Wilkhahn’s Yonda Conference Sets New Standards in Ergonomics, Comfort and Sustainability
Design: neunzig° design
In both formal and informal office spaces, the Yonda Conference chair provides top-notch comfort wherever a resimercial appeal is required. The latest member of the Yonda family also reflects the soft and fluid design that’s so characteristic of the range. For Yonda Conference, the neunzig° design team retained the range’s distinctive look and added even more comfort and a greater residential sensibility by making the chair fully upholstered. Designers Barbara Funck and Rainer Weckenmann modeled a fluid, soft form to provide exceptional support to people’s bodies.
First-class ergonomics and innovative comfort
Wilkhahn’s Yonda Conference chair sets new standards in first-class ergonomics and comfort. Innovative upholstery materials make the chair remarkably breathable and sitting on it very relaxing. The Yonda Conference’s ergonomic shell shape and armrests guarantee a body friendly posture. The optional, custom-developed 3D suspension fuses movement with comfort.
Making upholstered furniture recyclable
One of the challenges involved with developing a recyclable conference chair is to ensure sorting of the components to type. Traditional upholstery methods often involve bonding the upholstery foam, seat shell and fabric with each other. Consequently, efficient mono-material sorting of the components is impossible. When parts like a seat shell are concave, adhesives are normally used to ensure the covers hug the cushioning without creasing.
Wilkhahn has always tried to dispense with adhesives because they make mono-material sorting more difficult and entail the use of solvents. Which is why, whenever possible, Wilkhahn picks mono-materials, such as those used in the Yonda Conference chair’s upholstery. This was quite an ambitious project that required time for an intensive development phase with neunzig° design’s team and the skills of a first-class upholstery department.
Sustainable design meets innovative upholstery skills
The Yonda Conference shows how sustainable design and ergonomics can go hand in hand. Wilkhahn developed an innovative method of upholstering a chair with 50 percent recycled fibers and customized seams. As a result, no adhesives are required and the upholstery clings to the concave foam perfectly. The foam is screwed onto the load-bearing seat shell and requires no bonding either. Consequently, recycling is easier and makes the chair last a long time because each component is recyclable.
A chair’s fabrics are normally subjected to the most wear and tear. Yonda Conference rises to the challenge with a particular focus on sustainability. The new Cyber option comes in a very pleasant fabric, all of which is made from recycled post-consumer polyester with a woolen look and feel. This is both an aesthetically pleasing and eco-friendly fabric. Cyber is available in 17 colors so that the chair goes perfectly with various spaces, or the corporate design in question.
Yonda Conference’s cover is very easy to remove, which is a huge benefit. Should the cover need to be replaced or repaired due to wear and tear or other reasons, Wilkhahn’s customer service can do so without any problems. As a result, the Yonda Conference chair still looks fresh and attractive years later without the need to replace the whole item of furniture.
But Yonda Conference’s sustainability goes even one step further. At the end of its life cycle, the chair’s components can be sorted according to type and dismantled easily. Consequently, environmentally friend disposal and re-use is even easier. Wilkhahn’s Yonda Conference focuses on outstanding design and comfort, but also on a responsible and future-drive approach to the life cycle of a piece of furniture.
The non-bonded components, all of which are procured from European manufacturers, make recycling possible and increase comfort because the upholstery’s softer than the traditionally bonded variant. The Yonda Conference chair is produced at the company’s headquarters in north Germany. Its upholstery also responds to the way people sit on it because there’s more cushioning on the seat and bottom of the backrest than on the armrest pads.
An easy-to-use solution with materials reduced to the max
Innovative 3D suspension with an efficient use of materials and components in the four- and five-star base variants guarantees material friendly manufacture. The 3D spring made of high-performance steel, used in the industry for the first time, offers dynamic movement and exceptional comfort without the need for complicated settings. Consequently, it’s easy to adapt and makes disassembling the components for mono-material sorting easier.
“We’ve produced the Yonda Conference chair to make the office a place where people like being, enjoy working and are encouraged to reach their potential. At the same time, we’re facing the ecological challenges of our era and place huge emphasis on design that’s compatible with a circular economy. Mono-material sorting of the components and ease of repair are key criteria, which we achieve by providing full upholstery that requires no adhesives.”