Dezeen Magazine

Seray Ozdemir designs furniture for corridors

Corridor Society furniture can be used to transform hallways into social spaces

Royal College of Art graduate Seray Ozdemir has created a collection of furniture for corridors, aimed at millennials who live in homes without communal living rooms.

Called Corridor Society, the collection features four pieces: a seat that wraps around corner, a combined seat and coat rack, a stackable shelving unit and a set of wall-mounted cushions.

Seray Ozdemir designs furniture for corridors
Multi Level Lounger features a series of seats on different levels, supported by a metal structure that doubles as a coat rack

Ozdemir – a Turkish designer currently based in London – claims these items can be used to transform the "archaic" corridors of shared properties into functional social spaces.

She came up with the design after her research revealed that approximately half of shared flats in London do not have living rooms, as these spaces are usually rented out as extra bedrooms.

Her aim is to create new places for social interaction in this type of home.

Seray Ozdemir designs furniture for corridors
3/4 Table is a seat with an integrated table, designed to wrap around a corner

"Flat sharers need to reappropriate spaces that are specifically designed for the nuclear family," said Ozdemir.

"The shared flat becomes a micro-neighbourhood where it actually is a house that consists of several houses. If corridors are what connect these room-houses, then they are more like streets than corridors," she stated.

"In this project, the corridor is transformed into an intermediary zone that works as a mechanism that brings tenants together and facilitates more social interaction, while still allowing the levels of privacy to be actively mediated by the tenants."

The largest design in the collection is Multi Level Lounger, which features a series of seats on different levels, supported by a metal structure that doubles as a coat rack.

"It gives tenants a different perception of their flat from an unusual vantage point while bringing back one of the fundamental functions of the corridor, which is creating a transition from urban to domestic," said Ozdemir.

The 3/4 Table is another seating element, with an integrated table. Shaped like a three-quarter circle, it is designed to wrap around a corner.

Seray Ozdemir designs furniture for corridors
Spreading Hub is a set of stools that stack up to form a shelving unit

Spreading Hub is a set of stools that stack up to form a shelving unit. They wrap around a columnar light.

"When they are stacked together, they work as a standing table. When they are spread, they offer seats and tables to help transform the corridor into a geometry of conviviality," explained Ozdemir.

Seray Ozdemir designs furniture for corridors
Standing Sofa is a series of wall-mounted cushions shaped to suit different body parts

Finally, Standing Sofa is a series of wall-mounted cushions that are shaped to suit different body parts. "By encouraging different postures for leaning on the walls, they aim to prolong conversations and make people linger," added the designer.

Ozdemir created the Corridor Society as her graduate project from the RCA's Design Products masters programme.

It was on display at the graduate show, alongside brass tools designed to help train dancers and a portable cooking set for kitchenless millennials.