We often underestimate the importance of a great chair! When in reality we really shouldn’t. We spend the majority of our day sitting on chairs, whether we’re working in our home office, enjoying a meal, or simply sitting and reading a book for leisure! Hence, this piece of furniture needs to be not only comfortable but ergonomic, and aesthetic as well. And we’ve curated a collection of chair designs that meet all these criteria! From a smart chair that morphs position + physical shape as your posture to an experimental standing desk chair – these innovative chair designs are not only a boon to your back, and help you maintain a healthy posture, but are also super comfy to sink into, and will perfectly match the interiors of your modern homes. Enjoy!
1. Konvergence
Designing their own interpretation of the classic lounge chair called Konvergence, Paris-based designer and maker, Emmanuel Hugnot turned to 3D printing to produce a central knot that eight wooden slats protrude from to define and support the shape of a fully-formed chair. The central knot of Konvergence resembles the shape of a ball-and-socket connector piece from LEGO kits. Keeping a total of eight end sockets, the central knot functions as the chair’s cornerstone, providing the bridge for all of Konvergence’s additional components to connect. Taking to common beech to produce the eight wooden slats, Hugnot went with the brightly textured timber for its rigidity and current abundancy in Europe’s forests.
2. The Commute Chair
Designer Andrew Mangelsdorf created the Commute chair. The name commute chair might give you the idea that it helps you recreate the journey (maybe it’s a variation of floo powder that transports you while sitting in place), it literally helps create a barrier between your home and workspace. Designing a home office is a luxury not everyone can afford – we often convert our bedroom into the workroom and the dining table into a desk for the day. Commute lets you mentally transform yourself by pulling up the partitions of this ingenious chair.
3. The Routine Chair
The Routine Chair designed by Yubin Lee and Minkyoung Song is a refreshing take on what the user would actually fancy getting comfy in for the rest of their digital work life. The smart chair (yes it is actually smart) adjusts the position of the headrest, arms, and reclining angle based on the app-controlled schedule during the day! How one feels while working sitting all day long in the office chair plays a vital role in overall productivity and well-being. The ergonomic comfort keeps creatives like us in the zone and I’m sure all you professionals might be looking for another stint of the work from home regime given the current scenario with the new coronavirus variant.
4. Lochair
Inspired to create joyful moments while sitting down, Hong and Park designed Lochair as a reinterpretation of the traditional floor lounge chair. Lounge chairs are generally fun designs to embark upon because they typically favor comfort and whimsy over practicality and function. Designed to be a fun alternative to the couch or armrest chair, Lochair scales itself down to a small disc with a raised backrest that covers around the same size as the tabletop of a small nightstand. The chair’s approachable size allows users to sit in Lochair comfortably and carry it away when out of use.
5. Ariel Levay’s experimental standing chair
The experimental standing chair from Ariel Levay won an A’Design bronze award for its innovative simplicity. Describing the inspiration behind his chair design, Levay describes, “We heard a lot about the harmful effects of the sedentary work style to our spine while we spend most of our work time in seats. But sitting causes obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.” In designing a standing chair, Levay wanted to give sitters the chance to change their standing position throughout the workday to sustain healthy spinal alignment and posture. Resembling the shape of back hyperextension workout equipment, the experimental chair features the main backrest with a cushion where sitters can position their back and recline while working at a desk.
6. KERF
It can be called a stool or a chair, but KERF gives the otherwise rigid object warmth and flexibility. You can literally put it on a hanger and store it like clothing in a wardrobe which makes it stand out from its counterparts. When needed, simply open the fold and you can get a setup ready for your guests in a few seconds. The intention was to enrich plywood, make it flexible and fold it like it was paper for origami art. KERF has been designed for small living spaces and for practicality, it is perfect for those living in urban apartments or shared spaces. It reminds me of Japandi style furniture or Scandinavian home decor with its warm and minimal aesthetics.
7. The TEMP Chair
The TEMP chair has been designed as an eco-focused seating solution that makes use of an unlikely material to blend packaging and assembly into one piece. The chair is made by cutting OSB (oriented strand board) and is assembled by tying a single cargo strap with ratchets. The luggage strap, which can withstand more than 700kg, makes for a super sturdy chair without the use of screws, glue, or any hardware! OSB is stronger and more waterproof than plywood. It is a versatile, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly alternative manufactured by compressing precisely engineered strands of woods with exterior resins at high temperatures to create an incredibly strong panel.
8. Esc.
Designed to provide people with a secluded resting area, ‘Esc.’ is essentially a chaise lounge chair that’s partly wrapped in an overhead umbrella-like awning. Baert felt inspired to create a private nook for the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) to look forward to when the stimuli of everyday life become too much. The overhead awning buffers any noise coming from outside to offer an acoustically, visually, and emotionally quiet hideaway inside. The awning can even be adjusted to varying positions to tread the spectrum between enclosed and semi-enclosed, offering anything between an open bench to a dark zone for sleeping. Made from 100% recycled PET felt and durable wood, ‘Esc.’ was made responsibly and built to last.
9. RU
Described by Nguyen as, “A bit of embracing crib, a bit of the curve of dragonfly wings, interpreted by rattan,” the arms and lower back of RU feature webbed rattan weaving to support the cushion’s taut upholstery fabric. Muted in freckled amber orange, RU is paired with an ottoman that can either tuck beneath the chair’s cushion, work as a footrest, or become an additional seat. Both the lounge chair and ottoman are propped atop a cushioned base to embrace the comfort that RU was designed to provide. Named after the Vietnamese word for ‘lullaby,’ Nguyen conceptualized RU to be made up of materials from their childhood, namely rattan and what appears to be a tightly woven linen fabric.
10. The OTO Chair
The OTO chair was designed by Alexia Audrain, who learned more about the special needs of people on the autistic spectrum while she studied cabinetmaking and designing. “Noise, light, or physical contact can be a real challenge in everyday life [for people with autism]”, says Audrain. “To compensate for this sensory disorder, autistic people regularly feel the need to be held very tightly or to be hugged.” This form of deep pressure therapy can have a calming effect and reduce anxiety while improving the person’s sense of body awareness.
