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Interconnected Furniture That Acts Like Mini Power Stations in Your Home

05.04.18 | By
Interconnected Furniture That Acts Like Mini Power Stations in Your Home

François Chambard, the creative mind behind UM Project, has us all intrigued once again after last year’s conductive wallpaper and now his innovative line of interconnected furniture called Patch. Each piece of furniture visually draws the eye closer but what you don’t see at first glance is that each piece is outfitted with small batteries turning it into its own mini power station. With all the pieces connected, including a battery packed solar panel case/bench, it turns into a microgrid that can distribute enough solar energy to power a micro apartment. These connected pieces are able to produce motion, light, and sound one can interact with.

While most electrical networks are out of sight, Patch changes that by letting the connections and circuitry live on display. By doing so, Patch has the ability to function as an alternative to how traditional smart homes look.

Patch charges in just eight hours with a run time of 24 hours without sunlight.

The green piece is outfitted with solar panels and is made from recycled HDPE plastic and aluminum.

The blue piece houses a charging port and power outlet and comprises 250 glass-enameled interconnecting tiles.

The yellow piece incorporates crisscrossing amble glass tubes and gold colored wires, an idea similar to a utility pole.

The brown piece is made from 200 phenolic tubes, an old industrial plastic often found in early transistor radios. It contains built-in lighting and sound.

And lastly, the red piece, which is a large light box, is made using printed glass panels that give a moiré effect.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.