How things are made: the Ahrend WELL Collection

At the drawing board

In the development department of the Ahrend Development Centre in Amsterdam, the product developers work quietly on the ideal conference chair. In the meantime, Kees leafs through the folders on his computer, looking for the first sketches of the WELL. 'Look, they are from 2012,' he shows. 'But the official starting shot was in 2014.' The designer usually designs visitor and meeting chairs based on an existing office chair, so that they can be nicely combined in projects. That was not the case for the WELL Collection. 'We wanted to create a self-contained universal conference chair that can be used in a wide range of applications. And of course very comfortable.'

At the beginning of the process, the drawing books flew through. 'When my children went to rescue swimming on Friday evenings, I would scratch two pages full of new ideas at the edge of the pool.' And don't forget the 3D CAD sketches in A3 format. 'The cupboard is bulging with that too,' Kees laughs.

'After all the sketches, as far as I'm concerned, comes the most important part: determining the shape of the seat and the backrest. In this case, a seat and backrest together: a seat shell. I really want to get that right,' says Kees. 'We use a moulding block to test how the chair fits. And by we I really mean everyone.' Because big or small, wide or narrow: everyone should be able to sit comfortably at the WELL Collection. With his 1.90 meters, Kees is the perfect ambassador for tall people. 'Fortunately, there are plenty of other people here who like to sit for trials. I sometimes ask my wife too, she's a lot smaller.' A chair with a relatively short seat turned out to be the most comfortable for everyone.

Kees uses special measuring instruments to check whether the pressure points are properly distributed, so that the seating comfort is optimal. 'Perfecting it is a matter of a lot of polishing. Real millimetre work.' And that cavity in the seat? This ensures that you can sit comfortably with any physique, Kees explains. 'We think of ourselves as very unique, but our sit bones are about the same distance apart in everyone. The cavity supports your hips, while distributing your weight over the rest of the seat.

That other interesting curve in the backrest has two purposes. Kees: 'You prevent back pain because there is not too much pressure on one point. In addition, the curve creates freedom for your buttocks: you can slide back so well.' The curves run gracefully, making the chair sleek and geometric. 'While the seating shape is organic,' Kees shows with a cross-section in the 3D CAD system. 'That's why it's so good.'

It takes a village to perfect a chair

'A visitor and meeting chair must fit perfectly. An office chair is adjustable and therefore easy to adjust to your own preferences, but this chair had to have a standard shape that pleases as many people as possible.' In addition to the test chairs, there is feedback on the prototype from various parties. 'We discuss it with the marketing team, product developers, account managers and the studio. Everyone has their own feedback: account managers, for example, think more from the customer's needs, while the studio looks at whether a chair also looks nice when it is slid under a table.' Meanwhile, Kees and his colleagues also know what works and what doesn't. 'Of course, we receive continuous feedback from the market. Anti-tipping caps under a cantilever frame chair? Smart in principle, but they get caught when the chair is on carpet. So you have to think of something else for that.'

'The biggest obstacle was that the chair had to be small and light – literally and figuratively. If a chair is too bulky and too heavy, you won't move it easily.' At the same time, it had to be a chair that everyone can sit on comfortably, no matter how big or small you are. 'In the end, after a lot of fitting, measuring, polishing and retesting, we succeeded.'

Sit WELL, Feel WELL, Look WELL

With 8 bases, 10 plastic colours and 4 upholstery styles, you can combine the WELL endlessly. 'The model with the wire frame is my favourite,' says Kees determinedly. 'Because the lines continue beautifully into the frame, the chair remains very calm.' But when his eyes glide over the sketches on the wall next to his desk, it turns out not to be his only favourite. 'The 5-star base is also very nice. Normally, such a chair gets a bit messy, but because the armrests follow the shape of the backrest, it has remained a quiet product.' The classic cantilever frame is also one of the toppers. 'Especially in countries with a penchant for traditional furniture, this one will do well. In the Netherlands we are more into Scandinavian design: clean and natural. A wood base fits better with that.' In short, because of the many possible combinations, there is always a WELL that fits the current interior trends .