When we think of a couch we think of comfort and relaxation but can an AI design a couch for us that will satisfy our desires? We often also associate this item as a heavy bulky thing and fills us with dread when it comes to moving and getting it in and out of the house or flat we live in.
At this point of time and especially if you’re living in a high rise, the couch or sofa becomes an irritation of sorts. Well maybe no longer as a new AI couch design is giving you the option of folding it flat and fitting it into a giant envelope and simply carrying it around with you.
The AI Design
In collaboration with the Swiss design firm Panter&Tourron a flat pack couch prototype has been developed. The design by the AI features a bench like modular couch with adjustable wings and thin panel cushions.
It can be packed flat and stuffed into an envelope-shaped tote bag and weighs just 22 pounds. The idea by design agency, Space10 was something that took place in 2019 and has been taken up again now.
“It was a provocation. It seemed maybe but not achievable,” said Space10’s Georgina McDonald.
“As part of the original strategy, I actually wrote into ChatGPT, ‘could a couch fit into an envelope?; And of course the answer was no, a couch could not fit in an envelope.’ That really made us excited because, of course, the algorithm is fed on connotations of what is an envelope, what is a couch.”
“As soon as we removed the word couch and started looking at [terms like] platform, lightweight, tent, hammock, bed and surface, we started to get closer to what we wanted,” said McDonald.
Origami
The design then evolved from an origami diner booth to an interlinked pair of chaise lounges to a pillow strewn clamp shell.
Space10 has been using AI tools to develop potential products for IKEA but the couch is the first to go beyond just a sketch.
The final design is now a prototype which is on display at the Copenhagen Architecture Festival.
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