Employee of the month: OKAY.III from König + Neurath

Changing places – and therefore chairs – during the working day has become a completely normal thing. One particularly flexible member of the team is the OKAY.III office chair from KÖNIG + NEURATH, which automatically adapts to each of its users.

In a music video by German singer and author Peter Licht, a blue office chair goes on a journey: It simply breaks out of an office building, rolls through Cologne, all the way to the banks of the Rhine, and in the end is even able to fly like a helicopter. A dream. The art group ‘Datenstrudel’ created this wonderfully poetic film for Licht’s cheerful song ‘Sonnendeck’. And what can we learn from it? Well, the less static and inflexible an office chair is, the better because, of course, most of us spend a lot of time in offices and therefore on office chairs. That’s not such a nice idea when you think about it – unless, that is, the design and construction of our office chair supports us in sitting dynamically. If that is the case, then even the office can be fun!

Few things are worse than having to remain in the same position over a long period and if you look at the history of the office chair, you will see that for a very long time, up to the 1960s to be precise, most office workers had no other choice as often only executive chairs were upholstered and many models did not even allow for the seat to be rotated. Fortunately, much has improved in terms of design and ergonomics since then and, in fact, modern office furniture can even help to attract the right new employees.

After all, a well-equipped and healthy office environment contributes a great deal to how comfortable we feel at work. And, of course, issues around interior design and atmosphere are already communicated to candidates during the job interview and initial inspection of the workspace. Any employer who can score points here will find themself on a steady footing in relation to further negotiations with promising applicants.

A new office chair that meets high aesthetic and ergonomic standards is the OKAY.III from König + Neurath, one of the leading brands for office furniture and room systems. Formally, it follows the trend in office design towards flowing forms combined with a minimalist design approach – the deliberate renunciation of everything superfluous. In general, simplicity of construction, mechanics and functionality is a decisive factor in the success of an office chair.

Today, it has become completely normal to change places – and therefore chairs – during the course of a working day, spontaneously coming together for informal meetings in different places. It is therefore helpful if, for example, the individual adjustment of an office chair is uncomplicated – as is the case with OKAY.III. This is already clear from current, increasingly less formal room planning concepts: flexible workstations, meeting corners, relaxation areas, creative lounges – all can be easily integrated into existing buildings. The new office chair from König + Neurath is designed for both classic and multi-territorial office concepts – and just as flexible as today's world of work.

Its backrest is the key feature and comes in two versions: fully upholstered on a 3D mesh fabric, or with knitted backrest, stretched over coloured bounce bands, available in white, black or orange. Almost invisible, integrated lumbar support for the lower back can be adjusted asymmetrically in height and depth. Additional plastic pads ensure optimal pressure distribution and it can be individually adapted to the weight of its users (45 to 120 kilos).

Its VSP® synchronous mechanism (VSP stands for Virtual Swing Point) supports harmonious movement patterns during ‘dynamic sitting’. The overall design of the chair thus encourages more movement and promotes blood circulation and healthy sitting in general. Toolless adjustable and swivelling armrests for the OKAY.III are available in three versions and, last but not least, it can be retrofitted to add a height and inclination adjustable headrest as well as a coat hook.

For Stefan Nebel, Head of Seating Development/Construction at König + Neurath, the knitted back is the chair's biggest technical innovation: ‘The structure creates very dynamic upholstery – more dynamic than a normal mesh back, for example. In addition, the elasticity of the knitted fabric is designed so that the lumbar support supports the user individually in the lumbar area without causing pressure’.

There is only one thing the OKAY.III, unfortunately, cannot do – fly like a helicopter. On the other hand, it’s probably just fine as it is.

© Architonic