Built-in structural form or piece of furniture

A built-in structural form or piece of furniture constructed by compressing a plurality of structural members with a tensioning arrangement. The tensioning arrangement employs at least one tensioning element. The cross sectional area of the form, the compression resistance of the structural members, and the strength of the tensioning elements act together to make the article resistant to bending. The shapes of the individual structural members create the overall shape of the form both laterally from and axially along the tensioning elements. The forms of the invention are highly variable in performance and appearance and are easily assembled from efficiently made parts.