11 - the beautiful game. Designed by GRO Design and Tim Modelmakers.

Think Foosball and an imagery of frat boys, beer bottles and dinky apartments tends to crop up! Foosball tables for many are right at the bottom of the design chain and even though best FRIENDS Joey and Chandler immortalized it, most design aficionados (present company included) wouldn’t dream of touching it with a 10 foot pole!

The “11” table shatters all these myths and ingeniously endures the assault of the clichés hurled at it. Designed by GRO Design and Tim Modelmakers, the table draws its name from the Football God Pele’s autobiography, My Life and the Beautiful Game and hence pays the ultimate homage to one of the greatest games ever.

Carefully conceived in a palette of pure whites, brooding blacks and chic bright-silver chrome, the “11” emanates an arresting effect and creates a sense of unification between design, form, colour, material and light. The monochromatic tabled combined with uber-cool bright-silver chrome figures, dynamic accents and dramatic lighting creates an adrenaline-pumping atmosphere.

Interestingly its not just the “game” itself but also the emblematic football stadium, which serves as a muse to GRO Design and Tim Modelmakers. To them the neo football stadium is an architectural expression that pushes design boundaries and enhances local landscape by its uncompromising originality and gargantuan size.

The table was thus just the right medium for GRO Design and Tim Modelmakers to express their appreciation of the sculptural tendency of sports stadiums and the role they play in the modern sporting consciousness. Currently the design team is also working on software that will further heighten the foosball experience.

The “11” table is a fascinating synthesis of conceptual ideation and innovative use of material. It can moonlight as a piece of furniture, serve as a source of entertainment, be a great conversation piece and also emphasizes team play rather than solitary confinement. At present the “11” table is a showcase prototype in spite of it being fully playable and functional. It will be exhibited at the Milan Design Week from 16th to 21st April 2008 and for now there are no plans to mass-produce it, which is a sacrilege according to me.

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