(Marciej Chmara & Ania Rosinke), Vienna, 2013, solid spruce, textiles, signed and with stamped factory brand: chmara.rosinke/conceptual design, 250 x 250 x 250 cm. (DRAX)

A living and sleeping cube that concentrates on the essential necessities and unites all the functions of daily life on a floor space of 2.5 square metres.
A unique item. With a certificate. The project was curated by Magdalena Poplawska, Gallery Arsenal, Prague.

Exhibited:
‘Nomadic Furniture’, Museum of Applied Art (MAK), Vienna 2013.

“2,5³ is a minimal living cube. Its inspiration reaches the 60´s and 70´s when many architects and designers were concerned about the idea of modular and mobile living structures and wanted to revolutionize social canons. Since our studies we were fascinated by minimal living spaces and minimal forms of housing. Besides that this project was lead by our fascination for special, complex and specific forms or even archetypes of furniture with varying scales.
We have designed this 2,5m x 2,5m x 2,5m intimate, nomadic living space as an re-interpretation of the „living cube“ of Victor Papanek & James Hennessey. The main difference to the original concept from the 70´s is that Papanek and Hennessey designed several cubes for particular functions, like a relaxation or a working cube.
In our concept the special idea that has dramatically changed by the use of notebooks, smartphones and the web, play an important role. To shorten this, we just need less space, as there are less books, less paper, no fax, no television and so on. Another important aspect in our project is the cult of less movement. People that are counting their belongings and try to get under 500 and later under 100. Belongings seem to develop in metropolitan and contemporary culture to be a form of ballast and not anymore a way of showing wealth, status and success in live. We want to move, to travel, to take new jobs, be more independent. So we have also to minimize our belongings and habits.
Out of this we have designed the multifunctional cube, it consists of a desk, that can be changed to a kitchen, a rolling cupboard, that can be unfolded to an eating table for two persons, a bed, a big cupboard for clothes, a mirror, a drawer. A special chair is designed for the height of the kitchen /desk and by folding them you can climb on top of the cube to have a different view and read a book. The whole cube can be closed with textiles to protect ones intimate space. The nomadic structure can be installed in about one hour.” chmara.rosinke