Suspension bridges and sailboats inspired Yves Béhar to create the award-winning Sayl chair by Herman Miller
Suspension bridges are fascinating engineering solutions that offer more with minimal material. The classic postcard example of this type of bridge is the monumental Golden Gate Bridge from 1937, which connects the city of San Francisco to Marin County in the United States. The structure and design, created by Irving Morrow, Joseph Strauss, and Charles Ellis, spans nearly three thousand meters and handles traffic of over 110,000 vehicles per day.
Like many who pass through there, Swiss designer Yves Béhar was intrigued by the California bridge. The entire charm led him to wonder whether its engineering principles could be applied to a work chair.
And that was the starting point for creating the Sayl work chair, commissioned by Herman Miller and distributed in Brazil by Novo Ambiente in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Y-shaped, the tower is the lightweight support for the elastic mesh backrest, with strands that vary in thickness and tension to provide greater support in transition areas along the spine.
Its name refers to sailboats (sail in English) that navigate beneath the bridges, which also influenced the Y-shaped backrest design.
The chair features various recyclable materials in its composition, and the fact that it contains no PVC components is an advantage, as it is a material that takes a very long time to decompose.
In addition to a varied color palette and upholstered options, it provides ergonomic support for people weighing up to 159 kg. The chair is available for order at Novo Ambiente in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Were you already familiar with the design inspiration behind the Sayl chair? Tell us what you thought of this story and stay tuned for updates on the Novo Ambiente Blog!
