Toaster Sofa

Our work often encounters the pervasive modernist housing blocks inherited from the late 20th century. The familiar concrete apartments make up more than half of the housing stock in major East Asian cities, presenting us with the challenge of adapting them for contemporary living. As the structure is robust but inflexible, the design solution often focuses on neighborhood-scale improvements and furniture-scale interventions. The toaster sofa draws from this experience to present a new category of furniture for the contemporary everyday amidst this urban environment.

As our lives become more complex and mobile, the toaster sofa is compact enough to fit easily into apartment living and light enough to take with us when we move. Consisting of only three material parts - a solid white birch frame, machine-washable fabric, and furniture-grade cushions - the Toaster sofa is free from glue and other harsh chemicals - optimized for industrial production and material sustainability.

The toaster sofa has an array of machine-washable fabric covers with oversized zips that are easily removable. It has one cushion size, interchangeable between the back and seat, so everything fits everywhere - avoiding the puzzle of matching covers to cushions and arranging them on the sofa. The modular cushions are slotted into a lightweight timber frame at precise angles for ergonomic comfort.

Urban life, especially in small spaces, is about embracing the spontaneity of daily life. We prize the special feeling of freedom to drink black coffee on a white fabric sofa without worry and to welcome a fuzzy cat onto the couch instead of shooing it away. To share this small everyday happiness, we want to design a sofa that's easy to clean regularly and renew infinitely.

Client: CAMERICH
Design Team: W. Guo, M. Leung, Y. Fu
Collaborator: Lu Biao of CAMERICH
Year: 2024