Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Those crazy Dutch!


AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A young Dutch architect has created a floating bed which hovers above the ground through magnetic force and comes with a price tag of 1.2 million euros ($1.54 million).

Janjaap Ruijssenaars took inspiration for the bed -- a sleek black platform, which took six years to develop and can double as a dining table or a plinth -- from the mysterious monolith in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 cult film "2001: A Space Odyssey."

"No matter where you live all architecture is dictated by gravity. I wondered whether you could make an object, a building or a piece of furniture where this is not the case -- where another power actually dictates the image," Ruijssenaars said.
Magnets built into the floor and into the bed itself repel each other, pushing the bed up into the air. Thin steel cables tether the bed in place.

"It is not comfortable at the moment," admits Ruijssenaars, adding it needs cushions and bedclothes before use.

Although people with piercings should have no problem sleeping on the bed, Ruijssenaars advises them against entering the magnetic field between the bed and the floor.
They could find their piercing suddenly tugged toward one of the magnets.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060807/od_nm/dutch_bed_dc

3 comments:

Jennifer said...

Get out! That's amazing. I wonder how he's going to manage to put a mattress on it. You couldn't have box springs, obviously. Still, I have to admit the concept is intriguing.

Peach Flambée said...

Cool!

Had to share this: Look closely at the bag

Dunno if it's real, but it's cute :)

Frustrated Writer said...

you have to admit the experience would be interesting... I do think it would be fun to have sliding contests with pierced individuals to see who could make through the magnetic field...