Looks pretty normal to me…

Architecture websites are notoriously dense with information, and even some of the most esteemed firms have fallen straight into the ‘too much of a good thing’ trap, choosing to represent themselves virtually with elaborate, browser-crashing websites brimming with dizzying stockpiles of images to sort through. It gets even more complicated when the websites are in a foreign language. But whether or not something is lost in translation here, the website for Osaka-based studio Jima Architects will undoubtedly arouse a chuckle or at least a raised eyebrow for those dedicated enough to sort through its archives. As the expert Japanophiles at Spoon & Tamago noticed, amidst a seemingly typical online design portfolio is an “unexplained masochistic human coffee table,” an elliptical pane of transparent glass supported by someone frozen in what could well be a Pilates position. Did someone lose a bet? Regardless, we applaud the firm’s dry sense of humor and/or creative vision.

Wait a minute…

by Kelly Chan

posted in sustainable design

tagged coffee table, design, furniture, Human table, japan, Japanese, Jima Architects, website

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