‘Hackability of the Stool’ by Daisuke Motogi at the Vitra Tramshed showroom

Tokyo based architect Daisuke Motogi’s research project and exhibition Hackability of the Stool features 100 ideas for altering the iconic Stool 60, designed by Alvar Aalto in 1933. This most elemental of furniture pieces has remained in continuous production since its creation, and celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2023. Motogi and his creative lab DDAA initiated the project Hackability of the Stool back in 2019, when commissioned to create a space for Mistletoe, a community for collective impact initiatives. The space was envisioned as a hub for various activities undertaken by start-ups and related communities. When asked to provide about 150 stools for visitors attending a large-scale event, Motogi and DDAA Lab decided to invite members of the community to discuss what a stool actually is, identifying which functions it should have. During a workshop, the participants brought up numerous suggestions, which were consolidated into the idea of a multifunctional stool. Instead of designing a new product, DDAA Lab opted for adding the requested functions to an already existing stool: Artek’s Stool 60, defined as a masterpiece of modernist design, for the fact that it is made of wood, thus easy to modify, and stackable, thus easy to store. Stool 60 is also easy to disassemble and reassemble, and it can be flat-packed for efficient transportation. Developing numerous ideas on how to modify the Artek stool, Motogi first presented the results in 2020 as an online exhibition on his Instagram account. Originally over 400 ideas were boiled down to 100 modifications, which Motogi and his team developed by manually altering, or hacking, the Stool 60. In the beginning, they focused on functionality and form, adding the functions of household items onto the stool, or transforming existing tools into stools. Later ideas were centered around the subject, who the stool would be used by, transforming it into sports equipment or pet homes. Reviewing the creations, Motogi classified their characteristics into the categories: "function," "subject," "shape," "stacking," "what two stools can do," "thinking from materials," and "midnight whims." The Stool 60s have been hacked in various ways: some see the seat’s original purpose transformed into a chessboard, a xylophone or a vinyl record player, while other modifications have parts of the stool’s legs or seat deducted, resulting in charming sculptures. By adding elements, Motogi’s Stool 60 turns into little domestic helpers in the shapes of a reading light, a clothes rack, a flower pot or a mirror, while other whimsical hacks transform the stool into a cat basket, a bin or an iron board, as in an ode to the beauty of everyday chores. After first presentations in China, Japan, Italy and Germany, Hackability of the Stool will be on view at the Vitra and Artek Tramshed showroom in Shoreditch, London from 18th September until 6th October, coinciding with London Design Festival. About Daisuke Motogi and DDAA LAB Daisuke Motogi (born 1981 in Saitama, Japan) is the founder of DDAA and DDAA Lab, and a part time architecture lecturer at Tokyo University of the Arts. After graduating from Musashino Art University in 2004, Motogi worked for Schemata Architects, before establishing his own architectural and design practice DDAA in 2010. Working in multidisciplinary fields, DDAA’s commissions ranges from architecture and city planning to landscape, interior and product design. The organization DDAA LAB, a research and experimental design laboratory centering around architectural thinking, was established in 2019 together with Mistletoe Inc. In 2021, Daisuke Motogi participated in the Japan Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition - Venice Biennale. More info info_uk@vitra.com / press@artek.fi artek.fi