Sou sofa juxtaposes Japanese tradition with Scandinavian design

A space is like a blank canvas, with its interior elements harmoniously juxtaposing colour and character -- each piece holding its own distinct personality while contributing to a holistic interior design. Japanese designer Teruhiro Yanagihara believes in envisioning the space in conjunction with individual objects due to his background in spatial design and architecture from Osaka University of Arts, where he majored in Space Design at the Department of Design. “The product should be beautiful as itself but I am very conscious about the harmony and experience in a space, more than just the beauty of a single product,” shares Yanagihara. Holding a strong global presence, Yanagihara has worked for Offecct, Pallucco, Sergio Rossi, Wallpaper, Karimoku New Standard and Arita, moving forward in 2002, he established his design studio - ‘The Teruhiro Yanagihara/Isolation Unit’, in Japan. With domestic and international clients on board, Yanagihara spans his horizons across boundaries and cultures building crossroads between design, industry and craftsmanship.

Yanagihara’s most recent collaboration with Scandinavian furniture design company Offect grasps a deep-rooted emphasis on the similarity between the Japanese and Scandinavian design traditions following minimalism. Sofa design by Yanagihara for Offect touted ‘Sou sofa’ where ‘Sou’ originates from the Japanese word ‘chisou’ which means ‘stratum’, with the prefix ‘chi’ (base) and the suffix ‘sou’ (layer). Yanagihara draws inspiration from the structure of ‘Mille-Feuille’, a French pastry comprising several layers altered in various ways for the sofa design. “The first inspiration for this sofa system came from the French confectionery mille-feuille. It was designed with layers of different materials in mind. I designed the organic lines and the connections of the overlapping parts look very beautiful,” shares Yanagihara.

Sou sofa renders furniture design into a jigsaw puzzle, adding to its multifunctionality. The layers from ‘Mille-Feuille’ are abstracted into the design of Sou sofa by breaking down every piece of furniture into its individual components (layers) and rearranging them step by step.“It’s about how the sofa is designed, but also the fact that it can have different uses and expressions depending on how you choose to combine the different layers. Since the seat and backrest are separated, you can choose different colours of fabric or different finishes on the table part, for instance,” explains Yanagihara. The minimalist shape, crafted with wood and fabric, its timeless and easy-to-place expression adds versatility to the sofa design, transferring the freedom of its functionality to the user. “My idea was to start with the sofa’s most basic parts and let the different shapes and functions overlap in layers. The seat is a little higher, so it goes particularly well in restaurants and waiting rooms, for example,” shares Yanagihara.

“It was difficult to achieve both the beauty of a single unit so that it can be used at home and the beauty of combining it in various compositions for contract use,” shares Yahagihara. Embarking on a challenging journey of crafting a piece that sits well with any interior setting by examining various proportions for personalized configuration brought Sou sofa to fruition. Yanagihara adopts a sustainable design approach by lowering the consumption of resources and materials, the seat and backrest are separated which allows for diverse colour combinations to emerge on the same sofa, transforming the impression cast by the same design.

Offecct, Yanagihara’s first overseas collaboration, deployed their bespoke sewing and processing techniques to bring his vision to life. “The Offecct's craftsmanship is high, and even designs that are difficult to sew like this Sofa system, they made perfectly. so it is a brand that is easy to collaborate with,” shares Yanagihara on collaborating with Offecct. With mutual belief in producing designs that cater to the user’s wishes and future needs adding genuine value to society. Sou sofa is an ideal amalgamation of Yanagihara’s Japanese tradition and Offecct’s Scandinavian design language.