Earlier this month at Maison & Objet in Paris, the Farringdon Laptop Desk won the new “Prix Les D©couvertes” award (meaning “The Discoveries”) for the Loft category. Created to recognize the most impressive products launched, it is judged by experts in fashion of the home.

Farringdon Laptop Desk. Designed by Leonhard Pfeifer for Woodman.

Launching in partnership with the manufacturer Woodman, the jury selected this piece by furniture designer Leonhard Pfeifer for “its sleek design and small footprint” that will sit nicely, for example, within quaint spaces of Paris and London. Speaking of which, the Farringdon Laptop Desk will be released in those two cities – and distributed throughout the UK and France – in late 2010.

With it’s extendable work-top that slides in and out from resting position and its solid Oak legs that stand atop a relatively small area, it still offers plenty of space to spread out. An open shelf for papers and cable management fits laptops, flat screen computer monitors, external hard drives, and phone chargers perfectly, keeping desktop clutter at bay.

Already conscious of maintaining its small footprint within the house, the New Zealand-born, Australian-studied, London-practicing Pfeifer designed the Farringdon Laptop Desk using FSC certified wood from sustainable sources. As the son of an antiques restorer with a family history in engineering and carpentry, his goal was to create a long-lasting product that has little impact on the environment that is sold at a decent price. Upon it’s release date, the desk will be sold for £299 (€349).

His design practice goes right along with what he preaches, saying that “furniture and in fact all our belongings create a context for our lives - a framework of values and choices that identify who we are.” I’d say Pfeifer is a man who chooses to objects on behalf of the people who identify that we know what’s best for our spaces, and for the world around us.