NIELS DIFFRIENTDiffrient 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.

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aluminum structural frame polypropylene seat supportspolyurethane foam cushions nylon and wool stretch fabrics

freedom chair

in other words, sitting comfortably isn’t something you should have to think about.

43”h x 25”w x 25”dseat height 16–21.5”

ANNICK MAGACAnnick 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.

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sagesseincsagesse coffee table

“The piece is about precision and the beauty of materials as well as the idea of veiling and

discovering” –amnick magacaluminum stainless steel acrylic rubber-coated metallic silk

winner of ID magazine’s 2000 design review“best of furniture” category

36”1 x 16”w x 14”h