Perhaps there is no more iconic and affordable designer chair than the once-common Eames Shell Chair. Across the country since its inception in 1950, countless such one-piece housing designs have provided students with additional space in classrooms, offices, and provided patient seating in waiting rooms—a design that has grown in popularity and adaptability is excellent. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of Ray and Charles Eames was that they responded to their own call for design that was to “serve the greatest number of people” and not just “the privileged class of society.”
Design firm Studio 7.5 and Herman Miller’s new Zeph chair draw on that same spirit of Ames in their new Zeph chair, a sculptural monocoque chair that’s just as adaptable and comfortable as its mid-century predecessor.
Burkhard Schmitz, co-founder of Studio 7.5, along with Carola Zwick and her brother Roland Zwick, said: “Our goal was to create an animated shell chair using the inherent materiality of plastic, which initially sounded like an oxymoron, became possible. flexible and capable of providing a spring-loaded mechanism.”
Several scale models and 3D printed prototypes of the shape were studied to match the natural tilt of the body, using the pivot points of the sitter to create the right balance and smooth posture changes.
Zeph’s fruity-rainbow color scheme is another nod to its mid-century inspiration; the dyed shell and 3D jersey are made from 50% recycled polyester yarn that can be mixed and matched for endless variations: “We wanted to start with one that Herman Miller’s medieval era draws from, an upbeat and cheerful idea for the future. We wanted Zef to be fun and happy,” notes Zwick. Customers can choose from eight body colors and 20 seat upholstery options.
Studio 7.5 made many models to find a one-piece seat and back that adapt to the body of the person sitting in it with a kinematic plastic monocoque shape.
In addition, the chair upholstery can be easily installed and replaced without tools for easy cleaning or color changes, allowing you to change colors without any of the disassembly required for most office/work seating.
Herman Miller is releasing the Zeph first in chair and desktop versions, then later this year will release the design as a one-piece interior variant, followed by a side-seat version of the Zeph early next year with the same sporty monocoque. Hopefully we’ll have some time behind our seats to see if Zeph lives up to its affordable and ergonomic aspirations of being the next Eames Shell chair.
Zeph will also be available in August at store.hermanmiller.com and at Herman Miller retail stores nationwide starting at $495.
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Gregory Khan is the technical editor for Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a deep love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools and road trips, you can find his many adventures and reflections at gregoryhan.com.
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Post time: Feb-02-2023