Students are typically advised to crawl under their desks when an earthquake strikes, but then they often become trapped when the table collapses. Israeli designers Arthur Brutter and Ido Bruno designed a solution to this problem called “the Earthquake Proof Table”. It’s able to withstand one tonne of weight, and meets the needs in developing nations. It was recently added to the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) permanent design collection.
Many countries in the Middle East are prone to powerful earthquakes – including Iran and Turkey, and unsophisticated school furniture puts students at particular risk when they occur during the day.
The Earthquake Proof Table mitigates this risk. Tested in a variety of situations, it can withstand the crash of a 1,000kg steel and concrete block, and also creates a passageway for students to escape when the rest of the building has collapsed around them.
After making its debut in Milan, the table was met with widespread acclaim. So much so that New York’s MoMA have added it to their permanent design collection – an enormous honor for the Bezalel Academy duo responsible for the design.
The table was part of the academy’s recently completed tour called Bezalel on Tour, during which 100 objects and 2D animation and video installations were exhibited at important venues throughout the United States.
Beginning in 2012 at the Maryland Institute College of Arts, the exhibition traveled to Sotheby’s in Chicago, the Maltz Museum for Jewish Heritage in Cleveland, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts and Brown RISD Hillel in Providence, RI.
Curated by the head of Bezalel’s department of Ceramics and Glass Design, Muli Ben Sasson the exhibition covered the best designs from Bezalel’s eight undergraduate departments: fine art, photography, fashion & jewelry, industrial design, visual communications, architecture, screen based arts, ceramics & glass, and from Bezalel’s graduate departments in fine art, design and urban design.
“This traveling exhibition offers viewers a unique sense of Bezalel’s flourishing artistic and professional practices, as well as an exceptionally creative, colorful, and talented side of Israel,” said Professor Eva Illouz, President of Bezalel.
“The opportunity to present Bezalel on Tour in the U.S., making New York its final stop during NYCxDesign, places the works in a global context while also emphasizing Bezalel’s commitment to quality and innovation.”
Other notable Bezalel Academy alumni featured on the tour included Ron Gilad and Ron Arad, whose bicycle wheels will never go flat.
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Good for Israel.