Brunner and Doshi Levien Debut 23-Piece 'Session' Office Range at Orgatec

Twenty-three elements, countless configurations: that's the arithmetic behind 'Session', the furniture collection Brunner and Doshi Levien will present at Orgatec 2026.

The London studio, run by Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien, designed the series for the German manufacturer Brunner Group as a response to workspaces that no longer sit still. Every piece can be separated, replaced and repaired, and the fabric lifts off easily — a quiet admission that furniture now has to survive churn, not just coffee.

What does Session actually consist of?

The range spans armchairs, sofas, curved elements, ottomans and daybeds. The name, a nod to the jam session, signals the intent: improvisation. Pieces work solo or cluster into larger arrangements.

'We were also interested in how the furniture could work at different scales: individual pieces work independently, while larger configurations begin to define areas within an open interior, creating different degrees of intimacy, enclosure and interaction,' the designers said.

A series of L-shaped designs does the architectural heavy lifting. Combined with integrated surfaces and swivelling writing tables, these sections encourage what the designers describe as connection, collaboration and relaxation — presumably in that order on Mondays.

'The L-shaped section also became a graphic element within the collection, creating a visual link between the softer components,' Doshi and Levien noted. 'It gave us the opportunity to introduce a contrast of materials, bringing wood, leather and textile together within the same piece.'

Why hospitality comfort in an office?

The duo's starting question was simple enough: how can seating help shape relations between people? Their answer borrows from hotels and lounges rather than the cubicle farm.

'In our design process, we wanted to bring together the softness and tactility of hospitality environments with the performance and flexibility required in the workplace,' they explained. 'The collection is designed to support different ways of sitting and spending time, from relaxed and informal use to more upright working and conversation.'

Brunner, founded in 1977 and family-owned, manufactures its products in Germany. The designers credit the company with a specific competence: 'One of Brunner's particular strengths is their ability to marry the craft of upholstery and the shaping of soft form with highly engineered technical solutions.'

They add: 'Throughout the development, we have tried to balance softness with architectural coherence. This combination has been central to the development of "Session".'

The wager here is that the office furniture market now rewards repairability and reconfiguration over permanence — a shift that a manufacturer approaching its fiftieth year seems willing to bet its upholstery on. Orgatec 2026 will show whether buyers jam along.