At first glance, its hard to decipher what exactly this gigantic figure 8 is. And even after hearing about it, some may remain confused. Appropriately named Spun, this warehouse size structure is actually both a bench and an incredible piece of artwork made out of carbon fiber.

Danish designer Mathias Bengtsson is the genius behind the bench. Based on a similar design he created about a decade ago, curators of a new show at the Industry Gallery in Washington D.C. requested that he weave 12 Spun benches into one single structure that would spiral around the gallery. Spun is woven from carbon fiber which is notorious for being light weight. Each piece weighs only a couple pounds, making the final structure a mere 11 pounds! While carbon fiber is also notorious for being extremely expensive, Bengtsson used a low-cost industrial fiber spinning technique used by aerospace engineers at NASA.

“The pattern of the fibre is designed to produce maximum strength from minimum material–only 20% of the surface is carbon,” Bengtsson told Design Museum.

I absolutely love how this carbon fiber bench is both practical and a stunning piece of art. And while it remains on display at the art gallery in Washington D.C. until the end of June, visitors are more than welcome and even encouraged, to give their feet a rest and plop down on the bench. It may look flimsy but Bengtsson and I can both assure you, it isn’t. But don’ get too comfy, as it sells for roughly $45,000.

[Source: Gizmodo, FastCo.Design]