The UK generates 700,000 tonnes of furniture waste each year, with 70% going to landfill, the majority of which is still usable. Can furniture be designed to encourage less wasteful behaviour, yet still satisfy our desire for novelty and change?

User interviews and a waste facility visit highlighted a variety of key insights. It is often both more convenient and cheaper to buy new furniture from retailers than it is to buy second hand or to try to repair damaged products. The most common reason for disposing of furniture was to change style, with only 15% due to an item being broken.

Units is a system of parts which can be reconfigured as and when your needs change. Designed to be added to, updated and repaired, and to move with you when required. It is suited to armchairs, sofas and beds but permits user customisation. Manufactured using fully reversible materials and processes to maximise material utility throughout the product lifecycle. Multi-functional components create a typologically versatile and affordable furniture system.

The components can be split into two categories - structure and fabric. The structural components - joints and bars - create a rigid framework from which the fabric - upholstery and cushions - attach. Structural components are designed to be durable and reusable whilst the fabric is designed to be easily replaced. The main focus was on developing a multi-functional and structural joint that could provide all required furniture permutations.

The proposal was tested throughout development for both ergonomics and structural integrity.