Milan 09: Designer Alice Wang will exhibit a range of furniture called Chairs for the Dysfunctional - including a stool that amplifies the sound of farts (above) - in Milan next month.
Other items in the range include chairs with a calorie counter in the leg for those who fidget (above), or a spirit level in the seat for people who like to tilt their chair (below).
Another has a card hung on the back for the user to make announcements (below), while the length of the Equality Seeker's legs can be altered to make sure everyone sits at the same height.
The chairs will be on show in the Salone Satellite at the Milan Furniture Fair, 22-27 April.
Here are some more details from Alice Wang:
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Alice Wang is proud to present her latest project - Chairs for the Dysfunctional
If we look closely at objects that surround us, they often belong to a unified system, a system created by big commercial cooperations. Our habits and behaviours are often sculpted to adapt these systems because there usually isn’t a second choice.
The society we live in is changing, shouldn’t the interactive side of these daily objects change with us? Perhaps the function of the objects stay, but it is the process of how we interact with them that must change.
Should there be different chairs designed for people with different sitting habits? Do you sit on all four legs or just two? Do you continuously shake your leg? Or do you like to sit with your back facing the public?
Alice Wang designed a series of chairs that illustrates each of these stories. Will these chairs become props that normalize the unwelcomed habits? Or will they act as therapy to “cure” one’s syndromes?
Skilled Tilter
This chair is specially designed for people who tilt their chairs. It has a spirit leveler attached to the side allowing one to measure how balanced one is.
Equality Seeker
Researches show that taller people are more likely to be successful in life. This may well be part of the nature’s natural selection process, however, can products help strive against such theories? In order for shorter people to still have a chance of survival in the modern day society, these chairs are specially designed so everyone is equal at the table. The taller one is, the shorter their chair should be. Each chair can be customized so everyone sits at the world average sitting height of 140cm.
Silent Farter
Those with excess gas in their abdomen can find it difficult to hold it in sometimes, even at important times such as formal dinner gatherings or meetings. Quietly letting the gas out may be the solution, but although the sound may be muted, the scent is still present. It can often cause misunderstanding and unnecessary embarrassment for the innocent others. This chair announces who the gas is from by amplifying the silent fart exhausted.
Constant Shaker
Researchers believe these unconscious muscle movements may be caused by a chemical produced in our brain to trigger additional calories to be burnt. This chair calculates the amount of calories burnt when one fidgets or shakes their leg when sitting down.
Status Announcer
More and more people are reliant on online social communities such as Facebook and Twitter, leading to possible technology related anti-social behaviours. Those who are used to regularly publishing their personal life online may have difficulty adjusting to public scenarios in real life and may loose the ability to speak or interact with others face to face. This chair allows one to update their status like they usually do on their online profiles by putting up various signs that shows their current status.
See all our stories from Milan in our special MIlan 2009
More about Alice Wang on Dezeen:
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