I’ll admit, the word ‘virus’ probably gives you a bit of anxiety. It definitely isn’t associated with any pleasant experiences, although designer Andrea Cingoli is trying to make the word virus sound less scary and more harmless. In an attempt to have us get over our fear of microorganisms, Cingoli’s furniture borrows from the very design of the virus. Meet Oleg, a series of multifunctional furniture with ‘spike proteins’ that allow them to be stacked in multiple ways!

Oleg aims at rebuilding our association and relationship with viruses. Rather than associating its shape with something bad, Oleg showcases how the almost naval-mine-like furniture can be used and arranged in multiple ways. The spiky exterior of the furniture looks unapproachable, but that’s also negated by the Oleg’s use of a playful yellow along with the black to create a colorful furniture arrangement. The spiked exterior allows the Oleg to be oriented in many ways. Individual modules can be placed on the floor as the spikes work as a pair of legs, or they can even be stacked one on top of the other, allowing the spikes to interlock into each other to create fun and quirky cabinet arrangements! It looks eye-catching no matter how you orient it, although you may want to be careful if you’ve got a pet (especially a cat) in the house!

Oleg is a Silver Winner of the A’ Design Award for the year 2021.

Designer: Andrea Cingoli