Herman Miller's Sayl Chair

5.18.11 | The SAYL chair from Herman Miller, Inc. continues to garner critical praise, most recently "Product Design of the Year" from the 2010 International Design Awards (IDA) jury. IDA was established in 2007 as a way to recognize and celebrate smart and sustainable multidisciplinary design. This year there were more than 400 entries in the Professional Product Design category, with designers from more than 76 countries submitting their work for consideration.

SAYL is the first chair with a 3D Intelligent suspension back. This full-suspension back is literally frameless, offering no hard edges. Freed from a rigid exterior frame, the back suspends and supports much like the principles of a suspension bridge. This lets the chair adapt to a person's unique shape and movements, giving proper support all the while.

Designed by Yves Béhar, founder of fuesproject, SAYL was inspired by his observations of the way the Golden Gate Bridge, near Béhar's San Francisco home, carries tremendous loads. The SAYL chair is also unique for Behar's Eco-Dematerialised approach, using sustainable materials in inventive ways and minimizing mass wherever possible to further reduce carbon footprint. The SAYL chair has achieved MBDC Cradle to Cradle Silver, BIFMA level 2, and GREEN GUARD certifications.