Now that the cubicle wall has fallen, replaced by more loosely defined work environments where cafés double as boardrooms, contract furniture has undergone a seismic shift as well. Kinesit by Arper, launched last year at Orgatec in Cologne, Germany, responds to the new office terrain by turning the task chair into what looks like an ordinary seat.

Observing how today’s best technological innovations are integrated, intuitive and invisible, the design team, Lievore Altherr Molina of Spain, decided to invest in its own soft-tech thinking by sculpting the mechanisms and command levers right into the seat’s profile. What is most remarkable about Kinesit cannot be seen, because it’s not there: no complicated levers, spring-loaded appendages or protruding knobs. The exoskeletal backrest has also vanished.

The polished aluminum frame is embedded with an automatic tension mechanism, meaning that the seat and backrest respond in sync with the user’s weight and pressure. Users experience continuous reclining movement up to 18 degrees, and the seat breathes by up to 15 millimetres to improve stability and circulation. Meanwhile, the backrest locks into three reclining positions, every nine degrees, and the armrests are stripped away, leaving a modest but supportive L.

Despite its outward simplicity, Kinesit meets performance norms, and it even fulfills safety regulations for workplace seating, including the European requirement that all desk chairs have an adjustable lumbar support. By tidying up the task chair and giving it impressive versatility, Kinesit is going places, as a valued contributor and a better team player.

About the manufacturer: Headquartered in Monastier di Treviso, Italy, Arper manufactures and distributes contemporary furniture for residential, commercial and custom settings worldwide. For years, it has collaborated with Barcelona design studio Lievore Altherr Molina to produce new furniture typologies and award-winning creative direction in graphic design and branding.