So I’ve already dated myself once this week with a reference to John Travolta and the ’77 Broncos (I was a fledgling fan of eight at the time), so why not go for a second? Before the Police ignominiously dissolved in 1983, they’d achieved many a poppy anthem that transcended the vapid qualities typical of such fare. 1980’s “Man in a Suitcase” was (is) one of my favorites. Here’s a choice tidbit: “I’d invite you back to my place. It’s only mine because it holds my suitcase. It looks like home to me alright, but it’s a hundred miles from yesterday night.”

Casulo. Designed by Marcel Krings and Sebastian Mühlhäuser.

Though designers Marcel Krings & Sebastian Mühlhäuser we’re probably not of an age to have absorbed this ironic paean to the new mobile man, something of its sentiments must have somehow entered their respective DNA. How else to account for the concept behind Casulo, an entire apartment’s worth of furniture inside the modest confines of a 47″ x 35″ x 31″ box.

Here’s what the duo says about this intriguing and space-saving storage solution: “Flexibility and mobility have become key concepts of today’s working world and yet we continue to create our own barriers to our success and mobility… overcoming our desire to accumulate goods and possessions will allow us to appreciate even more the increase in mobility, freedom and flexibility.” So Casulo is for anyone anywhere who has felt furiously fed up with the detritus of life (particularly come moving time), and experienced a powerful desire to chuck it all. Of course, we never do. We make a few good-natured visits to goodwill or salvation army and continue our relentless American accumulation.

Not to bash the good old U.S.A., but Casulo has a decided European ethos and aesthetic (it seems the continent’s concern with space-saving predates ours by a longshot). So we could stand to learn a thing or two from this modular storage system for modular furniture, beginning with how the brightly-hued cube unfolds to reveal a wardrobe, a desk/table with cabinet and locking drawers, an adjustable desk chair, two stools, a single bed and mattress, and a bookcase. In its packed incarnation, the entire apparatus can be moved and assembled (sans tools) by just two people.

Much like last week’s Magic Cube, the key to Casulo is in the way its components fit together when packed: there’s no dead space within that 4′ x 3′ box, and the box’s exterior becomes part of the furniture (the outer walls form the upper half of the wardrobe and the lower frame turns into the desk).

Though Casulo is wonderfully innovative, it probably won’t inspire you to junk your bedroom set just yet. But it’s certainly a great alternative for the itinerant: those in job training, students, up-and-coming bachelor (or bachelorette) types who value increased mobility. It’s also a good option for quick-room conversions, habitual guests, or down and out In-Laws; of course, I don’t wish that particular calamity on anyone, but in this economy, you never know what’s in store… One more step in our continued progress towards wise resource use, Casulo will definitely help us see the bright side of life in a suitcase (or a big yellow box).

via Tree Hugger