Swedish Designer Creates Coin-Operated Stools

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- A new coin-op stool offers sitters versatility while providing some measure of security and neatness for venues. Created by Swedish architect and designer Thomas Bernstrand of Bernstrand & Co., the Share Stools concept serves similar purpose as public lockers or baggage carriers in airports.

When nested in a compact vertical column, Bernstrand's chairs remain locked together and easy to locate. A coin or token unlocks a single metal stool by a mechanical coin mechanism built into the underside of the seat, allowing a patron to carry off and arrange the stool to their liking. The coin or token is returned when the chair is relocked into place.

Bernstrand sees his stools having applications in such public spaces as parks, shopping malls and airports. The designer said the deposit is not intended as a profit center. Rather, it functions as an incentive for users to return the chair to the column and re-nest it, which keeps the public area tidy. However, as any air traveler can attest, abandoned luggage carts can turn a modest profit.

BRIGHT IDEA:Will consumers pay to sit? That's not the point, at least according to the designer of these Share Stools. The coin-mech refunds the coin or token once a patron returns the chair to its place, keeping public space tidy.