Cool Hunting

Active Furniture, a project by Spanish designers Virginia Pol, Ferran Lajara and Cristina Guardiola, uses counter-intuitive design as an antidote to our increasingly sedentary lives. The three objects—a floor lamp, a desk and a wall hanger—each require a level of exertion on the user's part to function. The floor lamp must be held upright, both to illuminate the bulb and keep the lamp vertical. Drawers on the opposing side of the desk force the user to walk around front to access them. The wall hanger enlists climbing holds to reach a too-high coat hanger.

Active Furniture was handily the best collection shown at this year's Nude, the young designer showcase at the Ideas y Pasión tradeshow in Valencia. While most other projects were either ill-conceived or overwhelmingly cliché, Active Furniture stood out for its thoughtfulness. And while the project's overall strength lies more in its thesis than in its execution, the intellectual curiosity that brought these objects to life reminds one of the early spirit of the Dutch design collective Droog.

Needless to say, we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for more from this young trio.

Check out more images after the jump