Form Us With Love

Center Center: re-imagining workplace storage

Jonas Pettersson and John Löfgren are co-founders of the Stockholm-based design studio Form Us With Love (FUWL). They first met at design school in Kalmar before going into business together in 2005. In collaboration with String Furniture, they designed the storage system Center Center, which addresses the need for flexible, reconfigurable workspaces in a hyper-connected, digitalised world. Today, thanks to Jonas, John and the team at FUWL, String Furniture offers architects and interior designers a bold, playful, modular storage solution that can be assembled and reassembled in an almost infinite variety of ways. 

A shared approach

When John and Jonas first worked together on a student project, it quickly became clear they shared a similar approach to design. “In those days,” says Jonas, “everything was very conceptual; very theoretical. John and I bonded over the idea that design should be practical and improve people’s lives, as well as making sense for business and the environment.”

Thanks to the school’s proximity to Småland, the manufacturing centre of Sweden, Jonas and John got lots of practical support with their design projects from local industry. “Seeing skilled craftsmen at work really confirmed our own desire to work hands-on with the raw materials, and our belief that form should always follow function,” says Jonas.

They carried this way of thinking forward into their professional lives and into the FUWL design studio. “At the start of each project we always ask whether or not this new ‘thing’ is going to be good for the people who use it,” explains John.

Center Center fits the bill

Initially borne of FUWL’s own need for a more flexible workspace, Center Center meets the design duo’s own rigorous criteria. “We were moving into a new office in the post-pandemic period,” says John, “and looking for a system that combined open and closed storage and that could also work as room dividers.” In the absence of any commercially available solution, they set about creating their own. The result is a set of modular, powder-coated metal cubes that can be assembled and reassembled in a variety of different ways.

“Center Center overcomes the limitations of traditional, static office storage and directly addresses the realities of modern office life,” explains John. “One day you might be hosting a creative brainstorming, with everyone coming together to share ideas; the next, you might be doing follow-up work, and therefore need smaller, more private spaces suited to independent research.” With Center Center, the same office can accommodate all these different activities, and, thanks to its minimalist design, it will never look out of place.

From idea to product

Despite the simplicity of the final product, taking Center Center from first idea to a fully workable design didn’t happen overnight. The FUWL team began by making mock-ups and incubating them in the studio. “We lived with each one for a while, before discussing their pros and cons,” says John. “And, as with all design processes, our thinking evolved along the way. For example, we started out with 27 different sizes, before finally narrowing it down to five.”

Allowing the design process to take time meant that every decision was intentional. Jonas explains, “Even the perforations on the cupboard doors are important. They pay tribute to our old friends in Småland, whose workshop tool boards we so admired as students.”

While John and Jonas don’t expect people to notice every detail of Center Center consciously, each one contributes to a positive overall impression. “Take the way the cupboard doors feel and sound when they’re being opened and closed,” says John. “This might only register on a subconscious level, but it nonetheless enhances the user experience.”

Even the colours of Center Center were chosen mindfully. “We selected a range of bold shades that could be used individually or in combination with one another,” explains John. “They are strong and playful, in keeping with the system’s identity. But obviously, there is the option to order bespoke colours too."

Planet-positive

Thanks to its endless adaptability, Center Center also meets today’s all-important sustainability criterion. “Vitality, change and renewal are features of any dynamic working environment,” says Jonas, “but given today’s environmental sensibilities and the building industry’s increasingly tight restrictions, modern architects need new ways to achieve that sense of novelty. Some buy refurbished, second-hand office furnishings and fittings; others buy products made with recycled materials. Durable and infinitely flexible, Center Center gives them a third option — to invest in a timeless design that‘s built to last.”

A valuable addition

Having set the wheels in motion, FUWL realised, ‘if it works for us, surely it will work for others too’. To advance Center Center from prototype to commercial production, they needed a collaboration partner. “It was always a dream for us to work with String Furniture,” say Jonas and John. “They not only share our passion; but are prepared to spend the time, money and effort needed to see a project through to fruition.”

As luck would have it, String Furniture agreed. “We saw a pressing need for innovative storage solutions that could evolve with the users’ needs and preferences. Center Center fills that gap, empowering interior designers and creative specifiers to push the boundaries of office layouts and create something entirely new,” says String Furniture’s CMO Bo Hellberg. “They no longer have to choose between open or closed, public or secluded, stationary or flexible; Centre Center can be all those things at once.”