The Arco system was designed by Studio BBPR for Olivetti in the 50’s and 60’s. The desk alone looks like it’s going for around $2500 on the used market. Way too much for a desk, but would be nice to have such a classic design as inspiration every day.
Some details on the desk from this auction:
Olivetti
Italy, 1963
lacquered steel, vinyl, plastic
63 w x 66 d x 30 h inches
Desk features three locking drawers and return features five shallow drawers. Signed with molded manufacturer’s mark to desk drawer: [Olivetti Arredamenti Metallici].
Some images via 1st Dibs
The Milk desk by Holmris Hansen (the guy laying on it I presume) makes the Novanta workstation I posted last week look downright homely. They call it “the Lamborghini of desks” but I think “the Mac of desks” would be more apt. At any rate the thing is beautiful and seemingly functional with various gadgetry, compartmentry, and height adjustability (I know 2/3 of those aren’t even words). I would definitely be very happy with this as my primary desk. You can find more info and a lot of high res pics of the Milk at the product site: http://milk.dk. Also, it’s probably like $15,000. The designer’s other work at Soren Rose Studio is worth a browse as well; some very cool pictures of their space.
I recently built a new desk (sneak preview here via a terrible iPhone shot) so I had been researching for a while trying to scrounge around for materials and hardware. I ended up sourcing most of it from Ikea and cannibalized an old board room table someone gave me. I’ll post more on that once I get some proper pictures.
Via Jason in the comments of the Novanta post
Came across this workstation concept over at Unplggd. The Novanta was designed by Luke Riggall and features — among many other things — Speakers, a USB and Audio Hub, Monitor Stand, and iPod Dock. It’s definitely eye catching and a logical extension of your Mac setup, but it seems a little bulky to be practical. The apparent lack of adjustability would be a big problem for me too. But the cable management system looks very useful and the whole thing has a very utilitarian vibe that I’m liking. I don’t think this could be my main work desk but it would make a great secondary for the print room or a smaller office space.
On that note I’ve been really geeking out on desks lately. My last desk was a little too wide for my needs and the surface was pretty thick. It was getting in the way of my outboard rack and I figured something a bit more svelte would open up the space a little. I’ll try to post some pics next week.
