OpenHands
Halcyon: A Standing Desk That Folds Flat in Four Seconds — image 1
Halcyon: A Standing Desk That Folds Flat in Four Seconds — image 2
Halcyon: A Standing Desk That Folds Flat in Four Seconds — image 3
BUSINESS

Halcyon: A Standing Desk That Folds Flat in Four Seconds

LB

Lena Brandt

Organizer

€39,360.00 raised of €48,000.00

82% 244 donors 8 days left
Sit-stand desks solve a real problem and create two new ones: they cost as much as a used car, and they assume you have a room to put one in. Halcyon is a standing desk for people working in a bedroom, a shared flat or a studio. It carries 40 kg at any height between 71 and 121 cm, and when you are done it folds to 9 cm deep and stands against a wall. The fold is a single motion with one hand — four seconds, no tools, no removing your monitor. The engineering problem was rigidity. A desk that folds usually wobbles, and a wobbling desk with a monitor on it is worse than no desk. We solved it with a cross-braced aluminium frame and a cam-lock that pulls the joint into tension rather than relying on friction. Measured deflection at full extension with 20 kg loaded is under 2 mm, which is better than several fixed-frame desks we tested against. Four prototypes, two years, and eleven people living with a unit in their homes for at least three months each. 48,000 EUR funds tooling for the frame extrusion, the first run of 700 desks, and EN 527-2 safety testing. Manufacturing is in Portugal. Backing tiers: 250 EUR for a desk from the first run, roughly 40% below planned retail. 450 EUR for the desk with the bamboo top instead of laminate. 900 EUR for two. Estimated delivery May 2026.
Share

Updates (3)

82% with under four weeks left. The bamboo top is now confirmed rather than a stretch goal, because the supplier came back with better pricing at this volume than we had modelled.

Several of you asked about the cam-lock wearing out. We ran a 20,000-cycle fold test on the prototype (that is roughly 27 years at twice a day) and measured play afterwards at 0.4 mm. The rig video and the raw measurements are in the gallery.

The EN 527-2 test lab in Porto has us booked for 21 October. This is the stability and strength standard for office furniture — a folding desk that cannot pass it has no business existing.

Recent Donors (244)

S
Shpëtim Gjini19d ago

€385.42

Faleminderit që e bëni këtë.

R
Redi Progni20d ago

€900.00

Bought one, told two colleagues. Hope that helps.

S
Saimir Vargas20d ago

€120.00

Bought one, told two colleagues. Hope that helps.

K
Kreshnik Aliaj20d ago

€89.00

N
Noor Iqbal20d ago

€199.00

R
Rohan Zaimi20d ago

€199.00

Backed. Please do not add stretch goals.

A
Adela Hoti20d ago

€199.00

Backed at the two-pack tier. Ships to Berlin, I hope?

T
Teuta Lami20d ago

€350.00

Y
Yuki Sinani21d ago

€89.00

M
Mirela Larsen21d ago

€120.00

Y
Ylli Lleshi21d ago

€89.00

Backed at the two-pack tier. Ships to Berlin, I hope?

A
Anneke Petrov21d ago

€45.00

My last one lasted fourteen months. Trying yours instead.

M
Mateo Ferri21d ago

€450.00

The tolerance numbers sold me.

A
Agron Mehmeti21d ago

€250.00

From me and my partner. Good luck.

K
Kwame Petrov21d ago

€120.00

Suksese!

L
Lorena Dema21d ago

€120.00

Happy to help.

R
Rohan Delacroix21d ago

€900.00

Suksese!

M
Mirela Marchetti21d ago

€450.00

Nice work. Hope you get there.

N
Nikolin Gjoka21d ago

€25.00

Small amount, sent with good wishes.

A
Adela Hoti21d ago

€350.00

Backed on the strength of the updates alone.

Donate Now