Search

Adaptive Seating for Both Eastern and Western Cultures

The differences in Eastern and Western cultures is pretty well documented, with Eastern gravitating more towards sitting and sleeping on the floor, while Western cultures preferring to be elevated in chairs and beds. Looking to merge the differences, ATO design studio created the Wa(臥) series to bring the two ideas together.

Despite Eastern culture adopting some of the west’s customs, floor-based culture continues to thrive throughout parts of Asia. Working with that idea, ATO developed three components for the series, including: a pillow, a legless chair, and a chair, that can used in various ways. The pillow can cradle your neck while lying on the floor, or it can be fitted on the back of the chair to support your lower back, with or without the legs.

In Korean, the Chinese character, 臥, ‘wa’ means ‘to lie down,’ which the three pieces allow you to do.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.