The History of the Modern Office Chair

The Industrial Revolution Gave Birth To Office Chairs

Before the nineteenth century, most of the global workforce was employed in agrarian labor—an “office chair” was only relevant for the wealthy, government officials and academics. In fact, Charles Darwin is the earliest known adopter of a proto-office chair, grafting wheels onto a normal chair in the 1840s so he could swivel between specimens. It goes without saying that this was a fairly uncommon use case.

Then came the railroad, the advent of manufacturing, and the Industrial Revolution. As the traditional model of labor was upended, more administrative workers were needed for logistical coordination and bookkeeping, and the concept of general and administrative workers was born. Businesses empowered by rail access in scaling and expanding to new markets employed more and more people—creating a cadre of middle managers.

This was the first time in history that productivity accrued on a mass scale from people sitting indoors. As white collar workers became a crucial economic resource for the first time, their bosses began to recognize the value of making them comfortable.

Mid-1800s: Victorian Design

Enter the first mass production office chair: the Centripetal Office Chair, designed by the inventor Thomas Warren and launched by the American Chair Company in 1851 at the Great Exhibition in London. The example depicted to the right now sits in the Brooklyn Museum.

It looks dated, but the chair was surprisingly functional by today’s standards. Made of cast iron and upholstered in velvet, the chair’s standard features included full tilt movement enabled by four large springs concealed in the frame, a revolving seat, and casters for movement.

The chair sold poorly outside the United States, because the Victorian norms prevailing in the Anglophone world at the time viewed comfortable seating as immoral. The Centripetal Chair was too ergonomic for its time.

But Victorian propriety was hardly a lasting bulwark against the rising tide of a manufacturing / service economy. As the Industrial Revolution culminated, the growing tide of office workers took notice; the most popular attraction during the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia was the Office Furniture Exhibit. Meanwhile, specialty chairs for barbers and dentists had started to introduce the components and materials that would power the modern office chair.

Early 1900s: Architectural Design

By the early twentieth century, the desk job was a staple function in the worldwide economy, and industrial designers had risen to the occasion. But they didn’t focus on comfort. The question at stake was architectural alignment with the rest of the space.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed the office chair on the right to accompany the Larkin Building, an office building he designed in 1904. The chair was lauded for its innovative height adjustment mechanism, but lacked—to say the least—the human-centered design features that we take for granted today. He made an even less comfortable, three-legged version called the “suicide chair,” intended for the largely female secretarial staff.

Although the Victorian era had faded, comfort was still linked closely with laziness in the minds of managers, and design decisions tended to be informed by cost and congruence with the prevailing architectural style.

Mid 1900s: Modern Design

Office chairs evolved into a recognizable form after World War II. This was no accident: ergonomic research played a tremendous role in the design of instruments of war, like tanks and plane cockpits, as well as the factories that produced them.

Combined with post-war industrialization and the emergence of the United States as a full-fledged manufacturing and services economy, the office chair had renewed purpose and a huge body of declassified military research waiting to inspire new designs.

The Aluminum Group Chair by famed designers Ray and Charles Eames features sleek lines, metal spokes and plastic casters. Look familiar? Many office chairs of this era look like—and in some cases, are—the same chairs we might sit on today.

But aesthetics, not ergonomics, still drove the design of chairs. The mid-century modern aesthetic produced beautiful furniture for the growing mass of office workers, and proved popular enough to produce plenty of business for chiropractors and orthopedic surgeons.

1970s until today: Ergonomic Design

The era of the ergonomic office chair began in earnest in the 1970s. Several catalysts played a role in the popularization of ergonomic design. Notable among these were series of books—particularly Humanscale, by the designer Niels Diffrient—that popularized the ergonomics findings of military and industrial researchers, and made them accessible to the design community at large.

Advanced materials spilled over from Cold War and Space Age research, and an American surgeon George Phalen began spreading the word about a mysterious condition afflicting office workers called carpal tunnel syndrome. In 1970, President Nixon signed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act (OSHA) into law, ensuring that companies which failed to provide a safe work environment would be penalized.

These factors culminated in the Ergon Chair, designed by William Stumpf and released in 1976. Although it lacked the configurability of modern chairs, it used molded foam that conformed to our natural sitting position—a landmark in ergonomic design. Later designs like the popular Aeron chair took these principles and carried them forward, applying advanced materials like breathable mesh and 3D aided-design.

The end result of this process are modern office chairs, the best of which mold to our needs in ways that would be hard to imagine for Thomas Warren or Frank Lloyd Wright.

Future of the Office Chair

The office chairs we interact with every day—and sometimes take for granted—are the culmination of a century-long process shaped by design trends and socioeconomic factors alike. The results have been nothing short of spectacular. As design objects, the best office chairs on the market today have reached a pinnacle of aesthetic and ergonomic excellence.

If that’s true, what’s next for the office chair? Although research is still ongoing, preliminary studies have begun to show that most office workers should sit less and stand more. The office chair of the future may be lighter and more modular to account for the fact that it will be used in specific, task-oriented ways.

But chairs will always be part of our workplace experience. The fundamental problems with the ergonomic office chair today are accessibility and flexibility, not design. With prices rising to the four-figure range for premium chairs, the best chairs are largely inaccessible to the mass market of knowledge workers.

And the way we procure office chairs today—buy it once, stuck with it forever—doesn’t align with the reality of a workforce populated in greater numbers by freelancers, remote workers and high-growth companies with need that change fast.

The most impactful design innovation to come may be the combination of time-tested design with a fundamental restructuring in the way office chairs are bought and sold, so more workers can take advantage of quality materials, ergonomic best practices and beautiful design. Until then, take a moment to lean back in your chair and acknowledge our debt of gratitude to the designers that helped us sit the way we do—comfortable, in style, and ready to work.

In this article, we will delve into the evolution of office desks, specifically focusing on task chairs. We will explore how this essential piece of furniture has transformed over time to adapt to changing work environments. Additionally, we will showcase some of our own top recommendations of task chairs that are ideal for the modern workspace.

During the 18th century, office furniture predominantly consisted of wooden pieces with intricate designs. Desks , for instance, were often grand and spacious, featuring numerous drawers and compartments to accommodate paperwork and writing materials. Office chairs of that era were also elaborate, adorned with detailed carvings and upholstered seats. However, it's important to note that the primary emphasis was on form rather than function, and the furniture was primarily intended for executives and managers rather than employees.

The evolution of office furniture has been shaped by advancements in technology, evolving design trends, and changing work practices throughout history. Although office furniture has existed for centuries, the concept of creating designated workspaces adorned with furniture explicitly designed for office use gained prominence in the 18th century.

The Office Chair Evolution Timeline

The evolution of the office chair is closely tied to the development of the modern office space, which emerged during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The 18th Century-

During the 18th century, office chairs were typically crafted from wood and characterized by straight backs and rigid seats. Comfort took a backseat to appearance in the design of these chairs. Interestingly, It is believed that Charles Darwin was one of the first inventors of the office chair. Around the 1840’s, Darwin modified his armchair by replacing its existing legs with wheeled legs taken from his bed. His intention was to enhance mobility and access his specimens quicker – and that is how the wheeled office chair was born!

Photo credit: DNA Learning Center

Following this, 1849 saw the arrival of the first mahogany “swivel chair” by American Inventor, Thomas E. Warren. The ‘Centripetal Spring Armchair’ used a swivel mechanism and castors that enabled workers to easily retrieve items without needing to stand up. It featured cast iron legs, velvet upholstery, and a ‘skirt’ that was used to conceal the springs underneath the seat.

Source: Wikipedia

Overall, while 18th century office chairs may not have offered the ergonomic features and comfort that modern office chairs provide, but they reflected the ornate and luxurious design aesthetic of that era. These chairs symbolised status and prestige in the workplace.

The 19th Century

The 19th century marked the beginning of a shift towards prioritising comfort alongside appearance. It was during this period that the "healthy office chair" trend emerged. Frank Lloyd Wright is considered to be the first person to have designed the world’s first ergonomic office chair in 1904. It included a ground-breaking feature at that time, which was a seat height-adjustment mechanism. Similarly, in 1976, Bill Stumpf produced the famous ‘Ergon Chair’ which is thought to be the inspiration behind the task chair design as we know it. The Ergon chair was a significant milestone as it aimed to improve user comfort and sustain their physical health. It included a foam-filled seat and backrest, a more innovative spine support that was not seen before, and gas-lift levers that allowed for height adjustment and tilt mechanisms.

These advancements in ergonomic office chair design have paved the way for the contemporary task chairs we utilise to provide optimal comfort and support for prolonged periods of sitting.

Source: Pinup Magazine

Following this, the 1970’s also brought the first automatically adjustable office chair, designed by Emilio Ambasz and Giancarlo Piretti. The ‘Vertebra’ office chair was created to respond and adapt to the needed level of comfort required by the user. It even won the ID Award for Excellence of Design in 1977, which begun the research into more ergonomically designed office chairs!

Source: Elle Décor Italia

The 20th Century-

The 20th century is not only when we saw the rise of fully ergonomic office furniture, but it is also when modern office furniture gained popularity and was designed for efficiency and functionality. For example, steel and aluminium became popular materials during this time, and the furniture was designed for specific tasks such as typing or filing.

The late 20th century was when a greater emphasis on ergonomic office furniture truly began. It meant that the office furniture was more often designed to improve comfort and reduce physical stress and injury in the workplace. The chairs now had adjustable features such as lumbar support, armrests, and were specifically designed to promote good posture.

 
The 21st Century-

In the 21st century, there has been a growing emphasis on sustainability. We are seeing an increasing number of sustainable chairs on the market that are made from eco-friendly materials such as recycled plastic and bamboo. The motivation is that these office chairs will minimise environmental impact while still providing the comfort and functionality that is now expected. So, watch this space as we are sure that office chairs will continue to evolve for the better.

At Haiken, we have a variety of ergonomic office chairs that are built to ensure superior comfort to the user. For example, our Webb 2.0 has become an all-time favourite thanks to its excellent ergonomic design that features a supportive seat slide, a 6-position lockable backrest, 3D armrests, and a self-synchro mechanism that automatically adjusts to the user’s weight. Similarly, the Stirling task chair blends style and incomparable user comfort, specially created with sensitive foam so that the seat moulds to every individual.