NIELS DIFFRIENT Diffrient attended Cranbrook Academy of Art where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in design and architecture. He won the First Medal in Design three of his four years there. In his career, he has designed every type of equipment and has also been broadly published in the field of design, most notably as co-author of the three-volume publication, Humanscale.
Diffrient teamed up with Humanscale to create the ultimate ergonomic office chair. Jurors were awed by the mechanics of the chair, wowed by the comfort and overcome with excitement about the possibility of changing the contract-seating market forever. The winning idea is that it eliminates knobs and levers and automatically adjusts support to the user’s weight.
STUDIO
zukun
STUDIO
zukun
freedom chair
43”h x 25”w x 25”d seat height 16–21.5”
aluminum structural frame polypropylene seat supports polyurethane foam cushions nylon and wool stretch fabrics
in other words, sitting comfortably isn’t something you should have to think about.
ANNICK MAGAC Annick Magac developed the imaginative coffee table/storage piece while still a student at The Parsons School of Design. This young upstart, who is not yet thirty, out shines more established designers by combining simple materials with her own creation, a soft yet durable rubber-coated metallic silk. The fabric
is translucent but also reflects light, giving the product a slight shimmer. It has a warm, tactile appeal. The two outer sections slide apart to reveal an inner storage chamber made of orange acrylic. Magac now works at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, where she is the first furniture designer to be hired in the interior design department.
STUDIO
STUDIO
zukun
zukun
sagesse inc coffee table sagesse winner of ID magazine’s 2000 design review “best of furniture” category
36”1 x 16”w x 14”h
“The piece is about precision and the beauty of materials as well as the idea of veiling and discovering” –amnick magac
aluminum stainless steel acrylic rubber-coated metallic silk