Hasta La Ideas

Review and Images by Diana Hong

Who the hell stands at work all day? I discovered a lot of people, including some of my good friends.

There were a lot of articles about how sitting at your desk for more than 8 hours was killing your life and it kind of freaked me out. So I started to do my research and found out about the Giraffe Desk through a designer friend on Twitter, Matthew Siskin. His father, David and brother, Jared, had just finished producing a new line of desk extensions.

The Giraffe Desk is a gorgeous clear acrylic desk extension, designed to be placed on a supporting surface, raising your existing workspace while the user is standing or sitting on a raised stool.

OVERVIEW

The giraffe desk is offered in two sizes, medium (27″ x 32″ x 9″H) and large (27″ x 42″ x 10″H), with two static heights, but I was told that by the founders, the giraffe desk is also customizable. If there’s a lot of surface space given to me, I generally tend to pile lots of stuff on top of it, so I opted for a more minimal, medium sized giraffe desk. The acrylic extension desk is a sturdy 1/2″ acrylic that currently holds a 24″ apple display, my 13″ Macbook Air, wireless keyboard and mouse.

• Height Range: 9″ extension (medium) or 10″ extension (large) for pre-existing desk
• Max Load: 100 lbs
• Color Options: Clear – Transparent
  Light Sea Glass Green – Transparent
  Grey – Transparent
  Black – Opaque
  White – Semi Transparent or Opaque
  Frosted – Semi Transparent (textured) and other colors available upon request.
• No Assembly Required

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“Dolly”

Stockholm-based illustrator and designer Tomas Ekström latest creation as Kallbrand is a collection of furniture inspired by the discovery of cloning. The top two-thirds of each piece resemble a balloon animal, propped up on skinnier, vaguely sheepish legs.

“Cheviot”

Slim crossbeams are painted to match the top portion.

“Hebridean”

The tongue-in-cheek press release reads like a mad-lib (based on an original piece of research Ekström credits to C.T Evans and S. Vos.):

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – August 30th, 2011 – Dolly, a not so regular chair, was born on July 5th, 2009, at the home of Kallbrand in Stockholm, Sweden. Her birth, not revealed to the public until August 30th, 2011, sparked controversy instantly, because Dolly was the world’s first chair to be cloned from an adult cell of a Sheep. Considered one of the most significant Design breakthroughs ever, Dolly’s birth and subsequent survival proved that sheep cells can reprogram themselves into a new being. The man that created her, Tomas Ekström, hoped to create a chair whose design was genetically young forever, rather than prematurely out of style. However, when Dolly was reported to have been euthanized on February 14th, 2113, nearly 104 years after her birth, concern was raised that her classic design was caused because her cells were in fact timeless; she also had premature arthritis. Chairs can normally live to 11 or 12 years of age, and a classic design is not common in younger chairs. There was some speculation as to whether she caught her beautiful shape from the other furniture from Kallbrand that she was housed with, but that claim has been neither confirmed nor denied.

“Ouessant”

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This week’s contender in our ongoing “Standing Desk Shootout” is Steelcase’s AirTouch desk. Unfortunately, we were unable to get our hands (or is that legs?) on a desk here at the Core HQ for a “Living Working With…” feature, so I ended up spending an afternoon at the Steelcase showroom in Midtown Manhattan.

They don’t call it a WorkLife Center for nothing: Steelcase has taken to championing the more progressive, upright workplace with their Details line of office furnishings, from a range of height-adjustable surfaces (“Height AdjusTable” line, as it were) to the Walkstation, which is more or less exactly what it sounds like.

I’ll be focusing on the AirTouch desk (pictured above & throughout unless otherwise noted) here, though it’s worth mentioning that they also offer a line of motorized desks—the Series, 5 and 7 desks are yet another option, alongside the Geekdesk and Haworth’s Planes Height-Adjustable Table. (Steelcase also offers a crank-adjustable table, the Series 3.)

Overview

• Height range: 26” – 43” with infinite increments
• Adjustment speed: seated height to standing height in 1.2 seconds
• Ergonomic lift handle activates smooth, effortless height adjustment—speed designated by the user
• Recommended load capacity (including weight of tabletop): up to 150 lbs. Adjustable gauge on the lifting column allows the amount of lift assist to be set for various weight loads
• Various worksurface shapes, sizes and edge options are available

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Earlier this week, we took a look at a numero-morphic desk lamp by Pieter Desmijter under the Aldentro moniker. Of course, the digit-shaped lamp was less a comment on the digital age than a homage to Bauhaus, and Desmijter’s furniture designs follow in form (and, by extension, function).

“Square Root” is a literal take on geometric inspiration: it’s a small-ish coffee table with a radical gash, taking its silhouette from the mathematical operation of the same name. The isosceles incision serves as a storage area for traditional print media.

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Review by Barbara Eldredge.

Overview

• Min Height: 27″
• Max Height: 47″
• Max Load: 120 lbs
• Manual with adjustable counterbalance

Design

Practically any desk would have been an improvement on what I had before Float: two 18″x36″ rolling tables set at a right angle. Compared to this diminutive workspace, transitioning to the Humanscale Float Sit-Stand Height-Adjustable Table (with an expansive 30″x60″ tabletop!) was like moving from a pre-war studio apartment to a High Line penthouse.

Float’s minimal base is backset and consists of two heavy telescoping legs made of recyclable steel. On trend with similar sit-stand desks, Humanscale eliminated the crossbar so my shins were safe from the hazards of leg crossing. The table supports are spaced far enough apart to accommodate wheelchairs, yoga balls, Aerons, or what have you. Rather than automating the height adjustment mechanism, they chose instead to create a unique counter-balance system that allows the user to move the tabletop up and down by pressing a lever and applying minimal force. No motor. No cords. The counterbalance can be finessed with a removable crank so the height can be adjusted with ease whether your desk items weigh 0 lbs or 120 lbs (average is 20-25lbs).

The pneumatic tube controls the counterbalance action in the legs.

Options

Unlike most other sit-stand desks, Float’s tabletop is interchangeable and can accommodate worktops ranging in length from 42″ to 72″ and width from 24″ to 30″ as well as the worktops of other manufacturers. Humanscale even allows clients to purchase the base alone if they would like to supply their own tabletop.

The top I used is made of white laminate that was elegantly minimal-looking but made me keenly aware of desk grime and coffee rings. Its beveled edge added a nice touch of lightness to the sturdily constructed table. Float isn’t slated to go to market until November March 2012 so the full range of options has yet to be revealed but we do know the desk will be available in white, silver and black finish options.

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