Dezeen promotion: Italian architect Piero Lissoni has created a modular sofa system for B&B Italia, which can be reconfigured with 84 different components.

Presented at this year's Salone Del Mobile furniture fair in Milan, the Dock seating system is designed so that it can be assembled in numerous variations to suit different people's needs.

The sofa's structure is based on a solid wooden platform to which cushions, armrests and various tables can be attached.

"Suspended wooden surfaces support the cushions and accessories creating small tables on which to place a glass of wine or a book," explained Lissoni.

Lissoni designed the sofa to be a flexible piece of furniture that can easily be adjusted to changing spaces, homes and living circumstances.

"Dock is a place, an oasis of life to be used for pure relaxation, finished platforms with which to build islands of indeterminate shapes or formal sofas," said Lissoni. "It is a fractal that repeats itself in different scales."

The sofa is available with a range of padded cushions that are different sizes and thicknesses, while the armrests are available in two depth sizes. The sofa can also be configured without backrests to stand in the middle of a room.

Extra elements, like oval and round glass tables in either transparent or smoked finishes, can also be attached directly to the wooden platform, while padded armrests can be placed between the seat cushions.

Two new fabrics have been designed specifically for the sofa, which is also available in B&B Italia's standard range of textiles and leathers.

The wooden base platform has been designed so that it can be placed directly on the floor or raised to on metal legs.

"I thought about the simplicity and conviviality of an Eastern-style divan and transposed it into the contemporary world so it became a new divan generation," said Lissoni.

Lissoni named the modular sofa Dock because its wooden base looks similar to a jetty.

"Looking at Dock, you can imagine those special wooden bridges at a lake or by the seaside. That was the inspiration," Lissoni told Dezeen in a movie filmed during Milan design week.

Lissoni, an architect who is best known for his product design and interiors, opened his studio in 1986, a year after graduating from university in Milan.

Recent projects include a range of customisable kitchens and bathrooms, the interiors for a series of luxury superyachts and a showroom in London for DePadova.

Find out about B&B Italia on its website.