Herman Miller Rolls Out Clam-Shaped Chair To Ride Wave Of Modern Offices

Here’s an interior addition that will potentially reel plenty of compliments. Herman Miller and Tokyo product designer Naoto Fukasawa have created the Asari Chair, a chair constructed with ergonomics in mind while retaining a gentle form.

The Asari Chair by Herman Miller echoes the organic forms of nature. Its name, in fact, translates to mean “clam” in Japanese. You’ll see the mollusc’s influence in the hinged, curved back of the chair.

The furniture company details that Asari is its latest example of “problem-solving through modern design.” The clam-shaped furniture—available in high- and mid-back height variants—is meant to ride with the tide of remote and hybrid work, where homes become multipurpose to support work and life, and corporate spaces welcome some creature comforts of the home.

With “hard-working soft seating,” the chair feels cushy right away yet molds to the body for long-term comfort. It’s built with a self-adjusting tilt, and fills in any gaps between the lower spine and the backrest with a ‘PostureFit’ technology. Meanwhile, a contoured seat pad disperses pressure points for “the ultimate comfort,” Herman Miller expresses in a press release.

The style brings eight color flood options, with the desired hue splashed throughout the base, body, and arms to “accentuate the sculptural form.” Customers also have the choice of mixing and matching colors of up to 180 combinations.

For the upholstery, Herman Miller worked with MillerKnoll-owned interior textile firm Maharam to offer two textiles, crafted from wool and polyester sustainably sourced from parts of Europe, and one leather finish, hailing from a legacy tannery in Northern Italy, for Asari.

“My goal was to inspire joy and create a new form, ultimately becoming the next upholstered icon,” explains Fukasawa. “A core part of my design ethos is to simplify the way we live, imbuing each creation with an attraction that makes people feel dear to it, a timelessness and longevity that enhances a human process.”

Priced from US$1,395, Asari is now available on the online and physical storefronts of Herman Miller, Design Within Reach, and MillerKnoll dealers.

[via Furniture Today, stupidDOPE, PR Newswire, images via Herman Miller]