Spotted at the BKLYN Designs, NYC’s premier showcase of Brooklyn-designed and made furnishings, Lim’s Rocking Pacman is as much an exercise in trust as it is a piece of furniture. Like a regular seesaw, you need two people for it to work. But while a traditional seesaw would just be boring to ride with just one person, attempting to use the Rocking Pacman alone can actually be dangerous since you would be unable to stop yourself from falling backwards onto the floor. Despite the slightly perilous nature of the piece, quite a few brave showgoers gave it a try.
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“I’m always fascinated by the idea of play and interesting forms of function,” Lim told us. “For me, growing up, I was always in playgrounds and I love swings, I love seesaws. So it just all came together, especially with my interest in geometry, as a piece about balance, about trust, about opposition.”
The playful piece gets it name from its Pacman-shaped profile.
Lim constructed the reverse seesaw out of reclaimed lumber donated to him by the Sawkill Lumber Co., which specializes in salvaging and re-manufacturing wood. The loveseat was built using torsion box construction.
Although the Rocking Pacman is a one-of-a-kind showpiece at the moment, Lim says that he would be willing to sell it if he found a suitable buyer.
If you’re in the New York area, head over to BKLYN Designs to take the Rocking Pacman for a spin yourself through May 8.
+ Louis Lim
+ Sawkill Lumber Co.
