Survey
Would you try «Cloudy Hood»?
- Yes, I want to live in it.30%
- Maybe, but only as a fashion statement.7%
- No, I prefer noise-cancelling headphones.64%
The competition has ended.
Put on «Cloudy Hood» and enjoy your peace
8.12.2021
Translation: Eva Francis
Pictures: Pia Seidel
You don’t always need an extra room to retreat to. A visual or noise screen might be enough to help you concentrate better. «Cloudy Hood» offers you both.
While a hood usually protects you from wind and weather outside, «Cloudy Hood» shields you inside as well. Well, at least from the side. Like a wing chair, it keeps out draughts and muffles noises. It also reduces your field of vision and increases the focus on what’s right in front of you. This is supposed to make it easier to devote yourself to one thing without being distracted.
The design object «Cloudy Hood» by Mélina Laville caught my eye at Geneva Design Days. «It creates an intimate space around the person while they’re working at the computer or reading a book,» the designer said to me. «If needed, you can look through the small side openings.»
Source: Design Days Geneva 2021
Bye-bye multitasking, hello silence
If you’re working on something and in a flow, you probably don’t hear others chatting. But if the opposite is the case, you need distance, or you’ll be listening in on one ear and your gaze is likely to wander back and forth. «Cloudy Hood is a substitute for quiet rooms,» the designer says. «It works in offices and in public places such as a library or your home.» The beauty of the idea is that it works in two ways: a person talking on the phone with Cloudy Hood isn’t distracted by others and doesn’t distract anyone else, either. This can also be handy when you’re working from home.
Mélina’s design is part of a project called «Second Skin» by the Geneva University of Art and Design. It was created in July 2021 with the goal to improve working conditions. The students also developed other objects. Examples? Extendable furniture such as a table with cover origami or a second breath chair. This was sponsored by the «USM Design Grant», an organisation that awards grants to encourage innovation. The Geneva University of Art and Design graduate’s idea won one of these grants.
First impression of the office-to-go
Cloudy Hood was hanging flat against a window at the Design Days exhibition. I put it over my head and the cocoon closed almost magically, as the ends are held together by magnets. Standing up, it felt like I was carrying an empty backpack. Not unpleasant, but unfamiliar. To my surprise, it didn’t wobble when I was sitting down. Breathing was easy and I could still hear the voices of people in the room, but they seemed miles away. «The felt and foam inside reduce background noise,» I just about heard Mélina say.
I noticed another positive effect of this special hood: it was only when I took it off again that I realised how brightly the room was actually lit – so bright that I was tempted to flee right back into the cocoon. But I had to give Cloudy Hood back. It’s just prototype. When and where will it be available? That hasn’t been decided yet. But one thing’s for sure: it’s not an item for a conventional fashion store.
Pia Seidel
Senior Editor
Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.chLike a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.
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