Stylish Furniture, Consumable and Piaggio's NT3

HIDE-AND-FIND SOFA

Doesn’t finding lost treasures between the cushions of the couch make you happy? It certainly did for Tokyo-based architect Daisuke Motogi who accepts that things such as remotes and money slip between the cracks and are to be found only during the next cleaning spree. Keeping this in mind, Motogi has created the Lost In Sofa, a chair that gives the space between cushions purpose. To put it simply, while objects get lost within the confines of your cushions, Motogi aims to transform the Bermuda Triangle-like space into a makeshift storage area where you deliberately ‘hide’ items. With its chic Rubik’s cube design and fluffy squares, one can insert books, cell phones or any other quotidian object that you can manage to fit in there. (More at http://dskmtg.com )

MIDDLE-EASTERN COOLING

Studio Kahn’s ecooler is the hottest green idea we’ve seen. This conceptual piece by Israeli husband-wife duo Mey and Boaz Kahn is a tile screen to regulate the temperature of interiors, without electricity. It comprises a network of hollow ceramic tiles that hold and transfer water through a designated connector. The concept combines two traditional Middle-Eastern elements: The mashrabiya, a type of oriel window enclosed with carved, wood latticework that ensures the inhabitants’ privacy while offering views of the surroundings; and jara, a clay jug used to cool water through seepage and evaporation. Enough said, we can’t wait for this piece to go into production!  

AUTO
PIAGGIO GOES NANO 

Piaggio, in India, has been synonymous with the three-wheeled Ape for 10 years. But the group is now thinking small. Rather, thinking Nano. At the Milan Motor Show, it displayed the NT3 concept that is designed for regions such as India and Vietnam. The car is all about keeping costs low while looking utterly stunning. Most significantly, while the Nano is a car for four, the NT3 seats only three, with the driver in the centre. The only other car where the driver was in the middle was the McLaren F1 supercar and that instantly adds to the desirability of the NT3. Like the Nano, the NT3 is a one-box design, but it is smaller.       

Hide-and-Find Sofa, Middle-Eastern Cooling: Courtesy Better Interiors; Piaggio Goes Nano: Courtesy Overdrive