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Into co-living? This furniture can increase social interaction in shared housing

BOOKMARK ARTICLE

A growing number of young professionals no longer believes in the feasibility or desirability of a private-property ownership model. The shared living space is being reconsidered and reinterpreted through the development of community-driven housing projects in cities across the world. Although ascending house prices and the demand for flexibility play important roles in the emergence of such complexes, the social aspect is gaining ground as well.

The humble lounge, however, is but a distant dream for many who occupy shared housing. The lack of a communal living area prompted London-based Turkish designer Seray Ozdemir to create a collection of furniture that optimizes one of the least utilized spaces in any building: the corridor.

Ozdemir’s Corridor Society – a collection and a company – is meant to encourage social interaction where living-room-less-living is the norm. The pieces both complement the traditional hallway and reshape traditional furniture typologies. The 3/4 Table, for example, literally turns corners in a successful attempt to allow housemates to dine and perhaps bond together.

Spreading Hub is a shelving system that can be dismantled to form two stools and a table; a fourth element is a floor lamp that makes the hangout space even more attractive. Standing Sofa is a set of wall-mounted cushions that can be rearranged as desired. Another clever unit, the Multi-Level Lounger, combines coat rack, shoe rack and padded chair – the online explanation describes ‘a transition from urban to domestic’ that invites users ‘to take their urban suits off and become their domestic selves’.

Designers like Ozdemir are reaching out to a flourishing market targeting communal dwellers while demonstrating the potential of a massive rethink in furniture design for shared spaces.

corridorsociety.com

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