Love Bite

It's not often you find a piece of furniture that can take months to explore, says SpaceTM's Mark.

The Sitscape looks less like a couch and more like a CGI landscape before the surface textures are rendered. Or a graphic-equaliser readout of my pulse-rate when I first saw it.

Berlin architects and designers Hackenbroich Architekten have constructed it out of digitally-cut laminated wooden sections, linked by steel and aluminium.

The concept (isn't there always one?) was to provide six basic positions in which to recline or sit, linked by smooth transitions which in turn offer further possibilities (some more unusual than others).

Now here lies my struggle. In an earlier post about the pebble-shaped bench at the Ibiza Gran Hotel, I was definite in my opinion: a good looking chair is not enough. It must also be comfortable to sit on if it can really be defined as seating. Simple. 

It's obvious that the slatting in the Sitscape would make any bottom uncomfortable... Actually, I think I can push that to really quite PAINFUL. (To be fair, it's still in prototype stage and Hackenbroich are tackling this by covering it with upholstered padding.)

However, the exposed sections look so stunning. I can only dream of what the Sitscape looks like with changing light and shadows drifting across it. (The hairs on the back of my neck bristle as I type.)

When a couch looks this good it's time to take a deep breath, do a U-turn on the comfort issue and learn how to live it. Wear layered jumpers, pad yourself (not it), recline to spread your weight... And if you do end up with strange marks on your skin, just remember what caused them. It's the furniture equivalent of getting a love bite from a supermodel.