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A new perspective on collective seating
The project begins with a scenario. Kim describes observing stools in public spaces—museums, galleries, and waiting areas. Objects that are typically treated as passive, functional, and almost invisible. But what if they weren’t?
“How can a single object involve both individual and collective activity?” he asks.
From that question, APS takes shape—not as a fixed solution, but as a framework. One stool becomes many. Many become a shared structure. And with that, a different kind of spatial relationship emerges.
At the core of APS is a tension between autonomy and togetherness. A single stool supports one body. Multiple stools create a mutual space—something closer to a social landscape than a piece of furniture. Kim relates this to the Korean concept of Jeong—a form of shared warmth or connection between people. As more units are introduced, the function of the object shifts. Not only physically, but socially.
“It becomes a space for sharing,” he notes. “The object is no longer defined by what it is, but by how it is used together.”
An open system shaped through repetition and use
Individually, APS is straightforward: a single seat, clear in its purpose. But its logic extends beyond the individual unit. When combined, the stools form larger constellations—benches, rows, informal groupings. Not through hardware or fixed connections, but through proximity and repetition. Kim initially explored more controlled systems, introducing connectors to define how the pieces should meet. But these were ultimately removed. “They restricted the user,” he explains. What remains is an open system. One that allows users to define the arrangement themselves, without instruction.
This openness is closely tied to Kim’s understanding of simplicity. For him, simplicity is not a visual reduction, but a method applied from the earliest stages of design. “It begins with production,” he says. Material is minimized. Processes are streamlined. In APS, a single sheet of bending plywood is precisely cut to form the entire structure, reducing waste while ensuring consistency. The material is not concealed or layered, but left legible—its curved edges meeting at a single point, where seat and body connect with gentle precision.
A familiar typology rethought through collectivity
There is a softness to this construction. The bent plywood holds its shape but retains a slight give—responding subtly to weight and touch. The surface reads as smooth and continuous, while the structure beneath remains evident. It is this balance—between firmness and flexibility, clarity and tactility—that defines the object in use. Kim often speaks of creating a “new typology”—not as novelty, but as necessity. A way of asking why an object should exist at all, within a changing environment of production, space, and daily life.
"To me, a new typology is about finding a new timeless value," he explains. APS responds to this by reframing a familiar object. The stool remains recognizable, but its role expands. It becomes both unit and system, object and infrastructure. A small shift in definition, but a significant one in use.
“Being selected as the winner of the Muuto Design Contest is a meaningful moment for me,” Kim reflects. “It’s both recognition and encouragement—especially as someone working across disciplines, and teaching the next generation of designers.”
His entry sits naturally within Muuto’s approach—where design is not only about the object itself, but how it shapes relationships in space. It introduces a distinct sense of agency—pieces can be moved, combined, or left apart—small decisions that influence how a space is formed, and how it is shared.
APS draws on a familiar object, but introduces a new perspective: not just how we sit, but how we sit together. A structure that adapts to contemporary spaces—fluid, communal, constantly reconfigured. It is a single piece—capable of becoming something collective.
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