Articulated furniture can be fun as hell but it's hard to pull off. We've featured a lot of sculptural quality work from the likes of Sebastian Errazuriz, and tables that expand like mysterious wooden kaleidoscopes, but here's simpler concept. Wave Bench is a seating system that stands upright until "activated" by the user. 

Enter a caption (optional)

The bench was designed by Brian Lee. Its jointing allows sitters to nestle in place while the surrounding sections flare out softly, giving the more of a hammock vibe than most wood benches offer. From the back and front the seat takes on a temporary wave pattern around the user(s) that disappears once vacated. The weighting/resistance seems to be light enough that small kids and grans were comfortable using it, easy enough to activate with your legs alone if lying down.

Enter a caption (optional)

Enter a caption (optional)

Enter a caption (optional)

Quite fun as a proof of concept, but taken as-is the principle could seem a bit uncomfortable—you have to hover-push your butt out before anything solid shows up to support it. The discomfort may be a mental block primarily, but one based on self preservation. Those gaps also seem less ideal for kiddo fingers, but then it's all about picking your audience. Maybe his kids don't have hands. These quibbles aside, Lee's other work uses a similar principle in more adventurous ways.

Enter a caption (optional)

In his series of Furnitecture he explores flexible walls and spaces. Made from thinner jointed materials than the bench, these would also the capacity to respond to human pressure while maintaining a larger presence. The notion of a room divider that could change shape to double as seating is artistic, but inspiring.

C Wave 

T Wave

Between the C Wave and T Wave patterns, I can imagine several applications for this type of articulation in interior architecture and further furniture design. I might never be Christopher-Walkin-on-walls cool, but sitting in the walls would still feel pretty groovy. More photos and CV over on his site.