BE OPEN BLOG

Seating is one of the most universal elements of design, yet it remains one of the most revealing. A chair can reflect culture, shape social interaction, and influence how we spend our time within a space. Designers today are increasingly treating seating as more than a functional necessity. It has become a platform for experimentation, storytelling, and innovation.

Marka feels less like furniture and more like a cultural memory taking shape in the present. Designed by Adel Alserhani, the concept is inspired by the Bedouin way of life, where mobility, adaptability, and shared living defined everyday objects. In those communities, belongings needed to be light, versatile, and deeply connected to how people lived together. Marka brings that spirit into contemporary living.

For Bedouin communities, mobility shaped design. Objects were made to move with people and to adapt to different uses. What once served as a saddle support for camel riding gradually evolved into a low seating form when nomadic groups began settling. That transition reveals how design responds to changing lifestyles and how culture can be preserved through the objects people use daily.

Marka builds on this history by reinterpreting the traditional form as a modular seating system. The design can be assembled and reassembled without tools, using two structural panels and a padded cover that interlock with ease. One configuration allows two people to sit close together, encouraging conversation and shared time. Another configuration creates a low personal chair designed for quiet relaxation and reflection.

Material choice adds another layer of meaning. The structure is made from recycled and recyclable polypropylene sourced from local manufacturing waste. This decision reflects a sustainable approach while echoing the resourcefulness of the traditions that inspired the design. Marka does not attempt to solve modern loneliness, but it creates small opportunities for connection by inviting people to sit together, slow down, and share moments in the same physical space.

While Marka explores cultural storytelling through modular design, the UMI Armchair approaches seating through bold sculptural presence. Designed by Rostislav Sorokovoy for the Ukrainian furniture brand Woo, the armchair transforms a familiar living room object into something that feels almost like a soft sculpture.

The design is built around two large cylindrical forms that connect to create a horseshoe shape, forming both the seat and backrest. Four plump cylindrical legs support the structure, giving the chair a stable and visually balanced base. The result is a piece that immediately draws attention in a room while still offering a welcoming place to sit.

Beyond its distinctive appearance, the UMI Armchair invites physical interaction. Its rounded forms and soft surfaces encourage users to lean, touch, and relax into it naturally. Constructed with a plywood frame, polyurethane foam, and textile upholstery, the chair balances playful aesthetics with ergonomic comfort. It works equally well as a place to read, unwind, or simply pause for a quiet moment.

The chair’s generous proportions do require space, which makes it less suitable for smaller homes. In larger interiors, however, the UMI Armchair can act as a centerpiece that defines the character of a living room. Placing multiple chairs together creates an interesting arrangement of rounded forms that turns seating into a sculptural composition.

If the UMI Armchair embraces volume and presence, the Tilt chair by Manuela Hirschfeld demonstrates the power of restraint. Created as a student project at Germany’s Hochschule Pforzheim, the design explores how a single thoughtful gesture can transform the way a chair is used.

Built from bent plywood, the chair shifts between two positions with a simple movement. In one position it functions as an upright chair. With a gentle forward tilt, it becomes a relaxed lounger. There are no mechanical parts, switches, or complicated mechanisms involved. The transformation relies entirely on balance and the inherent properties of the material.

Bent plywood has a long history in furniture design, famously explored by designers such as Charles and Ray Eames and Alvar Aalto. Working with such a well established material can be challenging because expectations are high. Hirschfeld approaches the material with clarity and restraint, creating a design that feels contemporary without imitating past icons.

The result is a chair that reflects how people actually use furniture throughout the day. We rarely sit in the same posture for long periods. The Tilt chair acknowledges this by allowing a single object to support both focus and relaxation. It is a simple idea, but one that demonstrates how thoughtful design can quietly reshape everyday experiences.

Together, these three projects highlight the evolving possibilities of seating design.
What they share is a recognition that seating is never purely functional. A chair shapes how people gather, relax, and interact with their surroundings. In the end, the future of seating may not lie in radical reinvention, but in thoughtful ideas that quietly change how we sit together.