The project was developed as a way to cope with the loneliness that was experienced during quarantine. It explores the relationship we have with objects, how we imbue them with meaning and make them unique to us in memory even though they might be items that you can easily replace. Why do we hold onto certain toys or the childhood blanket even when we have grown up? Why do we refuse to throw away certain items even when a newer iteration could easily be acquired at the store?

This project focuses on the chair, and its identity as something comfortable, and at times, intimate. It looks into how our emotions of nostalgia and personal intimacy can be projected onto the physical design of the chair, and how this piece of furniture can communicate a sense of familiarity and comfort in times where we cannot seek it from the other people in our lives.

It also explores the different ways we express intimacy, the relationship of the giver and receiver, the role of the natural environment and the seasons in giving us a different sense of closeness. The Hugging Chair is not only an outstanding piece of design, but also a companion that symapthises with the times in which all of us experience a unqiue sense of loneliness.