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Foam can be a convenient medium to work in. Shaping is fast; handtools are quiet and don't dull; and the results can visually mimic many materials while staying lightweight and exceptionally strong in compression. Also, it is usually an easy material to scrounge or salvage.

These RTA foam furniture projects sought to improve particle-board RTA furniture production by utilizing foam-board technology to reduce the overall weight and to simplify the assembly (and dissassembly) process by eliminating the need for fasteners or glue of any type. The resource-utilization debates of petroleum-based polystyrene vs. scrap-wood particle-laminate are inconclusive and it is probable that niether are an environmentaly-friendly solution to furniture production. Polystyrene was used simply because it was readily available at building suppliers and as scrap at construction and corporate sites.

The inspiration for the interlocking panels was a balsawood model kit of a dinosaur-skeleton I received a a child.

A funny note: The table had a mischievous streak: you could evenly load it's two tiers with up to ten lbs. of bric-a-brac and it would hold without flinching. However, set something on it haphazardly and even the smallest weight imbalance would cause a gradual and very subtle twisting of the legs until eventually (hours or days) the legs would suddenly twirl and courtsey, tilting the table-top to a 15-35% incline, dropping everything to the floor, and springing smartly back upright -exactly in place, as if nothing had happened.