Suspended Hugging Unit explores mediated human intimacy
What happens when human intimacy becomes so rare that technology is forced to replace it? Suspended Hugging Unit (SHU) is a speculative design project developed by Diego Reggiani as a master’s thesis final project for Politecnico di Milano that explores the future of hugging in an increasingly technologically mediated society. The project takes the form of a suspended shibari hammock designed to simulate the emotional and physiological comfort of a human embrace, provoking reflection on our relationship with touch, loneliness, and emotional dependency on technology.
Hugging is one of the most instinctive forms of human affection. It provides physical, psychological, and social benefits, reducing stress and reinforcing emotional bonds. Despite its known importance, hugging often remains an unconscious gesture that rarely receives the attention that it deserves. As digital technologies progressively reshape the way we communicate and relate to one another, physical exchanges risk becoming less frequent, replaced by forms of interaction that prioritise virtual presence over embodied connection.
Suspended Hugging Unit explores the future of mediated human intimacy | all images courtesy of Diego Reggiani
Woven rope structure creates pressure and bodily containment
Drawing from the aesthetics, tension, and intimate dynamics of trust in shibari practice, Suspended Hugging Unit (SHU) consists of a suspended self-binding hammock designed to recreate the bodily sensation of an embrace. The artefact was entirely handmade through a crocheting process using over 500 metres of rope. Once inside the hammock, the body experiences sensations of pressure, containment, suspension, and support, reproducing some of the physical dynamics associated with hugging. Integrated within the woven ropes is a responsive thermal system composed of heated cords containing shape memory metal wires. Activated through warmth, these internal elements allow the ropes to tense gently, generating subtle movements that make the structure appear almost alive, as if responding to human presence.
Existing for the moment we may eventually need it, the SHU project, conceived by designer Diego Reggiani, exposes the possibility of reconstructing one of the most instinctive forms of human affection through autonomous technology.
handmade crocheted hammock constructed from over 500 meters of rope
woven shibari-inspired structure is shaped through tension and suspension