Foster + Partners and LG reveal partnership behind roll-up TV

Architecture and design firmFoster + Partners has been revealed as a collaborator on LG’s Signature OLED TV R , the world’s first television to pop out of sight. The two companies announced their partnership at Milan Design Week, where they showcased the television’s design in a installation. The industrial design department of the British firm Foster + Partners is responsible for the external geometry and finishes of the electronic device. It also worked together with LG to design some of the internal mechanisms. LG ’s Signature OLED TV R stands out for its roll-up action, made possible by a flexible screen measuring just 0.2 millimeters thick, with a suspended steel stand for support. When users aren't watching, they simply press a button to retract the screen into its rectangular aluminum base, which doubles as the speaker and is covered in Kvadrat fabric. The product is the brand's take on the trend of televisions designed to disappear or blend into the background when not being watched, but it is the first to use a roll-up mechanism. According to LG and Foster + Partners, the technology is the "[liberator] of users from the limitations of walls."

As an alternative to full extension and full retraction, the television can also be set to "Line View" - an intermediate option in which only the top part of the screen is unrolled to display content such as a clock, photos or a dashboard. Foster + Partners and LG showcased the product with an installation called Redefining Space at Superstudio Più in Milan’s Tortona district from April 9 to 14, combining on-screen content with ambient lighting effects. It's one of several invisible TVs on display in Milan. Bang & Olufsen unveiled its sculptural take on the trend, the Beovision Harmony, while Panasonic andVitra collaborated on the Vitrine prototype , designed to look like a pane of glass. All of these products are designed to counter the overpowering effect that a black screen has on indoor environments, particularly in residential spaces. Samsung is a big driver in this regard, launching the Bouroullec-designed Serif TV in 2015, followed by Yves Behar's painting-like Frame in 2017 and Ambient Mode in 2018. Although best known for its architecture, Norman Foster's studio has an active industrial design arm. His previous projects include the 20-06 stacking chair for Emeco, as well as the minimalist Tono bathroom line for Porcelanosa and the Eva light for Lumina.