cloud boxes by studio maarten kolk + guus kusters for PROOFFlab

‘cloud boxes’ by studio maarten kolk & guus kusters for PROOFFlaball images courtesy of studio maarten kolk & guus kusters + PROOFFlab

a series of storage boxes display a semi-transparent latex skin, their translucent look drawn from the image of clouds and this idea of having a milky appearance. designed by studio maarten kolk & guus kusters for PROOFFlab, the five containers have been conceived for organizing office items, storing one’s clutter behind a flexible curtain. in addition to the reduction of visual noise they offer, the material from which these ‘cloud boxes’ are made also dampen sound.

‘thinking about acoustics we realized quickly that silence wasn’t our goal in this project. it isn’t that bad to have sound around you when you’re working. it starts to be disturbing when sound becomes noise. taking away sound doesn’t create silence; it just changes your definition of noise. we imagined our perfect solution should be like mist; a low-hanging cloud that doesn’t make the world around you disappear, but takes the sharp edges off and makes everything a little softer.

every office has things they need have but which we don’t want seen. they come in various scales–from a stapler to a vacuum cleaner. we thought it would be great if you could place all these kinds of things in an office cloud. not hiding them, so you don’t know where to find them anymore, but dampening them out by turning them into blurred silhouettes of color.’ – studio maarten kolk & guus kusters

‘cloud boxes’ are being presented during milan design week 2013 from april 9th – 14th.

the storage boxes display a latex skin which offers a ‘cloudy’ appearance, hiding one’s clutter

large standing ‘cloud boxes’ offer ample space for keeping larger items out of sight

medium sized box which is displayed horizontally

the overall aesthetic of the containers is drawn from clouds