Posted on 06/24/2007 6:41:04 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Often derided as disease-ridden “rats with wings,” pigeons are little loved by many urban dwellers. Sakura Adachi, a furniture designer in Milan, is not among the haters; she admires pigeons for their ability to create private nooks in public spaces. That avian talent inspired her to create a bookshelf called the Cave, which allows readers to curl up in a form-fitting seat, surrounded by their beloved books.
The Cave features a blob-shaped, human-size recess at its base. Sitting in this upholstered niche is supposed to make a reader feel secluded — akin to being lost among a college library’s dusty stacks — but still remain visible to passers-by.
Ms. Adachi came up with the idea in 2004, building the first Cave as her thesis project at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design in London, where she was studying for her master’s degree. “I saw how people create their own space in cafes and trains, how they sit on the front edge of their seat or put their things on an empty chair,” said Ms. Adachi, 29, who is originally from Aichi, Japan. Her goal was to make a piece of furniture that replicated the experience of dining al fresco on a busy sidewalk — a pastime, Ms. Adachi said, that makes someone feel simultaneously sheltered and engaged.
The multitude of pigeons in London quickly became her muses. Ms. Adachi said she was struck by how the birds roosted in the alcoves of older buildings, just beneath the eaves of roofs. The pigeons went about their business in these nooks, seemingly oblivious to the pedestrians below, she observed.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Ms. Adachi snapped countless photos of these roosting pigeons, which gave her the idea for the Cave. She first tried placing a straight-backed chair inside a bookshelf, but said she felt that such a design was likely to make users feel claustrophobic. She turned to a womb-shaped seat instead, and placed it at the bookshelf’s bottom.
“I wanted to create a situation like from your childhood,” she said. “Like when you’re at home, hiding under the table, listening to your parents’ conversation. That is a memorable experience that many people have.”
She built the first Cave herself, using maple wood veneer and gray fabric. After earning her degree in 2004, Ms. Adachi took the Cave to the 2005 Copenhagen International Furniture Fair. The fair’s proprietors were so impressed by Ms. Adachi’s modified bookshelf that they featured it in their promotional brochures — a rare honor for a young designer.
interesting...
It needs a beverage holder of some sort. ;)
I saw a pigeon with a wounded wing yesterday. It looked so helpless, and I felt compassion for it. But at no point did I find myself wanting to imitate its habits.
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The first thing that comes to mind upon viewing this "blob" is amazement that, as if space New York isn't confining enough, now someone wants to put you in an envelope to read.
Another thing is this: pigeons have access to the whole sky, in addition to "nooks." Why doesn't some brilliant New York artist do that for us?
Clever furniture ping!
I...I...want one of those!!!
That is too funny! We woke up this morning with a half-dozen Sparrows doing the same thing on our bedroom window. Since the screen is a little torn, the stupid bird got his head stuck in the screen and I had to push him back out, LOL!
I know this isn't a sparrow ...but it's the best I can do...
Not to mention a ledge for a small LCD screen, speaker ports, and a niche for the remote control.
Being inspired by CAVE, CAVE_pet's is a bookcase with an intervention of domestic pet's (dogs and cats) house. Since animals have difensive behaviour by nature, they tend to stay in corner of a room, hidden space and etc. CAVE_pet's can provide such a private space to your dog or cat. CAVE_pet's has bookshelves on one side, and can be placed against a wall. It is more
CAVE_kid's is a child's version of CAVE with three shelves on both sides. It is designed for 5-10 year-old children. They can read a book, and hide and play inside the seat. It also functions as a partition in a children's room. LED reading light is installed at top of the seat.
PRICE: 5,250.00 Euro (price is excluding VAT and other taxes or duties)
http://www.sakurah.net/index.htm
Ugh! No, thanks, how hideous!
Well, at least Fluffy has a place to keep dog biscuits and her unread training manuals, LOL!
As for the child’s version, it needs some sort of restraining device and should be made of material that can be easily hosed down. ;)
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