Recently Herman Miller sent PSFK one of their new Setu Chairs to try out. The Setu was designed by Berlin based Studio 7.5 who observed that technology has fundamentally altered the way we work. They noted that work involved much more collaboration and people moving around from space to space within an office. The Setu was designed to be very lightweight but offer stability and comfort. The most noticeable design feature on the chair is the flexible ’spine’ section near the base of the back. The kinematic spine replaces traditional knobs and handles to adjust the flex in the back. Doing away with complicated mechanisms reduced the weight of the chair and also makes it simple to use.
Realizing that it is pretty rare to get a new upgraded office chair, we decided to enlist some testers to see if getting a new chair improved their work. Our team consisted of Alenjandro an Interactive Art Director and Juan, Producer of Reynardus+Moya Advertising and Rocio, Market Analyst of the Trade Promotion Agency of Anfalucia. The Setu isn’t a replacement for a task chair, so we asked our test team to use it in more on the go situations.
Alenjandro met with some colleagues and did some computer work:
The first thing I noticed was the ample back arch support, I was pretty difficult to comfortably slouch in any direction. The reclining mechanism is a little loose for my taste, but the motion was butter. Taking it for a spin, it doesn’t roll as straight as the Aeron, so I wouldn’t bowl down any hall with it. It is very light though, making it very easy to move around. It does lose in comfort level over a period of time, making it perfect for conference rooms but not the best behind a desk.
The look of the kinematic spine feels to be somewhat of a double edge sword, giving the series a signature look but taking my attention away from the other intricacies of the design. I would like to concentrate more on the details and curvatures of the arm rests for example, but I can’t take my eyes off of the spine.
Juan used the chair during a conference call:
The Setu is comfortable and provides adequate back support, although the armrests are a little too rigid and have no padding. This would make it a little less appealing to work on for long periods of time.
Rocio took the chair for a test while making some calls and checking email:
I think the chair is very comfortable for the back, which I think it’s the most important thing. I like the design and the material as well as the color. I also like this design that looks like your back, it is very interesting because being working so many hours in front of the computer may hurt your back so it’s a good point to think about it! Its more comfortable that the chair I have right now!
Besides making efficient use of materials in the design, the Setu is also MBDC Silver Cradle to Cradle certified. This means that Setu is composed of environmentally safe and healthy materials, is designed for material reuse in a closed-loop system, such as recycling or composting, and is assembled using 100% renewable energy. The model we tested is comprised of %44 percent recycled materials and %93 percent of the chair can be recycled back into other products.
Overally the Setu attracts a lot of attention based on its looks and it does offer good comfort for multi-use situations. The chair would be a good candidate to short term work seating in an apartment or smaller space. The lightweight of the Setu also makes it super easy to move in contrast to much heavier task chairs.
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