This project is essentially a work of “Furnitecture.” Bed + Shelves + Closets + Storage + Lamp + Dog Bed = Z Box, a free-standing cubebuilt inside a large space.
The Z-Box solves two problems facing the owners of a newly renovated, yet wide-open loft: where are we going to sleep? (ZZZ...) and where are we going to put all this stuff? The solution comes through an act of amalgamation: several typically discreet and disconnected pieces of furniture coalesce into a large block of matter. Then the furniture within carefully subtracts the space necessary to perform its work, creating a carved block of perforated steel, polycarbonate, and Douglas Fir.
The ambiguous situation with respect to the identity of the Z-Box (it is simultaneously one thing and several) is further enhanced by the lights within its walls, which, with the flick of a switch, transform the box from prismatic steel
cube into glowing lantern. These material transformations (steel cube - glowing lantern - steel cube) elaborate on Dan Hisel Architect’s fascination with ambiguous material conditions intimately tied to human activity.