Since the turn of the millennium, televisions have continued to get thinner – and bigger. Yet their steady increase in size has also made them aesthetically disruptive – out of scale – in many a living environment. Unveiled during Milan Design Week, Bang & Olufsen’s new Beovision Harmony strikes a more harmonious – and innovative – balance, offering a foldable design that addresses its surroundings with an elegantly scaled presence.
Designed to sit low on the floor, the Beovision Harmony set rests on a pair of oak and aluminum covers. When the TV’s in use, the simple covers raise the screen to eye level for seated viewers, matching the scale of a living space. If the set is turned off, the covers fold to cover part of the thin OLED screen with a minimal – yet sculptural – installation.
The natural oak tone lends a sense of tactility and warmth to the black void of the screen while minimizing the presence of the 77-inch display. The panels also house the television’s built-in acoustic system, with the grading pattern designed to optimize sound quality. As an alternative to the oak and aluminum finish, a grey fabric and aluminum option offers a more neutral option.
For Bang & Olufsen, the Beovision Harmony – which will be widely available in late 2019 – embodies the Danish company’s well-established commitment to technological innovation in a design-forward context.
“It has been a mission of ours to perfect the techniques used to reproduce sound and vision and to embody it in a design that people are proud to have in their homes,” says John Mollanger, an executive vice president at Bang & Olufsen. “Wood has always been an important aspect of Nordic architecture and furniture design because of its individual character, robustness and versatility and we are proud to carry this forward in our Beovision Harmony.”
Bang & Olufsen is showcasing a variety of products — including Beovision Harmony – at an ongoing Milan Design Week exhibition titled 93 Years of Magic: A Dialogue Between Past and Present from April 9 to 14.