Project

Quilton

Client

Hay

Year

2022

Type

Sofa

Description

Quilton is a sofa built from a versatile and flexible system of modules, allowing many different environments to be created from a single vocabulary of parts. The design is defined by its bold aesthetic character and the finely tailored detail of its quilt-like surface, which gives the sofa its name.

Quilton’s raised, rounded platform gives the sofa a light, floating quality. It is solid without appearing heavy and brings together design qualities that people are naturally drawn to. Quilton is sculptural, bold and tailored, with a strong identity that can sit comfortably within interiors shaped by diverse cultural and architectural references.

“Doshi Levien are designers you go to when you want a strong product,” says Rolf Hay, co-founder of Hay. “They are distinguished by their ability to create products that truly stand out, and they are incredibly original and detail-oriented in the way they think about design.”

Credits

Art Direction: Hay and Doshi Levien Barbican and design studio photos: Rodrigo Carmuega  Product photos: Hay   Drawing: Nipa Doshi

(Fig 1)

THE JOURNEY OF AN IDEA

The first sketches of the Quilton Sofa that were presented to Rolf Hay, who co-founded Hay with his partner Mette. It was from these initial sketches that Hay decided to develop the project. A full-size mock-up of Quilton was then built in the Doshi Levien studio on Columbia Road. Working alongside the Hay development team and the factory, the final product came to life.

(Fig 3)

AT HOME IN THE BARBICAN

The launch images for Quilton were art-directed by Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien, and photographed in their Barbican apartment. The shoot was conceived to show plurality and eclecticism – modern design alongside traditional objects and the architectural elements of the Barbican – expressing an idea of cultural exchange between worlds.

(Fig 4)

ATTENTION TO DETAIL

The sofa’s quilting is used with restraint: it defines the seat, while the back remains soft and clean. Details such as the subtle floating base and a thin strip separating sofa and base, together with the possibility to mix textiles and leather on different parts of the design, are integral to the project.

(Fig 5)

DESIGN DETAILS

“Quilton embodies all the qualities of design we want to live with. It is sculptural, bold and tailored, with a strong identity that can exist in many different architectural settings.” —Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien

(Fig 7)

COLUMBIA ROAD

Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien in their London studio with the Quilton sofa for Hay, upholstered in their Raas fabric for Kvadrat, thereby bringing together furniture and textile work within the same project.

(Fig 8)

CHANGING ROLES

Reflecting on the sofa’s place in contemporary life, Nipa Doshi notes how it has also become a platform for work, with the increased amount of time spent at home through remote working reshaping the way that people inhabit domestic space and what they ask of it.

(Fig 9)

QUILTED LANDSCAPE

Quilton was developed as a modular system with 13 distinct modules, but is also available as a standalone three-seater sofa. The design balances elegance and softness, with generous forms and a bold quilted seat that recall a classic sofa, while still feeling new.

Quilton