You askOne of a kind shelf. Made in occasion of the first Countdown Design residency in Bolzano – Upcycling Edition 2012. Materials: cutting scrap from MDF boards, zinc coated steel industry shelf elements and L-steel profiles. „You ask (for a vespa and you get a van)“ consists of a basic MDF frame where cut-offs of zinc coated steel elements are inserted. This structure constitutes a row of seven changeable digits. By moving the metal plates to the outside the user can compose patterns, numbers and even words. „You ask (…)“ is a machine-like communication device driven by the users interaction. „You ask (…)“ is a reflection about the idea of function in interior furniture, the way we look at and use everyday objects. At first sight „You ask (…)“ may seem to be a simple shelf. These pieces of furniture are mainly intended for the storage of all kinds of objects. But they have also presentational and conspicuously representational functions. How things are displayed do tell something about the objects and their users. At a closer look this „simple“ shelf reveals its-self as something different: it is a communication device – a display of semantic meaning – which in ways of a different reading could still be used as this simple shelf it ostensibly is. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 |