LAYER designs a slim book-shaped speaker for bang & olufsen

following the sculptural beosound balance, design agency LAYER unveils its second speaker for bang & olufsen, the beosound emerge. this latest speaker from the collaboration features a slim, book-inspired silhouette that’s designed to be aesthetically pleasing from any angle and to fit seamlessly into home interiors.

images courtesy of LAYER

‘the vision for beosound emerge was to create the slimmest speaker possible that could still deliver full range, ultra-wide sound despite its size through its revolutionary driver configuration,’  says christoffer poulsen, senior vice president and head of product management at bang & olufsen. ‘whether placed on a bookshelf in the bedroom or a tight corner of the kitchen, the slim design of beosound emerge allows you to extend your music to a new room or complement an existing speaker in the same area without taking up extra space.’

beosound emerge in gold tone – light oak

despite its compact size, beosound emerge still delivers rich and powerful sound. to ensure optimum acoustics, the LAYER designers worked in close collaboration with the bang & olufsen ‘tonmeisters’ — a team of experts who ensure that every bang & olufsen product’s sound quality attains perfection. the full range drivers are situated in the narrow area at the front of the speaker, and the bass driver is directed out to the side, resulting in a rich, room-filling sound.

beosound emerge in black anthracite

the speaker is operated intuitively by a small panel on the top. the buttons can be activated through soft touch, allowing users to pause music, change the track or easily access their favorite radio stations and playlists. the volume adjustment is a unique experience that employs a circular motion to adjust up or down for a smooth and sensory interaction.

beosound emerge gold tone features an oak cover that wraps around woven kvadrat textile on its spine

as well as delivering on quality acoustics, beosound emerge is also designed to highlight bang & olufsen’s dedication to craftsmanship. available in light oak or black anthracite, the speaker is wrapped in sleek side panels that reveal woven kvadrat textile on its spine, just like a book. 

‘bang & olufsen’ appears on the spine of the speaker like the title of a novel

‘the super slim beosound emerge speaker has been designed to minimize the physical footprint and maximize the audio output as a response to the real estate in people’s homes being at an unprecedented premium,’  says benjamin hubert, founder of LAYER. ‘at LAYER, we believe that technology should enable happiness but doesn’t necessarily need to be an expression in its own right, so it was equally important for us to create a new architectural format with a strong sculptural sensibility and a more domestic material palette that will stand out in the saturated audio market while seamlessly fitting into the home.’

the sensitive material approach softens the technology, highlighting bang & olufsen’s dedication to craftsmanship

hubert continues, ‘as a studio, we like to build long-term partnerships with the brands we work with and beosound emerge is our second collaboration with bang & olufsen.’ 

beosound emerge with its big brother, the beosound balance

buttons can be activated through soft touch

the LAYER designers worked in close collaboration with bang & olufsen’s acoustic engineers to achieve high sound quality

the output of the 100mm side-firing woofer is guided to the back of the product, the total result being a sound dispersion wide enough to fill the room with sound

the design uses warm and tactile materials inspired by residential interiors

LAYER founder, benjamin hubert, with beosound emerge

project info:

name: beosound emerge

brand: bang & olufsen

design: LAYER

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom