Milan 2014:Â this table by Dutch designer Studio Maks, featuring integrated wireless phone charging pads and WiFi signal enhancers, meandered around a warehouse in the Ventura Lambrate district of Milan last month (+ slideshow).
Studio Maks designed the Cloud Table as a workspace and meeting area for visitors to the Ventura Lambrate exhibition space.
"Our aim was to design an environment at the Salone in Milan that would accommodate people's needs for social interaction and information exchange during this week long design fair," the studio's founder Marieke Kums told Dezeen.
"There are wireless charging pads integrated in the table surface, so visitors can re-charge their phones and tablets by simply laying them on top of the table surface," said Kums.
WiFi signal enhancers were also integrated into the piece of furniture to provide better internet connection.
The 70-metre-square untreated poplar wood top was balanced on thin steel legs, with the surface snaking around the former industrial building, widening and thinning at various points.
"It is a sensual object; a soft floating table surface, almost too fragile for its size and appearance," said Kums.
Changes in depth and niches formed by bends created areas for group discussions next to spaces for individual work, with seating provided by stools made of the same material.
"Depending on where you sit down, you find yourself either in a group context or a more individual place, sitting at the table or being surrounded by the table," Kums explained. "The conditions along the table's perimeter change continuously."
The Cloud Table was installed at an exhibition in the Ventura Lambrate district of Milan from 8 to 13 April during the city's design week.
It was produced by Dutch firm Fiction Factory and supported by Creative Industries Fund NLÂ