Reto Eberle, CEO of dTank, has created a private foundation that encourages interior design students to explore and innovate in the field of furniture. In the “old days”, furniture designers were viewed as true artists. They certainly created iconic pieces (like the Eames chair). The fact that so many pieces from the old guard of designers ended up in art and design installations in museums is an indication that furniture can be compelling. Now, Eberle wants to bring back some of that spark in architecture and design programs in the U.S. After all, a building is just a shell. It’s the items you fill it with that people interact with every day. Shouldn’t the furnishings be beautiful?

The F3 Foundation stands for Form, Function, and Furniture. The Foundation kicked off its outreach by inviting students to participate in a furniture design competition. Their first challenge was to design furniture for a Music Utility Vehicle. To see what the winners came up with, visit the F3 website. These could be the designers of the office furniture of the future. One thing’s for certain – what they come up with will be like nothing you’ve seen before.