This collection is inspired by the history of the famous Building 20 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Erected in 1943, the building substance soon exhibited various defects – likely owed to its hasty construction – earning it the reputation of being the shabbiest building on the entire MIT campus. As Building 20 was only intended as a temporary solution, it was never assigned a facility manager. Hence, researchers were able to adapt their working environment to their own liking, something that would not have been tolerated in a permanent facility. Walls could be knocked down, cables laid, holes drilled and new spatial structures installed and modified as needed. Up to its demolition in 1998, the building was a legendary magical incubator that accommodated a total of nine Nobel Prize winners in physics.
Our mission was to design a collection of mobile meeting furniture that would bear such a potential for permanent adaptation and change. The stools, armchairs, benches, lounger and partition wall all rest on large visible wheels and have light-weight metal rod substructures and abstract surfaces. The idea was a most direct and raw formal language.
The Power Table with its clearly visible rolled-up extension cable can instantly provide power where needed and exemplifies the temporary workshop character.
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