Ara

Great design is when there’s nothing left to take away.

Ara is a chair of refined performance, comfort and support that redefines our perspective on sustainability.

98% recyclable, but that’s just the beginning

We can no longer ignore the need to support recyclable products with better systems for recycling. Whenever we recycle, we need to retain the value in the materials themselves and the resources invested in making them.

The Cradle to Cradle design process sets new standards of environmental accountability and offers a proactive agenda on how we can manufacture products in a world of increasingly scarce resources.

Ara is the first task chair developed and manufactured in Europe to achieve Cradle to Cradle accreditation.

Comfort re-invented

We wanted to make Ara as simple as we could, both visually and functionally. But simple doesn’t come easily and we had to work just that little bit harder.

Our first challenge was to mate the frame and the back membrane simply but firmly, no fasteners, no fuss. It took a lot of trial and error. Finally, we achieved an innovative interference fit between the two parts that delivered our ultimate goal – visual simplicity and a construction that’s designed for easy disassembly and recycling when the time comes.

The form of the supporting frame has been carefully engineered to deliver robust performance beautifully; to soak up the stress you’re going to put it under when stretching out at the end of a hard day.

The design of the dynamic suspension membrane is another simple solution to a more complex question. How could we make a back that looks great, uses less material and is extremely comfortable, while delivering continuous support?

The pattern in the membrane not only gives the chair its distinct visual character but promotes efficient airflow through the back.

We love aluminium

Its got everything. Great looks. Impressive structural performance and it’s recyclable, with almost no loss of material quality.The vertebra’s organic form is deliberately influenced by nature’s designs for skeletal structures. It’s economic with material and at the same time, incredibly strong and effortlessly stylish.

Die casting the vertebra in a single piece of aluminium keeps part count and material variation to a minimum. it also means more effective recycling and is easily reprocessed, with little or no loss of functional performance.

Do something really simple;
make the chair base 100% recyclable.

Not the most complicated part on a task chair, granted, but we asked ourselves the question - some look much better than others but all plastic chair bases are pretty much the same, aren’t they?

Well in one sense they are, and with very few exceptions they all have a metal collar moulded into the plastic to stop the gas lift creeping through the base. Great for not dragging your chair across the carpet but not so great when you come to recycle it, as the collar can be very difficult to remove.

Smart design and careful material selection has enabled us to create a base without a collar insert.

A simple point but unlike almost all other plastic bases our is 100% recyclable. And rest assured we’ve tested it like mad, so no dragging yourself across the carpet.

Support when you need it and out the way when you don’t.

Knowing that sometimes you want to get closer to your desk,
Ara’s soft-touch arm pads can be rotated out the way when required. To prevent any unexpected movement when getting up out the chair, they automatically lock in the forward position.

Traditional polyurethane (PU) arm pads, some of ours included, are commonly moulded over an internal support plate, resulting in a composite part that can be problematic to recycle. Getting the plate out is one thing and reusing the PU is another.

Our goal was to design a new arm pad that was more comfortable than ever, using materials that could be segregated easily and recycled more effectively.

The traditional PU is replaced by a flexible polymer with a separate insert made from recycled foam. The result is an armrest that’s robust, easy to use and probably the most comfortable we’ve ever made.

Comfort and posture combined

One of our toughest challenges is to offer refined seat comfort without compromising good posture, so our seat cushion has been carefully shaped.

Foam thickness has been maximised in the rear section and balanced with a gently sloping profile at the front, encouraging better posture and maximising blood flow to your legs.

Experience also tells us that seat cushions get softer over time as the cellular structure inside the foam relaxes, so we’ve done this work for you. Squeezing the cushions flat straight after they’re moulded ensures they’re as soft as they can be, yet strong enough to support you throughout the working day.

The key to a great chair is really great movement

The most important function of a task chair is your comfort and well being. Ara’s synchronous mechanism delivers a smooth, balanced movement from impressively refined engineering.

Why synchronous? Quite simply, we’ve always felt that the action of seat and back moving together in this way provides a natural, intuitive ride. Proven ergonomic research also tells us that regular changes in posture improves our well-being when sitting at work.

We know that people come in all shapes and sizes. That’s why smart engineering inside the mechanism means the ride can be tuned and balanced to your precise needs, using adjustment controls which are easy to operate and labelled clearly.

Active support and control

Ara’s character and performance are both defined by the design of the chair’s adaptive elastomer membrane. The rigid outer frame supports the membrane with the posturally correct ‘S’ shape and its flexibility allows it to adjust automatically to the profile of your back in three dimensions.

Not only is this great in terms of accommodating different shapes and sizes, it also responds to changes in your back profile as you perform different tasks. So whether you’re reaching forward to type, turning sideways to talk to a colleague or reclining while on the phone, you’ll always feel comfortable and supported.