Many of the posts on this blog center around the idea of furniture as an art form or novelty piece. And while there may be nothing a true furniture connoisseur enjoys more than a novel concept or design, I’m sure even the most enthusiastic amongst us would agree that the real priority in every furniture design should be the improved comfort and lifestyle of the person in question. Especially when it comes to the future furniture enthusiasts of the world, and indeed the very future of our world in general, our children.
In today’s post I would like to take a moment to salute the work of the Perch Company, an inventive design house that has received international recognition for their work in health positive school furniture design. Their commitment to the improvement of the health and quality of life for our children in schools across the world is both obvious and heartwarming.
Their latest work, a chair design they call the Ray Chair, is particularly noteworthy in that it employs some incredibly innovative and novel design concepts geared toward improving the posture and overall health of school students. With over seven years of research and development behind it, the Ray Chair is based on a patented technology that encourages students to ‘self support’ by engaging their feet and core muscles constantly throughout the day. These micro-movements originate at the seat, which is made of a thin plastic that deforms very easily. Because it’s so flexible, sitters open up their legs to balance, as you would on a horse (‘saddle seats’ do something similar). The pelvis tilts downward and the spinal position neutralizes. This way, kids avoid the dreaded “right angle” sitting position that has been linked to so many health problems as of late.
The chair line has already been picked up by school districts in Scandinavia, the UK, and Germany. They’re currently priced outside of most US public school budgets but the company is reportedly working on a low-cost American version. Besides, you really can’t put a price on good posture.
To Perch, from all of us, thanks for looking out for our children!