Collection by Olivia Martin
Time to Design Winner: “Useful Living” by Sanghyeok Lee
“Useful Living” by designer Sanghyeok Lee was just announced as the winner of the Time to Design award.
Useful Living is a continuation of Lee’s original project, “Useful Arbeitsloser (Jobless).” The line came out of the theory that “While life becomes heavy and our space of living gets more spacious, the furniture we have around us are getting lighter and feels more indifferent. The form and structure of 'Useful Arbeitsloser (Jobless)' is a story of nomad, imperfect lives and furniture of the contemporaries.” (shelf from 'Useful Arbeitsloser' shown).
“The three products share the structural concept but each have their own story. The oak, a classic Danish choice for wooden furniture, and the custom designed brass joints lend a natural harmony to the series. “Useful Living” mimics scaffolding structures in construction sites. In its flexible design, it mimics the nomadic lifestyle of a young designer, which was once me,” says Lee.