Cutting edge design doesn't come cheap, and with every day, month, and year that goes by it only gets more and more expensive. Case in point: Christie's will soon be auctioning off the most expensive piece ever by a living designer. It's the Marc Newson Lockheed lounge chaise, and it's expected to go for more than $2.4 million next month. That's one expensive lounge chair -- do you think they'll let bidders try it out/sit in it beforehand?

This sale is expected to blow the previous record (also a Newson piece that sold for $1 million earlier this year) out of the water by more than a little. Would you pay that much for this seat?

Richard Branson may have Philippe Starck in his corner for his Virgin Galactic space plans but the folks at EADS Astrium have another world-dominating designer for their new space plane on their team: Marc Newson. Newson's designs for the spaceplane were unveiled last week in Paris. Newson, who has already designed for several private jets as well as for Qantas, worked with the unique challenges of a plane which has both jet and rocket engines and will allow weightless flight (note the handles in the picture above). The interior was kept simple and the biggest challenge was the seats which have to be compact and light and comfortable for both traditional flight and rocket flight. The solution was a sort of hammock-like seat that is mounted on pivot points that move when the plane's angle changes. Newson is also famed for his love of bright colors, hence the canary yellow seats. After the jump, a few more shots of Newson's unique design.

First class fliers on Qantas have a new place to relax in Sydney. The airline recently opened a new flagship lounge designed by famed industrial designer Marc Newson. Features of the lounge include chair-side waiter service, concierge service and complimentary spa treatments. The Sydney lounge will include huge American oak sculptures that separate the lounge space into defined areas, a Payot Paris day spa, a 48-seat open kitchen restaurant with menus by Neil Perry, a library stocked with newspapers and magazines, books and board games, a dedicated entertainment zone with banks of plasma screens, marble-lined shower suites and business facilities with 11 PC workstations. The lounge is part of Qantas's luxury push in anticipation of getting their first Airbus A380 in 2008.