How can a lounge chair be designed to offer exceptional comfort while also exploring new approaches to materials? Together with Vitra, the Berlin-based design duo Studio Πdeveloped Bascule, a lounge chair that feels like an embrace while challenging established methods of upholstered furniture.

Instead of glued components and conventional PU foam, the focus is on recyclable materials, detachable connections, and a conscious approach to their natural properties. Inspired by tailoring techniques from fashion, Bascule makes movement and the natural drape of its textile surfaces a visible part of its design language. During a visit to their Berlin studio, designers Lisa Ertel and Anne-Sophie Oberkrome share insights into the development of the new lounge chair.

Designers Lisa Ertel and Anne-Sophie Oberkrome (both born 1990 in Germany) began collaborating while studying product design at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design. In 2021, they founded Studio Πin Berlin. The ΠРa ligature formed from the initials of their surnames Рsymbolises the coming together of two perspectives within a shared creative philosophy.

Studio Œ develops projects grounded in material and context, understood as active components of the conceptual approach. Design is viewed as an open-ended process transforming insights and observations from everyday life into meaningful, precisely articulated solutions. The duo’s projects navigate the intersection of functional objects, spatial interventions and exploratory gestures. They have been working with Vitra since 2025.