British furniture studio Another Country has teamed up with design agency Ekkist to create a series of health-focused furniture pieces, including a table with a tray for a surface and a multi-use daybed.
The Ori collection is on show for London Design Festival 2018 in an exhibition titled Designs for a Natural Home. It comprises 10 pieces, all intended to promote wellbeing in the home.
They are designed to follow a set of guiding principles defined by Ekkist, which encourage a consideration of light, water, adaptability and longevity, mindfulness, environment and the creation of biospheres.
"We tried to make the collection visually light," explained Catherine Aitken, the designer at Another Country behind the collection. "There is as much consideration of the space and air around the products as we put into the products themselves."
Each piece is made from sustainable materials – ash wood and organic Kvadrat textiles – that have minimal environmental impact and contain no toxins.
"The guest bed, for example, is all about adaptability and longevity," explained Aitken to Dezeen. "It allows you to live in a flexible way in your home."
The solid ash piece can be used as a daytime sofa or single bed, or extended into a double bed.
This idea of flexibility is carried through the rest of the collection. Strong tactile elements also feature throughout, to encourage mindfulness.
For instance, the top of the coffee table is a large tray that can be lifted out, encouraging movement around the home and allowing users to physically engage with the materials. Similarly the side tables are designed to work either next to a bed or in a living room.
Focusing on the principle of moving light around a space, the wall mirror has hinges so that it can be easily adjusted to reflect as much light as possible, while simultaneously encouraging interaction.
The collection also incorporates principles of biophilic design – a design response to the human need for an experience of the natural world in the modern built environment – by incorporating patterns of nature into the shape, textures and fabrics choices.
"Timber has a calming effect on the heart rate," explained Ekkist co-founder Olga Turner, "and planting strategies within the home have been shown to improve concentration and reduce levels of stress."
Several pieces in the Ori collection are orientated towards bringing plants into the home. The thinking is that plants help to clean the air, decreasing dust and increasing oxygen, and help to increase productivity and focus.
"When I was designing the pieces I was imagining greenery," said Aitken. "They work and make sense with plants. We choose a green coloured fabric for the upholstery; it has a reputation for being a positive colour."
Ekkist is a UK-based design consultancy that pioneers the human-centric design of buildings to fit within the WELL Building Standard, with a focus on health and well-being.
The Ori collection was designed for Ori House, a building that the studio recently worked on with architecture firm Studio McLeod. Constructed using only non-toxic building materials, it claims to be the first house in the UK designed specifically to improve the occupant's health.
Designs for a Natural Home is on show throughout London Design Festival, which runs from 15 to 23 September, at the Another Country showroom in Marylebone.
The brand often launches new products during LDF. Last year, it presented a series of furniture designed to be passed down from generation to generation.