The Modular Imagination rectangular element combines a recycled wood frame with soft polyurethane foam, a portion of which is derived from organic polyol sources, allowing the two materials to be cleanly separated for recycling at end of life. Its matte black block form sits on orange rubber feet and connects to matching rectangular or cuboid modules via separately sold connecting elements, enabling a range of freestanding configurations. Despite its rigid visual appearance, the polyurethane construction gives the piece a soft, compressible surface suitable for use as a table, stool, or seat. A bas-relief round logo and the #AblohCassina hashtag are embedded into the surface as a permanent mark of the Virgil Abloh and Cassina collaboration.
Conceived just a year before Virgil Abloh's death in 2021, 'Modular Imagination' is a collaborative project between the American fashion designer and Italian brand Cassina that stylishly explores modularity. Comprising a series of components that span base units and connecting elements, the project invites users to fully participate in the arrangement of the furniture blocks by choosing how they may be configured depending on one's own needs and habits. This rectangular modular element with orange feet may be aligned alongside identical pieces or the collection's cuboid modules for a variety of bespoke setups, all of which are locked together by connecting elements for a simple yet expressive celebration of function, versatility and intuition. A key element in the assembly of the geometric components is how they may be disassembled at the end of their life cycle. This matte block is cut in part from soft polyurethane — a percentage of which is polyols derived from organic sources — which can be cut out and separated from the recycled wood frame to ensure that the item may be properly recovered and recycled at the end of use. Whether employed as a table, a stool or even a seat — despite its rigid appearance the block is actually soft — this piece is a testament to Abloh's innovative contributions to contemporary design and is marked with a round logo in bas-relief as well as the hashtag #AblohCassina for a permanent seal of this special and singular collaboration.
