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Carlo Ratti Associati presents the world’s first digitally-transformable sofa at Milan Design Week
Italy Architecture News - Apr 11, 2016 - 09:50 9533 views
International design and innovation firm Carlo Ratti Associati, with the support of Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra, has developed Lift-Bit, the world’s first Internet-of-Things sofa. A full-size prototype will be unveiled during the next Milan Design Week. The project will be on show at Milan XXI Triennale International Exhibition, the first event of this kind after a twenty-year hiatus. The installation is featured in the "Rooms. Novel living concepts" exhibition organized by Salone del Mobile.Milano, open from April, 12th until September 12th, 2016.
image © Mybosswas
Lift-Bit is a modular, digitally-reconfigurable furniture system that allows a sofa to seamlessly turn into a chair, a chaise longue, a bed, a lounge room, and a myriad of other configurations. The system is composed of a series of individual, upholstered stools. Each element is motorized using a linear actuator, enabling it to be raised or lowered. Height can double (or halve) in just a few seconds.
image © Mybosswas
Lift-Bit can be controlled in person, via a simple gesture (just hovering your hand in the air over the seat), or from a distance, through the use of a mobile app. The app includes both a series of predetermined three-dimensional shapes and a tool to create new, dynamic combinations. Paying homage to radical British architect Cedric Price’s 1970s “Generator Project”, the Lift-Bit system can even become ‘bored’: when not used for a long time, it will start shape-shifting on its own to engage users.
image © Michele Versaci
The dynamic Lift-Bit system is further enhanced when assembled in large compositions, as at the XXI Triennale’s installation. Here, activating a single stool will trigger a broader effect, with the entire system recalibrating and generating a potentially infinite number of arrangements. Two elements together can make a chair. Four elements, a chaise longue. Nine elements, a large sofa. Dozens can radically redefine any settings, even with configurations reminiscent of a volcano or the Grand Canyon.
image © Michele Versaci
“Architecture has often been described as a kind of ‘third skin’ – in addition to our own biological one and our clothing. However, for too long it has functioned rather like a corset: a rigid and uncompromising addition to our body”, says Professor Carlo Ratti, founder of Carlo Ratti Associati studio and Director of the Senseable City Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “Lift-Bit draws on the potential of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to transform our interior landscape, giving form to an endlessly reconfigurable environment. In the future, we could imagine an architecture that adapts to human need, rather than the other way around - a living, tailored space that is molded to its inhabitants’ needs, characters, and desires.”
image © Michele Versaci
"Thanks to the liberating effect of technology, the way we live and work is becoming more flexible. We are excited to be present at the 'Rooms' exhibition at Milan’s Triennale, supporting Carlo Ratti Associati in this exploration of innovative ideas for our interiors”, says Eckart Maise, Chief Design Officer of Vitra.
image © Michele Versaci
Lift-Bit will be on show at Milan’s XXI Triennale, titled “21st Century. Design After Design”, within the “Rooms. Novel living concepts” exhibition curated by Beppe Finessi and produced by the Salone del Mobile.Milano. The exhibition, inspired by renowned 1972 show “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” at New York’s MoMA, gathers eleven top practices based in Italy with the goal of showcasing the state of Italian design. In addition to Carlo Ratti Associati the exhibition features work by designers from several generations, including Alessandro Mendini, Umberto Riva, Francesco Librizzi, Fabio Novembre.
Lift-Bit is a project by Carlo Ratti Associati, developed with the support of Vitra. Engineering and interaction design by Opendot.
image © Mybosswas
image courtesy of Carlo Ratti Associati
image courtesy of Carlo Ratti Associati
image courtesy of Carlo Ratti Associati
image courtesy of Carlo Ratti Associati
Project Facts
Lift-Bit is a project by Carlo Ratti Associati, developed with the support of Vitra for the "Stanze. Altre filosofie dell'abitare" ("Rooms. Novel living concepts") exhibition organized by Salone del Mobile.Milano within the framework of the XXI Triennale (Milan, 2 April - 12 September 2016). Engineering and interaction design by Opendot.
The team at Carlo Ratti Associati includes Carlo Ratti, Giovanni de Niederhausern, Andrea Cassi (project leader), Ina Sefgjini, Damiano Gui, Antonio Atripaldi, Emanuele Protti, Gary Di Silvio, Daniele Belleri. The team at OpenDot includes Alessandro Masserdotti, Fabrizio Pignoloni, Vittorio Cuculo.
Engineering and interaction design by Opendot
Video: Mybosswas, Damiano Gui
Top Image© Michele Versaci
> via Carlo Ratti Associati