Multi-functional

The architects responsible for the Panorama House have made a staircase of epic proportions that acts as a functional centerpiece of the house. The staircase serves as a multifunctional hub, not only providing a way to get from downstairs A to upstairs B, but forming a central element of the house's library, cinema, and play area.  Read More

If you're looking for a multi-functional shovel for apocalyptic zombie slaying, you'll want the Crovel. If, on the other hand, you plan to use the shovel for backcountry skiing, you'll want the K2 Rescue Shovel Plus Ice Axe. The new multi-functional shovel saves weight and space by combining several functions into one tool. Its name gives away two of those functions, but it has a few more.  Read More

Multi-purpose furniture is a great way to keep clutter to a minimum in cramped confines. A new couch concept from designer Matthew Pauk called the Slot Sofa is designed to maximize available space with a hideaway dual ottoman and coffee table.  Read More

In cities where ever-growing populations need to be squeezed into the existing urban sprawl, living space is at a premium. This means more and more people are seeking (mainly out of necessity) dual-purpose furniture that saves space by transforming to fulfill different needs at different times. The aptly-named Convertible Sofa from Julia Kononenko is the latest attempt to fill this emerging need.  Read More

There are certain devices in the home that we don't generally think about improving. The switch plates over our light switches have remained more or less the same for years, but that doesn't mean there's not room to make them better. Product designer Justin Porcano has decided to rethink switch plates, by adding more functionality.  Read More

While many people love kicking back and relaxing into an expansive armchair made of plush material, owning such a thing isn't always practical, and is rarely cheap. Armchairs are generally heavy, (almost) immovable, and designed with just one purpose in mind. LLSTOL is a piece of furniture which goes against this grain, being light, highly portable, and adaptable for a variety of different uses.  Read More

With a top speed of just 15 mph (24 kph), Thomas Young's Bug-E electric vehicle concept is not likely to be a contender for the next must-have personal transport solution on our roads, but that's not what it's really about anyway. This multi-purpose four-wheeler is more suited to trundling around public parks and gardens, theme parks or the golf course - and it sports four rear storage options to help it fit into numerous usage scenarios. Users would also be able to slide the steering wheel into a left- or right-hand drive position, to share the responsibility of driving without having to swap seats, or to fit in with local conditions.  Read More

If small is beautiful, then the 320 square-foot EDGE house from Wisconsin’s Revelations Architects is absolutely gorgeous. EDGE stands for Experimental Dwelling for a Greener Environment, and true to that acronym, the award-winning little modular home includes Earth-friendly features such as rainwater collection, geothermal heating and cooling, air-to-air heat recovery, passive solar windows, and insulated exterior shutter doors that minimize nighttime heat loss. Making the most of every square inch of interior space, the house has multi-functional transformable furniture, plus two overhead bedrooms. It's also made for easy construction and relocation, to the point that the prototype has been assembled, taken apart and moved three times in six months.  Read More

If you find yourself going to meetings, presentations or trade shows a lot then DocExpress from Taiwan's New Image could just help ease the burden of carrying away reams of paper handouts. Instead of lugging all that paper around, pop the document, photograph or even real object under the high speed, portable document camera solution and zap a digitized version instead. The solution can even be used to project, copy, fax, email or record images or video.  Read More