There is a Foosball table in my living room. It never gets used, never, and just sits there. It catches my sweaters when I walk past it to the porch, also, so not fun to play, and looks like it belongs is at best a Dave and Busters. In essence I hate the damn thing. It is something, along with a Lay-Z-Boy recliner, and oak cabinetry, that I refuse to have in any of my future homes, defiantly on my design "s!*tlist". That being said while perusing the internet the other day I came across what can only be referred to as work of art. Truly a work of sculpture, that happens to be a Foosball table.
"Sweeping curves reflect the beauty and grandeur of today’s modern stadiums, while its atmospheric lighting and chromed metal players capture the excitement and drama of a classic sporting encounter. " A pretty accurate description of what the 11 looks like, pulled directly from their websites. It is, seriously, not just the Lexus but the Koenigsegg of miniaturized sporting....facilities? The design is really something, dropping the standard four leg dining table format most favored by the Foosball industry the 11's shape looks more like something you would be served drinks out of at a Phillip Stark designed boutique hotel, than something that would more than likely be found in a Midwest bowling alley. The smooth curve from the round base to the lip of the miniature stadium echo's the organic sensuality of a calla lily, the proportions of the top and bottom naturally balanced. Reminiscent of some of the beautiful stadiums being built of late like this and this it takes ques from some of the best of modern architecture.
A smooth black shell opens up to reveal a stark white playing field crossed with a small regiment of silver "footballers" that, if I am going to be perfectly honest, look like something that you would find at a high end sex shop. The designers really though of everything. Stadium lighting is even included to even further the focal point of this beautiful piece. The whole piece matches up gorgeously, the whole unit so completely designed, that nothing looks out of place, even the awkward handles of sweater grabbing fame. It really exudes a sort of sexy/modern/sporty vibe that really bring to mind David Beckham's steamy Armani underwear ads. A piece so well designed that I would not hesitate to put in, yes(gasp), my own home, or more importantly, and more realistically, a clients space.
So, it may seem like I am loosing my marbles over what is, yes, a very nice Foosball table, but just a Foosball table all the same, but dearies that is exactly what is so exciting! This is in reality a mundane object that has for the most part been relegated to frat housed and rumpus rooms. It is something that does not need to be beautiful, but is. That is what we need more of. We live in a consumer society, a society that has lost touch with aesthetics. A world where more is better, instead of better being better. Why shouldn't our generic every day objects be objets d'art? Why should we not demand beautiful things? It seems that our society has this theory that well designed things are somehow elitist. That for something to be beautiful it has to be pricey, something that "snobby" people would buy. I believe that Americans have accepted ugly things because they somehow believe that they are not needed. This is incorrect, design is such a basic thing. It does not require Italian cabinets or German engineering to be well designed. Design can be integrated into the normally mundane objects that make up our day to day. Things like can openers, car keys, and vacuum cleaners. The 11 gives me hope, this movement towards applying design principles, however small and overpriced, gives me hope. Hope that someday American will toss aside our obsession with poorly designed mass marketed garbage, not that good design cannot be mass marketed, and embrace design in their day to day lives.
PHOTOS! Well I am having some unexpected technical difficulties with photo uploads so I am just going to re-rout you to the manufactures website HERE. The images are better anyway. Go check it out, its well worth your time.
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