Maku Screen – Cecilie Manz / Maruni

Maku is a room divider screen designed by Cecilie Manz for Maruni.

The piece brings together Japanese and Nordic design traditions in a single object — a collaboration between a Danish designer and a Japanese manufacturer that is legible in the material and structural choices made throughout the design.

The screen is available in three versions: wood, textile, and translucent washi paper.

Each offers a different quality of light transmission and visual privacy, giving specifiers and users a range of options depending on the atmosphere and degree of separation required. The washi paper version in particular draws directly on Japanese craft tradition, using a material with centuries of application in interior screens and sliding doors.

Traditional washi paper is also used for the hinges — a detail that is both materially consistent and structurally expressive. The folding mechanism is described as playful, drawing a reference to classic toys in the way it opens and closes: a gesture that introduces a sense of lightness and even humour into what might otherwise be read as a purely architectural object.

Cecilie Manz is one of Denmark’s most internationally recognised designers, with work in production across furniture, lighting and objects for manufacturers including Fritz Hansen, Fredericia and Muuto. Maruni is a Japanese furniture manufacturer based in Hiroshima, known for precision woodworking and a history of collaborating with international designers.