Don’t ask me man, I just work here.

These bits of fantastic furniture were made to wow people entering into office buildings and high-tech atmospheres. Materials used to create these beasts include recycled metal boards, tiers, and foams as back support – for real super comfort!

When made, available in an abnormal variety of colors and sizes!

Designer: Design-Gezunt Studio

Let me tell you again, something different this time. It’s about Donald Duck. He does not wear pants. But I bet if you asked him, he would endorse THESE pants. What’s up now, Mickey Mouse? Donald Duck can read. Mickey Mouse cannot read. Illiterate. End of story.

But if you want to know more about the stool, here it is. The place that’s raised at the top is made so you can lay your literature in an open position. The interior of the stool is virgin material while the exterior is hand brushed.

This is part of the debut range by Alex Bradley Design.

Designer: Alex Bradley Design

The installation is more than one thousand stools all sitting in a big super-organized room. You may enter the exhibition and take one stool. As the exhibition goes on, and once the exhibition is complete, and for many many years beyond the exhibition, the show will go on! These stools will circulate basically forever or until the end of the world. How fun is that?

The stool itself is one made in blatant disregard for the rules of minimalism and functionalism. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. It means it feels at home at an art exhibit.

Designer: Thomas Feichtner

Updated with prototype pics!

So what about this spinal support system? Herman Miller calls it a Kinematic Spine. The rib cage-like design flexes as you lean forward and back. There are no adjustments. They’ve simplified the ergonomic chair into what all chairs should have done years ago when that word first started floating around – it just works. Sit down and it hugs your spine. The mesh doesn’t cut into your skin yet provides plenty of support. Ever sat in a cheap generic mesh chair? They quickly lose their form. You get what you pay for.

Perhaps the most interesting tidbit about the design is the inspiration – the nautilus shell. I have a huge interest in biomimicry and I can definitely see how it applies here. The nautilus shell provides the soft body cephalopod with protection without hindering movement and all in a compact structure that uses the least amount of materials. The technology translates beautifully here since it only makes up a fraction of the structure yet is literally the backbone to the entire design.

As with almost all Herman Miller chairs, there are options galore. I have the basic model which is more than adequate for everyday use. I love how weightless it looks and the slow, soft, cushy feel every time I sink down. It’s impeccably constructed too – no squeaks or creaks.

What we loved:

• Bio inspired design
• High quality construction
• Simplified ergonomics that work
• Strong mesh support, no sagging
• Only adjustment is vertical height, no other adjustment necessary
• Priced to move $650

What could be improved:

• Armrests may not work with every body type. Sometimes they get in the way

Designer: Herman Miller (Buy it here)

 

Take a look in particular at the sawhorse-looking constructs there that are made to hold the tabletops up. Imagine how versatile. Imagine how compact these tables and chairs could get. Ease in carrying, moving. Stackability and simplicity.

Now if you’ll take a moment to listen here about a design school I was at. I wont name it but you could discover it pretty easily if you try. We had “classrooms of the future” in which there were plugs and switches and projectors and curved tables and nice chairs and everything. -but they didn’t really work any better than the classrooms that had basic tables and basic chairs, outlets around the rim of the room and wireless capability. Point is – the devices we use in design school are built to be versatile in and of themselves, the furniture’s best to be as simple as what you see right here!

I think they nailed it.

Designers: Sophie Françon and François Mangeol

The space of the upper apartment above uses the Dual Height Bench from David Zachary as a delightfully geometric centerpiece surrounded by a one-of-a-kind lounge from Eva Zeisel as well as cardboard chairs from CardboardDesign.  In a similar nod to cardboard, the winerack from Anthony Caradonna and Pratt architecture students (below) will contrast nicely with your expensive wine and if the recycled cardboard doesn’t assuage your eco-guilt, its alcoholic contents surely will.

One of my personal favorites, the Array Series from Pratt alumnus Jason Pfaeffle (above), will appeal to any former K’nex fans who can’t resist taking apart their furniture and putting it back together as they like.  Evoking similar focus on user interaction, the Rosebud Felt Bowl from alumnus Diane Ruengsorn below has the user snap the bowl together using a magnets embedded in a single piece of industrial felt.

Also displaying a selection of fine art from the school, the Laser Bed Prints (above) were captured from the Architecture department’s often used laser cutting machine by Pratt professor Mark Parsons and transferred to Homasote, rendering otherwise discarded scraps into something beautiful.  Using the same laser cutting process, Anthony Caradonna cut away the disarming lamp shades (below) which, standing erect by their own cylindrical structure, are simply placed over a bare lightbulb.

Finally, seeing Pratt alum Harry Allen’s C’mere Hand Hook in person, holding a Timex watch from Evo Design, confirms every suspicion I had, it is indeed as creepy in person as it is on the ‘tubes.  If anyone in the Brooklyn area has an interest in the condo’s and between 300 and 900 large burning a hole in their pocket, drop by Third and Bond, for those less filthy rich I would suggest the newly opened Yanko Store.

The rotomoulded plastic cover is semi-transparent so you can see all the balls you want, and you can make the most of your interior design skills by getting the color or color combination of balls you want.

Furthermore, the Gumball is made in matte color, laquered or, if you’re lucky, with a light inside.

Designer: Alberto Brogliato

Pure Wonderland, that’s where these come from, you betcha. Gray Goh Szjin describes the cuteness of Alice once she’s small enough to sit upon items she’d have crushed in her huge days. Cuteness for all! Fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus and very nice-on-the-bottom seat!

Designer: Gray Goh Szjin

Analog to the rescue!

It’s all got to do with the tension. So much tension in your everyday life! Take some of the pressure off with a flexible structure and pressure transmission tappet! That’s what I’m talkin bout. Easy to get in to, easy to get out of, easy to sit up a bit, easy to relax!

This of course is all noting that it’s doing things sort-of possible with a battery-charged power-wheelchair, but without all the energy consumption. How does that sit with you?

ALSO it’s important to note that this was one of the finalists for the 2009 BraunPrize International Design Award. Congratulations JiaWei!

Designer: Gu JiaWei

Designer: Matylda Krzykowski

modus operandi from Daniel van Hauten on Vimeo.