The Olympic ‘Bird’s Nest’ stadium in Beijing has gotten a lot of attention at this year’s games, and rightfully so. It’s definitely one of the most striking Olympic venues I’ve ever seen (second only to the amazing Water Cube) and is a marvel of architectural design and engineering. And while Timothy Schreiber designed this X Lounger chair well before the ‘Bird’s Nest’ stadium was revealed to the world, you can’t help but draw comparisons between the two. The chair’s design is based on a single ray traced along a periodic double curved surface, and would make a great addition to any Olympic fans living room. That is if it was available for sale, which I’m pretty sure it isn’t.
Ok, so maybe that headline’s a bit misleading, since it’s not like this Matrix Unplugged chair is actually nuclear powered or anything. But it is made from the torpedo lifting jaws of a real-life nuclear powered submarine, which gives the chair its unique and industrial looking finish. Apparently the torpedo lifting mechanism itself was a prototype that was never actually used or mass-produced, which makes the chair a one-of-a-kind creation. It was built by Zoran Milivojevic who’s an artist and a machinist (I guess he’d have to be) and it features working motorized hydraulics for adjusting the chair’s position and ergonomics. And if the orange finish doesn’t match your office motif, Zoran will customize it with a color of your choice or even leather padding. All that for the low, low price of just $37,000. (Surprisingly, it’s still available.)
I’m glad there are engineers out there tackling life’s difficult problems, like why I can’t ever find a foot stool when I need one. As the story goes, while being dragged through a Bed Bath and Beyond by his wife, robot builder Steve Norris discovered a tacky foot stool that he felt was just begging to be automated. So he bought it and turned it into the simple looking but surprisingly complex RoboStool. In its ‘resting’ state, RoboStool looks like your average vinyl-covered foot stool, but it can also transform revealing a set of heavy duty wheels and sensors which allow it to autonomously follow you throughout your home. I’ve included a video of the RoboStool in its ‘Follow Me’ mode, and watching this thing roll around Steve’s house makes me wonder if I’m looking at the great-great-great-grandfather of R2-D2. (Astromech Droids had to start somewhere.)
Have you ever been somewhere and thought to yourself “man, I wish that I had a couch”? I know, I think that all the time too. Well if you need to satisfy those urges to sit with some friends, or just lie down for a bit, then you need the SofaBox.
This mystical box is more than just an ordinary box for storing things in. Open the lid and gaze in wonder at the cushions that appear, then sit upon them and rejoice. Of course you’ll need to haul this thing around whenever you might want a seat for three, and lets face it, no one wants to keep something like in their car (not that it would fit, unless you’ve got a large SUV or truck). If you’ve got $2,700 burning a hole in your pocket, and you really like having a couch with you, then by all means buy a SofaBox.
The Emperor from NovelQuest is another attempt to shrink down the traditional office into a single workstation designed to increase productivity, comfort and the number of employees you can cram into your building. It features almost everything any PC user might need including 3 x 19-inch LCD monitors, a smaller 7-inch touch screen which serves as the control center, a webcam, custom work lights, a well-configured computer, a HEPA air purification system, a 30 minute UPS and even limited motion allowing the whole thing to recline or rotate 360 degrees.
And given how many of these over-engineered computer workstations I see popping up from time-to-time I can only assume there has to be people buying them, but I just don’t know who they are. Inexplicably well-funded college students? Maniacal CEOs? Mad scientists? Whoever it is they better be ready to shell out $39,950 for the Windows version, or $41,950 for the Mac one.
Everyone knows that kooky friend or relative that thinks that the government (aliens, the mafia, etc) is out to get them. If the person you know also happens to be filthy rich, you might point them in the direction of the Quantum Sleeper, which promises to bring some comfort to even the most paranoid of people.
This bed creeps me out to no end. I’m not usually the claustrophobic type, but something about this bed just screams “panic” when I think about actually sleeping in one. It has a slew of optional features including 1.25″ Polycarbonate Bulletproof Plating/Shielding, Bio-Chemical Filtered Ventilation, Toiletry System, a microwave and more.
I guess if you’re really paranoid than this might be useful, however, if I’m going to spend the money on something that elaborite, I’m just going to go for a fancy underground bomb shelter or something. Oh, and as for the price, if you have to ask you can’t afford it.
When you first look at the SitSack created by James Van Vossel, you get the idea that the designer has completely missed the point of bean bag chairs. I mean you’re supposed to be able to just plop down on one and not have to worry about posture or how you’re eventually going to get up. But with a molded plastic chair grafted onto the top of this bean bag, the last thing you’ll want to do is just plop down on it.
But if you think of the SitSack as an alternative to a regular chair, you start to see that the design has some merit. In grade school I was notorious for leaning back in my chair, and when you’re only resting on two legs, the odds are pretty good you’re going to end up on the floor. However, with a giant bean bag underneath your seat instead of just 4 legs, you can lean back or position the chair any way you want with a minimal risk of falling over.
Over the years I’ve made several attempts at building my own desk, and for some reason they’ve never really worked out. But as of this morning I finally know why. There’s apparently a lot more that goes into a desk than I realized. I always assumed they were just a flat piece of wood with legs attached, but this see-through Executive Desk designed by Dale Mathis has shown me the error of my ways. His desk finally reveals all the important gears and cogs that were clearly lacking in my own design.
And to be honest if I knew they were really this complicated on the inside, I probably wouldn’t have tried to build my own in the first place. Though I can’t figure out how IKEA manages to get the price down to $100, when this model will set you back $21,000. (I’ve also included a video after the jump showing the desk in action.)
When it comes to unique pieces of furniture, this is about as unique as you can get. The Fractal Table was designed by Platform Wertel Oberfell and Matthias Bär for Materialise.MGX. It’s based on their studies of fractal growth patterns which result in treelike structures that get smaller but denser as they ‘grow’. In this case the large base of the structure makes for a good set of legs, while the complex pattern at the top provides enough support to be used as a table. But because the design does get so complex, it can only be created using a rapid prototyping machine. So don’t expect your local IKEA to be stocking them anytime soon.
And I could make some comment about this table being perfect for nerds and nerd-like activities such as playing Dungeons & Dragons, but I have to admit I think it’s pretty cool. And if thinking this table is cool makes me a nerd, then I’m just going to secretly think it’s cool, and tell everyone else I hate it.
If you’re in the need for a lightweight and highly portable table that you absolutely can not get wet under any circumstances, let me introduce the SR109 Cutting Table. As you can see, the table is made entirely from cardboard except for the actual cutting surface which is covered with a laminate material. Designed by Sruli Recht, the table can be easily disassembled and transported in its own cardboard box which even features a set of carrying straps. Best of all, when you no longer have a use for the table it can be easily recycled into a science fair backdrop, some sort of child’s fort or even a pile of discarded cardboard.
The SR109 Cardboard Cutting Table should be available from the Liborius boutique as well as online, though I can’t seem to find any pricing info.
Related Tags: Design, Furniture
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By Andrew Liszewski
