Now that scientific evidence shows that having art in the workplace increases employee well-being, remote workers can trade in their bulky, cluttered desks for a more stylish option. On December 14, Dutch furniture designer Robert van Embricqs posted an Instagram reel of his “Flow Wall Desk,” a folding device that transitions from a warm-toned wooden wall art piece to a functional and contemporary desk. in one fluid motion.
Van Embricqs told Hyperallergic that the concept for the desk was first conceptualized in late 2020 at the request of a client who, like many of us, found himself working from home. It took him a year and two prototype designs to achieve the final product.
“One of the main hurdles was keeping it sturdy once unfolded and making it unable to move from one side to the other, but we finally managed to solve this without sacrificing the look of the minimalist design,” said van Embricqs.
The designer’s fascination with folding slatted furniture extends to tables and chairs, and even a large-scale lighting fixture. While its other functional pieces have drawn attention, the desktop was the device that went viral.
In his own words, van Embricqs’ practice is committed to functionality in art. Perhaps what drew many to its design is the way it embraces both art and function—an appealing fusion, especially for those of us who handle remote work in small apartments. The designer cites architecture and animal anatomy as great sources of inspiration for him, specifically the “combination of flexibility and rigidity” that follows the active and passive use of our bone structures. The question “to what extent is the object you are creating capable of dictating its own design?” has led him to develop a repeat cut technique that allows a material to display volume through a reliable combination of fluidity and robustness.
How the tabletop and slat supports look like from the front
The desk, which can support 18 kg (~40 lb) weight limit, is available for purchase in the van Embricqs webshop at a quite reasonable price (at least before shipping costs are calculated) considering the fact that designer modular furniture usually costs an arm and a leg. This seems to be a sentiment shared by the designer, who says that the viral moment of his art desk will allow him to start producing on a larger scale.
Source: news.google.com