Have you ever wondered what would it feel like if you could lug your couch around in an envelope? Wouldn’t it make lounging in style easier and far more comfortable, whether you are camping or out on the beach? Well, it seems like the common man’s beloved furnishing friend IKEA had similar ambitions as its research lab “Space10” has created a stunning, speculative design project in collaboration with Swiss studio Panter&Tourron.
But a couch in an envelope sounds implausible and absurd. How would you fit a sofa inside a portable pouch? Wouldn’t it be heavy and need more people to move it? Um, no. Turns out, with clever use of material, even the hefty, gargantuan furniture pieces can undergo stunning metamorphosis as done by IKEA.
‘Couch in an Envelope’ is a revolutionary take on archetypical living room furniture. It reimagines the sofa as a flat-packed, modular, and lightweight piece of furniture. Moreover, the new sofa concept tackles the space-saving and circularity aspects of modern lifestyle.
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Weighing only 10 kg, the flexible sofa is made of 100 percent recyclable materials and is easy to assemble and disassemble. The materials for this conceptual design include an aluminum frame, which is endlessly recyclable metal and cellulose-based fabrics, yarns, and mycelium foam, which will be fully compostable or biodegradable. The couch comes in a flat-packed form, in packaging that can be carried by a single person via the handle.
Its modular configurations can be attuned to cater to a person’s needs around the home and changed during the day depending on the requirement, from a place to rest to a more social setting. Space10 used artificial intelligence to break the traditional mold of furniture design. With a wider exploration of generative AI tools, Space10 applied “AI to challenge the norms and biases found in furniture design and assist in designing Couch in an Envelope.”
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Stefano Panterotto, the co-founder of Panter&Tourron, said, “Comfort is primarily the main requirement when designing a couch, which can compromise durability and sustainability. We wanted to simplify the material composition, and prioritize weight, disassembly and circularity. We’ve envisaged something that’s 100 percent recyclable, without sacrificing softness. ‘Couch in an Envelope’ is a new generation of comfort.”
Made for a nomadic lifestyle, the Couch in an Envelope also lessens environmental impact by disrupting an ingrained materialistic approach to furnishings. It can be packed inside durable, biodegradable, and vacuum-sealed envelope packaging, which is suitable for storage. The reimagined couch has a toolless and screw-less design which helps with its circularity even further.
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