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Will Embody reach the dizzy heights of Aeron, Herman Miller's 1990s über chair?
Richard Mander of Urbis Magazine takes it for a test-drive.
Many people spend their day sitting at a desk interacting with a computer, yet few of us pay attention to the effects this has on our health. Herman- Miller has developed the Embody chair, designed with your health in mind. It’s actually designed to work in conjunction with a new type of work surface, but more on that later.
Embody is designed around a new model of kinematics, the science of how we move in space. The backrest is a clever piece of engineering and works like an exoskeleton – a highly flexible structure supporting your upper body. A unique aspect is how the upper backrest reclines and twists as your upper body moves. The base of the backrest is fixed relative to the seat, keeping your pelvis supported as your upper body moves. A Backfit adjustment lets you turn a knob to tune the backrest to the particular S-shape of your spine.
Five years of research at Herman-Miller into biomechanics, vision, physical therapy, and ergonomics provided a new understanding of the way our bodies react to long periods of sitting. Over time the pressure distribution of your body weight on the ischial tuberosities ‘sitting bones’ and buttocks causes discomfort. In response you make unconscious body movements to relieve the pressure. Clever design of the seat springing and cushioning allows the Embody’s seat to distribute this pressure. Another factor is the increase in skin temperature caused by the insulating effect of having the surface area of your back, buttocks, and thighs touching the chair. Fabric and cushioning materials have been designed to breath and conduct heat and moisture away from the skin. The combination of kinematics, pressure distribution, and thermal dispersion create a healthier sitting experience.
Embody, it's claimed, can improve blood fl ow, lower heart rate, and improve oxygen fl ow to the brain. To review Embody, I visited Herman-Miller in Seattle to get the standard pitch, then spent 90 minutes sitting in one while working on my laptop at a standard work surface. Sitting in the chair feels like you’re being held in the arms of a massage therapist, free to float as you work at your computer. It's clearly a great chair. I also got the chance to interview Jeff Weber, the designer behind Embody. Beginning as a collaboration with Bill Stumpf, designer of the Aeron chair, Weber took the lead when Stumpf passed away in 2006.
Weber says Stumpf was a ‘guardian of good experiences’, an enlightened thought leader in the field of furniture design, and an advocate for humanism. Weber has produced his own landmark design in the Embody and he shares many of Stumpf's design principles. Weber explained that inspiration for the back and seat support came from the way a computer screen’s image is made up of many pixels – with each pixel responsible for its part of the image. This led to the Pixelated Support system. Although hundreds of prototypes were built and tested, Weber is quick to acknowledge the importance of computers and software tools. Advances in 3D software allowed him to do things he couldn’t a few years before. This extended to advanced calculus in the engineering of the H-Flexor components forming the backrest. Interestingly, Weber says one of the biggest design challenges was defining and integrating the textiles into the chair, in particular designing an attachment system so the fabric could be removed to change colour or for cleaning.
I asked Weber what he would advise a young furniture designer – he suggested "put down the design magazines and look at what people are doing in their lives". He believes his job is to "design comfort" and success is when the chair becomes an absent participant for the user. He also emphasised the value of finding a mentor, in his case Stumpf, to extend your learning.
In Herman Miller's work on understanding the interaction between health and seating, it determined another important element – the work surface. The timing for this review was fortuitous as their new Envelop work surface was about to be released. Standard work surfaces prevent you from reclining while computing because you need to maintain the distance from your eyes to the screen. Herman-Miller's solution is to allow the work surface to slide forward as the user leans back in the chair. As the surface slides, the computer monitor moves forward and the distance from eye to monitor is maintained, while the front edge of the work surface slopes and acts as a forearm rest area.
Overall, what makes the chair a winner? Well, the support is great, and its nice to be able to recline and twist while sitting. Its easy to get the chair to fi t you nicely, and one size fi ts all. It's well-engineered, sustainable and it's going to last a long time. I’m a big proponent of making work places ergonomic and inspiring. Embody will make a difference to people’s productivity and comfort, and if Herman-Miller’s research is correct, to their health. Finally, I asked designer Jeff Weber what he sits in and his answer sums up my review “I get to sit in a lot of different chairs, but I go back to the Embody and it produces relief”.
Click here to view the Embody product page
Will Embody reach the dizzy heights of Aeron, Herman Miller's 1990s über chair?
Richard Mander of Urbis Magazine takes it for a test-drive.
Many people spend their day sitting at a desk interacting with a computer, yet few of us pay attention to the effects this has on our health. Herman- Miller has developed the Embody chair, designed with your health in mind. It’s actually designed to work in conjunction with a new type of work surface, but more on that later.
Embody is designed around a new model of kinematics, the science of how we move in space. The backrest is a clever piece of engineering and works like an exoskeleton – a highly flexible structure supporting your upper body. A unique aspect is how the upper backrest reclines and twists as your upper body moves. The base of the backrest is fixed relative to the seat, keeping your pelvis supported as your upper body moves. A Backfit adjustment lets you turn a knob to tune the backrest to the particular S-shape of your spine. Five years of research at Herman-Miller into biomechanics, vision, physical therapy, and ergonomics provided a new understanding of the way our bodies react to long periods of sitting. Over time the pressure distribution of your body weight on the ischial tuberosities ‘sitting bones’ and buttocks causes discomfort. In response you make unconscious body movements to relieve the pressure. Clever design of the seat springing and cushioning allows the Embody’s seat to distribute this pressure. Another factor is the increase in skin temperature caused by the insulating effect of having the surface area of your back, buttocks, and thighs touching the chair. Fabric and cushioning materials have been designed to breath and conduct heat and moisture away from the skin. The combination of kinematics, pressure distribution, and thermal dispersion create a healthier sitting experience.
Embody, it's claimed, can improve blood fl ow, lower heart rate, and improve oxygen fl ow to the brain. To review Embody, I visited Herman-Miller in Seattle to get the standard pitch, then spent 90 minutes sitting in one while working on my laptop at a standard work surface. Sitting in the chair feels like you’re being held in the arms of a massage therapist, free to float as you work at your computer. It's clearly a great chair. I also got the chance to interview Jeff Weber, the designer behind Embody. Beginning as a collaboration with Bill Stumpf, designer of the Aeron chair, Weber took the lead when Stumpf passed away in 2006.
Weber says Stumpf was a ‘guardian of good experiences’, an enlightened thought leader in the field of furniture design, and an advocate for humanism. Weber has produced his own landmark design in the Embody and he shares many of Stumpf's design principles. Weber explained that inspiration for the back and seat support came from the way a computer screen’s image is made up of many pixels – with each pixel responsible for its part of the image. This led to the Pixelated Support system. Although hundreds of prototypes were built and tested, Weber is quick to acknowledge the importance of computers and software tools. Advances in 3D software allowed him to do things he couldn’t a few years before. This extended to advanced calculus in the engineering of the H-Flexor components forming the backrest. Interestingly, Weber says one of the biggest design challenges was defining and integrating the textiles into the chair, in particular designing an attachment system so the fabric could be removed to change colour or for cleaning.
I asked Weber what he would advise a young furniture designer – he suggested "put down the design magazines and look at what people are doing in their lives". He believes his job is to "design comfort" and success is when the chair becomes an absent participant for the user. He also emphasised the value of finding a mentor, in his case Stumpf, to extend your learning.
In Herman Miller's work on understanding the interaction between health and seating, it determined another important element – the work surface. The timing for this review was fortuitous as their new Envelop work surface was about to be released. Standard work surfaces prevent you from reclining while computing because you need to maintain the distance from your eyes to the screen. Herman-Miller's solution is to allow the work surface to slide forward as the user leans back in the chair. As the surface slides, the computer monitor moves forward and the distance from eye to monitor is maintained, while the front edge of the work surface slopes and acts as a forearm rest area. Overall, what makes the chair a winner? Well, the support is great, and its nice to be able to recline and twist while sitting. Its easy to get the chair to fi t you nicely, and one size fi ts all. It's well-engineered, sustainable and it's going to last a long time. I’m a big proponent of making work places ergonomic and inspiring. Embody will make a difference to people’s productivity and comfort, and if Herman-Miller’s research is correct, to their health. Finally, I asked designer Jeff Weber what he sits in and his answer sums up my review “I get to sit in a lot of different chairs, but I go back to the Embody and it produces relief”.
Click here to view the Embody product page