LOGIN
REGISTER
Worth Reading?
+34 [52 votes]
With economies around the globe sliding sourly down the pan, it seems an unusual time to announce a $1,600 chair. Still, if people are going to be sitting glumly, contemplating their sinking shares, they may as well have something ergonomically sound to do it on: enter Herman-Miller and their latest uber-chair, the Embody. Follow-up to the iconic Aeron, the Embody takes that fourteen year old design and adds even more flexibility and support.
The result of six years of design tweaking and reportedly millions in development costs, the Embody obviously drank down a lot of the $1.5bn profit from the Aeron. Improvements include a new system of elastic bands that offer universal suspension, a second layer of plastic coils for additional support, and a third layer of plastic hexagons that can move independently. A mesh-fabric cover allows for air circulation, keeping the sitter cool, while seven controls adjust things like lumbar support and seat depth.
If you’re wondering about all that plastic, the chair as a whole is apparently made from 96-percent recycled materials. It’s also constructed from, or with, nothing that could pose a health or environmental risk; the same is true during customer use and final disposal.
The Herman-Miller Embody will be available to order in 2009, with a choice of 13 fabrics and three finishes. It’ll be priced at $1,595.
[via The Tech Report]
![T-Mobile Dash 3G by HTC gets unboxed, first-impressions [Video]](http://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/thumbnails_150x100/thumb_t-mobile_dash_3g_htc_1-480x457.jpg){kind=small}
That’s way cool! I didn’t think it could get any better than an Aeron! I saw that on officedesigns.com and I am way excited about it! I’m going to wait until they have one of their huge sales to get one.
I love the Embody Chair! It has been the best purchase I made for an office chair. Think about how much money people spend on beds and ergonomic tools. I bought mine on Ebay far below the $1600 price quoted above. Best thing I ever did! Cheers!
It’s awesome that the Embody is finally available! I found it at HermanMillerSeating.com. They seem to have the best selection of the sites I’ve seen so far.
my blog rounds…for new yorkers /…I read about this chair at Wired.com in December. I did not know where to try it. I did not want to order from a website not knowing how the chair really felt. I had a bad experience with that. What a hassle. Who keeps boxes in nyc? There is no room. Then my friend at work had delivery of a new chair recently and I asked her where she got it. She bought her chair at Sam Flax Chelsea. She told me they have alot of chairs and she was helped very well. So I went there and low and behold there it was… I could actually try it. At the same time I tried the Aeron & Mirra, Steelcase Leap & Think, Humanscale Freedom & Liberty, some select BodyBilt chairs. I decided to go to a couple of other stores in the area but they don’t have all the models to try at once. My advice is if you can no matter where you live and work, try them all out first. I liked the Embody and the Leap for different reasons. Needless to say with chair overload it took two visits but I ordered the Embody. By the way my friend bought the Humanscale Liberty. So I guess everyone’s choice is different… Oh yeah if you see the Eames Sofa in Artic White there, leave it alone. It is mine…just not yet! That is one incredible sofa! I have to save my pennies though! lol
Is the Embody chair better than the Aeron chair? Where can I buy an Embody chair? The only site I know that has information on this is http://www.embodychair.net/buy-embody-chair.php Any idea?
Thanks for the help.
Mike
I think it’s great that it has a high recycled content. But I also think it’s kinda fugly, clunky looking and way expensive. Herman Miller is dreaming if they think companies will spend that much $$$$ these days … except a bank or investment firm. And 7 ***** to twist to adjust it? Please. Humanscale’s new chair looks good but the best I’ve seen (and sat in) is Knoll’s Generation chair. Not only is it sexy and affordable, but the chair actually moves with you. Hard to describe the feeling, you’ll have to try one yourself. I didn’t want to get out and it will be my first purchase when hits the street.
I saw a review where the person used the Embody Chair for one week. He concluded with the following:
The Embody does everything you’d expect a chair to do exceptionally well. On top of that, it gives you an experience sort of like lying in a hammock and moves with you to such a degree that you are able to forget it’s there – for the most part – and just focus on getting things done. That, in my opinion is its best feature. You can design your own customer version of the chair at http://www.smartfurniture.com/embody . Every chair has flaws, but Embody has few. I don’t want to give it back, and that tells me more than any analysis ever could.