living to tell stories

Beautiful, functional, and flexible. Coherent on a rational and emotional level, the minimalist design is made for sitting and lounging. As seating, as daybed for resting, or as a guest bed with a comfortable reclining area. Launched in 1999 as part of the first series of products co-created with EOOS, Living Platform is still of great importance today.

The sophistication is both visible and tangible in the leather and the elaborate seams, such as the stitched piping. Or in the handling of the steel – a work of art in itself, which required highly skilled craftsmanship. As if from a single cast, the angular artfully merges with the round steel tube.

What do the rituals of everyday life look like? For the design of Living Platform, EOOS closely studied how people live with and on a sofa. The design derives from our natural habits and caters to a variety of lifestyle situations. To support the way we move, the sofa offers intelligent functional features.

EOOS, namely Martin Bergmann, Gernot Bohmann and Harald Gründl, take their name from one of the four horses pulling the chariot of the sun god Helios in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. They describe their approach as “poetic analysis”. A tool they use to explore the deeper meaning of images, rituals and myths as a basis for new designs. Through examining the culture of human rituals, EOOS question the meaning and function of design and provide their own answers. The work of the team has so far been recognized by more than 130 design prizes, including the Compasso d'Oro. The three Austrian designers met while studying together at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Today they are still based in the city, where they create designs destined for projects from Milan to Toronto, New York to Herrenberg.

Walter Knoll and EOOS have now been working together for more than 20 years. It all began in 1997 with a draft design for the Jason sofa, which is still part of the current Walter Knoll Collection, and a shared vision: to create living spaces. The ongoing and close partnership has resulted in around 100 further products and numerous awards to date. Each design is created with a focus on people, and demands of modern life and work.

The Living Platform offers a variety of seating and resting positions. The seat easily becomes a daybed. The armrest a backrest. The mechanism behind this is ingenious and yet immediately understandable. The armrest can easily be tilted upright and the small back cushion placed in front of it. Or simply remove the back cushions and pull the seat area forwards. This increases the seating area and transforms it into a daybed for reclining and putting your feet up.

Leather: Elen by Walter Knoll

A special refinement finish gives the natural wax leather Elen its silky sheen. This finish also protects the fine surface and ensures high lightfastness. The color spectrum is tailored to the feel and structure and underlines the precious appeal of the leather.

Leather Type: Finished aniline leather/wax leather