Introducing Elinor

“Nowadays it is less and less the case that an office chair should look like a machine,” explains Claudio Bellini. For four years the renowned designer discussed with to Giuseppe Pedrali about creating a chair flexible enough to blend in with various different working environments. Then suddenly, as Bellini reports, everything clicked into place and within six months the fruit of their efforts took on real shape in the guise of the “Elinor” swivel chair. A nod to American environmentalist and economist Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2009. Bellini took his inspiration for the chair from the Italian word “Elica” which translates as “propeller”. The chair’s dynamic properties are immediately apparent, thanks to its one-piece continuous armrest with its gleaming finish – it comes in either brushed or polished aluminum. The chair’s high backrest and its comfortable polyurethane foam upholstery invite potential users’ bodies to take all the weight off their feet.

The fact that Bellini studied Architecture and Industrial Design is visible from the chair’s straightforward formal vocabulary which resorts to refined detailing rather than brash effects, with the result that the chair’s Donati hinge is elegantly concealed, along with all the other screws and joints. “What we need in a working environment today is aesthetics,” explains Bellini. In his opinion, since in the current age of the flexible office people rarely sit on one chair the whole day, what is called for he believes is a distinctive appearance. “The challenge was to strike a balance between all the different elements – proportions, design and load-bearing properties,” explains Bellini. In the pipeline: More options for the range, which currently comes with fabric or leather covers. (am)

Pedrali at the Orgatec: Hall 9.1 - Booth B041-A040