A taxonomy of office chairs : the evolution of the office chair, demonstrated through a catalogue of seminal models and an illustrated taxonomy of their components

Phaidon

A Taxonomy of Office Chairs is an exhaustive visual and technical history of the office chair, from the beginning of the 1840s - a period that saw the origins of modern business management - to the present. Over this time frame Jonathan Olivares has selected the most innovative office chairs from the thousands that have been designed and manufactured. This rigorous selection process has been under-pinned by one rule : only chairs that have introduced at least one novel feature have been included.

The selection includes chairs by some of the most revered product designers and architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Marcel Breuer, Charles and Ray Eames, Richard Sapper and Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. Each chair is illustrated, each innovation is explained in a short text, and the details of the designers and manufacturera are provided. In addition, the book includes over 400 technical drawings of individual components, organized info chapters that map their evolution. Few man-made objects have ever been studied in such detail, and the taxonomical approach provides an objective analysis of design history. The book is unprecedented, and will serve as a detailed, encyclopédie and professionally researched tool for anyone commissioning, buying or designing an office chair.