‘T.o.y.s.’ was a three-day workshop with interior architecture students at Burg Giebichenstein University for Art and Design. It was scheduled from 31 March to 2 April 2026 in Halle, Germany. At 3rd April the objects were directly transported to the former SNIA Factory in Milan with the University’s Truck and then showcased from 7th until 13th April as part of the ALCOVA 2025 exhibition. Visitors were warmly invited to use the objects to relax and rest at the site. The only requirement was to ‚Take Of Your Shoes’.

In this design sprint eleven students collaborated in five groups not only to design but to build large scale upholstered objects that could comfortably seat at least four people. The students were given sewing machines (including a sewing crash course) and three materials: recycling fibers from discarded mattress covers (wool, cotton, polyester), undyed cotton twill, which is conventionally used for hidden pull-out parts of sofas, and polyester rope. The teams were also allowed to pick one additional material of their choice to create some structure and stability.

The workshops aim was to get used to a quick and hands-on approach to design in general and upholstery in particular. By working on a 1:1 scale and dealing with the real weight and size of sofas, not only construction challenges but also the sheer material impact became clear. Afterwards the students continued on more elaborate designs in the semester project ‘Soft Seating’ with Guest. Prof. Bastian Müller.

The exhibition received a lot of positive feedback and was prominently featured in many outlets, such as dezeen.com or the SZ Magazin.