Time-aware shelf by KS Edouard Song from france

—Foreword

This project follows the design approach that I developed over the past few years, which uses the interactions as means to change people’s behaviour, thinking process and perception of the surrounding world.

The time-aware shelf seems at first glance indistinguishable from a traditional one, but it is actually composed of an ever-moving “track” and of a stationary platform on each end.
Objects (books, documents, boxes…) placed on the track will slowly slide towards the left divider. They however move so slowly that the motion itself is close to being imperceptible, you might even forget that they move. You can only perceive the variation over days and weeks (instead of seconds or minutes).
Such objects will inevitably reach the marker after a certain time, so that you can interpret them as hopes or desires that are expected to be satisfied after a certain time. In the same spirit, items positioned on the static platforms either relate to plans in progress, or to long-term objectives (think about this pile of unread books).

The time-aware shelf is, to a certain extent, a snapshot of your medium-term future: the objects refer to timed expectations and wishes, while the free space represents opportunities.
In essence, it encourages you to anticipate your future, to imagine new goals and dreams (to fill the empty space), to break your daily hectic routine and think in a longer-term perspective.
Note that the limited capacity and the slow speed prevents you from being overwhelmed due to an excess of anticipation: you must perform to get a chance of making new plans.

Most importantly, with the time passing by, the shelf will always make up new space: this will regularly prompt you to look ahead, to keep this hopeful and positive attitude.