The result is Close to Heart, a chair that embodies this exchange. Close to Heart begins with the strict, precise language of aluminum profiles — architectural, rational, controlled. Yet within this framework, each profile is shaped into a heart. It's an unexpected detail, small but transformative, turning something structural into a moment of warmth and joy. A whisper of love inside an ordered system. The chair explores structure as an emotional language, finding the balance between heart and mind, between body and thought. In conversation with Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen and Malene Hvidt from Spacon, the chair and its defining balance are explored.  

The chair feels instinctive and playful was that intentional? 

We were interested in something that feels immediate. The heart is universally recognizable. It is playful, even a bit naïve. You don’t need to explain it. There is also a neurological dimension. The brain reads the heart form as a sign of care and safety. It creates a sense of openness before analysis begins. Embedding that symbol inside a highly controlled aluminum system creates tension, between instinct and intelligence, play and precision. 

How does the heart operate within such a construction? 

The foundation of the chair is rigorous: extruded aluminum profiles, repetition, honesty. It is architectural and systematic. Within that framework, the geometry shifts. Two soft curves meet a sharper angle, forming the heart profile. From afar, the chair appears disciplined and rational. As you approach, the heart reveals itself. 

This subtle shift reflects a perspective that feels intrinsic to Muuto — the belief that design evolves through new ways of seeing. A change in angle, a refined line, or a layered surface can transform how an object is understood. The system remains structured, yet it introduces a sense of softness within its framework. 

You speak about balancing heart and mind. Why is that important today? 

We live in a time of constant digital stimulation. Attention is fragmented. In that context, physical spaces matter more. Muuto has long explored how design shapes atmosphere — how light, color, tactility, and proportion influence our nervous system. This relates to neuroaesthetics: the understanding that our brains respond to certain forms, materials, and rhythms in measurable ways. 

Close to Heart builds on that. It is an invitation to closeness both physical and emotional. To sit, to stay, to soften, even briefly. When design engages both body and mind, it supports deeper presence. 

Is the chair also a reflection of the collaboration itself? 

Very much so. Muuto approaches design as both construction and atmosphere, attentive to proportion and material, but equally to how light, color, tactility, and form shape the way we feel in a space. Spacon brings a sensorial and playful lens. 

The chair exists in that overlap. It is structured yet tender. Rational yet surprising. Serious in its construction, yet gently humorous in its expression. In this way, it becomes a metaphor for dialogue, between perspectives, between system and instinct, and between object and user. 

How does this project shape what comes next? 

We see it as part of a broader evolution. Design today is experienced as atmosphere rather than isolated objects. It shapes how we gather, how we feel, how we relate.  

The repetition of the heart profile creates rhythm within a space; its softness introduces warmth. Together, they influence not only how the body is supported, but how the mind settles. With Close to Heart, a strict system becomes softer and more human. The structure stays precise, but a pulse runs through it.