INDESIGN X HERMAN MILLER
An evolution on a revolution.
Why would you remaster An Icon? In response to their decision to remaster The Beatles’ discography, Abbey Road Studios said that by “treating the material with respect, but not shying away from the application of modern technology, it was felt that fidelity to the group could be improved.”
Remastering icons is certainly nothing new; think the Volkswagen Beetle, the Apple computer, the digital re-re-release of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey – the list goes on. However, what’s most important here is that none of these classics were ‘recreated’ – but rather ‘remastered’.
When the Aeron chair by Herman Miller first launched in 1994, it was unlike any chair the world had ever seen. Instead of a padded throne, designers Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick did away with foam and fabric to create a true machine for sitting. Uniting humancentred design with Herman Miller’s leadership in innovative technology and materials, Aeron quickly became the best-selling and most recognisable performance chair of all time – it was even featured in episode #354 of The Simpsons, where Homer dreams that God sits on an Aeron. With over 7 million sold in 134 countries, the chair is a vital tool for people around the globe and holds a rightful place in popular culture.
In collaboration with co-original designer, Don Chadwick, almost 25 years after its debut, Herman Miller reveals a project over two years in the making – the Aeron chair, remastered. Herman Miller’s new Aeron retains the distinctive silhouette of the iconic chair, but every component of the design has been updated to raise the bar for performance seating: ergonomically, functionally, anthropometrically and environmentally.
So, what’s actually changed here? Well, overall the dedicated team of Herman Miller scientists, engineers, materials specialists, and researchers have enhanced the chair by combining the latest insights in anthropometrics and ergonomics with two decades of advancement in materials, manufacturing, and technology. The resulting chair is recognisably an Aeron, but features stronger and smarter materials, better adjustment capabilities, intuitive controls, enhanced aeration, and a healthpositive, more comfortable sit.
Essentially what we have here, are four new key features of the Aeron 2.0: 8Z Pellicle for zonal pressure distribution and aeration, PostureFit SL for adjustable sacral and lumbar support, intuitive adjustments for optimal comfort and customisation, and holistic material palettes to enhance modern environments.
The 8Z Pellicle allows air, body heat and water vapor to pass through the seat and backrest to help maintain even and comfortable skin temperature. With PostureFit SL, adjustable, individual pads stabalise the sacrum and support the lumbar region of the spine to mimic a healthy standing position. While the original design supported many work activities, Aeron’s updated design features user adjustments for intuitive fine-tuning. Advancements in engineering for example, have allowed
Herman Miller to scale back the amount of turning, twisting, and time spent customising a personal fit. Now the sitter can reach a custom recline in 13 turns or less. And finally, while Aeron’s materials don’t simply contribute to the appearance of the chair, they are the design. In revisiting Aeron for the future of workers and workplaces, every effort was made to significantly improve upon the comfort and performance of the original, while also creating a beautiful, harmonious look-and-feel through updated colours, materials, and finishes.
Though the new Aeron certainly hosts the latest and greatest advancements in technology and materials, the decision to reexamine the design criteria of the iconic chair came from Herman Miller’s relentless pursuit of investigating the changing needs of people and their working environments, and wanting to design solutions for a new generation of users.
“The workplace that Aeron launched into in 1994 is vastly different from the workplace of today,” says Aeron’s original co-designer, Don Chadwick. “The agile workforce requires freedom and variety within workspaces to support multiple types of work during different parts of a day. The new Aeron is a cross-performance and cross-floorplate solution equally well suited to a quick collaboration session among colleagues as to hours of concentrated focus on an individual project. For workers sitting in Aeron, cross-performance design means the chair fully accommodates the widest possible range of activities and postures people adopt while working. For organisations, cross-performance makes Aeron suitable for a wide array of workplace settings, from group spaces to dedicated workpoints.”
The premise for the design of the original Aeron in 1994 was to create the most comfortable chair possible. Chadwick recalls:
“We decided to question assumptions about the form and materials of an ergonomic office chair, as those assumptions led to predictable results and a sea of similar chairs. Bill Stumpf and I set out to experiment with new technologies in materials and manufacturing. We were dedicated to breaking new ground in chair design.”
“The task of re-examining the design criteria that led us to the classic Aeron was an opportunity to step back and ask ourselves how we could apply two decades of knowledge and material and manufacturing advances to make the chair even better. The result is a complete remastering of the chair, retaining the form while improving on every aspect of the performance.”
“It’s going to be a whole new experience, and yet the chair is
still going to be an Aeron chair.” – Don Chadwick.