Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby have designed Planophore as a dual-purpose room divider and book shelf. Its open sides create a horizontal emphasis. The solid shelves with rounded bottom edges are reminiscent of aircraft wings and appear to float on the vertical panels. This also explains the name of the shelf: the original Planophore made its debut in 1871 as the first stable model aero¬plane powered by twisted rubber bands. Barber and Osgerby’s fascination for the construction of airplanes and cars has inspired various projects as well as the choice of materials and production methods the designers use.

The vertical aluminium panels can be rotated to serve as functional shelf dividers. When the slightly asymmetrical dividers are positioned parallel to the shelves, Planophore becomes a partition element; set perpendicularly, they divide the shelves into varying compartments to accommodate books and similar objects; if just a few panels are turned in a parallel direction, they provide a background for decorative objects. The rotation axes of the panels, which constitute the load-bearing structure of Planosphere, are offset in depth. This not only increases the stability of the shelf unit, but also introduces a playful aspect to the arrangement of the panels, allowing a multitude of different configurations. Planophore comes in various heights and widths, from a deep sideboard to a tall unit with five shelves. All versions are available in two widths with four or five vertical panels.

Design by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby

http://www.barberosgerby.com/work/all/216/