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At A Glance: The Sayl Chair is the latest creation from the offices of Yves Behar, a San Fransisco designer who's making a big splash on the international scene. This is a chair that wears its reputation as sculptural art on its sleeve, looking very much like the suspension bridges that inspired its design. It's beautiful, utterly unique, and priced very affordably.
What's To Like: That gorgeous back, that lovely profile. The Sayl earns its reputation as one of the most beautiful office chairs in the Herman Miller stable, and with flying colors to boot. You've also gotta love that price (you've got to!): at $399, it's the most affordable art installation you can buy. And hey, you can sit in it at work!
What's Not to Like: The chair is a bit on the small side, so if you need an expansive seat and seat back, you might want to look elsewhere. And if you like spending a ton of money on your office chair, this is also not for you. The Bottom Line: This is a gorgeous chair, a comfortable chair, and it's priced to sell. It doesn't get much better than that. Read A Review of Sayl: Smart Furniture's very own Whitney just spent a work week in Sayl - read her Sayl review here.
Imagine your office chair unframed. No borders, no limits, and full of surprises. Yves Behar and the Herman Miller design team tried this thought experiment themselves, and the result was the Sayl Chair.
When Yves Behar began working with Herman Miller the idea of the Sayl Chair was truly revolutionary. The chair is unique in every sense of the word and has a design that is all its own. Behar also designed the Leaf and Ardea personal lights. When Herman Miller commissioned Yves Behar to design a new chair, the goal was to make a chair that was designed with his mindset; unframed beauty. Yves Behar designs are never constrained by convention. Yves Behar's pieces are always designed with the notion that the human experience can be bettered by his ideas. When Herman Miller needed a highly affordable, beautifully designed chair with first class ergonomics, respect for the environment and elegant engineering there was really only one man for the job. Behar began his design process with an Earnes quote, 'The best for the most for the least', and the Sayl Chair was born. The Sayl Chair by Yves Behar is designed after San Francisco's most famous landmark: the Golden Gate Bridge. Behar wondered if the engineering principles used in a suspension bridge could be applied to an everyday office chair. The chair by Yves Behar proved that not only was it possible, but this design would reduce materials, weight, and environmental impact. In fact, by taking the time to investigate the dematerialization of the office chair, Behar ended up creating a masterpiece.
The flexible elastomer suspension material used in the Herman Miller Sayl Chair by Yves Behar could be stretched in a way that ensured the greatest tension at points where the back needs the most support and the least tension in areas that would allow for an extensive range of motion while sitting in the Sayl Chair. This idea perfectly coincided with Yves Behar's ideas on living your life unframed. The chair he designed for Herman Miller allows the consumer to sit in their chair unframed. With this concept intact, the actual creation of the Sayl Chair proved to be a larger hurdle than expected. The chair was not designed on a computer, it was hand sketched again and again and again. Numerous prototypes of the Sayl Chair were produced and rejected before the design was deemed perfect. Yves Behar describes the process as 'draw, build, break, and repeat until you arrive at something unique.' 'Unique' doesn't even come close to describing the final product. There isn't an adequate word to describe the unique qualities of the Sayl Chair.
After completing the perfect chair, Yves Behar had to come up with a name. Many ideas passed through Yves Behar's mind. Bridge, Sail, Gate, etc. So why name this innovative piece of furniture Sayl? When looking at the chair from the side, the Sayl Chair by Yves Behar closely resembles a full mainsail. The Golden Gate Bridge is constantly framed by the sails of the large ships passing beneath it. The name is a reflection of these sailing vessels that pass beneath San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. By replacing the 'I' in sail with a 'Y', Behar gave a nod to the innovative Y Tower structure of his new chair. In Behar's mind, a more perfect name did not exist. The Herman Miller Sayl Chair was officially born.
You've heard it a million times already, but the Sayl Chair by Yves Behar can be bought at an astonishingly low price. You cannot find this standard of quality in any other office chair at this same low cost; in fact you might not even be able to find this standard of quality in a chair that's twice as expensive. With a starting price under $400, the Sayl Chair is less than half the price of most Aeron Chair models. It comes in at half the price, with all the great attributes. The chair is stylish enough to go toe to toe with its more expensive competitors. Not only can the chair go toe-to-toe, but it can win. Jill Singer of Industrial Design magazine says, "It's a pretty amazing feat that they got it down to that point without sacrificing the look." Amazing doesn't really seem to do Behar justice. Amazing would've been the Chair priced at $700. $400 is just unspeakably low for the quality of the Herman Miller Sayl Chair by Yves Behar. $400 is unbelievably low for any chair with these aesthetic, ergonomic, and distinctive qualities. "We watched people sit and work," says Behar.
It's too soon to tell how many awards, accolades, and praises Herman Miller and Yves Behar will receive for their work, but the assumption is that many are to come. Yves Behar has always been known for his innovative way of thinking and problem solving, but nothing compares to the way he has paved the road for office, home, and work chairs of the future. Creating a completely unique and one of a kind chair for Herman Miller may or may not be what Yves Behar is known for in the end, but for now he has certainly made his mark. The Sayl Chair has changed the office chair design business permanently. Remarkably made and designed, these new Herman Miller chairs are in a league of their own and it's all because of Yves Behar's unique and innovative design strategies and ideas. Behar continues to make and create pieces that are one of a kind and geared specifically towards their users.
The Herman Miller Sayl Chair is also known by the following manufacturer Item Numbers: AS2, AS4, AS5, AS2SA22PF, AS2SA22HF, AS2SA22AA, AS2SA23AA.
Herman Miller prides itself on developing long term relationships with the best designers and design firms in the country. George Nelson, who developed the Nelson Swag Leg series; Charles and Ray Eames, who created the Eames Lounger, Plywood Lounge, Hang-It-All, and countless other major pieces of design and furniture. Now they have contracted with designers like Yves Behar, Studio 7.5, and Jeff Weber. All have made their name on their own, and all are the necessary and talented outside creative forces that keep Herman Miller fresh, engaging, and on the cutting edge of industrial design.
The process of designing the Sayl Chair began with Yves Behar, and it ended with the Behar and Herman Miller teams working together to create, re-create, edit and innovate what became the Sayl Chair. Like all collaborative and creative processes, there was a lot of revision and a lot of hardwork. But there was above all a singular creative vision (chair as suspension bridge) that kept everyone focused and allowed the chair to develop into what it is now.
There were several notable elements that emerged during the design process that made the Sayl Chair what it is today. The ArcSpan seat, the Y Tower suspension in the back, and the injection molded backing with selective tension and hinge points all combined to make a chair with very little material and structure one of the most comfortable and ergonomic chairs in the Herman Miller stable. The ArcSpan seat and the Y Tower provide support for the entire back, from top to bottom. They are the anchors from which the suspension technology in the chair "hangs." Located at the base of the seat and the top of the back, these support structures are elegantly simple, understated, and don't take up space with unnecessary material. They help the Sayl Chair provide some of the most impressive back support in the work chair industry.
Another important part of the support system is in the injection-molded seat back. When the injections take place, they are specifically calibrated to provide different sorts of strength and tension is different parts of the back. This creates hinge points and comfort pockets in the back of the chair, and keeps it deeply comfortable and supportive.
Of course design is not limited to technical innovation; the look of this chair, and the economy of its form, are breathtaking. The Sayl Chair is a drawing come to life; the 3D rendering of a seemingly impossible design. It's new, it's unique, and it's beautiful. Throw in its impressive engineering and technical credentials, and you have a deeply impressive chair, poised to make its mark in the world of industrial design.
Read the whole design story behind the Sayl Chair.
In 1923, the Michigan Star Furniture Company was reinvented and became the Herman Miller Furniture Company. D.J. De Pree was the first president of the Herman Miller Furniture Company. De Pree would continue to preside over the Herman Miller Company for decades, paving the way for future presidents and employees. De Pree set the standard for Herman Miller products sky high and refused to compromise on any points, including their environmental impact. De Pree revamped the company for the first of many times in 1930, vowing to move away from traditional furniture and focus more on products that would better suit the changing needs and styles of the American population. The first of Herman Miller's showrooms was opened in 1939 in Chicago's famous Merchandise Mart.
By watching how people used their standard office chairs, Behar could create an office chair that was ten steps above the rest. With the understanding of the reasons people needed an office chair and how they used it, Behar created the ultimate version of their own reality. Behar did over 1,000 sketches of the Chair before getting it right. When attempting to design the perfect office or home chair, practice makes perfect. It took time, patience, and dedication on the part of Yves Behar, but the end result was phenomenal. The chair Behar designed for Herman Miller really does surpass all others. Once you've sat in an Yves Behar Sayl Chair, it's unlikely that you'll go back to anything else.
Yves Behar A vibrant, stimulating designer based in San Francisco, California, Yves Behar's design shop has had a hand in everything from work chairs to recycling projects, department store packaging to home appliances. His goal is to responsibly produce beautiful things; if it's not responsible (environmental and socially) then it cannot be beautiful, and if it isn't beautiful it is not worth making. The Sayl Chair is just one more object in his long line of attractive and useful design pieces, all of which have a constructive place in the social landscape. With an eye toward economy, a heart toward the useful and the socially responsible, and a sensibility attuned to the lovely and the aesthetically pleasing, Behar is a strong and valuable voice in the design community.
Smart Furniture is very proud to partner with Yves Behar and Herman Miller to bring our customers the Sayl Chair, the latest in Herman Miller's long line of transformative, beautiful work chairs. The Sayl Chair is perfect for the cubicle, the home, and the museum. It's a welcome addition to Smart Furniture's catalogue, a winning and innovative work chair that will keep you comfortable, supported, and ahead of the curve when it comes to style and design.
Herman Miller is an industry leader in the integration of cutting edge technology to furniture and other household items to make everyday life more comfortable, convenient, and stylish. Herman Miller stands out at the forefront of such fields as ergonomic technologies, environmentally friendly manufacturing processes, and customizable furniture items.
It's not surprising that Herman Miller has created some of the most ergonomic task chairs on the planet. Collaborating closely with designers such as Jeff Weber, Bill Stumpf, and Yves Behar, Herman Miller has launched such office chairs as the classic Aeron to the cutting-edge Sayl Chair.
Herman Miller is a global company with operations, sales offices, dealers, and licensees in more than 40 countries in North America, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, serving customers virtually anywhere in the world. Herman Miller is headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan, while manufacturing facilities are located in the U.S., China, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
Materials: The Sayl Chair has an upholstered seat with foam padding and passive Posturefit back support. The Sayl Chair's overall components are constructed from plastic, steel, foam, and textile.
Polished aluminum base is cast aluminum; Fog and Black bases are made of Glass Filled Nylon (an environmental answer to fiberglass).
Measurements: Overall: 34.25" to 38.75" h x 24.5" w Seat Height: 15.5" to 20" Seat Width: 19.75" Arm Height: 24" to 29" (height-adjustable/fully adjustable arms)
The adjustable lumbar can be retrofitted in the field and added to existing chairs without a lumbar feature. A lumbar kit will be made available in April. The cost for the kit will be $40.00.
The Sayl Chair is beautiful, ergonomic, comfortable, and affordable. It has great style and unquestionable aesthetic appeal, and it's more comfortable than hundreds of more expensive and less impressive padding-stuffed office chairs on the market. This is a new kind of task chair for a new kind of buyer; a customer who cares about design and comfort, but knows they don't have to pay through the nose to get it. Creatively bold and full of innovative engineering, this is truly a 21st century chair.
Designed by the inimitable Yves Behar, the Herman Miller Sayl Chair is a study in small scale architecture. It's minimalist from an environmental and material perspective, but it still provides maximum support for your back, legs and neck. It has no frames, no borders; the back and seat of the chair just stop expanding at a certain point. They are not bounded by a hard edge or any sort of aesthetic interruption to the look and feel of the seat and seat back.
The overall look of the chair recalls a suspension bridge, or a 3D net, and that's intentional. It was suspension bridges with their elegant scope and ingenious ability to support structures with little material that were the inspiration to the Behar and Herman Miller design teams. As a matter of fact, the design process for this chair began with a serious attempt to eliminate every element of the traditional work chair that wasn't absolutely necessary. That meant saying goodbye to stuffing and padding.
Au revoir to dozens of adjustments that provide the illusion of adaptability without providing the reality. Auf wiedersehen to big armrests, stocky bases and support structures, and every unnecessary material mindlessly attached to practically every office chair out there. But it also meant saying hello to freedom, bonjour to movement, and guttentag to a the first "frameless" office chair. The Sayl Chair is a true original and a work of art in the realm of furniture design.
Polished aluminum base is cast aluminum; Fog and Black bases are made of Glass Filled Nylon (an environmental answer to fiberglass).
The adjustable lumbar can be retrofitted in the field and added to existing chairs without a lumbar feature. The cost for the kit is $40.00.
The Herman Miller Sayl Chair is an environmental wonder. It comes with nearly every certification and environmental safeguard that exists, and it's been lauded far and wide for it's responsibility, innovative use of materials, and association with Herman Miller, one of the most important and respected environmental companies in America.
The first thing that the Sayl Chair did to limit it's environmental impact was to limit it's own materials. Yves Behar, who designed the chair, set out to make a product that subscribed to the tenet of less is more. At every turn, at every step of the design process, anything that was unnecessary was thrown out and discarded. Extra plastic, extra knobs or features, extra anything, was left out of the design. It was in this way that the chair became the spare, gorgeous wonder of economy that it is. It was in this way that the chair became so affordable; and of course, it was in this way that the chair began to stake a claim as one of the most environmentally friendly products on the market.
Cutting away excess material does a lot of great things from an environmental standpoint. It cuts down on manufacturing, factory time, and shortens the entire process of building the chair. That means less energy use, fewer hours worked, and less factory waste. Secondly, less material means less trash. If you ever get rid of this chair, or if it ever gets recycled or thrown away in a landfill, it's not going to take up undue space. That's a great way to lower the footprint of a consumer product. The lack of material creates a lower price point, as stated before, but that actually contributes to environmental sustainability as well; every time a more expensive, less responsible chair is not chosen because of the Sayl Chair's price point, that's an environmental liability that stays on the shelf, is produced less, and finds it's way into fewer homes.
The Sayl Chair carries MBDC Cradle to Cradle certification, meaning that at every step of the design and manufacturing process, it has been made as environmentally friendly as possible. The first step in the process is a chemical evaluation of the materials used in the chair. At the deepest level possible, Herman Miller inspects their products for any possibly harmful element within them. Doing this ensures that ever product sold by Herman Miller, including the Sayl Chair, is totally safe for the air, for the environment, and for the quality of your workspace.
After that, each product is evaluated on whether or not they're easy to take apart. Because products like the Sayl Chair are so often recyclable when broken down into their component parts, making that breakdown easy is essential to actually getting the products to end up in a recycling barrel, and not a landfill or a dumb. The Sayl Chair is easy to take apart, easy to recycle, and therefore much more likely to have a negligible environmental impact.
Recycling is obviously important to the environment, and to Herman Miller. That's why the Sayl Chair is 93-percent recyclable at the end of it's useful life. That's a huge number, and it far outpaces the competition in terms of sustainable, recyclable manufacturing processes. Depending on what type of Sayl Chair you buy, the side version of the version with arms, 10 to 21 of the material used to build the chair has itself been recycled.
All in all, the Sayl Chair is one of the preeminent green chairs on the market today. It's slim, it's economical, it's recyclable, and it's certified by all of the most important environmental furniture watchdogs.
Shipping Cost: Free! Standard shipping includes a day and time specific delivery appointment. Product will be brought to your curb, front door or lobby. A delivery signature is required.
The Sayl Chair comes with Herman Miller's 12-Year, 3-Shift Warranty
If you purchase something from us we back up the warranty. Whether the product comes with a 1, 3, or 12 year warranty if you have a warranty issue contact us! If we can send you a part, we do. If your item needs to be completely replaced, we send you a new one. If you need servicing, we work with local dealers to have a certified repair technician come out to your location. With your proof of purchase you can also make warranty claims with any authorized seller or Herman Miller directly. We try to do whats easiest for you and are there for you down the road like you hoped we would be. Shop SmartFurniture.com and be pleasantly surprised with our customer service every time you turn around.
Yves Behar
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