For AtMa inc., upcycling isn’t a novelty—it’s a philosophy. Founded in 2013 by interior designer Makoto Suzuki and artist Ayumi Koyama, the Tokyo-based studio operates at the intersection of spatial design, artistic expression, and social engagement. In addition to crafting imaginative retail spaces, restaurant interiors, and visual merchandising concepts, AtMa actively develops self-initiated projects that respond to broader social issues.

One such initiative is RECLAIMED FURNITURE, an ongoing exploration into how materials traditionally discarded by conventional design processes can be transformed into new typologies and narratives. What began as curiosity during visits to factories and warehouses, where offcuts and broken parts languished in forgotten piles, has since grown into a methodical practice of reconstructing and recontextualising objects, blending aesthetic ingenuity with ecological intent.

It was during one such scavenging expedition that the seed of J39.5 was planted. AtMa came across a damaged J39 chair, its leg missing and backrest cracked, languishing among other wounded relics of mid-century craftsmanship. Designed in 1947 by Børge Mogensen for the Danish cooperative FDB Møbler, the original J39, dubbed the “People’s Chair”, was itself an ode to honest functionality. Inspired by Shaker furniture, Mogensen imbued the J39 with a quiet modesty and democratic ethos: a solid wood frame, usually either made from oak or beech, and a woven paper cord seat, resulting in a chair that could grace both rural homes and urban galleries.

AtMa’s response was not to replicate or repair but to rethink. They retained the surviving components, reconfigured them into new compositions, and called the result J39.5 (the “point five” signalling a shift in perspective rather than a half-finished version). In some chairs, the leg becomes the seat. In others, remnants are recast into raw material: broken wood is pulverised, strained into pulp, and then twisted into new paper cord. Nothing is added; only repositioned or reincarnated. Though the original components change form, they still constitute the same chair, embodying a full-circle transformation. The brilliance of J39.5 lies not only in its quiet aesthetics, but in the attitude it embodies. In a culture often obsessed with pristine perfection and sleek newness, AtMa often finds dignity in imperfection and recovery.