The Chair King of Rock and Roll

The Chair King of Rock and Roll

by | Aug 22, 2022 | Seating & Movement | 0 comments

While sitting, the majority of K-12 students spend most of their school day in “stupid chairs.”

Let me clarify. I’m not saying all chairs are “stupid,” just the typical traditional district standard four-legged chair found in most K-12 classrooms in the United States. You know this classroom chair, you’ve sat in its many generic forms of hard plastic many…many times. The four-legged chair is touted more for its stacking ability, rather than its actual sitting function. It’s the ire of Dr. Deiter Breithecker, a leading health and kinetics scientist, a very smart fellow who has got me using the “stupid” word here (my mother would not approve).

Dr. Breithecker is worth the 7:46 minute run time of this video. I’ll even speculate that he will inspire you to start looking differently at seating options for K-12 students, and yourself. I’ll catch you on the flip side with a couple of exceptional chair options worthy of a crown.

Dr. Breithecker’s last words in the video, “Even a smart chair is the worst chair if you use it…for hours.” As I research and write (like this blog) in my home office, I practice my normal work routine of sitting for about 20-25 minutes. Then, using my sit/stand desk, I raise it and stand for about 20-25 minutes. I then might go downstairs to talk to my wife or maybe outside to tend to the succulents, then back to work, repeat.

I’m lucky, I have an ergonomic task chair and a sit/stand desk to keep my body in motion, that in turn, helps keep my mind in motion. When I was a K-12 student back in the middle of the 20th century I could only have dreamed of such options, you too?

As a teacher and now learning environment designer, I’ve sat and tested many K-12 chairs for classrooms. I’ve been looking for the optimal plastic shell student chair that is both durable and ergonomically flexible for young people.  In 2022, I’ve had the opportunity to work for D&D Integrated Solutions, a leading advocate and furniture dealer for VS America. In experiencing VS’s impressive seating and table options, the good folks at D&D have led me to the “Panto” line of chairs designed by Verner Panton for VS.

Eureka!!!

Here I showcase two essential Panto models I see as the crown jewels for K-12 student classroom chairs.

The PantoSwing-LuPo

This chair is a forward flexing cantilever, and the only cantilever (that I’m aware of) that begins at the 12″ pre-school size. The PantoSwing comes in six different graduated sizes 12″, 13″, 15″, 17″, 18″, and 20,” and is a true comprehensive seating solution.

I featured the PantoSwing in my recent post, Back to the Future with Cantilever Chairs. In the video above, Dr. Breithecker illustrates the dynamic linear back and forth movement that the cantilever chair provides; and in my opinion is the immediate replacement for the four-legged rigid chair that goes through all K-12 years. This chair swings! The PantoSwing is worthy of its place on the chair throne.

The PantoMove-LuPo

It joins the crown with four progressive Panto shell sizes typically starting at middle school to adult. (The PantoMove-Plus also comes in a task stool model.)

As a standard swivel task chair, it comes in two different pneumatic gas spring height-adjustment models, 13-16.75″ (Medium seat shell)  and 16.5-21.5″ (Large seat shell). It has a standard star foot frame with casters, but really all comparisons with other student task chairs ends here.

The PantoMove is really in a class (or I’ll say flexible classroom) by itself. It’s ergonomically superior to all other student chairs in both its poly shell design and exceptional ability to rock and roll. By rock and roll, I’m referring to the PantoMove’s patented 3D Rocker Mechanism housed directly under the seat.

Rock and Roll Baby

The PantoMove literally goes to a whole other level of motion with “Rock” – moving forward and backward at 6 degrees, and “Roll” – moving side to side at 3 degrees in a gentle all-round 360 degree motion. The 3D Rocker flows in a ball in socket-like motion providing a full range of hip motion in the seat. This hip motion allows for subtle weight transfer as students are not going to fall off this chair. For me, it’s the sitting version of the “Elvis Pelvis” and I’m calling the PantoMove-LuPo,
“The Chair King of Rock and Roll.”

Now let’s take the PantoMove-LuPo for a test drive.
Note- “LuPo” means the seat shell is made from double-walled, structured polypropylene for comfortable seating with an air cushion effect.

In this short video, no translation is required-

Let’s finish with this 3:00 minute product demonstration video from the good people at VS America. And, that task chair I mentioned earlier that works with my sit/stand desk in my home office, is of course my very own PantoMove-LuPo.

Resources/Inspiration

Back to the Future with Cantilever Chairs

Back to the Future with Cantilever Chairs

by | Jun 27, 2022 | Seating & Movement | 0 comments

“Movement and exercise are essential fundamental requirements. Children especially need plenty of exercise for the harmonious development of body and mind. Constant rhythmic alternation between the static and the dynamic, between pressure and relief of pressure, between tension and relaxation can provide the conditions for balanced physical and mental wellbeing.”
–Dr. Dieter Breithecker, Federal Institute for the Development of Posture and Exercise, Germany

Traditional K-12 classrooms come equipped with all the same student desks and chairs. The common student chair since the 1980’s is a metal 4-legged chair with a rigid plastic back and seat that slightly slopes back putting the student in a passive inactive posture. This stacking chair is appropriately sized as a district standard at 12, 14, 16, and 18 inches from the floor to the seat, and most often purchased in dark navy blue. Many school furniture companies still make this chair in the 2020’s, but like any business they are going to continue to supply a product as long as there is a demand.

However, we at D&D Integrated Solutions support new district standard seating options for students that move from static seating to dynamic seating. This transformation begins with a ‘modernist’ design from the 1920’s called the ‘cantilever chair.’

A Little History

The cantilever chair was first developed at the German Bauhaus Art School in the mid-1920’s by a couple of architects, Marcel Breuer and Mart Stam.

A cantilever chair is a chair whose seating and framework are not supported by the typical arrangement of 4 legs, but instead is held erect and aloft by a single leg or legs that are attached to one end of a chair’s seat and bent in an L shape, thus also serving as the chair’s supporting base.
–Wikipedia

Marcel Breuer was the first to bend tubular steel in one continuous frame that created a subtle backward-flexing motion. In 1928, he created the cane ‘Cesca Chair’ named after his daughter Francesca and is considered a modernist classic in design and function to this day.

‘Forward-Flexing’ Cantilever Student Chairs

In this century, school furniture manufacturers started making ‘forward-flexing’ cantilever student chairs with a Z shape designed frame with a sturdy crossbar between the front legs. This new design, facilitates a student’s forward leaning motion compared to the backward rocking motion of Breuer’s original cantilever chair.

The VS PantoSwing-Lupo shown here is a fantastic alternative to the traditional 4-legged student chair as it’s stackable (5 high). The Panto shell is made of a double wall of polypropylene that creates an air-cushion effect for a comfortable sitting posture. It’s ergonomic back lumbar and forward leaning seat support, puts a student in an active learning posture, ready to think and create.

Additionally, it meets a district’s standard sizing requirements in that it begins at preschool level and moves up to adult with six different graduated sizes 12″, 13″, 15″, 17″, 18″, and 20,” a true comprehensive seating solution.

Check out this quick video to see its features, and to see the forward flexing quality of cantilever chairs in general.

In addition to the VS PantoSwing-Lupo,  D&D Integrated Solutions provides two more forward-flexing cantilever chair options for school districts.

The Paragon Emoji Cantilever is a forward-flexing chair with a right angular back legs design compared to the VS PantoSwing-Lupo. It comes in 3 sizes: 14, 16, and 18 inches and is a ergonomic and stylish K-12 stacking seating solution for K-12 schools. Paragon also has 16 color shell options and 5 metal frame color options to choose from.

The Mooreco Hierarchy Cantilever is a forward-flexing chair, similar to the Paragon Emoji Cantilever. Shown here in the five chair stacking configuration, it comes in nine standard colors and 2 metal frame colors options. The size options are 14, 16, and 18 inches.

The Cantilever Chair Full Circle

Let’s end this post at the beginning. I started with Marcel Breuer’s Cresa backward-flexing cantilever chair and I would like to now feature a 21st century version, the VS Jumper Air Meet. The Jumper Air Meet is also a backward-flexing cantilever chair designed primarily for older students and adults at 18″ inches high. This chair works great as a meeting or Wellness Center chair where gentle rocking by the participants is always a good thing.

Like all VS Jumper® products the seat shell is made from double-walled, structured polypropylene (Air) for comfortable seating with air cushion effect. Its available in L and XL sizes. This chair is also optionally available with an upholstered seat or all-round upholstery consisting of the plastic core with a taut fabric cover.

I’m such a fan of cantilever chairs that I have a set of four backward-flexing patio chairs in my backyard. So in any activity, let’s get back to the future with forward and backward flexing cantilever chairs!

Resources

  • Dr. Dieter Breithecker video – Importance of Dynamic Sitting

  • Dr. Dieter Breithecker video – Dangers of Sitting

Cantilever Chair Manufacturer Links

This Chair Rocks! The VS Hokki Wobble Stool

This Chair Rocks! The VS Hokki Wobble Stool

by | Jun 2, 2022 | Seating & Movement | 0 comments

For music, everything you need to know about Rock ‘n’ Roll is right there in the title. It’s a complete sensory experience. So complete that as a genre it has now transcended multiple generations since the 1950’s. In the world of school furniture, there is a category (or genre if you will) called, “Wobble Stools.” Everything you need to know about wobble stools is also in the title.

Now if I had to pick a person who embodied Rock ‘n’ Roll it would be Chuck Berry. He was an original, the guy who literally created human movement through his electric guitar, the real deal. If there is ever a hall of fame for flexible furniture, the VS Hokki Stool would be a founding member, a complete original in design and function, and as VS says, “bodies and minds in motion.”

There have been many imitators to the original VS Hokki stool but quality in design and durability are key elements to putting a piece of furniture in a K-12 school environment.

Currently in the United States, there are classrooms  using student desks and chairs  that are twenty years old. With that in mind, you have to think that if a wobble stool is worthy of a school district purchase, it must stand the test of time.

At D&D Learning Spaces, we feel the VS Hokki stool is the best wobble stool, period.

In recent years, the wobble stool has gained status as a viable school chair for K-12 students with a growing number of educators and parents wanting this solution for their children in classrooms. It is no secret that many teachers are not waiting for their school district to provide their classrooms with flexible furniture. Instead, they are taking the initiative themselves. The ‘Flexible Furniture Movement’ has in large part been an organic process that is self-started and self-funded by teachers and parents.

All of this is very close to me being a former teacher myself. I have two daughters who are currently K-12 classroom teachers. They are both slowly and steadily crafting their engaging flexible classroom environments, on their own.

Now both of my daughters have been through what I’ll call, “the penny wise and pound foolish phase” of buying bean bag chairs, yoga balls, floor-gaming chairs, and some cheap ‘put together’ furniture. All of which have either gone flat or broken down within a year or two.

My daughter Katie, who teaches third grade recently said to me, “I’m done with all the cheap online furniture that I paid for out of pocket.” And my other daughter, Shawna who teaches sixth grade has concluded that she’s “Now going to spend her classroom budget on one quality table or a couple of quality chairs a year.” Shawna by the way is still using the two VS Hokki Stools that D&D Learning Spaces donated to her several years back. Yes, dad hooked her up, but also never underestimate the resourcefulness of a teacher!

Why do students and teachers love VS Hokki stools so much?

  • The first time students sit on a Hokki stool they instantly learn how to gently rock their hips, rolling the convex bottom side to side and front to back. It’s rock and roll baby!
  • Sitting on the Hokki is stimulating where movement is natural and unrestricted in a 360 degree rotation. It is made with a polypropylene shell, ergonomically curved seat, and slip-resistant base, all made with 100% recyclable materials.
  • The Hokki comes in fixed heights from 12” 15”, 18”, 20”, and 24.”
  • The Hokki+ Height Adjustable comes in two sizes- 15” to 19 3/4” or 19 3/4” to 26 3/4”. It  has pneumatic height adjustment with an anti-twist protector, resulting in overall stability and seating comfort. The adjustment mechanism is immediately accessible and can be triggered from any position with one hand.

  • The Hokki design creates a slim profile compared to other student chairs. It is easy to stack and can even hang from the end of a table.
  • The Hokki stool compliments mobile and modular  classrooms that do not have all the same desks and chairs. It provides students a seating option to actively move their bodies compared to passive seating chairs.
  • And most importantly, Hokki stools are not just for young children. Think of children, young people, and adults all using Hokki wobble stools at school, home and work. This chair simply rocks!

 

Resources