Something for Everyone – ownworld Launches A Sum of Parts

Australian furniture brand ownworld has long allied with architects and designers, providing customised furniture, lighting, storage and accessories for an array of commercial and residential settings. Its latest offering, A_SOP (A Sum of Parts), is a soft seating solution that offers designers and specifiers flexible and modular configurations with shorter lead times. The collection was designed by interior designer and long-time collaborator Kathy Arnold, formerly one half of design studio Arnold Lane.

Discussions about a soft seating product range had happened for some years, but only came to fruition in 2020, when the closure of Kathy’s design practice, combined with a halt in European production due to COVID-19, saw the stars finally align. “The brief from ownworld was to design a sofa system, predominantly for commercial environments, that offered designers flexibility in terms of individual modules and how they could be configured. The ability to deliver a quality piece with shorter lead times was paramount,” says Kathy.

The collection includes 18 well-proportioned modules – comprised of four seat, four back, four cushion and six arm variants – that allow designers to achieve multiple combinations across an array of aesthetics.

The collection includes 18 well-proportioned modules – comprised of four seat, four back, four cushion and six arm variants – that allow designers to achieve multiple combinations across an array of aesthetics. The seats, backs and cushions are all identical in height with varying widths, whereas the arms each differ in width, height and length. By this token, a sofa can appear completely different with the mere introduction of an alternate arm or the positioning of the backs.

A_SOP is characterised by precise, linear forms that speak to an elegant minimalism. While the seat comprises a pine timber frame and multi-density high-resilience foam, the cushions feature a feather-microfibre fill and removable covers. As for the upholstery, Kathy opted for a selection of Kvadrat Maharam fabrics. “It was important to ensure that the fabrics worked well with the form of the sofa. The makers tested all the fabrics so we could be confident of achieving optimum outcomes for the end user,” she says.

Size was another key consideration, as a bulky design would mean automatic exclusion from condensed commercial environments. In a bid to strike a balance between a deep seat and a compact shape, Kathy approached the design as a puzzle. “I decided that the range needed some ‘fixed’ attributes as well as some ‘flexible’ ones. Having seen so many curved and puffy pieces saturating the designer furniture space, I felt A_SOP should be more linear but have the flexibility in size and form to be used in small spaces or large commercial lobbies. They also needed to look good from every angle so placement of the pieces would always result in an aesthetically pleasing outcome,” she shares, adding that the process was akin to solving a mathematical equation.

In terms of the approach, Kathy let her experience as an interior designer guide her. “I had the advantage of knowing what the end user is often looking for and what is difficult to source. Most product designers are seeking to design something unique – a difficult task in a world saturated with product. My approach to design is to remove what isn’t necessary, to pare the form back to its most minimal. The approach to A_SOP was no different,” she concludes.