Into the Ring

The iconic 1980s lounge designed for hanging out—and intellectual sparring—still reigns

- —HANNAH MARTIN

In 1981, Japanese designer Masanori Umeda received a letter from Italian maestro Ettore Sottsass:

He was planning to launch a radical new design movement; would Umeda dream up something never before seen? Calculating his response, Umeda considered the Italian propensity for debate—they would spar over everything from politics to football. His proposal? A domestic boxing ring sheathed in tatami, the woven-rush floor coverings used in traditional Japanese interiors. Or, as Umeda once described it: “a place for intellectual fighting.”