For the Berlin-based designers of Studio 7.5 — Carola Zwick, Roland Zwick, and Burkhard Schmitz — the latest chair they created for Herman Miller represents something of a holy grail: a design that sets a new benchmark for instant, personalized comfort. Cosm’s new Auto-Harmonic Tilt, in particular, was the goal they worked toward for years.
The designers knew, even while working on its predecessors like Mirra, Setu, and Mirra 2, that the ideal chair should provide a smooth sense of natural balance. “You should have a chair that allows you to change posture as easily as possible,” says Roland. “You can only do that with a chair that is correctly adjusted, so we wanted to build a chair that did that part for you.”
A chair’s tilt is equivalent to the transmission in an automobile and, like transmissions, some are manual and others, like Cosm’s, are automatic. In other self-adjusting models, the chair decides how you should sit by forcing the body to conform to the tilt movement. Cosm’s Auto-Harmonic Tilt puts the person first and responds to them — regardless of posture — offering a balanced recline and personalized comfort. Studio 7.5 and Herman Miller perfected the self-adjusting tilt by inventing a complex, fine-tuned adjustment mechanism. Taking into account the vertical force of the person sitting — which is in constant flux — the gears inside the tilt move the fulcrum along the leaf spring to automatically adjust the chair’s tension.
The tilt alone does not make Cosm the designers’ most refined design to date. A meticulous prototyping process involving hundreds of 3D-printed and hand-sculpted parts paved the way toward a unique sitting experience. “One of the biggest challenges — or I should say, one of the greatest opportunities — was determining how to attach the suspension in a way that made it integrate with the frame as harmoniously as possible,” says Burkhard. The answer came in the form of small “teeth” that allow the suspension material to clip onto the chair frame while remaining taut for even pressure distribution. The clever way Studio 7.5 found to attach the suspension to the frame is a perfect example of what they call “industrial craftsmanship” — a guiding light for their design process. “We want a product that is easy to read so that you can understand, even if you are not a mechanic or engineer, how you are being supported,” says Carola.
The chair’s ergonomic design was enhanced by Cosm’s Leaf Arms — the first of its kind. The design began as a clunky piece of foam-covered wood, but over time, it changed shape, size, and nicknames — including motorcycle seat, half pipe for the arms, and Dumbo ears. “The elbow is a very delicate part of our anatomy; it wants to be supported in a very soft yet firm place,” explains Burkhard. “Cosm’s Leaf Arms follow the overall functional and aesthetic intent of the chair, offering a simple and super elegant visual appearance with superior comfort.” Aware of how we work today, Studio 7.5 designed the arm to provide comfort for a variety of applications. The Leaf Arms make it natural and comfortable to support a phone or a book, and the angle of the arms ensures they don’t get in the way of the desk when it’s time to get back online.
Although technical and engineering challenges occupied much of Cosm’s development time, Studio 7.5 was no less dedicated to its aesthetic appearance. With its continuous suspension and sculptural form, the chair appears to be a single unified object, rather than a collection of parts and pieces. This sense of unity is also reflected in its material composition. “The monochromatic color dematerializes the object,” says Burkhard of the “dipped-in-color” concept, in which the chair is presented in a single hue from top to bottom. “The chair is manufactured from different metals and plastics but, ultimately, it is one single thing.”
The German word for design is entwerfen, which roughly translates to “to throw.” According to Carola, this means “throwing something a bit around the curve or ahead of what you know, to help put you in the right direction.” With Cosm, “throwing” led Studio 7.5 and Herman Miller to their most sophisticated design to date.
