Zealand-based designers argue, are healthier and more interactive than conventional sitting types – they raise energy levels and encourage group collaboration, idea sharing and more. Of course, a fringe benefit: standing desks require no chairs, so this becomes a one-piece furniture solution, further simplifying the design problem.

Created in three sizes for different heights and body types, these desks could be deployed “for schools, creative studios, pop-up stores, mobile offices, or disaster relief.” Since the desks can be adjusted up or down, you could also theoretically carry two and use one to sit in, too.

The material is 100% recyclable, using digital fabrication rather than conventional die cutting for greater precision and overlapping vertical with horizontal oriented cardboard fluting, laminated together to provide maximum structural support. Pieces can also be replaced individually, such as the top should the surface become worn or damaged during transit or usage.

Built, closed, partially demolished, boarded up and ultimately deserted, the New World Mall in the capital city of Thailand has become home a strange and unexpected attraction.

Abandoned nearly two decades ago after violating building codes, the roof of the structure collapsed in a subsequent fire, leading the building to be partially filled with rainwater.

Standing pools throughout the place gave rise to a serious mosquito infestation, which the locals sought to combat by introducing fish that, in turn, bred, spread and inhabited the ruins.

Since then, the mall has turned into a kind of alternative tourist destination where visitors flock to feed the fish, now occupying over 5,000 square feet of space originally intended for retail. Vendors have even sprung up in the area to sell scraps of food – throwing anything else into the standing water is strictly forbidden. More images of the building and its context can be found here.

RenegadeTravels explains how to get to this centrally-located abandonment: “The mall is only around 5 minutes’ walk from Khao San Road. Walk to the end of Khao San Road where the small glass police station is and turn right onto Chakrabongse Road. Then walk straight ahead until you come to the junction with Phra Sumen Road. This intersection is known as Bang Lam Pu Junction. You will see the main entrance to New World Mall here, but you can’t get in from the front.”