Dezeen Magazine

Hannabi designs modular Urban Nomad sofa for generation rent

Hungarian furniture brand Hannabi has designed a modular sofa aimed at consumers who move frequently or live in small flats (+ slideshow).

Urban Nomad sofa designed by Anikó Rácz for Hannabi

The piece can be split into four parts and modified to serve the function of a single full-height sofa, two seating mats or a single bed.

Urban Nomad sofa designed by Anikó Rácz for Hannabi

The Urban Nomad sofa is part of Hannabi's Box Hyperactive system and is made up of two long rectangular cushions, which form the base, and a pair of triangular supports that can be used as backrests.

Urban Nomad sofa designed by Anikó Rácz for Hannabi

With its lack of fixtures or legs, the sofa can be easily arranged to form two separate seating areas, or stacked into one unit with double the height. Rubber junctions allow each piece to fit together and remain stable but also be easily separated again when lifted up.

Its internal hardwood frame and textile covering are designed to withstand frequent use and rearrangement. The designers also aimed to make the sofa as lightweight as possible and found inspiration in Japanese tatami mats.

Urban Nomad sofa designed by Anikó Rácz for Hannabi

According to Hannabi, which was founded by designer Anikó Rácz in 2010, the sofa is created for city dwellers who find themselves moving often and inhabiting smaller homes.

Urban Nomad sofa designed by Anikó Rácz for Hannabi

"It is more and more important that a living space should flexibly serve the family at different stages of life," said Hannabi CEO János Kemtykó. "Since the sofa is the centre of the time that we spend together, new requirements were brought into this furniture."

Urban Nomad sofa designed by Anikó Rácz for Hannabi

"When we designed Urban Nomad the most important viewpoint was to create multifunctional furniture which provides a lot of options that are important for a family using only a room-size space."

Several designers have addressed the needs of consumers looking for furniture that can be easily moved or modified for limited living space.

Urban Nomad sofa designed by Anikó Rácz for Hannabi

UK design graduate Sam Wrigley recently launched a collection of pieces that aimed to be even easier to assemble than Ikea furniture, and the Bouroullec brothers unveiled a customisable flat-pack sofa for Hay during Milan design week.

Danish studio Kilo Design has also experimented with modular seating, designing a sofa made of three lozenge-shaped cushions that could be rearranged as needed.