With the exception of sleeping, the greatest part of our days are spent sedentary. Sitting for hours a day can cause serious health risks. Still, many of us spend hours every day working in a chair behind a desk. And, increasingly, at the kitchen or dining table. We ignore the strains in our backs and necks when in a productive flow. Shifting, slumping slightly in our chairs, not letting physical discomfort interfere with the task at hand.
Regular breaks, staying active, changing posture frequently - these are things we know are important to a healthy working routine, yet to many feel like a distraction. At odds with our working ethos. Current ‘solutions’ for healthier working fall into roughly two categories; ergonomic office chairs trying to maximise our sitting potential and cancel out any physical consciousness, and nondescript electric sit-stand desks that could not contradict more the active behaviour they try to stimulate in their users.
Changing behaviour is a challenge. If we are to find a new balance in our daily routine, the effort should be supported by a frictionless interaction, and the experience in harmony with the values that inspired the ambition for change.
With the A Simple Machine collection for Analogue, HeijltjesAkkaya has designed human powered sit/stand tables that invite and inspire activity. Seemingly static objects that can be moved effortlessly and instantly. The motion of the user is mimicked in the moving parts and transformation of the objects; functional and transparent furniture pieces that reflect activity in appearance and interaction. A Simple Machine combines ergonomics and engineering to promote physical activity in the workplace or when working from home. Its pulleys, weights and levers, powered by human energy, enable a new working rhythm. With ‘A Simple Machine’ HeijltjesAkkaya aims to empower personal ambitions of being healthy, creative and productive.
A Simple Machine collection consists of Counterweight Table, Gas Spring Table, Hour Stool and complementary objects.
Counterweight Table and Gas Spring Table are almost inside-out constructions from folded steel and industrial parts, designed to last multiple lifetimes.
For Counterweight Table a cylindrical counterweight balances the mass of the tabletop and its frame, resulting in a floating surface which can be fixed at any desired height. Kettle Bell is A custom magazine holding extra weights offering the option of altering the counterweight mass and balancing a heavier load on the table.
Gas Spring Table uses a lever and gas spring to press a (skate)wheel along the underside of the aluminum tabletop - creating a weightless work surface. Moving the tabletop is done by effortlessly pushing it up or down. Hour Stool is an archetypical rendition of height adjustable work seating, using a single steel profile and a wooden seat with an eccentric hole – inviting adjustment.
