Table Bed Tent

Our exhibit for the 2005 Canberra Biennial was initiated as a project for the actor David Gulpilil. Indigenous shelters in the North East Arnhem Land traditionally combine a raised timber sleeping platform and a protective bark and leaf covered roof. Small fires are lit underneath the platform for warmth during winter and to repel insects. The ‘table bed tent’ combines this traditional typology with high tech material knowledge. Designed for semi-permanent living, it offers comfort and security by means of an adjustable aluminium platform with a double layered canvas tent roof. The height of the platform can be easily adjusted to become a bed at 1m, a workbench at 0.9m, a table at 0.75m or daybed at 0.5m, so providing for the primary activities of dwelling.