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OPPO – How can we populate empty public spaces? Can furniture help give a
sense of presence? Can products speak, populate, make us feel secure and enjoy a
sense of community in large empty spaces?
This was the starting point for a discussion that began in Cologne in autumn 2008
between Stefan Borselius and us after we spotted a small sketch in one of Stefan’s
sketch books, which he so generously lets us browse through every now and again.
We agreed that it would be like walking a tightrope, and that it was probably much
easier to fail pathetically than design a piece of furniture that creates an impression of
presence in a space even when no-one is there. Stefan said that such a piece is not
easily drawn, but should instead be sculpted into being.
Stefan’s process started as a long exploration of organic forms, often uncomfortably
evocative of something entirely different. But gradually a more friendly fgure began to
emerge; a friend who began to respond. Because Oppo would be entirely covered
in textile we chose to make our friend plump and with every outline and curve convex.
We didn’t want Oppo to be sad, old and crinkly with wrinkled hanging fabric...
Oppo was to be a happy companion, now and always.
OPPO
Design: Stefan Borselius
2OO9
