The Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum has recognized the contributions of Steelcase as a green office furniture manufacturer in its fourth triennial exhibition series entitled “Why Design Now?” The Cobi Chair is the product selected for inclusion in the current exhibit at the Carnegie Mansion (a branch of the Smithsonian Institute) in New York City. The current exhibition kicked off in May and will run through January 9th of 2011. The designs this year are focused on such themes as Energy, Mobility, Community, Communication, and Simplicity.
The Cobi Chair is recognized in the Materials category as an outstanding example of responsible material, manufacturing, and product life cycle management processes. So, what’s in a Cobi?
- Polypropylene
- Thermoplastic vulcanizate (a recycled rubber product)
- Steel
- Aluminum
- Nylon
- Polyurethane foam
The chair can be broken down for recycling or refurbishing making it a good example of cradle-to-cradle design planning. The Cobi is certified at level 2 for the BIFMA e3 sustainability standard. It has also received Gold certification for Indoor Air Advantage as a low-emitting product – a must for truly green office furniture.
What Makes Cobi Special?
Unlike seating options that have multiple controls to allow adjustment of various components, the Cobi offers only a height lever. The rest of the chair is designed to respond directly to the user’s body movements to maintain optimal comfort. This means you don’t have to fiddle with a bunch of different knobs to get everything just right.
That’s why the Cobi is recommended as a collaborative seating option. Most people who will spend 5 minutes making sure their personal task chair is comfortable won’t do that with a chair in a conference room. Now, they don’t have to. A quick touch to ensure the height is set is all that’s required. From there, the Cobi automatically supports the sitter in a variety of postures and positions. You can even drape an arm over the back of the chair comfortably – it’s that flexible. So, if you want green office furniture that will assist employees in working together in a relaxed atmosphere, the Cobi is definitely a contender.
