Designers Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay of Raw Edges—in collaboration with Italian furniture brand LEMA—explored the changing need for consumers in the modern world, and the concept of books as objects and material, to create a furniture piece that reinvents the traditional bookshelf.
Called ‘Booken’, the bookshelf doubles as a table and a library—and challenges the viewer’s understanding of objects.
The unique object looks like a horizontal ladder that takes the concept of a bookcase—supported by legs—where books are hung instead of placed on a shelf, and their spines facing upwards to serve as a table-top and a library.
“We were inspired by the fact that people do not re-read the novels that are so often on the shelves,” Raw Edges designers said. “Most books are usually read once and not re-read, and then we though, why not use the volumes as if they have a plan? Of course you can always remove the book and read it, but at the same time the books take on a new role.”
What do you think—a bookshelf for the future, or still too avant-garde?
[via Designboom and If It’s Hip, It’s Here]