Award-winning physical prototype · CAD-developed system

ENTRY — Wet-Dry Threshold System

A compact wet-dry threshold system for organizing the first moments of coming home.

Recognition London Design Awards 2026 · Silver Winner European Product Design Award 2026 · Honorable Mention Design MasterPrize · Honorable Mention ’24
ENTRY positioned in an entryway with umbrella, shoes, and keys in use.
Category

Interior design element / domestic product system

Focus

Threshold rituals, water control, footwear organization

Methods

Industrial design, CAD development, prototyping, structural detailing

Status

Full-scale physical prototype / ongoing development

Problem

Most entryways do not only suffer from storage shortage. They suffer from threshold ambiguity.

Wet umbrellas lean against walls. Shoes spread across the floor. Keys, bags, and everyday carry items occupy whatever surface happens to be available. Disorder begins at the exact point where the home should become clear.

ENTRY responds to this moment as a product-system rather than a single storage object. It gives each arriving object a precise spatial role, while keeping the overall form quiet enough to live with.

System architecture

ENTRY organizes arrival through structure, sequence, and containment.

Detail view of ENTRY base showing drainage tray and grounded structural connection.

Grounded base

The base anchors the system visually and physically. Its recessed drainage zone keeps water controlled without turning the tray into a decorative feature.

Central spine

The vertical support gives the object a clear structural order. Shelves and umbrella guidance elements extend from the spine as controlled horizontal layers.

Layered platforms

The repeated shoe platforms create a compact rhythm for footwear while preserving open space and legibility from the front and side.

Top-down form detail of ENTRY showing tray area and side geometry.
Form detail: softened geometry, recessed tray, and side cut geometry.
Close detail showing repeated layered shelf rhythm.
Layer rhythm: horizontal organization without visual heaviness.
Material & fabrication logic

Designed around simple, durable, and maintainable construction logic.

ENTRY is designed around a simple, manufacturable construction: a CNC-machined ABS main body, sheet-cut internal components, and a removable drainage tray for easy cleaning. The system is intended to be durable, water-resistant, and visually quiet, with parts organized around straightforward assembly and maintenance.

ENTRY CAD overview showing structural development behind the physical prototype.
CAD overview — structural development behind the physical prototype.

Development evidence

A compact view of the CAD and assembly thinking retained behind the finished prototype.

CAD development3D modeling and structural exploration.
Assembly logicComponent relationships, support structure, and maintenance considerations.
Prototype refinementPhysical evaluation informed geometry and real-world use.

Recognition & coverage

External recognition around the project.

Selected award records and independent coverage, collected here so the case study can remain focused on the work itself.

DESIGN MASTERPRIZE

Honorable Mention ’24

HOME (Household Products)

ENTRY — Wet-Dry Threshold System
Zhenhua Chen · Built by Zhen

Award certificate (PDF)

Independent coverage

Independent coverage

Interview feature

Creating Calm Through Industrial Design expands on ENTRY, CAD engineering, and the broader Built by Zhen practice.

Read on Muse.World

Future Festival / Trend Hunter

Trend feature

Entryway Storage Systems examines how ENTRY combines shoe storage, umbrella organization, and water collection.

Amy Duong · June 12, 2026

Read on Future Festival

Built by Zhen

ENTRY continues as a study in calm domestic infrastructure, with future development focused on refined assembly and manufacturing pathways.

Return to studio homepageRelated development — Vertical Threshold Spine