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What is your favorite chair?

  • 1.  What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-05-2017 09:07 PM
    My chair has been a good friend for many years, but unlike me, has aged and must be replaced. I'm looking for a replacement and thought this would be a good place to get some opinions about chairs. 

    I really like the Robert Aeron chair for the support and might get one if it looks like it won't need replacing for a long time (because of the price). However, these chairs are not different from most in that they are too wide for the too narrow to use two arm rests at the same time.  Slouching toward one side of my chair is definitely a favorite bad posture habit of mine, but I'd prefer it if it weren't also engineered into my chair.  

    Do you have a favorite chair?

    ------------------------------
    Barbara Richter-Norton, AIA
    Architect
    Richter-Norton Architecture, PLLC
    Chapel Hill, NC
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-06-2017 05:24 PM

    I had the opportunity to test drive a Generation Chair by Knoll, and if I could have any chair that would be it!

     

    Tara Brown, AIA
    Senior Project Manager

     

    Devenney Group Ltd., Architects

    Phoenix-Los Angeles-Oakland-Dallas

     

    201 West Indian School Road                                       

    Phoenix, AZ 85013

     

    T: 602.343.0049

    M: 602.316.2514
    tbrown@devenneygroup.com

     

    Leading the transformation of healthcare delivery through value-driven innovation

    www.devenneygroup.com

     

     

    This message may contain confidential and/or proprietary information, and it is intended for the person/entity to which it was originally addressed. Any use by others is strictly prohibited.

     

     






  • 3.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-06-2017 09:21 PM
    There is only one answer to this question, the Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman. Expensive, but every time I sit down &put my feet up it's worth it!

    ------------------------------
    Carl J. Handman, AIA
    Architect
    Kingston, PA
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-07-2017 05:49 PM
    Still love my Knoll Bulldog chairs, one for each desk. Adjustable lumbar support with Knoll Rochelle Textiles. Expensive at the time, but very long dependable service providing excellent support.




  • 5.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-07-2017 09:20 PM
    Three years ago I went to my Herman Miller dealer to see about getting an Aeron Chair. They let me sit in a couple to check the size and showed me some others that were sitting nearby. I ended up getting an Embody Chair. It is nicely adjustable without being too complicated. I like the fact that the arms can lower far enough that my elbows do not rest on the arms (thereby pushing my shoulders up) while I am typing. The back is narrow enough that my elbows can go back unhindered. Also the armrests can be close in to the body or further away. For reference, I am a 5'-8" tall female.
    I think chairs are like shoes - you gotta try them on.

    ------------------------------
    Neena Jud AIA
    Architect
    Harmony Architecture
    Cincinnati OH
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-07-2017 10:45 PM
    I vote for the Haworth Fern chair.  I got to test drive this chair at NEOCON 2016.  There was a lot of engineering that went into this chair.  You can adjust it about in any way.  Currently I am sitting in a Haworth Zody chair which is pretty good too.  I am small and short and I like my feet to rest flat on the ground.  I found that the small Aeron chair was cutting the circulation off on my legs and causing my ankles to swell.  For now, I am sold on Haworth chairs and my next chair will be a Haworth Fern chair.  Fern | Desk Chair | Haworth


    ------------------------------
    Kathy Prochnow AIA
    Architect
    AKAP
    Ocean Springs MS
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-08-2017 08:44 PM
    Call me old school, but my work chair is the classic Eames aluminum management chair, low back, black leather.  I've had mine for 20+ years and it still looks brand new.

    The user experience is not unlike driving a classic car.  Sure it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of its contemporaries, but it retains its classic style and elegance after all these years.  I still have clients commenting on its looks and their surprise of its comfort once they sit in it.

    ------------------------------
    Charles Fisk AIA, NCARB
    Principal
    Charles Fisk ARCHITECTURE, pllc
    Austin TX
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-06-2017 05:42 PM
    I am looking for a new chair myself. The Aeron isd a good -very good- chair. You miught want to talk with Herman Miller. I remember that when the Aeron First came out there were three sizes that were differently proportioned according to body size/weight. The A size was for smaller people. The C size for larger people and the B size was the one size fitrs all equivalent. You might also look at the Humanscale Freedom chairs. https://www.humanscale.com/products/product.cfm?group=FreedomTaskChairWithHeadrest The counterbalancing systems minimized the levers and adjustments that drove me up the wall with Steelcases' then top of the line chair. Despite the $1000 cost. I think I will go with Humanscale's Freedom Headrest. I plan to ask for a professional discount. Couldn't hurt.

    ------------------------------
    Louis Smith
    Microtecture of North Carolina, PLLC
    Charlotte NC
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-06-2017 06:36 PM
    I can vouch for the Aeron, although I have been eying the new re-engineered version they came out with earlier this year (I may cave yet).  I bought it used around 2002 (Enron fire sale). Then I bought a new Freedom chair with a headrest somewhere around 2007--so I let my spouse have the Aeron for a while. I repossessed it around 2012-2013. Both chairs are still going strong. I like the breathability of the Aeron better, and the office cats can't snag it like they can the Freedom (now with my spouse).  I don't really use the armrests or notice them, so that is not an issue for me. 

    If I am doing a LOT of computer drafting, I prefer to stand because it is harder to stand with improper posture thereby reducing wrist pain incidence. Therefore, I primarily use my chair for emails and web research.

    I have a friend who swears by the No.19, but I did not like it as well.

    Good luck in your decision,


    ------------------------------
    Sarah Hadskey AIA
    Architect, NCARB, LEED AP
    SAM Studio
    Memphis TN
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-06-2017 06:57 PM
    I have the Aeron chair and really like it. I got a large to fit me. Have you tried their smaller size or average may be more like it. It appears to be wearing very well sit wise, but the arms wrinkled up. I am guessing from body oils or sweat as I use the armrests and often wear short sleeves. The chair is cooler in our St. Paul, MN, midwest hot humid summers (I don't use air conditioning as I lived in it too much during 13 years in Dallas). Logically it is cooler during our cold winters and so I will occasionally add a pad, as I work in an old building without modern heating.

    ------------------------------
    Mark Anderson AIA
    AIA, CPHC, President
    Anderson Sustainable Architecture, Inc.
    Saint Paul MN
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-06-2017 07:28 PM
    Barbara: I like my newest chair…the Aeron chair. I have tried other good designs in the past

    and this is the best. All the others cut off my circulation a bit in my upper legs. I have to sit all

    the way back or it doesn’t help me either. You can probably get a deal on it through your local Herman Miller

    sales rep. as an Architect. NN




  • 12.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-06-2017 10:51 PM
    I started standing a few years ago (but keep a chair handy!). Like changing your diet, it took a while to adjust but now I find it difficult to sit for long periods of time. 
    Good luck!

    ------------------------------
    Vincent Oles AIA
    Architect/Owner
    Vincent Oles Architect AIA, llc.
    Salt Lake City UT
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-07-2017 09:29 PM
    Thanks, all!  There is a shop not to far away that I might be able to try some of your suggestions. I'll be pleasantly surprised to see an Eames lounge chair & ottoman and hadn't heard of Human Scale Freedom chair, really like the idea of a counterbalancing system. The Aeron chair which is still holding up since 2002 is a great selling point. My current chair of unknown lineage is in tatters and not nearly as old. And, I hadn't thought about asking about a professional discount; another very good idea. 

    Standing desks are tempting; I've only seen them used with a treadmill below, which was something of a turn-off (no idea why!). I had a chiropractor tell me years ago that the best work situation had standing and sitting options in a few configurations to be used throughout the day. Maybe I'll use both eventually.

    Thanks, again!

    ------------------------------
    Barbara Richter-Norton, AIA
    Architect
    Richter-Norton Architecture, PLLC
    Chapel Hill, NC
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-07-2017 01:34 PM
    I love my Herman Miller Equa Chair,  this is my second,  the first one lasted 20 years and the fabric started wearing.  I found a lovely green used one (perfect condition)  for $100.  This chair was designed by the famous Bill Stumpf and one other fellow.



    Saxon


    Saxon Sigerson AIA
     
    Check out my architecture blog
    http://saxonsangles.wordpress.com
     
    Sigerson Architects
    7940 California Avenue, Suite 4
    Fair Oaks, CA 95628
    T  (916) 863-6470
    saxon@sigersonarchitects.com
    http://sigersonarchitects.com/
     






  • 15.  RE: What is your favorite chair?

    Posted 09-07-2017 06:00 PM
    AHHHHH.....such a relevant question.
    As a runner-architect who is constantly re-injuring her herniated disc, I am now the owner of a fabulous "saddle chair".  It was recommended by my Physical Therapist. For those of us who work long (or short) hours in front of a computer/drafting table, this chair is the "bomb".

    Check it out on www.massagetools.com, rolling saddle stool with back support.  Love it.

    ------------------------------
    Regina Konet AIA
    Principal
    Konet Architecture
    Folsom CA
    ------------------------------