In times of hybrid workplace models, working and living environments have more and more points of contact. As a result, more and more designers and furniture manufacturers are endeavouring to create new products that bring a homely atmosphere into the office or the ergonomics of a well-equipped office workplace into the home. The VT Chair is one such product that combines the aesthetics of home furniture with the comfort of an office chair and thus fits into both worlds. The chair is reminiscent of one of ITOKI’s first chair models, the Vertebra from 1981. As a new interpretation, the VT Chair not only impresses with its contemporary, minimalist yet warm appearance, but also with the choice of wood for the seat and backrest. By using a kind of sensor in the design process, the so-called “sheet tracer”, it was possible to create three-dimensional shapes from the relatively hard material chestnut wood that offer a high level of seating comfort. The contoured 3D seat surface is shaped in such a way that it encourages the user to automatically find and adopt an optimum sitting position. The seat is non-slip and offers moderate support, while the backrest provides flexible support for the spine. A sliding mechanism allows the chair to follow the user’s body movements smoothly when leaning backwards or bending forwards. When assessing the chair, the jury was pleasantly surprised: “The chair is aesthetically pleasing thanks to the use of solid wood as the main material and its wonderfully moulded, soft shape, as well as its balanced proportions and overall pleasingly simple appearance. What really amazed us, however, was how comfortable the chair is and how flexibly and gently it follows the user’s body movements,” said the jury. “This discrepancy between a relatively low expectation of the comfort of this chair and the actual sitting experience is extremely appealing.” With sustainability in mind, laminating small pieces of wood with as little waste as possible was used. The finishing technique preserves the grain of the wood while adding subtle colouring. The VT Chair is available in various colour combinations.
