Modular Imagination matt black modular element

The essence of modularity/#AblohCassina

Virgil Abloh and Cassina design a project that explores the implications of modularity in contemporary interior design. Blocks in two sizes that can stand alone or be combined to create design accessories, from a seat to a table-top surface.

In 2020 – a year prior to his untimely death in November of 2021 – the American fashion designer and entrepreneur began to explore with Cassina the implications of modularity, a pivotal theme in contemporary design. Building on the idea that active, playful participation in the arrangement of space by those who live with the furnishings should correspond to their own needs and habits, Abloh created the Modular Imagination design project: a geometric, stand-alone base unit, available in two sizes, for building worlds that are always new and suited to both private and public settings. The deceptively rigid matte black appearance conceals an unexpected softness that makes Modular Imagination a seat, as well as a table-top surface. A special connector allows the two pieces to overlap so the orange feet can lock into the top of the underlying block, yielding multiple optional uses – as an ottoman, a bench or a table.

Modular Imagination takes inspiration from the design values of the great masters, like Le Corbusier, while engaging with key topics in contemporary design, like sustainability. Thanks to the work conducted by Cassina LAB, the product’s components can easily be disassembled at the end of its life cycle.