Sitting in a single position for long periods is not just uncomfortable but also a health hazard, but is the solution to be found in a single form or something more pliable and adaptable?

London designer Kirsi Enkovaara (images by Aava Anttinen) explores plasticity and comfort in this project titled The Body, a thesis work completed at the Royal College of Art.

The idea is in part to avoid presuppositions about ‘best ways’ to sit or lie down, letting a user bend and twist their furniture into shapes suitable for different activities and allowing for various positions of rest.

The structure itself is composed of canvass and filled with rice, giving it the right combination of flexibility and rigidity to support a person while also allowing it to be reshaped on demand.

From the designer: ‘The Body’ encourages a person to find their choice of sitting by discarding learned cultural norms. Trusting in their touch, movement and the feelings that arise in reaction to these in order to create the most comfortable way of sitting. The structure of ‘The Body’ is made from canvas and rice allowing it to be formed into reconfigurable rigid structures.

“The project started from an interest in emphasizing the psychology of sitting. When we are sitting or laying down we are less aware of our surroundings and in a more relaxed state. This is why the construction of the seat needed to reflect the qualities of human touch, the tactility and safety of which provides us with great comfort.” Many of her other works, both of art and design (or somewhere in between), likewise explore different relationships between ourselves and everyday objects.