Grafeiphobia, The Fear Of Desks
If only we could sleep or recline while working simultaneously, and we mean, beyond university as a prospering student in our halls, and actually in the real world making real money. Titled Grafeiphobia, designer Geoffrey Pascal has created a unique collection of office furniture that offers designs for just this, such is the apparent rise in people working from home (and probably from their beds).
With each piece in the collection designed around the frame of a standard slatted wooden bed, the various different compositions of each unit together allows the user to then work in all sorts of associative positions that each replicate any person's bed and/or offer support to the body in NASA's approved 'Neutral Body Position' - yes, you could be an astronaut, kid. As supportive towards coping in zero-gravity situations - as you may often find yourself in, of course - as they are promoting generally better posture and comfort in the face of working in your bed and not at a desk, such an idea began after the designer experienced his own difficulties at working and hearing he wasn't alone.
The 'Neutral Body Position' is a tactic which the American intergalactic monopoly developed and the idea is to spread a person's weight over multiple points across the body; by contrast, everytime you sit at a conventional seat, force is exerted downwards through your spine and into your buttock; one point of contact. The name Grefeiophobia is chosen for it's definition in being a 'fear of desks'.
With research being continually done into a person's working hours, reducing the amount of time behind any office desk and generally promoting better health, this design project comes at an apt time in the evolution of man. Sounds dramatic, but it's true, the human race's understanding on ergonomics (comfortability) and anthropometrics (human dimensions) have both come so far that almost every home product design considers suchlike factors.
Usable in a traditional office environment as much as by home workers, would you want to consider having such beautifully coloured equipment in your office space? All with adjustable heights to cater for differing person's lengths of arms and legs, you really could find a purpose to every Grefeiophobia unit, singularly and collectively. Pascal comments the importance of movement as much as his designed Grefeiophobia furniture, and it is recommended that all sorts of furniture options are used throughout any one day to properly promote healthy skeleton support. On display at the Design Academy Eindhoven Graduate Show 2018, Grafeiophobia is certainly a curious project. Discover more about the designer online at: GeoffreyPascal.com
Photography credit : Geoffrey Pascal