Living in tiny, congested spaces is a regular feature of modern existence. As free spaces shrink, and real estate rates soar, plenty really is a problem. Small houses are made smaller still by all the furniture around. And once your furniture’s in place, it stays there—save for some Herculean effort.
But now, thanks to the kind folks at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, modular furniture can change shape, size and move around at the call of your voice.
The Ori System is the world’s first piece of completely robotised furniture. It shifts and adjusts itself into myriad forms depending on the size of your house, the time of day, or simply, your mood. Time for your morning cuppa? Ori will dutifully shift itself against a wall and prop up a coffee table for you.
Time to thank god for Friday? Sure. Ori will make itself scarce and retire into a corner. Set a ‘bed-time’ and sit back as it extends a bed for you.
The system lends itself to countless customisations, and the company promises ‘one room, a hundred ways’. Ori appropriately draws its name from Origami, the Japanese art of paper-folding, and promises to be just as exquisite. But, far more expensive, of course.
At $10,000, the system isn’t exactly cheap furniture. Or cheap anything, for that matter. If you’re willing to shell out five digits for a fancy shelf, how small must your house be, really? For me, I’d rather just push my shelves and cabinets around myself, thank you very much.
> Fully retractable bed and table
> Self-adjusting shelves
> Automated movement system
> Voice, app, and touch control system