Alcove sofa for Vitra Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec

The Bouroullec brothers’ latest design for Vitra is a capacious sofa which embraces the needs of both home and work.

The word alcove, which is derived from the Arabic term al-qubba, designates a recess in a wall or a secluded niche in a room that is padded for sleeping or sitting. An alcove creates a space for solitude and retreat, with its own ambience and acoustics.

In a similar way, a sofa can also transcend its conventional role as a piece of furniture to become a room within a room. Ronan and Erwan Bourroullec found inspiration in this idea for the development of the Alcove Sofa.

Alcove is more than just a piece of seating furniture. With its exceptionally soft cushions and high, flexible side and back panels, the Alcove Sofa offers shelter and security in a defined space. It creates a private, intimate setting in the midst of daily life. The Bouroullec brothers achieved this by using extremely thin elements for the load-bearing structure (especially in comparison to other sofas), thereby maximising the interior surface area.

The pliant, upholstered side and back panels promote a relaxed, healthy seating posture and quickly impart a feeling of calmness. Soft seat and back cushions invite the sitter to sink deeply into the sofa. Two people can comfortably sit facing each other, with their backs supported by the side panels, for reading, tasks requiring concentration, for brainstorming sessions, or simply for relaxation. The Alcove Sofa is like a niche with its own spatial ambience and muted sound levels – a place of tranquillity.

The Alcove Sofa is welcoming and offers shelter. In the office setting, people will enjoy it as a designated space for concentration and refuge.

For further information, visit vitra.com.