When ZIBA, a design firm, moved into a new office building, almost twice the size of the earlier one, they offered their employees a big luxury, a 200-seat auditorium. Although the space for the auditorium was compact – with narrow concrete risers that leave enough room to tuck the entire model shop beneath, what proved to be a problem was the seating arrangement in the auditorium. This is when the JumpSeat – a pleasing to the eyes articulated cantilever seat was invented!


Based on the functioning of the human spinal cord, the JumpSeat is one of the most innovative in-house designs a company could come up with. A series of plywood slats cut at a slight angle give the seat a graceful curve when compressed, and alternating recesses at the edges keep fingers from getting caught. A sheet of spring steel, so thin it almost vanishes, works with the plywood to support up to 600 lbs. If overloaded, it bends and stretches instead of snapping, making it far safer than a folding chair.

A true testament to skilled craftsmanship, the JumpSeat was fabricated entirely at a local finish carpentry shop in Portland, suggesting that the design could be licensed for local fabrication elsewhere, eliminating shipment. If you fancy this, we can hope that ZIBA goes around to sell these!

[Ziba]

Topics: Furniture Tags: Human-Spinal-Cord, JumpSeat, Seat on August 8, 2012