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W Chair: for Healthy Sitting
This ergonomic chair with unique geometry keeps your back straight while you are working and improves concentration and productivity.
Design Team
Guntis Zingis, designer
Design models
Sketches
"The idea came into my mind during the long hours of sitting at a meditation retreat. I kept adjusting the cushions to reduce pain in the back and knees. I thought, why not to try and use the same principle for healthy sitting and mental activity in the office or at home?" — Guntis Zingis, architect
After a year of research, design and testing together with ergonomics experts, we have come up with a conclusion that ergonomic sitting in combination with standing desk is the best for reducing sitting hours. Recent studies have found that sitting for a lengthy period of time is not only bad for us but is damaging to our body in the long run. Long fixated positions will guarantee aches and pains, but they can also cause bigger problems that can lead to premature terminal illnesses.
We want to do something about it.
Design
The Chair's geometry and angles are designed to reduce pressure on the backbone. It is made from a continuous 3D surface and combines a saddle type seat with two knee supports.
Use
With our chair we want to change the common habit of sitting on something that is actually beneficial to the body. Since sitting for long hours is bad for one's health, we recommend using the chair at the office in combination with a standing desk. It can be also used for reading or meditation.
Size
To suit all possible body dimensions Wchair will be produced in small, medium and large sizes.
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Comments
When a product designer presents his project without mentioning that several iterations have been made in the past, it does make me wonder how much research they have done. Apart from the kneeling chairs already mentioned, Stokke and Varnier have been selling seats like this for the past 40 years. http://www.varierfurniture.com/Movement-Chairs
Our team has been working on this product since august 2014. Of course we know that kneeling chairs exist, varier, etc. But we do not call our chair -kneeling chair, since geometry is completely different(patented). Its is made from one continious 3D surface which refer to natural body W sitting position.
I would have to agree with Philippe here. We all see the different form factors (and similarities) between them. Instead of defending your design in this commenting area, it's better to make a case as part of your project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVIGhYMwRgs
Lots of mentioning how chairs like this have existed for quite some time miss the point. Not everything needs to be invented from the ground up to be considered a successful design. Very few things are completely new. We don't mention how electric cars already exist when a new Tesla model comes out. I think it would be a much more interesting discussion if it were framed around the aspects of the design that are being presented and how this design fits with modern times and functions (computing, lengthy sitting times, etc). This is a very cool design from my point of view. I'd love to see more! How is it constructed? Nicely done.
Tesla does not only make a 'different' electronic car, it makes a 'much better' 'different' car, with its superior technology and defined visual language. I could tell the difference between this design and existing product on the market, however it's hard to me to see something much better out of it. As a consumer, I feel safer to choose a mature product, unless the new product has a convincing point: is it lighter? is it more comfortable? is it made of some new material? is it much cheaper?... Sorry, but I need a better story to buy this chair.
Thanks for your comment. I visited Stockholm Furniture fair last week and saw a lot of standing desks there. People are paying attention to the health more and more. Sitting or standing from nine to five is bad habbit, there has to be change. We hope that we are on the right track with this chair etc.
The line "to suit all possible body dimensions" erases the existence of people with bodies that would not be able to use this.
Great idea!
Please share and support us also on Kickstarter ;) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wchair/healthy-sitting-with-w-chair
Thank you for your great advice Sam!
At first sight seems cumbersome to have to step back to stand up.
oh, and the trend now is to work standing up.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=kneeling+chair&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi5vfWVioXLAhUGxWMKHd0CBqwQsAQIRQ&biw=1609&bih=914
These were big in the 70's. I had one. The trouble is that they put a lot of pressure on your knees. I had to stop using it.
Google has a lot of examples, not all of which look like hospital furniture.
I agree that sitting concept is old, but we were trying to make something that do not look like a hospital furniture, something light and minimal where all the lines has its purpose.
The concept has been around: Balan (Peter Opsvik, 1979) besides the Japanese chairs Derek Chan mentioned that I was not aware of. I do like the lightness of this design though.
Video
Video Link: http://vimeo.com/140766871
They might have come to the independantly, but japanese style kneeling chairs have been around for a long time.