Invisible Bookend, Here’s a good one to sit back and contemplate. This bookend by the Hackney-based designer Paul Cocksedge is for all intents and purposes, an invisible bookend. The designer will only let on that it is composed of a free-standing metal object. How it works is for you to contemplate. Bend your mental powers towards it, can you glean it’s mechanism?
© Mark Cocksedge
Motivated in its conception by the question of what drives consumers in their purchasing decisions, the bookend holds 1.5 meters worth of books at a gravity defying 30 ̊ from the normal. But what holds them there is conspicuously absent from the visual effect. Mr. Cocksedge states that, ‘The idea is it’s not about the object. It’s all about the fact there’s not anything interesting about the design, it’s just a great functional object.
© Mark Cocksedge
I have in my head what I think is the answer- what’s your explanation? There is of course, a simple solution to the incessant wondering- one may purchase one of these mind-benders at http://paulcocksedgeshop.com for £50.
Matt Davis is a Virginia Tech graduate and one of the founding editors behind Arch2O. Launching the platform in mid‑2012 alongside fellow Hokies, he helped shape its identity as an international hub for design innovation and critical dialogue . With a foundation in architectural education and a passion for uncovering unconventional design approaches, Matt has contributed significantly—both editorially and strategically—to Arch2O’s growth, ensuring that emerging architects, academics, and creatives have a space to question, explore, and elevate the built environment.