Barcode Room transforms into 6 different rooms

by Johnny on December 3, 2012

photos courtesy studio_01 | click to enlarge

Designers Alex Knezo and Akinori Hamada, of the newly established studio_01, certainly started off their first year on the right foot, or should I say, wall? The Tokyo-based designers recently won a competition to design a studio apartment that can double as gathering space, effectively putting an end to our favorite excuse for not inviting people over.

The room, which was exhibited at Tokyo Designer’s Week, is composed of walls (or bars, hence the name barcode room) that move freely from side to side on a track. Functional elements like storage and furniture are embedded within these bars, permitting the resident to customize the size of space to fit a variety of uses.

Depending on the combination of components, various types of bars can be created, such as a living bar, kitchen bar, or sleeping bar. Just as each object in a store has its own barcode, each usage of the apartment has its own layout, or barcode.