Paradigm is a fitting name for this sofa collection, which not only bridges decades of design history but also marks Montana’s first foray into soft seating. When CEO Joakim Lassen spotted the design, originally conceived by architect Erik Rasmussen for Paustian, he knew it belonged in the company’s collection; its combination of clean lines and rounded forms closely resembled those of Montana’s eponymous shelving system. Thanks to its components, which simply click together with brackets, Lassen dubbed the sofa the “mother of all modularity.”

Before putting Paradigm into production, the company selected a firmer foam to emphasize the design’s crisp edges without sacrificing comfort. Like Montana’s other Ecolabel-certified products, the Paradigm sofa’s material components needed to be easily separable (in other words, no glue allowed). To that end, the upholstered cover attaches to the frame with Velcro.

The launch was a success story in more ways than one: “When I contacted Paustian to see if we could buy the design from them, they didn’t have a contract with the designer, so he hadn’t actually received any royalties,” Lassen recalls. “When the late designer’s wife got her first royalty cheque, she hosted dinner for her whole retirement home to celebrate.”