Typically following Milan’s supersize furniture fair, the launches at N.Y.C.’s smaller International Contemporary Furniture Fair can echo the Italians. This year’s more eclectic mix of furnishings and materials, however, was more likely to be touted as green. - David Sokol
 

Ready for takeoff
The wavy steel modules of Ondine, designed by Michaël Bihain and architect Cédric Callewaert, appear like abstracted birds on the verge of flight. Connect three of these components instead to produce a circular bench whose undulations support sitters of different heights. Michaël Bihain, Brussels. www.bihain.com

[Reader Service: September 2008 #226]

 

Wet-suited
The layered, looping forms of Son of a Bench impart this sturdy perch with a fast, Blade Runner look. Clad in rubber, the futuristic style is multifunctional, too. Besides using the bench in outdoor settings or in lobbies regularly exposed to the elements, Son’s multiple slots are perfectly sized for standing up wet umbrellas. Blu Dot, Minneapolis. www.bludot.com

[Reader Service: September 2008 #227]
 

Crystal drawers
When the push-touch doors of Brave Space Design’s Planar Storage pieces are closed, they resemble walls of crystalline facets — although the series is fabricated of bamboo, recycled MDF, and FSC-certified maple. Brave Space Design, Brooklyn. www.bravespacedesign.com

[Reader Service: September 2008 #228]

     

Lunch in a crunch
No time to dine in the employee cafeteria? Roll up a stainless-steel trolly and mobile Teppan Yaki grill to this German kitchen furniture manufacturer’s Dining Desk. This conference table–size hybrid expands manually or by motor to reveal an open center that can accept the stainless-steel panels, cutlery tray, or chopping board needed to pull off an Alice Waters–style working lunch. Poggenpohl, Herford, Germany. www.poggenpohl-usa.com

[Reader Service: September 2008 #229]

Shelf life
The routed, gridded crisscross pattern of Taapa accepts shelves configured according to desired capacity or taste. The wall-mounted unit is designed by the New Zealand company Hold and made of native, knot-free Clearwood, which is said to be four times stronger than MDF. Essenze, Austin. www.essenze.co.nz

[Reader Service: September 2008 #230]

Rockabye buddies
A pair of three-dimensional semicolons face one another to form architect-turned-furniture designer Laurie Beckerman’s Tete-a-Tete Rocker. Joined at the hip and by an arcing armrest, the linked Corian shapes rock in unison with two participants seated. Laurie Beckerman Design, New York. www.lauriebeckerman.com

[Reader Service: September 2008 #231]