The Aeron Office Chair by Herman Miller, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is so innovative and aesthetically pleasing it has a permanent place in New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Designers Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf sought to create a chair that is anthropometrically inclusive and environmentally benign.
Aeron does more than accommodate, it truly fits people of all sizes. Design research included thermal testing and pressure mapping to determine weight and heat distribution. Herman Miller advanced the radical idea that a work chair should fit like a piece of clothing. Rejecting standard anthropometric data, they created more inclusive tables. They then designed a small chair to fit a 1st percentile female, which adjusted larger at many key points, and a large chair for a 99th percentile male, which adjusted smaller. Finally a third chair, for the middle range of sitters was created.
Research determined that the natural pivot point for reclining is the ankle, and the chair works this way, rather than forcing pivoting at the pelvis. Known as kinematic coherence, this example is an integral element of the Aeron design.
Thermal comfort is another strong attribute of the Herman Miller Aeron Office Chair. The patented Pellicle mesh allows sitters to remain thermally neutral– becoming neither heated or damp through contact with foam padding. Chairs with a breathable surface actually lower office thermal control costs.
The chair’s components contain a high proportion of recycled material, and is itself 94% recyclable.
Although expensive, the Aeron lives up to its lofty design goals.