Benjamin Hubert's studio Layer has designed a new speaker for Bang & Olufsen to deliver high-performance audio in a small and subtle format.
The Beosound Emerge has a narrow wedge shape and warm materiality that is meant to make it look more like a domestic object than a piece of technology.
Above: the Beosound Emerge is available in a golden finish. Top image: the speaker can blend in with its surroundings
It is the second speaker Layer has designed for audio brand Bang & Olufsen after 2020's Balance, and it continues that product's use of timber, fabric and anodised aluminium.
There are also book-like touches ? the thin oak panel wraps around the speaker like a book cover, while the placement of the Bang & Olufsen logo recalls an author's name on the spine of a book. The speaker occupies a smaller footprint than other Bang & Olufsen designs
Bang & Olufsen wanted to explore the potential of a super-slim design that would occupy a smaller footprint than its other speakers, so it could be placed on a bookshelf or other tight spot. The Beosund Emerge's footprint is just 6.7 centimetres.
The company also wanted a subtle design that wouldn't dominate in whatever room it's placed.

"Traditionally Bang & Olufsen speakers are quite statement, and they're quite often large," Hubert told Dezeen. "Even the Balance speaker we did before, whilst not as statement at some of their old-school stuff, was still a little bit out there."
"It's ...