A few years ago YO! Companies presented their YO! Home Prototype 1, an 800 square feet apartment that featured a lot of space-saving features such as a dining table that disappeared into the floor and a bed that descended from the ceiling.
Following genuine interest and acclaim at the design trade event ”100% design,” YO! Companies set about turning the Prototype 1 concept into a commercially viable product. The overall size was reduced to around 40 square-metres, the size of a ‘normal’ studio apartment. The moving parts were tested and re-prototyped where necessary, ensuring perfection before the launch to market. Prototype 2 was used as an opportunity to try things out, move elements around, and eventually get to the point where they were happy to show the result to the world.
This new prototype will be the basis for an upcoming building with 24 prefabricated units in Manchester, England.
Thanks to a clever use of old technology, revealing and hiding your kitchen is as easy as opening and shutting a door, so you can go into sofa-mode, and even keep your washing up a secret!
Fortunately, Simon’s know-how in stage production meant he was able to re-apply the principles of counter-weighting. The bed harnesses only the tiniest motor to ensure it moves seamlessly and cost-effectively, but also allows for near-effortless manual movement too, in the event of a public power outage. The way this system is put together means that the bed is not only extremely cool, but extremely safe
