Maison & Objet 2010: Paris designers NOCC are exhibiting a collection of furniture with 'mutated' components at Maison & Objet in Paris this week.

Called The Radiation Collection, the project involved imagining that furniture could mutate when exposed to radiation.

The designers then selected and prototyped variations that could improve the function of the objects.

One arm of the chair has been extended to create a magazine rack, while the underside of the coffee table has been expanded to allow for storage.

More about NOCC on Dezeen: Objects of Sound, homeware and lighting shaped according to soundwaves (July 2009)

Maison & Objet continues until 26 January.

Here's some more text from NOCC:

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Radiation (in Chernobyl) by NOCC

Parisian design studio NOCC introduced their Radiation Collection (in Chernobyl) today at the “Maison et Objects” design expo in Paris as a "Talent à la carte". The Radiation Collection is comprised of a set of furniture- a chair and a coffee table- which possess mutations.

“We imagined a scenario in which traditional pieces of furniture would have endured some kind of radiation; where their genes would have mutated “ said Jean-Christophe Orthlieb and Juan Pablo Naranjo, co-founder of NOCC. “The next generation of these pieces would then manifest the mutations. We came up with many versions of possible mutants. We then wondered which of these mutations would be "positive" evolutions, that would enable the entity to better survive in its environment, while others we called "negative" evolutions (these comprised the majority) and did nothing, even reducing the ability of the entity to survive in its environment.”

Radiation Collection (in Tchernobyl) is a collection based on the evolution of objects. This experimentation has created adaptations comparable to the ones observed in nature’s species, resulting -in the long run- to evolution. The purpose of this collection is to explore the utilitarian possibilities of changes in the traditional shapes of furniture, as we know them archetypically. The collection consists of two "positive" mutations : the "Hypertrophy chair" and the "Outgrowth coffee table"

Hypertrophy chair : the hypertrophy of one extended armrest complements the use of the chair as a functional object (The chair can then be used as a newspaper rack, coat hanger, etc...)

Outgrowth coffee table : The “outgrowth” on the table offers additional storage space.

“This project is a way of approaching creation from a different angle. Instead of directly seeking a solution to a problem, imitating the process of evolution allows us a more empirical approach. It becomes thus not a question of finding a new solution but rather a process of selecting one among those available to us .” concluded NOCC.

You can find NOCC at Maison&Objet, hall 5B near exit R7.