Occo

What it does

Occo lets you turn any door into a vertical air drying opportunity. The non-invasive device is designed for cumbersome items, with tenants living in small spaces in mind, freeing space that voluminous drying racks would otherwise occupy.

Your inspiration

As living spaces shrink and more tenants occupy outdated flats built for smaller households, everyday tasks like drying clothes become increasingly difficult. Tumble dryers are costly and rarely practical in these environments. While many turn to air drying as an economical, fabric-friendly alternative, they often face challenges due to poor ventilation and limited space. Inspired by the ways tenants reimagine static features as drying aids, Occo is a drill-free drying solution that enables the passive drying of bulky items, ideal for homes where ventilation and ease of movement are most important.

How it works

Drying linen requires ventilation, warmth, and low humidity, conditions often missing in small, antiquated flats. Occo is a practical addition to the home drying toolkit. Its slim, extendable rods increase exposure to airflow and reduce fabric contact with surfaces, improving ventilation and limiting bacterial growth for a more hygienic process. Occo consists of three components: a dense yet lightweight casing made from non-petroleum-based plastic, retractable rods, and a webbing strap with a buckle. To install, slide the strap under the door, place the casing above, snap the buckle to secure, and insert the rods. No drilling or permanent fixtures are required for Occo to operate its magic.

Design process

Occo began with an exploration into how fabric dries, starting at the molecular level. I studied water transfer physics and looked at drying methods used by museums and pharmaceutical labs to preserve delicate materials. This foundation led to broader research, including visits to friends’ apartments where I observed “space hacking” in action: door frames, heaters, and corners repurposed for drying. Many expressed frustration with shared laundromats, citing a lack of hygiene control, as well as scarcity and distance when drying bulky items. With these insights, I developed early non-invasive prototypes using paper and cardboard to model tension and balance. Transitioning to 3D iterations, I confronted key challenges around maintaining balance without adding weight or complexity. I tested an early version in my flat, successfully drying a sheet and validating the feasibility of vertical air drying indoors. This feedback informed the next phase of refinement, with a focus on user-friendly installation and spatial efficiency.

How it is different

Conventional drying solutions for bulky laundry often assume spacious homes and permanent fixtures, leaving tenants with limited alternatives. Occo offers a lightweight, low-tech intervention that responds to this gap. Its compact size, drill-free setup, and intuitive usability make it ideal for renters navigating tight spaces and shared living. Rather than replace existing habits, Occo builds on them, enhancing how people already air dry at home. By increasing the garment’s exposed surface area, Occo improves ventilation and halves drying time. Moreover, vertical mounting on doors clears floor space, making room to freely move around or to use a traditional drying rack alongside it. Unlike tumble driers, Occo supports air drying as a fabric-preserving method, especially useful for natural fibres that are both harder to dry and environmentally preferable. Occo reframes ambient air drying as a sustainable way to care for fabrics and adapt to small-space living.

Future plans

In the coming weeks, I’ll focus on refining Occo’s balance by repositioning the strap anchor point, an adjustment that significantly improves stability. I’m also developing a more robust rod system, testing material options and integrating a telescoping pin mechanism to ease sizing and storing. To gather feedback, I am actively manufacturing additional units for friends and family, expanding the testing base. Alongside this, I’ll begin documenting Occo in action through short-form videos that showcase its ease of use in real living spaces.

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