Despite good intentions, few products are successful in combining design, aesthetics and ergonomics in a way that is also friendly to users. The new Generation office chair, just launched in the UK by American furniture company Knoll, can be counted as a rare exception.
Created by New Zealand-based practice Formway Design for Knoll, Generation was four years in the making. At first glance it seems to be an evolution of the Life office chair that was created by the same designers and launched in 2002. Its key feature was a groundbreaking mechanism that automatically calibrates the weight of its user. For this new chair Formway Design and Knoll have carried on their research into giving more freedom and comfort of movement to office chair users, breaking away from the constrained formality of office seating. This particular part of the research was based on 400 hours of video recordings made in offices and workplaces.
The backrest and seat are independently adjustable, providing a variety of combinations for the user. This is obtained through the use of a flexible backnet, an elasticated material that can be molded, twisted and stretched in a way that provides support for the body and spine. The thermoplastic rubber is traditionally used in dishwasher hinges and ski-boot straps. A harder version ofthe material is used for the shell of the seat pad, it adjusts to the movment of the lower part of the body when seated. Generation is entirely manufactured in Italy, using 44% recycled content and is itself 54% recyclable.
One of the early scale models for the Generation office chair, with its distinctive back rest
An early full scale prototype testing the Back Rest Net pre-formed rubber back rest
A full scale model testing the performance of the Flex Back Net
Assembling a prototype for testing the especially designed Flex Seat plastic plate
Generation chairs out of the production line in the Knoll Italian factory.
