The crisis of the pandemic forced us to rethink our most basic and common urban spaces and infrastructure. Things like shops, restaurants, benches, bus stops can no longer be used the same way they were used before and have to be adapted to new social distancing and sanitary norms.
Simple actions like sharing a public bench, working in a shared office, or waiting next to other people are now dangerous. Our environment needs to evolve to these needs- but most of our daily spaces and objects have a rigid design and cannot be adapted.
This is why we look up to nature- Everything living constantly adapts to its surroundings through evolution over millions of years, some creatures can even adapt to survive in harshest environments deep under the sea or even in space.
So we designed the Snail Chair. Taking its form from the shell of a snail, this curvy urban chair is using a retractable cover to adapt itself to many different conditions and needs. Fully open on a nice day, shading on a hot summer day, or fully closed and protective on a cold, rainy day, during a pandemic, or when one wants to isolate herself and work.
The transparent cover is on one hand allowing one to fully protect oneself while still keeping eye contact to socialize with other people around, while a photochromic coat reacts to the sun and darkens to shade the users.
