Julia Wolf & Felix Haeffner
kuli
University Project
kuli
kuli
Kuli is a simple piece of furniture designed to be a seating object, a coffee table, or a storage and display unit, it requires the user to ‘build’ it themselves according to what kind of furniture is needed.
Comprised of a steel wire basket with a board on top, the wire box can be filled with beanbag-style cushions in several different sizes to layer like sandbags if you need a seat. By fixing them with rubber ropes hooked into the grid, they stay put.
There were two main problems we wanted to solve. First the question of how a comfortable chair for young people with or without kids and smaller apartments has to look like. And secondly the idea to design a piece of furniture that is completely dismountable and that the single parts have a use on their own.
3. The Intent: What point of view did you bring to the project, and were there additional criteria that you added to the brief?We wanted to give a holistic solution to the problems we wanted to solve. Each person should have the possibility to use the piece in the way it is the best for him or her. The multifunctionality and the well-considered colour scheme have the same importance as the freedom of actually sitting on the piece and using it in the everyday life. The choice of high quality materials combined with a simplified production process should give the right value to the piece.
4. The Process: Describe the rigor that informed your project. (Research, ethnography, subject matter experts, materials exploration, technology, iteration, testing, etc., as applicable.) What stakeholder interests did you consider? (Audience, business, organization, labor, manufacturing, distribution, etc., as applicable)More and more people live in cities and they do not have a lot of space available in there apartment.
They need to use every square meter and can’t waste space with objects or furniture that are not needed frequently. Storage space for books and other thinks is always welcome in small apartments and for people with children it can be very handy to have some space to store their kids toys. If you have some friends over for the night it can also be very handy to have a bed that is easy to prepare for the night.
All the cushions to build a chair can be stored in the wire basket. It is not only perfect to keep the used space at a minimum but it is also very good for shipping. The cushions are filled with styrofoam like beanbags and can be easily washed and refilled through the zipper.
The wire basket is made out of thin metall wire which gets bend and welded just like any shopping cart.
Kuli is not only a chair. It is also a table and a storage unit and joining two easy chairs gets you a bed or a cosy sofa. Each part of kuli can be used separately or in any desirable combination to build another use. It only uses the minimum space in the apartment. Because of the high quality materials in it very durable and can be recycled completely.
It feels like a project that a young person would like to have.
It doesn’t feel like your mum’s furniture. It reminds me of how students strap stuff on their bike. I can imagine this project being used. – Helen Maria Nugent
The use of straps is ingenious as a simple method of making a piece of furniture that can be organized in multiple ways for different seating arrangements. I like the spontaneous quality of this piece. – Zoë Ryan
It is a fun project with many different uses. – Sam Vinz
The design allows for individuals to personalize their own way of sitting – Defne Koz
It was one of the more playful new takes on furniture. – Chris Force