Go with the flow: Wilkhahn

In giving form to furniture or space, we shape our environment and the relationships between people. The majority of us spend a large part of our time at work, typically in an office. The effect of good office design on the well-being, teamwork and productivity of personnel thus isn’t to be underestimated.

One company that has long since dedicated itself to sustainably improving life and work in the office is the office furniture manufacturer Wilkhahn. Over decades, influenced by the Bauhaus and the legendary Ulm School of Design, Wilkhahn has developed an independent design approach combining innovative function with long-lasting quality and enduring form. This attitude fills even the supposedly dry subject of the office chair with life. The firm’s latest production in this category is ‘AT’, a series of intuitively operable chairs that promote dynamic sitting and accommodate the most diverse users by adjusting automatically to the sitter’s weight.

Not only is ‘AT’ impressive in its technology and function but its form, too, is a pronounced success in aesthetic terms. Special attention was given to its lines: fluid transitions between the different elements lend the chair its characteristic look – one that isn’t technical, but rather almost organic.

In order to achieve the precise form and fit necessary here, 63 new moulds and tools were specially developed for the manufacture of the individual components. From the base of the chair to the column, and through to the backrest bearer and the armrests, all the parts interlock perfectly, making the impression that the chair frame is of a single piece. Three backrest heights and two upholstery versions for the seat shell, two frame colours and numerous equipment options make for variable adaptation to wide-ranging situations, without compromising the consistency and recognisability of the design.

‘It’s important to us to conceive and execute our products with the utmost rigour in terms of their form, function and contexts of use,’ says Michael Englisch, Head of Design and Development at Wilkhahn. After all, the objective is nothing less than to build the world’s best office chairs.

© Architonic