Modest Proposals: Rethinking The Phone Booth

Superman is going to have to find somewhere else to change because, let's face it, the phone booth's days are numbered. Given that mobile phones are almost ubiquitous, we need to reconceive that vener

DESIGNER ronan + erwan bouroullec

The Bouroullecs are French industrial designers--and brothers--who pride themselves on creating designs that are simple, intelligent and obvious.

The Concept: The Bouroullecs like to take existing objects and push their functionality to the limit, thus extending their uses in unexpected ways. Instead of a public phone, this is a public umbrella, or Street Umbrella, as they have dubbed it. A mobile phone is incorporated into the handle, and the point acts as an antenna. The umbrella protects the speaker from rain, sun or the rest of the street's noise and activities so that he...

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