May 18, 2002
Multiple-Use Furniture
Seating dictates “how and where you sit, and how you behave,” says Art Center College of Design student Yoshi Saito. Not so with Saito’s Hug, a sort of pod inspired by cocoons and pet beds. The hand-stitched layers of industrial-grade felt give new meaning to the word “nestle.” And they adapt to the user’s imagination. […]
Seating dictates “how and where you sit, and how you behave,” says Art Center College of Design student Yoshi Saito. Not so with Saito’s Hug, a sort of pod inspired by cocoons and pet beds. The hand-stitched layers of industrial-grade felt give new meaning to the word “nestle.” And they adapt to the user’s imagination.
The Hug is part of Art Center’s Clever, Smart, and Mobile exhibit, the result of a 14-week studio in the school’s Environmental Design Department (not the furniture design department). The goal of the studio: furnishing with multiple uses. Take Yuen Tung Chiang’s SeeSaw Sofa that doubles as a, well, seesaw. Chiang’s Hi Workstation is designed with three different surface levels-for writing, typing, or screen-watching.
