Foster + Partners has partnered with LG, using their cutting-edge roll-able OLED screen technology, to redefine the idea of the television and the living spaces it occupies. The new technology allows flexible spatial planning while preserving the purity of living spaces.
For several decades the focal point of the living spaces in any house centred on the fireplace or hearth, where the family gathered for warmth and company. Since the advent of central heating, the fireplace was replaced by the radio and television. However, the most desirable houses and apartments offer living spaces with premium views, which generate almost 15 percent of their market value. The television is omnipresent in most living spaces, and with screen sizes getting bigger it often dominates a room even when not being used. This next generation television is a creative response to the challenge of creating ‘invisible’ technology that is unobtrusive, while creating a quiet sculptural presence in the home.
The new technology dematerialises the television screen, which can be automatically rolled in and out of a discreet minimalist rectangular enclosure when needed. The new LG OLED flexible screen allows freedom from walls and offers a sense of liberation to design interior spaces. It features a sculptural minimalist rectangular volume crafted from aluminium, which contains the rolling mechanism and integrated speaker, fronted by matching tonal fabric. The 0.2-millimetre-thick screen rises from the top of this box, supported by a sprung steel backing. The minimal detail and simplicity of design allows it to become part of a variety of interior spaces.
