❀ vina@bmtv ❀

The problem when working on the laptop these days and sitting for over 8 hours a day, especially when you’re writing and find yourself getting carried away with concentration and work, you suffer from a bad back and a neck problem.

I received an email today asking for recommendation for office chairs from a lady who invested in her own small company in Shanghai and I sent her the names of four “ergonomic” chairs for her to consider.

The first two are American made, the AERON chair from Herman Miller, and the THINK chair from Steelcase.

The other two are European made, XTEN PININFARINI by Aresline from Italy, and MITOS by Interstuhl from Germany.

Here are the chairs and the introduction copy from their websites.

AERON
DESIGN STORY
Herman Miller turned to designers Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf to design a totally new kind of chair. Chadwick’s and Stumpf’s previous collaboration had produced the groundbreaking Equa chair.

The two designers began this development process with a clean slate, with no assumptions about form or material, but with some strong convictions about what a chair ought to do for a person.

Ergonomically, it ought to do more than just sit there. It should actively intercede for the health of the person who sits in it longer than she should.

Functionally, it ought to move and adjust as simply and naturally as possible. It should support a person in any position he cares to assume, at any task his office job serves up.

Anthropometrically, it ought to be more inclusive than its predecessors. It should do more than accommodate small or large people; it should really fit them.

Environmentally, it ought to be benign. It should be sparing of natural resources, durable and repairable, designed for disassembly and recycling.

The design that fulfilled these criteria met all expectations and shattered some of them. It wasn’t upholstered. It wasn’t padded. It was dimensioned in three models that looked exactly alike and that had nothing to do with their users’ job titles. It didn’t look like any other office chair. And its revolutionary concept incorporated more patentable ideas than any previous Herman Miller research program.

“It was a matter of deliberate design to create a ‘new signature shape’ for the Aeron chair,” says designer Bill Stumpf. “Competitive ergonomic chairs became look-alikes. Differentiation was a huge part of the Aeron design strategy, and it remains one of, if not the most, critical aspects of Aeron’s success.

“The human form has no straight lines, it is biomorphic. We designed the chair to be above all biomorphic, or curvilinear, as a metaphor of human form in the visual as well as the tactile sense. There is not one straight line to be found on an Aeron chair.

“The Pellicle was equally a deliberate design strategy in that its transparency symbolizes the free flow of air to the skin in the same way lace, window screens, and other permeable membranes permit the flow of air or light or moisture. The transparency of the chair as a visual element was in keeping with the idea of transparent architecture and technology, which Aeron pioneered in advance of Apple’s transparent iMac computers. Transparency is a major design movement. Its purpose is to make technology less opaque, to communicate the inner workings of things, and to make objects less intrusive in the environment. Aeron is a non-intrusive chair.”

The Aeron design was refined and validated through research and experts’ opinions:

- It was tested for comfort with scores of users, pitting it against the best work chairs available.

- Leading ergonomists, orthopedic specialists, and physical therapists evaluated the chair’s fit and motion, the benefit and ease of its adjustments.

- The design team conducted anthropometric studies across the country, using a specially developed instrument to calculate everything from popliteal height to forearm length.

- The research team did pressure mapping and thermal testing to determine the weight distribution and heat- and moisture-dissipating qualities of the Pellicle material on the chair’s seat and back.

- Field studies using a specially-designed measuring device examined the relationship between sizes of people and their preference for chair size (Dowell 1995b). Measurements of 224 people–in a sample that was evenly distributed between men and women and that closely reflected the distribution of the U.S. population on most dimensions–found that of all the anthropometric dimensions measured, height and weight had the strongest relationship to chair size preference. The relationship is strong enough to allow us to recommend one of the three chair sizes based on those dimensions.

Although it reveals its aesthetic heritage in lyrical shapes reminiscent of George Nelson designs, organic forms that recall the work of Charles Eames, and a spare, athletic aspect that brings to mind its designers’ Equa chair, the Aeron chair finally looks only like itself. Its unique form expresses its purpose and use and the material composition of its parts and the way they connect. The slightly transparent and reflective nature of its surfaces gives it an airy quality. It becomes a part of the person who uses it and the environment that surrounds it.

Made largely of recycled materials, the Aeron chair is designed to last a long time, with parts that get the most wear easily replaced and recycled. Just what you would expect in a well thought-out design.

• HERMAN MILLER

• www.hermanmiller.com

MITOS
“SITTING IS THE POSTURE IN WHICH MAN MOVES FROM EQUILIBRIUM TO CROSS BARRIERS.” obsessed with chairs and bent on sitting (edition Interstuhl vol. 1, p. 58)

Paradoxical as it may sound – the previous sections leave us with just one conclusion: The chair which, at first try, we find the most comfortable because it perfectly supports the body (something like the anatomically modelled shell seat) – this chair is also the most undamaging.

A good chair does not promote a posture in which man simply “lets himself drop”; instead a good chair promotes the posture of someone who is awake, concentrating, eager and with all senses alert. In such a state – and anyone can observe this in themselves – we automatically tend to push the pelvis forwards and counteract its backward tipping tendency.

And naturally, the chair can help us here. On the one hand because it offers us all the degrees of freedom which we need so as not to lose concentration in our work – in that it is precisely tailored to the type of activity which we are engaged in. And on the other hand because it helps make our muscles work, which is necessary if we are to adopt the ergonomically correct position – because it supports our body instead of simply being a passive prop for it.

The following sections go into the details of the technologies which the Interstuhl seating systems use to achieve this aim.

• INTERSTUHL BÜROMÖBEL GmbH & CO. KG

• Brühistrasse 21, D 72469 Meßstetten – Tleringen, Germany
• T: +49 (0) 7436 871 – 0
• F: +49 (0) 7436 871 -110
• www.interstuhl.de
• info@interstuhl.de

• INTERSTUHL c/o Materia HK Ltd.

• 5/F Carfield Commercial Building, 75-77 Wyndham Street, Hong Kong

• T: +85 2 2868 0199

• F: +85 2 2524 3765
• info@materia.com.hk

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THINK
STEELCASE THINK CHAIR WINS THE DESIGN FOR ASIA AWARD

November 21, 2005 – Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS), a global office environments manufacturer, today announced that it has been selected as a recipient of the 2005 Design for Asia Award, an international design competition sponsored by the Hong Kong Design Centre, that awards companies for designs that reflect, or have an impact on, the Asian lifestyle. Steelcase received this distinction for the Think chair – a smart, simple and environmentally sustainable seating product. Created in collaboration with designer Glen Oliver Low, McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry and the Institute for Product Development in Copenhagen, the Think chair conforms to the highest environmental standards and raises the bar in cradle-to-cradle design and life-cycle thinking. Think addresses the growing need for ergonomic seating and was lauded at the Design for Asia Awards ceremony as an outstanding achievement in design.

The Think chair provides ultimate support for a full range of postures, allowing users to stay focused without distraction or fatigue. Combined with an elegant and innovative design, the Think chair also adheres to the toughest environmental standards, including Japan’s “Green Purchasing Law,” which was designed to increase the percentage of materials and parts that have a reduced environmental impact and have the ability to be completely recycled (cradle-to-grave development process).

“It is an honor to receive the Design for Asia Award, which is recognized as one of the most prestigious international awards in design,” said James Ludwig, Director of Design for Steelcase. “This award pays tribute to Steelcase’s ability to create user-centered products that combine aesthetic appeal with function and environmental sensibility, attributes that are extremely important to the Asian market.”

The Think chair officially launched in Asia in March 2005 and was met with great success. The chair experienced double digit growth in Japan this year and Steelcase expects similar growth in the Asian market over the next few years. Based on the chair’s success in Asia and North America, the Think chair also debuted in Australia this past August.

The Design for Asia Award is dedicated to promoting design excellence and seeks to raise awareness that good design is an important factor for business success. Judged on the design’s excellence, its impact and influence within Asia and on Asian lifestyles, and the commercial success of the design, Steelcase’s Think chair was chosen from over 500 entries (including apparel and accessories, communication, interior/spatial, and product designs) from North America, Europe and Asia.

• STEELCASE

• www.steelcase.com

XTEN
A CHAIR WITH A SPORTS CAR LEGACY
By Edward Keegan
Live@NeoCon 2004

“It’s hardly surprising that the first chair to be designed by Pininfarina would have the sleek lines and sophisticated technology usually associated with sports cars. After all, the company’s legendary designers have been sculpting the automobiles of Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, and Ferrari for decades.

The Xten has all the adjustable elements expected of any high-end chair: armrests, seat, and auto-positioning lumbar support can all be moved at the flick of a finger. Particularly comfortable is the foam-cushion seat, which has been injected with a patented Technogel material that helps reduce pressure on the upper legs.

This woven-mesh chair is free of exposed fasteners and sports a slick fiberglass chassis suspended from its back. While the chassis is available in four colors, it seems most suitable in Ferrari’s signature red.”

Aresline have teamed up with Italian design house Pininfarina, famous for their work with Ferrari, to create one of the most stylish chairs ever made, the Xten. It is a mesh chair available with four paint options for the stunning back design. The arms are height adjustable with gas assistance, a super smooth operation controlled by a small button under the right arm. The chair has the Pininfarina signature on the top of the back panel.

• ARES LINE SRL

• Via Brenta 7, 36010 Carrè – Vicenza, Italy
• T: +39 0445 314931
• F: +39 0445 314999
• www.aresline.com
• info@aresline.com