Seasoned logophiles ought to know the answer to the common crossword clue, "Golfer Ernie," without thinking twice, but here's a hint for everyoneelse: it's three letters long, and sounds like the 12th letter of the alphabet.
Of course, it's more likely that Slovenian architecture student Luka Locicnik was inspired by his own initials than the South African PGA fixture. Whatever the case, the LLSTOL is a remarkably versatile pair of identical, interlocking letterforms that can be arranged to make a chair, a table, a shelf, or any number of seating and storage surfaces. While "its basic use is as a lounge chair, it can be transformed into other furniture types very easily and without complex details or metal components, [ideal for] students and young families with small apartments."
Regarding the material, the website notes:
Laminated molded plywood is an excellent material for designing furniture as it is sustainable and has strong compressive and tensile characteristics. We want to use only natural and sustainable materials with as little environmental impact as possible. Slovenia is one of few countries with very high percentage of forests—over 60% of land is forest. For the LLSTOL we are using quality beech wood which is also the most common type of wood in the country, so LLSTOL is made entirely of wood and finished with quality matte lacquer.
Paul Robinson, Locicnik's professor at the University of Ljubljana's Faculty of Architecture, encouraged his student to bring the project to production, in partnership with local manufacturer STOL & STOL and a little help from Kickstarter.
Still, I can't imagine this is the first time something like this has been done, and I'm sure some our readers will helpfully point us towards other variations on this theme. All ells equal, Locicnik's LLSTOL is a nicely executed version of a simple yet versatile concept.
The LLSTOL is available now for €144; a few different slipcovers are available separately, and custom patterns are possible.
