Skymill is a desktop device that’ll reshape your relationship with the weather

Skymill is a modern interpretation of the barometer, the atmospheric instrument often found in middle- and upper-class homes in the days before wireless broadcasting brought weather forecasts to the masses. In our modern data-driven world, a profusion of contemporary equivalents has emerged, tapping into publicly available weather info to provide instant updates, whether it’s via an app or a clock on the wall.

Skymill does things somewhat differently. Created by the Swedish designer and engineer Gustav Rosén, crowdfunded via Kickstarter and marketed via Swedish design brand Klong, Skymill is an experiential weather forecasting machine. A blend of analogue form and digital innards, the jelly mould-like desktop device is crowned with a thicket of finely machined metal weather indicators – rain, thunder, clouds, snow, sun, etc.

These metal indicator arms move according to the weather, sliding up and down grilles on the outside of the metallic case. In addition to the climatic conditions, Skymill also shows the position of the sun and the moon, creating an ever-changing sculptural representation of the world outside the window. As well as real-time display there’s a physical forecasting button that’ll rearrange the arms to show what’s expected 3, 6, 9 or 24 hours ahead.

‘We spend most of our time indoors, in air that affects our health, sleep and focus. That's why good air is so important, and even though bad air can easily be aired out, it requires awareness of the problem,’ says Rosén, ‘With Skymill, we want to make the invisible visible and remind people how both the weather and the air around us shape our days.’

Inspired in part by the complex mechanical workings of cuckoo clocks and automata, Skymill fuses the physical realm with digitally-delivered information – weather info comes via an accompanying app, which can be set up to show the conditions anywhere in the world, not just at home. There’s also a segmented diode display for showing the temperature, cleverly integrated into the casing to show indoor and outdoor values.

‘As our everyday lives become increasingly digital, I felt a longing for something more tangible,’ says Rosén, ’People have long built complicated mechanical objects, both for function and for pure entertainment - everything from barometers to cuckoo clocks and music machines. With Skymill, I wanted to create something that respects the way we used to look at the sky. It doesn't reduce the weather to numbers on a screen, but lets you reconnect with it.’

Powered via USB-C, Skymill also doubles up as a mood light and an indoor air quality meter – the bird in a cage indicator is used to highlight poor air quality (shades of the cult Birdie indoor air monitor).

The collaboration with Klong came about via the design company’s CEO, Georg Hedendahl, who brought Rosén on board to develop and refine the design. ‘Our brand is based on care, from production to delivery – care for both people and nature,’ says Hedendahl, ‘We only work with designers who dare to create their own expression without following trends.’

Skymill on Kickstarter.com, Gustav Rosén, @Gustav_Rosen_Design, Klong.com, @KlongInterior