Striking the right balance: new chairs by Wagner

Having a clear head at work for the things that are most important means that everything else, in turn, is right, too. This also very much includes how we feel physically. A healthy body, completely decoupled from stress, helps to stimulate our thoughts and allows creativity to bloom. And having a chair that works in sync with the natural movements of the body is one of the best ways to achieve this.

It is precisely this perspective that is the central focus of German office chair manufacturer Wagner, a renowned company that was founded by Moritz Wagner back in the 1950s and really took off in 1999 with Stephan Meyer as designer and inventor. As is so often the case, design here arises from a drive to turn a personal experience or solution into something from which many people can ultimately benefit.

The crucial factor for providing decisive relief to the back was the separation of the seat from the base. Together with Peter Wagner from the second generation of the founding family, the revolutionary Dondola® principle was developed – breaking through rigid, traditional mechanics and allowing users to move more freely.

‘Move your life’ is Wagner's motto – one still clearly reflected in the recently launched new members of its seating families. For the new S2 chair, designer Sven von Boetticher has taken up the Dondola® technology and packaged it in a new smart version in an archetype of the early office chair. Two springy plastic braces shape the S2's characteristic silhouette, while supporting all of the user's movements in every direction.

Although one is actually sitting, this gentle, swaying accompaniment provided by the Dondola® technology enables constant, unconscious physical activity, which follows the natural movement of the spine and ensures an ergonomically healthy sitting position. This is a product with foresight, and just as noticeable in terms of sustainability. All plastic components are manufactured using pure materials and come from regional plastic processors. It's no big surprise then, that the product has already been awarded the German Design Award 2022.

No less iconic is the new W3D, a new type of stool by architect and designer Hadi Teherani, which was developed in close cooperation with the Wagner DesignLab. Three-dimensional in all directions, the design pushes the limits of both material and aesthetics.

Designed to promote a positive ergonomic future for those sitting on it, sustainability is also top of mind with this extraordinarily active stool. The 3D-printed piece, produced in the company's own production plant in Langenneufnach, is made entirely from bio-plastic and can be 100% recycled. With this process, W3D can be adapted to body size to the closest mm and even equipped with an ergonomic upgrade.

Speaking of style icons, in addition to the new W3D, which undoubtedly provides a completely new seating sensation and a fresh look, designer Stefan Diez's D1 chair, which, with its patented Dondola® 4D technology, has already been making a name for itself since its launch in 2018, is also included in the squad. It was precisely the technology that inspired a branch of Berlin creative agency Kemmler Kemmler to combine technology with art.

The result is D1 x KXWS, a limited edition of the chair, whose high-quality, durable materials meet the growing demands for sustainability and, with this project in particular, also establish an expanded form of work-life balance, which is created in each case by a custom-made work of art embroidered on the thermoelastic backrest.

Diez is also leaving his mark at Wagner in the form of the parametric D2 furniture system, which will initially be offered in two series variants. Behind the design is a concept that is particularly attuned to the circular economy and a purity of sorts, because the shelving consists of commercially available lightweight aluminium or cardboard panels as well as back panels made of translucent polycarbonate, which can be assembled without tools using specially developed connectors and profiles. Individuality and personality are also part of the strategy here: far from a ready-made piece of furniture, users are invited to design the final shape themselves.

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