Ten chairs were designed by master students at ECAL and amongst them was the HUG chair which was produced by Karimoku. This was designed as a part of a competition to create chairs for the Switzerland Pavilion at the World Exhibition as a part of Expo 2025 Osaka.

The HUG chair was by students Min Xiyao and Jacob Kouthoofd Mårtensson. It is defined by a curved silhouette and stackability. The designers noted, “We designed the HUG chair with a simple yet thoughtful principle: three curves – one for stackability, one for comfort, and one for aesthetics.”

The head of master product design at EVAL Camille Blin explained the design process, “The aim was to design a stackable and versatile chair that could meet the various needs of visitors and pavilion staff. To avoid the environmental impact of shipping the chairs to Japan, we collaborated with Karimoku New Standard to produce them locally.”

Image Credit: House of Switzerland