Cities such as London, Seattle, San Francisco and almost everywhere else are seeing an influx of young professionals, yet those urban centers are more expensive and more condensed. People are seeking smaller living spaces as an economic opportunity, and while it meshes well with notions of sustainability, the question Ori is tackling is: how do we accommodate a living room, bedroom, closet and office space in a small 200-300 square feet apartment?
While these micro living spaces enable developers to provide more housing options and allow renters and buyers affordability anda smaller carbon footprint, they clearly lack the need for life’s different accommodations that larger apartments provide. While some may view these small spaces as a necessity, a group of MIT engineers saw this as an opportunity – how do we maximize our use of these spaces, providing the experience of luxury living without the luxury of size? Better yet, what if your living space could physically transform to create any environment you need? We teamed up with Ori to design a system of robotic furniture: transformable units that can triple the usage of a given space.
While the Ori team had the technology – actuators, electronics and software to glide heavy furniture and connect it to other smart devices– our goal was to find a single unit scenario that would maximize the value of a micro studio or one bedroom apartment. The unit had to be flexible for both the developer and end user, with modular features based on spatial volume. More importantly, it had to solve the problems inherent to micro-living, such as maximizing storage space and minimizing clutter.
The inaugural Ori system is a robotic furniture system that transforms at the touch of a button. Tucked into the bottom of the unit is a comfortable bed that glides in and out. When tucked in, the bed is hidden under a closet, office and couch to maximize space. When activated, the unit slides in and outto become a bedroom or a more generous living room. One side of the unit hosts a full closet, but also hides a desk for a home office; the other side holds a media center for entertaining. Each room can be preset for a space, including preferred integrated lighting, so that one touch on the physical interface or on the corresponding app will morph the room. The on-device console uses manual glider buttons that make the owner feel as though they are magically moving the unit.
Ori, the new company namefuseproject created, comes from the Japanese word origami meaning ‘to fold,’ an appropriate connection to the brand’s mission. Every element such as the logo, app interfaceand furniture design was designed to represent a sense of playful and elegant origami, a seamless intertwining of shapes. The app, which allows for deeper customization of the unit itself, is mainly meant to augment the magic of the product experience through remote transformation – if you have friends coming over after work, just hit the living room button and your home is ready upon arrival. My favorite functionality is to have the bed automatically ‘made’ by having it slide away and disappear! The Ori system goes beyond functionality – customization of finishes, materials and colors truly lets you own your space, and the functionality means a small space can be transformed into a multi-functional home in just seconds.
Beyond the comfort and life-enhancing varied accommodations, Ori creates financial value for renters or owners;a studio becomes a one bedroom, for example. The Ori system is also valuable for developers by immediately increasing the value of the home. This is the power of Ori and its design – benefiting everyone involved by providing magical experiences, with functionality that alters our day-to-day lives. Powered by Ori, will make studio city living a practical, comfortable and beautiful experience.
