Unicube
Modular Furniture

UniCube is an eco-conscious, modular furniture system created under my leadership by the industrial design team at Design 1st Inc. The product supports adaptable seating in both residential and commercial spaces. Using a small set of shared components and upcycled materials, the system assembles into chairs, benches, tables, and sofas, combining a tech-forward mindset with a mid-century-inspired aesthetic and a low environmental footprint.

Main Challenges

  • Defining a modular architecture that maximizes configuration possibilities while keeping the bill of materials and part count as low
    as possible.

  • Meeting sustainability goals through material choices, fastener strategies, and manufacturing processes without compromising comfort, durability, or visual quality.

  • Balancing structural integrity and safety with intuitive assembly, disassembly, and transformation by end users.

Key Achievements

  • A a coherent component logic that enables multiple furniture typologies from a common kit of parts, simplifying production and inventory.

  • Transformed an ambiguous idea into a concrete solution with a strategic, teared mass-production plan.

  • Integrated upcycled and eco-friendly materials, aligning structural elements, finishes, and connectors with circular design principles.

  • Delivered a refined visual language that connects sustainable construction with warm, timeless interiors suitable for both home and contract environments.

Role and Responsibilities

  • Lead the industrial design and engineering team in the definition of the modular system strategy, mapping out components, joints, and connection methods to support reconfiguration and scalability.

  • Conducted numerous stakeholder progress meetings from kick-off to production phases, facilitting communication and decision making.

  • Researched and selected sustainable materials and finishes, weighing factors such as durability, recyclability, sourcing, and manufacturing compatibility.

  • Oversaw production of detailed 3D models, renderings, and technical documentation to support prototyping, structural assessment, and stakeholder alignment.

  • Collaborated closely with engineers to review feasibility, joint performance, and structural behavior across different configurations and load cases.

  • Trained junior designes on visual assets and marketing material production, that clearly demonstrate assembly steps, configuration options, and the environmental benefits of
    the UniCube system.

Combination of style, aesthetics and structural integrity.

Balancing user value, business requirements and manufacturing constraints.

Final product combines months of research, and user feedback.

Structuring the concept design process to achieve maximum team efficiency.

Finding a balance between the number of parts and possible furniture options.

Style and configuration exploration in the concept phase.

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