KUBO

RIO is built from softly rounded volumes. The back and arms wrap around the seat as a single volume of even height, closing in a shallow curve that falls away towards the front. The upholstery runs on uninterrupted from one surface to the next, and no base is left exposed — the sofa sits against the floor as one assembled piece.

The seat is wide and deep, and yields in a controlled way. The continuous back and arm line gives support sideways as well, so a position can shift from upright to across without the support breaking. Modules come in several lengths, and the range also includes a chaise and a corner element: a straight run, an L-shape or a long uninterrupted surface for lying down are all formed from the same parts. The seams between elements stay part of the sofa's rhythm rather than cutting across it.

Low and wide, RIO takes hold of a space without closing it. The corner element settles it naturally into the corner of a room, while the chaise turns it open in the middle of the floor, where the rounded ends let the eye carry on past. Set against concrete, stone and glass, its soft mass works as a counterweight — not as decoration but as a place to stay a while.

Design: Kenneth Wikström — 2017