Zenga Bros, a Vancouver-based, multidisciplinary creative duo, in collaboration with professional skateboarder Andy Anderson, created an ingenious furniture collection with a rebellious spirit - Skate Break. The collection consists of five unique pieces that can seamlessly transition between functional office furniture and skate-ready ramps. Each piece invites a different use, breaking the norms of traditional design and expanding the furniture’s utility beyond a single, static purpose. In the accompanying short film for the Skate Break collection, Andy Anderson showcases the skateable furniture pieces in action, illustrating how everyday items can redefine form and function with thrilling, playful results.
With this furniture collection, the Zenga Bros challenge us to rethink the spaces we inhabit, inviting us to imagine how an office desk could morph into a mini ramp or a camper van could unfold into a skatepark on wheels. This approach aligns with architect Bernard Tschumi’s theory of Event Architecture, where space is not merely a container but an active participant in the experiences it hosts. Tschumi’s concept of “transprogramming”— the fusion of two programs, regardless of their incompatibilities, together with their respective spatial configurations — mirrors the Zenga Bros’ innovative approach of blending workspaces with skate parks, letting two seemingly incompatible functions share a dynamic relationship.
In Tschumi’s words, architecture should be more than just form or function; it should be about creating “conditions” that encourage diverse and unexpected uses. The Skate Break pieces are exactly that—furniture that responds to both the need for functionality and the desire for play, creating moments of surprise and interaction within the everyday.
The Skate Break furniture collection concept also finds a compelling resonance in Bobby Young’s article “A Skateboarder's Guide to Architecture or an Architect’s Guide to Skateboarding”, which positions skateboarders as some of the most functional, innovative users of urban spaces. Young argues that skaters, like architects, question the relationship between form and function, yet do so in a direct, physical manner. While an average person engages architecture and urban space at only one level and sees a bench merely as a place to sit, a skateboarder sees a set of opportunities: slides, grinds, or foot plants. Skateboarders are “purist” users of architecture, as Young notes, bending traditional uses and engaging the built environment in unconventional ways. Similarly, *Skate Break* invites us to question the boundaries of work and play, practicality and imagination, as each piece blurs the line between art and action, utility and excitement.
Through "Skate Break", the Zenga Bros and Andy Anderson are not just designing furniture; they’re reshaping our perception of space and purpose. Whether in a boardroom, an office, or the outdoors, these multi-functional, skateable objects represent a call to action—a chance to see potential in the mundane, to engage with our environment on multiple levels, and to celebrate the playful possibilities that lie just beneath the surface of the everyday.
