The sofa is available in three different color options for the foot and six different upholstery choices. Visit knoll.com for more.

"This was an experiment in getting away from having a conventional leg in each corner," Barber says. "We wanted to find a different way to put the sofa together." The cast metal foot joins the seat, back, and arm elements and solves challenges with moving sofas around. From a shipping standpoint, the sofa fits into smaller boxes since the individual pieces can be separated. From a user perspective, the smaller components make it easier to negotiate narrow doorways and winding stairwells. Instead of lugging an entire six-foot-long sofa up many flights of stairs, people can move smaller portions and reassemble them once the piece is in a room. "Getting big sofas in and out of houses is a massive problem," Barber says. "This breaks down into individual panels so you can just literally take panel after panel and get it into anywhere. There’s innovation in the way it’s put together, innovation in terms of its shipping, and innovation in its installation."

Joined by a cast-aluminum foot, the pieces can easiy be assembled and disassembled to streamline moving. "We wanted to do something in the vein of the Florence Knoll sofa," Barber says. "Our design is a signature piece, but the signature comes from the foot rather than elaborate upholstery—which is either in season or out of season—or a big statement that some people love and some people hate. It's what I'd call quiet design."

Our July/August 2014 issue features the sofa and armchair collection by British design studio Barber Osgerby for iconic American furniture maker Knoll. The collaboration began when Benjamin Pardo, Design Director at Knoll, approached Barber Osgerby with a brief to create a sofa that was comfortable, could be used in many different configurations, could feel appropriate in a variety of settings—residential, commercial, hospitality—and that hit a specific price point. The upholstered line consists of elements that can be configured in an assortment of different ways thanks to an innovative foot system. "It’s really a modular landscape," Edward Barber says. "The idea is that this foot can go between each panel and, in theory, you can [extend the piece] forever. You can have a twenty-seater or an L-shaped thing. You can have it in an airport lounge, or you can have it in your home as a chair, to a two-seater, to a four-seater. It’s the ultimate flexible sofa."

Open shelving between the living room and dining area maximizes light and air flow and showcases eclectic objects, which include old printing blocks found at a garage sale and bowls homeowner Kathryn Tyler’s mother bought in South Africa. For Tyler, storage is critical. "It's something that always gets overlooked but it's actually the most important thing. I calculated the linear footage of the books I own to make sure everything would fit."

Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby of Barger Osgerby & manufacturer Isokon Plus. Photo via Q-FACTOR.

Ear modular sofa by Lerival from $1,890 per piece Sturdy modular seating with dogeared corners is manufactured in New Jersey and assembled from Washington hardwood and Camira fabric upholstery.

A corrugated metal roofing, pine walls stained a warm blonde hue, and an abundance of glass make this modern prefab feel much roomier than its 1,600-square-feet size.

The Andersen Architectural Collection’s Eagle windows and doors provide the panes and passageways of the home.

Rayn sofa by Philippe Starck for Dedon, from $6,500 The exuberant French designer may have been inspired by Surrealism, but his plush modular sofa is a practical choice for a covered terrace.

Double Space for BMW at the Victoria and Albert Museum (September 13-21) Extending the art-as-mirror metaphor across a storied museum space, designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby built a pair of massive kinetic mirrors that will bend and distort the way viewers encounter the Raphael Gallery.

Sketch for a modular sofa, 1986. pastel and color crayon on paper 4.91’ x 0.91’ x 0.7’. Photo courtesy of Gaetano Pesce.

Jacobs transformed the roof into a series of decks, this deck features Crate & Barrel’s Dune sofa and coffee table.

For her family’s house near Melbourne, Anna Horne created a series of prefab wood modules using a design from the company Prebuilt. She found the old industrial letter at a factory; it stands for Somerset, the name of the house.

The living room is full of furniture from Chris’s company, Isokon Plus, including the cabinet, the side table, and the Loop coffee table, a recent design by Barber & Osgerby. The sofa is from Swedese.

Ten-year-old Henry cuddles with three-year-old Grace.

Yeo descends the spiral staircase that connects the public and private spaces while Ian relaxes on a pair of Cappellini Superlight 750 sofas designed by Barber Osgerby. The Gwapa lounge chair and ottoman in the corner were designed by Marcel Wanders.

In fall, the color of this backyard in Charlottesville, Virginia, changes daily with the foliage. Elizabeth Birdsall marvels how new outdoor spaces on her property, like a patio furnished with upholstered seating from Gloster, make enjoying the woods an easy experience: “It’s like comfortable camping, all the time.”

The entrance hallway features tiles from the Puzzle collection by Barber Osgerby for Mutina. The original staircase has been over-clad with Douglas fir timber that matches the timber used in the new flooring on the ground floor.

The modular Carmo sofa from BoConcept, ideal for naps and watching TV, can also be reconfigured as needed.

Rodriguez, a designer and architect who runs the studio Agi Miagi, created the pendant lamp and terrariums in the dining area. The space is open to the living area, where Brown’s son, Hugo, sits on a Living Divani sofa. The countertop-table is by Bercy Chen Studio.

“We wanted a space for entertaining groups, and also ourselves, that felt open—almost like a loft,” says Peart of the couple’s mezzanine-level living room.

Examples of Adjaye's architectural work and furniture models will be on view. Photo by: Dorothy Hong

An early ad for the Pedestal Collection highlights its curvilinear form.

Pedrali expands its Social modular sofa by Patrick Jouin, now available in even more configurations. See it at the Rho fairgrounds, Pavilion 10, Stand B19/C28.

The Branch Modular Office by Eric Pfeiffer, a multi-functional, multi-layer modular sofa system, was inspired by benches found in train stations and parks.

Looking downwards from the second floor, the void creates an invisible barrier between the family room and the living area. The reflection from the skylight exaggerates the idea of an even more depth within the house.

The seating area features custom sofas covered in synthetic ultrasuede, in what Dowling calls “a forgiving color.” The felt ottoman, by Cini Boeri for Knoll, doubles as a table thanks to a lacquered tray from Williams-Sonoma Home. The sisal rug is from West Elm.

At the bottom of the stairs is a second living space that includes a fireplace. The couple couldn't find a television that didn't clutter the cool minmalism so they prefer to use a projector to watch movies. The sofa was designed by Barber-Osgerby for Cappellini, and the Djinn chair is by Olivier Morgue.

Designer Paola Navone transformed a 200-year-old factory in Umbria into an inviting home for Andrea Falkner-Campi and her husband. Once a tobacco-drying plant, and before that a silkworm farm, the home sits 90 miles north of Rome.

Sketches of Barber Osgerby's Piton™ Side Table for Knoll, 2015. Courtesy of Barber Osgerby.

The sideboard in the dining room is by Florence Knoll.

Builders, developers, designers, and architects have developed a range of homes that are composed of prefabricated, modular, or kit-of-parts pieces that can allow for lower costs, faster and easier on-site construction, and even higher quality spaces. Here, we delve into the differences—and similarities—among these manufactured residences.

Read something. If you already watched Contagion, try out some pandemic-related reading—Severance by Ling Ma, or Pale Horse Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter. Or, read the Social Distancing Manifesto. Find out what the heck “Cottagecore” means. Hint: it’s as quaint as it sounds. Create an Instagram account for your pet. If ever there was a time to post and share infinity pictures of your cute (or ugly) dog doing cute things, this is it. Dream about travel. Dive into Dwell Travel stories to plan that next trip, for when this whole thing finally settles down.

An outdoor shower tucked behind a screen off the master bedroom neutralizes this threat. “We thought it sounded great for muddy kids to run up and shower off there,” Coco says.