Freedom from locks, freedom to move. The Freedom chair wasdesigned specifically toencourage frequent, spontaneous changes of posture. There are no locks and no tension springs to negotiate. Instead, there are elegant mechanisms that automatically support your body in every position youll assume throughout the day. Galen Cranz,PhD Author ofҔThe Chair Ergonomic furniture has created back problems because it succeeds too well in supporting the body in one position. > Designed by Niels Diffrient Ԕ When design springs from an understanding of the peoplewho are going to use a product, you begin to see formsthat you would never have imagined.ԗNiels DiffrientNiels Diffrient's designs are grounded in the philosophy ofform flowing from function. His work has spanned genera-tions, consistently looking past trends to reinvent the toolswe use for daily living.With an academic foundation in design and architectureand a degree from Cranbrook Academy, Diffrient channelshis knowledge of engineering, architecture, and human factors into the creation of highly functional and aestheti-cally timeless designs.In his early work with the studios of Eero Saarinen, MarcoZanuso, and Henry Dreyfuss, to his current work withHumanscale, Diffrient's visionary talent has been widelyrecognized. Included among his many honors are the 2002National Design Award from the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the 1999 ChryslerDesign Award. In recent years, Diffrient has focused hisenergies on designs for the office environment, particularlyseating, a category in which he has pioneered numerousbreakthroughs, from pneumatic cylinders for seat heightadjustment to weight-activated, automatic recline. size="-1">

MarvinJ.Dainoff, PhD Miami University Recline locks have been marketed as featuresӔ on current-generation chairs. But the truth is, they are only there to compensate for the inadequacies of stan- dard spring-tension mecha- nisms, which, by their very nature, are incapable of supporting the body in multiple positions. The problem is, a locked chair keeps you from moving, and thats not healthy. Movement is essential for a healthy back. People are spending more time sitting than ever before. Not surprisingly, this increase in sitting has been accompanied by a proportional increase in back problems....