Sit tight: How Brunner’s designs move beyond the chair

Rethinking a chair – it's easy to say, but there’s a lot of work involved. In design, beauty alone is not enough. At least not for the German design furniture manufacturer Brunner, who, in developing its products, always focuses on the future of work, well-being, material awareness and more. The scoop chair series was recently created as a result of this endeavour and scores points with its variety and remarkable degree of individualisation and comfort.

Sit down and rethink

Markus Jehs and Jürgen Laub, known as design studio jehs + laub, have taken on this challenge and have indeed succeeded in approaching the subject from a new angle. Twelve years ago, the two designers collaborated with Brunner and developed the all-round A-Chair, which is particularly suitable for auditorium seating, bringing it to series production.

The scoop collection is now the latest development in a series of different Brunner collections from the creative studio. Something is very different about it – not just visually, but also when seated on. ‘Plastic shell chairs are versatile because the shells allow for various frames for different applications. Unfortunately, closed shells with armrests are very ‘stubborn’. In other words, they hardly move at all,’ explains Jürgen Laub, putting those puzzled on the right track. With scoop, it's different: the opening in the shell allows the back to be more flexible, making the chair much more comfortable.’

Thinking in diversity

This ingenious design principle has been applied to the two scoop series': the smart, universal chair that can be stacked depending on the frame variant, and scoop bar – a bar stool that is comfortable, casual and suitable for use in many settings, from standing desks in the office to counters in the bar. What unites the two is not only the new, exclusive Brunner colour palette into which they have been integrated, or the robust, ergonomic and easy-to-clean plastic shell made of polypropylene with a fiberglass content, which optionally appears as a seat shell made of recycled plastic, but also the choice of upholstery: scoop is available with seat upholstery or seat and backrest upholstery, while scoop bar is only available with seat upholstery and without armrests. For scoop bar, the appearance is characterised, among other things, by the tubular steel frame – available either as a four-legged or sled base. The scoop series also offers additional frame options, including a central base with four-foot extensions or a five-star base, made from aluminium die-cast.

Looking on at the whole

The journey to this point involved a lot of tinkering: in terms of function, application, handling, comfort, eclecticism, stackability and variety, there were no compromises from the start. But jehs + laub have a trial and error strategy. ‘We discuss, design, discuss again, discard, start all over again. Again and again, until we reach an agreement,’ says Jürgen Laub, giving an insight into the complexity of the development process.

‘We start with sketches. As soon as we have designed something promising, we build the project in 3D and create presentation renderings. This is the most difficult phase, it makes or breaks the design. But if the result is positive, then a lengthy process begins that transforms the project into a product.’ And he is convinced: ‘The biggest challenge with scoop was to design a family of chairs: chairs with and without armrests as well as bar stools must, each have it's own independent, self-evident design and yet still be related.’

Being ahead of the times

In addition to the scoop chair series, all of the new Brunner innovations presented at Orgatec 2024 are now available. Among them, jehs + laub are responsible for a whole range of other designs, such as the wave and wave light table series, which are distinguished by their customisable design. They find application in high-end conferencing as well as in hospitality, restaurants, cafés and cafeterias, attracting attention with their wave-shaped bases. Or the pads lounge furniture series, expanded to include cube-shaped stools on castors or glides, and the ray work swivel chair, which comes with a choice of wave-shaped quilting, while the lava frame version is now exclusively offered with a frame made of recycled plastic.

The wait seating series for waiting zones and the advance folding table for seminar and event areas bear the signature of Roland Schmidt Design. The boards media trolley, a further development of the multifunctional board series, is designed by studio Osko + Deichmann. They all more than fulfil the future-oriented company motto of the Baden-based manufacturer: ‘Brunner lives for furniture that makes the new possible.’

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