Contract Magazine - May 2018 - 93

The evolution of ergonomic task seating
has included launches like Freedom by
Humanscale (above right) and Leap by
Steelcase in 1999 (right), and #19 by
Allsteel in 2001 (above), to name a few.

continuously worked to enhance workplaces,
based on new developments in ergonomics,
specifically in the area of office task seating.
In 1969, Herman Miller introduced the
Soft Pad chair by Charles and Ray Eames, which
could be seen as an early example of ergonomic
seating. But, according to industrial designer
Don Chadwick-who, along with Bill Stumpf,
designed Herman MIller's Equa and Aeron
chairs-ergonomics only became a buzzword for
office seating with the introduction of the Ergon
chair at NeoCon 1976.
When Aeron hit the market in 1994, it really
shook up the industry, according to Chadwick.
"Aeron's design was a radical departure from the
norms of office seating," he says. "It didn't look like

ergonomics into a new era and setting a new
standard for office seating."
Since Aeron's debut, other task seating makers
have challenged the industry to continue to innovate
and evolve the category of ergonomic seating,
leading to releases like the Freedom by Humanscale
and Leap by Steelcase in 1999, #19 by Allsteel
in 2001, and Life by Knoll in 2002-to name a few.
Workplace Landscape
Dubbed "the father of the cubicle," Robert Propst
created Action Office for Herman Miller in 1968,
and it's been said that the modern workforce has
been trying to get themselves out of these
confining furniture systems ever since.
Manufacturers have been improving on the

"As a company, we grew up with NeoCon. Year after year, I've always felt
our participation was important. We met so many good customers and
friends, and I enjoyed spending time with my peers from our competitors.
A genuine esprit de corps developed in the Merchandise Mart over
the years. And these days, I'm enjoying getting to know an entirely new
generation of leaders from our competitors." -DICK RESCH, CEO OF KI
other chairs because there was no upholstery, only
an elastic woven suspension. It had the usual
skeptics until they discovered that this chair was
really comfortable and supported the body in
multiple seated positions, thus advancing

concept, using NeoCon audiences to test out new
designs. "We've seen the office transform to
workplace, and the products and design concepts
that go into it are much different than they used to
be," says Byron Morton, the Merchandise Mart's

vice president of leasing, who has worked on
NeoCon since 2004.
The advent of the desktop personal computer
in the early 1980s had a massive impact on
workstation design, according to Mark Harris,
manager of media relations at Teknion, which
launched its showroom at the Merchandise Mart in
1984. "Teknion's very first product, T/O/S or
Teknion Office System, was designed to
accommodate the PC, with power and data
delivered to the desktop. Lego-like stackable
elements allowed users to quickly change panel
height, and interchangeable panel fascias could be
easily replaced, quickly changing the look and
function of a workstation."
NeoCon 1997 was a turning point of sorts,
with significant product launches from big players
in the industry in response to how people actually
work. Teknion answered to the need for mobility
with Ability mobile furniture, which comprised
mobile, height-adjustable, multi-purpose tables;
active storage units; a computer trolley; mobile
screens; and highly functional accessories. "Ability
worked well independently, or with panel systems,
making environments more dynamic and functional,"
Harris says. That same year, Haworth released
Crossings, which Kurt VanderSchuur, Haworth's
global brand director, calls the company's first
huge departure from cubicles. "Back in the day,
it was all beige cubicles," he says. "Crossings was
made of MDF; it was nubby paint and crazy colors.
Nobody had ever seen anything like it."
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Contract Magazine - May 2018

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