The Object élevé is an oak and black steel installation commissioned by designer Just Haasnoot for his home in Wassenaar, an affluent suburb in The Hague.
It combines storage and access to the upper floor via a series of open frame boxes.
Handmade in Mieke Meijer‘s Eindhoven workshop, the industrial nature of the piece sits in deliberate contrast to the pale blue walls and muted tones of the residence that was built in the 1930s.
“The construction, built from both standing and suspended parts, largely consists of open frames allowing the design’s transparent character to be maintained,” explained Meijer.
The staircase is based on the samba system of alternating steps to allow the staircase to rise at a steep angle, while still remaining comfortable to walk up and down.
The lower half of the steps features wide pieces of oak integrated into the shelving and storage unit. These also serve as spaces for plants and ornaments and form part of a desk.
Halfway up the steps however, the design and purpose of the stairs changes. The steps become smaller, and form part of a suspended structure.
It features a large flat piece of oak that acts as a shelf and display, and space for a makeshift bookcase.
Beside the desk sits a cupboard with three shelves slotted into the lower structure to complete the piece.
“We were inspired by the photographs of Bernd and Hilla Becher,” said Meijer. “The Bechers’ black and white photography is renowned for the systematic photo series of industrial buildings that closely resemble each other in function and design. We reconstructed these buildings into functional installations.”
The Dutch design studio also took inspiration from the German photographers’ work in one of their earlier pieces, the Winding Tower 01 table.
Russian designer Anna Lotova slotted two layers of foam beneath the surface of this wooden desk to create squishy spaces for storing stationery and other objects.
Named Oxymoron Desk, the piece combines two contrasting materials for its tabletop; two thick layers of upholstered foam are sandwiched between a pair of plywood sheets with curved edges.
A sliced opening along the top plywood sheet exposes the soft layer underneath, creating a place where documents and stationery can be inserted.
“As an architect and designer I know how important it is to have a comfortable and enjoyable work table,” said Lotova. “Oxymoron Desk is a result of interaction between two contradictory materials that enhance each other and gain a new meaning.”
A side table can also be added by slipping an extra piece of plywood between the two cushioned layers on either side of the desk.
An accompanying lamp can also be inserted between the layers, or can be slotted into the top and positioned at different angles.
Here’s some more information from the designer:
Oxymoron Desk
In my projects I look for the lighthearted, hidden humour in every material that I work with.
As an architect and designer I know how important it is to have a comfortable and enjoyable work table. I was always interested in small details that make one like or dislike his own workplace.
We have to change our behaviour, plan and think of work with a different mindset: no matter where an office is situated, it has to have a space it can call its own, identifiable, alterable, on a human scale, with its own history and objects, an enjoyable environment. That’s why for my thesis project in master of product design I decided to choose this topic.
Oxymoron Desk is a result of interaction between two contradictory materials that enhance each other and gain a new meaning. Two layers of foam with an alcantara cloth are placed between plywood sheets to form a toolbox to store documents, objects and technical devices.
This work table includes a lamp and a side desk. Both of them can be inserted from different sides and positions, what gives freedom to the user.
Oxymoron workplace creates pleasant, fresh surroundings that hover between work and home environments.
The latest in a string of products designed by Jonathan Ive and Marc Newson for the (RED) charity auction is this one-off aluminium desk.
Australian designer Marc Newson and Apple‘s Jonathan Ive covered the surface of the thin desk with a pattern of 185 interlocking cells.
The blade-like legs and top were machined from solid pieces of aluminium by Californian company Neal Feay Studio. The unique piece is inscribed: “Designed by Jony Ive & Marc Newson for (RED) 2013 edition 01/01”.
The auction will take place at Sotheby’s auction house in New York on 23 November and the proceeds will go towards helping to fight malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS.
An integrated pulley system allows items to be hoisted up and down around this workstation by Italian design graduate Micaela Nardella (+ slideshow).
Micaela Nardella was influenced by the movement of industrial cranes and lifts when designing the wooden structure, which is intended to be wheeled over an existing desk.
CRANE-IT features a series of hanging platforms with perforations and nets that can hold books, pens, coffee cups or plants.
The platforms can be lifted up and down using the spinning wheels on the side of the structure, creating a dynamic workspace that can be adapted to suit different activities.
“The project creates an innovative overhead experience by featuring different textures, densities and by expanding or shrinking the space underneath the structure,” explains Nardella.
All the pulleys, ropes and handles are deliberately over-scaled so that the working mechanisms of the structure become the main feature.
The apparatus can be used as a single module or combined with additional units to form a larger arrangement for several people.
CRANE-IT is a vertical moving machine on wheels to be located over an existing workstation. The wooden structure and its pulley systems add functional quality and new levels of spatial use to an ordinary desk.
Inspired by the mechanisms of harbour cranes and warehouse industrial lifts, the project translates their moving technique into the design of a new spatial organization. Different functional elements are suspended above head level and each set of systems controls the relocation of one component; objects would move up and down by spinning the wheels placed on the structure.
Every component of the vertical motion is exposed and over-scaled so that pulleys, ropes and handles become the main feature of the project.
This apparatus features a group of hanged surfaces: from extra space for pens or coffee cups to a small comfortable cushion for a short break. Net hangers, book holder and temporary partitions are added on a conventional work place. CRANE-IT stands as a singular active module that adapts to the necessities of one person. It can also be positioned in a multiplied spatial arrangement for a larger and lively working area, suitable for more users.
The project creates an innovative overhead experience by featuring different textures, densities and by expanding or shrinking the space underneath the structure. This new machine proposes a dynamic approach to work areas, where the continuous movement opens up for adaptability.
Berlin architect Elisabeth Lux has designed a writing desk for furniture brand e15 with sliding storage compartments that can be pulled out and rearranged.
The Nota desk combines a fold-down writing surface with a series of manoeuvrable storage boxes in contrasting colours that can be arranged vertically, horizontally or removed altogether.
The desk is made from lacquered MDF and is available in white with mint and grey storage units or grey combined with black and light blue storage units.
If you have gadgets in your home or office, chances are that you have (at one point or another) encountered a tangle of cables and wires that were difficult to decipher. Sure, you can go wireless to avoid the problem altogether, but for those of you with wired devices, there are severalproducts you can use to corral your cords. You can also use a desk that has special features to help you keep your cables from cluttering your space, like the Cable Guy Desk created by Ingland Designs (the same designer who made the Mealbox, dining table and chairs in a box).
Cable Guy Desk
At first glance, it’s not very obvious how this desk keeps your cables in order. Give it a closer look and you’ll notice the track for storing your cords inside the legs of the desk. There’s also human-shaped grommet on the surface of the table for your cables to drop through.
You can get the desk in large sizes to accommodate several people. This can work well in a meeting room or if you need to share a desk with another person. You can also get the optional ball speakers (with accompanying grommets).
The StudioDesk by Bluelounge (you might be familiar with another of their products, the Cable Drop) has a slot on one end for your cords to flow through as well as a hidden storage area that’s large enough to house power strips, USB hubs, external hard drives, and a MacMini server.
The StudioDesk comes in two sizes (standard and extra large) and doesn’t appear to have drawers or any other bells and whistles. It is, however, very easy to assemble. Simply add the legs once you receive it.
OneLessDesk, though it has a small footprint, this desk has two parts — an upper and lower deck — the latter of which can be used for your keyboard, laptop, or as a flat surface for writing. The upper deck can be used for storing your primary (or secondary) monitor or keeping the items you need to access on a regular basis.
It also has a rear-facing shelf for your peripherals or power strip. Adding labels or tags will help you figure out items match each cable. Though each desk has its own unique way handling cables, they all have a simple design that is intended to help you keep cords and wires from cluttering your desk.
The workstation is a simple black box with a desk and shelves against a colour-changing wall, which uses a patented technology developed by UK materials firm Versatile Technologies.
The colour of the wall changes instantly or fades slowly as pulses of electricity are applied to a layer of fluid held between transparent sheets.
The user can change or programme the colours with Bluetooth technology using their desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone application.
The wall doesn’t require artificial lighting and once a colour has been selected it needs no extra power to be maintained.
“We are talking about reflecting rather than transmitting colours, so we don’t require backlit panels and the surfaces enjoy rather than suffer from external light,” said Arad.
Here’s some more information from Versatile Technologies:
In a blink, a beautiful block of green-veined marble is transformed into a rich shade of gold. At the touch of a button, a spectacular restaurant transitions from its winter theme to spring. The walls of a corporate office brighten to lift the spirits and productivity of employees near the end of the workday. And as caterers prepare for the arrival of guests, a family kitchen becomes the backdrop for a high-class cocktail party.
Introducing Active True Colour from Versatile Technologies, Ltd. — a dynamic surface material technology that enables infinite and instant changes in colour, design and pattern. Active True Colour is being introduced in Milan at Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2013. The revolutionary, patented Active True Colour technology enriches living spaces, workspaces and public spaces by dramatically expanding and enriching the way people experience colour and design. Using Active True Colour, surfaces are no longer static; they become adaptive and vital expressions of mood, tone, season and environment.
Ron Arad is presenting the first Active True Colour piece, an integrated colour-changing workstation containing a desk, shelves and wall, within his new project, No Bad Colours, as part of a Jean Nouvel-curated exhibition, Office For Living, taking place inside the Salone Ufficio Pavilion during the Salone del Mobile. This is the first outing of Arad’s ongoing development of products and projects incorporating Active True Colour in his role as lead designer and art director of the product.
“I was very excited to join this project as it offered a genuine new possibility to alter colours at will in both architectural spaces and small products,” said Mr. Arad. “The main ‘news’ here is that we are talking about reflecting rather than transmitting colours, so we don’t require backlit panels and the surfaces enjoy rather than suffer from external light. We immediately started work in a variety of scales and contexts. This is just the beginning.”
Active True Colour delivers a nearly endless spectrum of yet-to-be imagined original designs, natural colours, patterns, and architectural finishes that can be applied to virtually any surface (interior and exterior walls, floors, table/counter tops, furniture, etc.). Active True Colour delivers vivid and beautiful colours, reflecting the ambient light, just like natural colour. The technology is nothing like the harsh, intrusive and more energy intensive light-emitting design solutions offered through LED, LCD or Plasma.
“Active True Colour is the foundation of a game-changing surface material and there is no better place to introduce it to the design and architecture community than the Saloni 2013,” said Ran Poliakine, chairman, Versatile, Ltd. “The potential for incorporating Active True Colour into the design of all the places we live is as infinite as the boundaries of your imagination.”
“As Active True Colour becomes a new standard for innovative, adaptive surface materials, we’re no longer going to ask what colour an object is without adding the word ‘now,'” said Eyal Cohen, CEO, Versatile, Ltd. “We’re not going to choose colour when we buy, we’ll choose colour as we go. Active True Colour opens up a colourful new world of design possibilities that can evolve based on life’s ever-changing moments in time.”
Initially, Versatile Technologies, Ltd. will partner with a select group of the world’s top designers, architects and real estate developers. Subsequently, Versatile plans to offer an electronic catalogue of stock and original colourful designs and patterns to all architects and designers seeking to work and design with this new medium. Versatile will deliver an array of architectural finishes: stone (marble, granite, etc.), wood, fabric, metals, glass, leather, sand, stucco; plus original surfaces that spring from the imaginations of designers.
How Active True Colour Works: For the layman, the foundation of the revolutionary, patented Active True Colour technology is organic chemistry. Versatile, Ltd. has pioneered and developed a proprietary, very low power technology that can be used to indefinitely change surface colours. The coloured layer of Active True Colour consists of a fluid held between transparent sheets that can selectively reflect a range of colours. The colours can be easily changed – either instantly or by fading – by applying pulses of electricity to the fluid film, which reorients the molecules of the fluid to create other colours. Active True Colour does not require any artificial, projected backlighting. Once the colour is generated, no further power is required to maintain the natural colour. Dr. David Coates, chief technology officer and the creator of Active True Colour, has published more than 80 articles and eight scientific textbook chapters, and is named as an inventor on over 200 patents.
Milan 2013: Belgian artists Studio Job will present a desk with a golden nose for a drawer handle as part of a collection for Dutch furniture brand Lensvelt at MOST in Milan this week.
Above: Job Buffet
Another piece in the Job Office collection for Lensvelt is the Job Buffet, a white powder-coated metal cabinet with two doors and a chrome-plated aluminium key that locks it.
The Job Desk also makes use of white powder-coated metal for its top and legs, but instead of a key to open the slim drawer, the user must pull on the golden nose.
Above: Job Desk
The two Job Tables are enlarged versions of the Job Desk.
Above: Job Desk
The Job Desk Lamp uses LED bulbs and features an oversized golden switch under its powder-coated metal shade.
Above: gold nose drawer handles
Each piece in the collection is available in a range of colours: white, green, grey, dark grey, black, red, yellow and blue.
Above: Job Desk Lamp
“Over time, Hans Lensvelt has proven to be an ingenious product developer who consistently transforms our unconventional designs into comprehensive functional products, yet intricately maintaining a sense of wit,” said designer Job Smeets. “Our collaboration constitutes sustainable office furniture, valuing the importance of functionality and high-quality objects that represent their own identity and humour.”
Above: Job Cabinet
The collection is an extension of the Job Cabinet launched by Studio Job in Milan last year – a metal cabinet with a single door that also comes with a gold-coloured key.
By Ikechukwu Onyewuenyi The sleekly minimal Black Desk is the latest offering from Berlin-based Danish architect Sigurd Larsen. The pared-down aesthetic of the Black Desk is a far cry from Larsen’s multifarious labyrinth of the Shrine. However, what the Black Desk lacks in complexity is offset by a responsiveness to…
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