Yuhao Zhu designed the wooden cuddle chair HUG, the Hug Chair. The chair functions as a physical embrace, an invitation to become a tree hugger.
A wooden chair to embrace: the HUG by Yuhao Zhu.
The young unknown Chinese designer Yuhao Zhu designed a chair to ‘be able to sit like a cuddler’. With this he chose an innovative approach to furniture design with clear human warmth and sculptural expression. His chair made of Japanese elm was awarded the Gold Leaf Award at the International Furniture Design Competition Asahikawa (IFDA) 2024.
The HUG Chair combines ergonomics and emotion in an experimental way. Yuhao Zhu shows how a chair can be more than an object: an inviting form that welcomes people of all shapes and postures. The chair functions as a physical embrace, not as a cold utility.
Made of composite elm with a silky smooth oil finish.
For production the Japanese manufacturer Conde House uses pieces of Japanese elm from Hokkaido, a native tree species beloved by growers of Bonsai trees. The chair was finished with an oil-like finish that provides tactile softness. The organic form – breathing, flowing – contrasts with the usual straight lines in contemporary furniture construction. The chair offers a new experience that looks both comfortable and mysterious.
A chair as sculpture and functional object
The HUG Chair balances on the cutting edge between art and design. On the one hand, the chair functions as furniture — designed for seating comfort, usability and series production. On the other hand, it looks like a sculpture: an abstract, almost organic form that evokes emotions and perceives space. This duality underscores a contemporary understanding that good design is not only practical, but also sensory and narratively meaningful.
HUG is made according to the principle ‘Form follows Feeling’.
An essential aspect of art is evoking emotion. Yuhao Zhu seems to strive for that human connection: the chair literally embraces the user. In a time when design increasingly focuses on functionality and minimalism, this chair demonstrates that furniture doesn’t have to be distant objects, but emotional partners in daily use. This places Yuhao Zhu in a tradition of designers who approach their objects as aesthetic experiences: the Swedish ‘form follows feeling’, rather than just ‘form follows function’.
From tree hugger to chair cuddler
It is interesting to also see the HUG Chair in light of the term ‘tree hugger‘. This was originally a derogatory term for someone who defended nature, usually against urban development. It was a slur used in the 1960s for hippies, who chained themselves to old trees to prevent them from being cut down for asphalt parking wastelands. So it looked as if they ’embraced’ a tree. Later the term grew into a badge of honor for anyone who committed to ecological values and sustainability.
Yuhao Zhu has given this a new, literal dimension: the tree itself becomes furniture, and the embrace takes shape in wood. Thus a poetic circle emerges, in which human and nature literally and figuratively embrace each other. Really very special.
Price unknown
What does a cuddle chair cost? The website of manufacturer Conde House doesn’t mention that. The shipping costs from Japan will also be substantial, because such a solid wooden chair is not very light. The cuddle chair is therefore not intended for domestic use. The company states: “A single chair in a commercial building, public space, lobby or office transforms this place into a mysterious and unique space in an instant.”
Text Jan Bom, September 9, 2025
