10 London-Based Designers Hacking USM Furniture

London design store Aram has opened the doors to a new exhibition that features the work of 10 UK-based studios, who have each hacked USM’s modular Haller system to create new typologies of furniture.

The show, titled “Adaptations”, has seen the ground floor gallery space transformed into a showcase of some of the best designers the UK has to offer. The inspiration for the show came from USM’s factories, and the corresponding brief was simple: create something that would enhance your everyday life using existing USM components.

“The exhibitors participating in Adaptations come from various fields such as architecture, art, textiles, interiors, and product design,” said Aram creative manager Grace Eden. “This range of expertise is key to exploring the project’s three main themes: deviation, function, and narrative. The designs are considered not only for their creative departure from the norm but also for their purpose and the context in which they exist.”

Read on to find out more about each designer and their project.

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Livia Lauber

Livia Lauber, a product and furniture designer, opted to create two pieces: a lamp and a bookshelf. The lamp, titled USMO, features a shade crafted from Washi paper, while the bookshelf is compact to fit in her studio, and comes complete with castors for ease of movement.

Jennifer Dyne

Jennifer Dyne is an architect at David Kohn Architects and has created something that will help her work efficiently from her home studio. Built to slot around an existing bench, the chest trolley is designed to organize tools and parts and sees an adaptation in the form of textile storage slings.

Issi Nanabeyin

Issi Nanabeyin responded to the brief in both his roles as an artist and educator. “Research, in my world, is relational,” he said. “It thrives on exchange, on circulating ideas and, in my studio the act of referencing books is habitual.” As such, one of Nanabeyin’s designs acts as a reference facilitator of sorts, allowing the artist to show books while not taking up table space, while the other – named DesignObject – is an adjustable drawing board that pivots to different angles.

Mitre and Mondays

Josef, Freya, and Finn of London-based studio Mitre and Mondays created some folding stools using the USM Haller components. With a seat crafted from a blue textile sling, the chairs are intended to provide a perch in the number of locations they find themselves working in, which most recently has included a converted van during the London Design Festival.

Studio Rhonda

Towards the back of the gallery space is a huge line drawing of a campervan. Upon closer inspection, you see that it’s there to illustrate the use of Studio Rhonda’s design – a pull-out unit for her 1988 T25 Volkswagen, affectionally known as “Velma”. “Aesthetically, it also has the look and feel of the 1980’s industrial genre, a perfect fit for the age and angular style of Velma,” she adds.

David Searcy

For David Searcy, the design solution was needed closer to home, and as such – he created two pieces for his bedroom: a chair and a clothes rail. For the chair, the USM Haller trolley handle functions as two armrests (which crucially double as rails for hanging clothes to avoid the dreaded pile building up). The rail itself has been designed to appear as light as possible and uses a steel wire rope pinned within the threaded ball joint.

Si Hyun Park

Si Hyun Park’s pieces were perhaps the most detailed of all, with engravings taking the graphic visual nature of the USM Haller system in a totally different direction. The pieces designed for her home include a coffee table based on the traditional Korean Soban table and a frame that doubles up as art storage. Both feature etched details: the coffee table inspired by the waves of the River Thames, and the frame with drawings of London scenes.

Kengo Horikoshi

Beige and steel panels were used by Kengo Horikoshi, in a project that contemplated the lifespan and evolution of a chair alongside that of a human. Taking advantage of the modular system, Horikoshi’s design allows sections of the seats to be adapted and changed depending on the need at any given time.

Mair Cook

Mair Cook’s creative practice is largely based on a belief that objects can enrich our lives as “constant companions”. Bringing this thinking to the brief, she combined the existing parts with a hand-woven lampshade – creating a lamp specifically for night feeds, as a tribute to her daughter. “My daughter spent her first month in NICU so I find I am grateful for the normalcy of touch and togetherness we were denied. The night feed is a sacred, quiet time of bonding for us. The lamp will accompany us through the drowsy hours,” she says.

Holly Rollins

Last but certainly not least is Holly Rollins – a London-based interior architect whose practice seems to be going from strength to strength. Through her studio, Rolstudio, she creates work that is often centered around the Caribbean diaspora. In a bid to create a space that supports her research-intensive process, as well as further education, Rollins designed the “Research Bureau”, which features a built-in upholstered seat, a swing-out desk, and display nooks for books and objects.

Adaptations is on show at Aram until December 14.

Aram store
110 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5SG