An Expansive Modular Sofa System: Reimagining Comfort Beyond Sitting On

"Does architecture alone define how we inhabit a space? It's becoming increasingly clear that it does not. The objects within a space-particularly furniture and other design pieces-not only serve functional purposes but actively shape the spatial and human experience. As schools, homes, and offices evolve to accommodate new ways of working, living, and socializing, furniture accompanies these transitions, prompting conversations that extend beyond functionality and engage the corporeal dimension implied in its use."

"Building on the question, "What makes a sofa comfortable?" Boss Design, together with lead designer Aaron Clarkson, set out to create a sofa defined by comfort. Rather than designing conventional contract furniture that people sit on, they aimed to design something people sit into. From this perspective, comfort goes beyond visual cues. Although lines, proportions, and silhouette shape our sense of visual comfort, bodily perception completes the experience."

"Several decades ago, British architects Alison and Peter Smithson were already exploring the relationship between the body, everyday experience, and space at an architectural scale. Since then, contemporary concepts of flexibility and comfort have expanded this framework to include other scales, such as furniture. These transformations have fostered the consolidation of modular seating systems whose flexibility and adaptability respond to diverse ways of living and relating to space."

Architecture does not solely determine how spaces are inhabited; furniture and design objects actively shape spatial and human experience and engage the corporeal dimension of use. Changing educational, residential, and workplace patterns drive furniture to evolve alongside new ways of working, living, and socializing. Historical exploration of body-space relations by Alison and Peter Smithson broadened into contemporary concerns for flexibility and comfort at furniture scale. Modular seating systems offer adaptability across diverse living patterns. Examples include Beau's expansive modular seating and Boss Design's sofa conceived by Aaron Clarkson to be sat into, emphasizing generous proportions, tactile materials, and full bodily engagement for perceived comfort.

Read at ArchDaily