claé
Claé was built on a simple reality: nearly 70% of our waking hours are spent sitting. Back pain isn’t caused by sitting, but by poor load management. When chairs lock the body statically, muscles overwork, circulation slows, and discs compress. Claé pairs support with movement, responding to micro-motions to keep muscles active, nourish discs, and maintain whole-body health during real world seating.
How Research Changed the Question
The Flawed Assumption
Conventional ergonomics treats posture as a position to be achieved and held. Our research showed this thinking is flawed. Posture is not static, it is always better to be dynamic with movements driven by the body’s need to share load and avoid fatigue.
How the Body Actually Works
While developing Claé’s we focused on real world work conditions - long hours of uninterrupted sitting, high cognitive demand, and minimal conscious movement. We studied pressure buildup, muscle fatigue, restricted circulation, and how spinal discs respond to sustained compression without regular decompression.
What Traditional Chairs Get Wrong
A consistent pattern emerged throughout our research, Chairs designed to “hold posture” often made the body work harder. Certain muscles stayed constantly active, pressure collapsed into a few contact points, and the spine lost its ability to self-adjust. The chair stayed static. The body paid the price.
A Shift in Thinking
The issue wasn’t posture, it was load concentration. This reframed our design philosophy entirely fromcorrecting the body to figuring out how could a chair alignwith it? How could it distribute force, support movement, and protect the body overprolonged sitting hours?
The Foundation of Claé
Our engineering pivoted from posture correction to dynamic load management, and this shift became the foundation of Claé. Every system that followed was engineered to share force, preserve movement, and quietly protect the body through long, demanding workdays.
biomimicry as an engineering framework
Once load management became the goal, the question shifted from strength or softness to intelligent behaviour under stress. We dived deep in to the nature for the solution and learned how turtle shells, honeycombs, and spider webs protects their vital systems by distributing force across many cooperating elements while allowing movement. Claé applies this logic, absorbing pressure, redistributing load, and moving with the body.
Why Nature Solved This Problem Better Than anyone Ever Did
Nature’s Approach to Load
When our engineers researched on the natural load-bearing systems, one pattern repeats: resilience comes from distribution, not resistance. Honeycomb inspired us to chose hexagon as primary structure ensuring optimal structural stability . Turtle shells is dual layered to protect its vital organs while allowing movement. Spiderwebs absorb impact by dispersing stress across an entire network
The Principles That Endure
These systems share three traits. No single unit carries the full load. Movement is allowed without compromising integrity. Failure in one area doesn’t collapse the whole system.
Where Chairs Go Wrong
Traditional chair design violates all three. A single backrest manages all forces alone. Movement is restricted in the name of support. Pressure concentrates at a few contact points, making fatigue inevitable.
The Claé Shift
Claé rejected this model. By applying five biomimetic principles to seating architecture, the chair becomes a protective system, distributing load continuously, adapting to movement, and remaining resilient through years of use.
core backrest system
A single backrest cannot accommodate the diversity of human spines or the constant micro-movements of long workdays. Claé replaces it with a network of independent, expandable pads shaped using anthropometric data. Each pad responds individually while sharing load, delivering even pressure distribution, reduced muscle strain, improved heat dissipation, and consistent support as posture changes.
Engineering a Backrest That Behaves Like a System
The Problem with Rigid Support
Rigid backrests contact the body at only a few high-pressure points, typically the shoulder blades and mid-spine. As muscles fatigue, pressure concentrates further. Heat builds, circulation is restricted, and discomfort escalates over long work sessions.
A Distributed Backrest Architecture
Claé’s backrest changes this interaction fundamentally. Each pad acts as a small, responsive unit, adjusting independently under load. Instead of resisting pressure, the pads yield slightly, sharing force across the entire back. No single muscle group carries the full burden.
Designed for Movement
The separation between pads creates micro air gaps that allow heat and moisture to dissipate naturally. As posture shifts, forward, reclined, or rotated, the pads maintain contact without disengaging or creating pressure spikes.
A Protective System for the Spine
Together, the pad network behaves like a protective shell around the spine: adaptive, load-sharing, and quietly supportive through long, demanding work sessions.
adaptive spring architecture
Micro-movement is not a flaw in posture. It is a requirement for spinal health. Behind each backrest pad is a multi-directional composite spring that allows controlled flexibility across forward, lateral, and rotational movements. This architecture enables the backrest to follow posture changes in real time while maintaining continuous support. The spine stays aligned without being forced. Muscles remain engaged without being overworked.
Why Rigidity Fails the Spine
The Spine Moves in all Dimensions
The human spine doesn’t move in a single plane. It flexes forward and backward, shifts side to side, and rotates subtly throughout the day. Rigid support structures can’t accommodate this complexity without losing contact or creating resistance.
The Cost of Resisting Movement
When a backrest pushes against movement, muscles must compensate to maintain alignment. Over hours, this causes continuous low-level contraction, faster fatigue, and eventual pain.
An Architecture That Flexes with the Body
Claé’s adaptive spring architecture was engineered to solve this. Each composite spring flexes smoothly across multiple planes. As posture shifts, it absorbs and redistributes kinetic energy instead of reflecting it back into the body.
Support That Preserves Natural Motion
The result is a backrest that stays in responsive contact with the spine, maintaining alignment while allowing the small, natural adjustments that keep muscles and discs healthy over time.
cervical support
Neck pain is rarely caused by lack of support, but by poorly positioned support. Claé’s headrest is shaped around cervical anatomy to engage the occipital region, where alignment is most effectively guided. With height, depth, and angle adjustment, it adapts to different necks and postures, supporting alignment quietly without forcing the neck into a fixed position.
Why Cervical Support Requires Precision, Not Padding
Why the Cervical Spine Matters Most
The cervical spine is the most mobile and sensitive segment of the spine. Small misalignments here create disproportionate strain across the neck, shoulders, and upper back. Many headrests fail not due to cushioning, but because they support the wrong area or apply force in the wrong direction.
Where Effective Support Must Act
True cervical support must engage the occipital region, where the skull meets the spine. Supporting this zone influences head position without compressing the neck or pushing it forward. Achieving this requires precise geometry and positioning, not generic shapes.
Designed Around Human Variation
Claé’s headrest was engineered using variations in neck length, skull contour, and head width observed in the working population. Three-dimensional adjustability ensures alignment across upright focus, reclined work, and transitional postures.
Support That Makes a Difference
Crucially, the headrest adapts as posture changes rather than locking the neck into a single angle. This reduces cervical strain, limits forward head posture, and supports long hours of screen work without creating rigidity or dependency.
lumbar support
The lumbar spine varies widely between individuals, in both shape and movement. Fixed supports can’t accommodate real anatomy or dynamic posture. Claé’s lumbar system adjusts in height and depth to align with different lumbar curves while allowing micro-movement. It guides the lower back toward neutral alignment, responds as posture shifts, and reduces fatigue without immobilising the spine.
Why Fixed Lumbar Support Fails Over Time
Why Lumbar Fit Matters
The lumbar spine naturally curves inward, but the depth and position of this curve vary widely. Fixed lumbar supports often miss the curve or apply pressure in the wrong zone, leading to discomfort, muscle guarding, or compensatory posture.
The Cost of Blocking Movement
Even when positioned correctly, rigid lumbar supports suppress movement. The lower back depends on subtle adjustments to distribute load and avoid fatigue. When movement is restricted, muscles must work continuously to maintain posture.
Engineered for Alignment and Motion
Claé’s lumbar support solves both issues. Height adjustment aligns the support to the user’s lumbar zone, while depth adjustment controls support intensity. Cushioning and structural compliance allow micro-movement instead of resisting it.
Support Without Rigidity
The result is a lumbar system that maintains alignment without immobilising the spine, helping it stay active, balanced, and resilient through long workdays.
arm support
Arm position directly affects shoulder tension and neck load. Poor arm support quietly destabilises the entire upper body. Claé’s 5D armrests adjust in height, width, depth, angle, and rotation, allowing arms to remain supported across changing postures, desk heights, and work styles. This enables neutral arm alignment, keeping shoulders relaxed and preventing strain from travelling upward into the neck and upper back.
Why Armrests Are a Structural Component, Not an Accessory
Why Arm Support Is Critical
The arms carry a significant share of upper-body weight. When unsupported or misaligned, that load shifts to the shoulders, neck, and upper back, leading to elevated shoulders, forward slumping, and chronic cervical tension over time.
Where Conventional Armrests Fail
Many chairs treat armrests as secondary features, offering limited adjustment that works only in narrow setups. In real work conditions, varying desk heights, shifting keyboards, changing postures, these armrests quickly become ineffective.
A Structural Approach to Arm Support
Claé’s 5D armrests are chosen as a core part of the seating system. Height aligns with the desk. Width and depth adapt to shoulder span and sitting distance. Angle and rotation support natural forearm positions during typing, mousing, or reclining.
Reducing Upper-Body Strain
By maintaining neutral arm alignment, the armrests reduce continuous muscular compensation in the shoulders and neck, preserving comfort and stability through long periods of focused work.
dual-density seat
Sitting may appear effortless, but pressure through the pelvis, spine, and thighs is complex. Most chairs use a single foam block that treats all areas the same, causing discomfort over time. Claé’s dual-density seat separates support and cushioning, stabilising the sit bones while protecting the coccyx and thighs, redistributing load, preserving circulation, and maintaining comfort through long workdays.
Why One Foam Density Fails Over Time
How Seated Load Is Transferred
When seated, a large portion of upper-body weight passes through the sit bones and coccyx, structures that respond very differently to pressure. Uniform foam applies equal resistance everywhere, often overloading the sit bones while under-protecting the tailbone and thighs, leading to soreness, fatigue, and leg numbness over time.
The Problem with Single-Density Foam
Single-density foams tend to collapse under sustained load. Once compressed, they remain deformed, shifting support to the hard base below. This destabilises the pelvis and forces the spine to compensate, accelerating fatigue and discomfort.
Stabilising the Pelvis at the Core
Claé’s dual-density seat addresses this directly. A firm, high-density inner core beneath the sit bones stabilises the pelvis and prevents central sagging. By controlling how deeply the pelvis settles, it helps maintain more neutral spinal alignment during extended sitting.
Managing Pressure Where It Matters
Surrounding the core is a softer, foam layer that cushions the thighs without excessive compression. These spreads pressure evenly, reduces peak loads, supports circulation, and creates a targeted pressure-management system that remains supportive through long, demanding work sessions.
integrated leg rest
Many chairs leave the legs unsupported, increasing load on the lower back and restricting circulation. Claé’s integrated leg rest allows leg elevation without leaving the seat, redistributing weight away from the lumbar spine and supporting healthier blood flow. Designed to cradle the thighs and calves, it creates a stable lower-body foundation instead of leaving the legs to hang unsupported.
Why Leg Support Protects the Spine
The Cost of Unsupported Legs
When the legs are unsupported, their weight transfers upward into the pelvis and lower back. This increases compressive forces on the lumbar discs and requires extra muscular effort to maintain posture, leading to fatigue and discomfort over long periods.
Redistributing Load Through Elevation
Elevating the legs changes how load moves through the body. By supporting the thighs and calves, the leg rest shifts lower-body weight into the chair’s structure, reducing lumbar compression and helping the spine maintain a more neutral alignment with less effort.
Supporting Healthy Circulation
Leg elevation also improves circulation. Supporting the legs closer to heart level assists venous return, reducing pooling, swelling, and heaviness. By improving blood flow while lowering spinal load, the leg rest supports lower-body comfort and spinal health during extended work sessions.
multi-lock adjustment mechanism
Many chairs become ineffective because their adjustment systems are too complex to use. When setup feels cumbersome, settings are ignored and support is compromised. Claé’s headrest, lumbar support, and armrests use a smooth, multi-lock mechanism designed for effortless adjustment while seated. Fine-tuning feels intuitive, and once set, each mechanism locks securely—maintaining alignment without drift through long hours of use.
More about Multi-Lock Adjustment
Simplicity by Design
Overly complex adjustment systems discourage the fine-tuning required for proper support. Claé prioritised intuitive, single-motion controls that can be adjusted easily while seated, making personalisation effortless rather than optional.
One Action, Fewer Decisions
Instead of multiple user actions for independent locks, Claé uses a simple multi-lock system. Smooth, coordinated motions engage all adjustments together, reducing cognitive load while delivering precise, secure positioning.
Stability That Holds
Once set, the multi-lock maintains the backrest, headrest, and armrests exactly where they belong. Nothing drifts over time. Support remains consistent from the first hour through the longest workday.
active sitting
Active sitting is not constant movement. It is the ability to move naturally without losing support. Claé enables controlled micro-movement that keeps muscles engaged, intervertebral discs nourished, and circulation active, without requiring conscious posture management.
Why Movement Is the Spine’s Primary Nutrient Source
Why Movement Keeps Discs Healthy
Intervertebral discs have no direct blood supply. They depend on cycles of compression and decompression to exchange nutrients and remove waste. Static sitting slows this process, leaving discs depleted and vulnerable to degeneration.
Enabling Active Sitting
Active sitting preserves this natural cycle. Claé enables it through responsiveness across every system: an adaptive backrest that follows micro-movements, lumbar support that responds instead of constraining, a seat that allows subtle pelvic motion, armrests that adapt as the upper body shifts, and a leg rest that maintains lower-body alignment.
A Body That Stays Active Without Effort
Together, these systems allow continuous, unconscious repositioning. The body remains active without effort, muscles stay engaged without fatigue, and the spine stays nourished through long, demanding workdays.
upholstery selection
Surface materials were engineered with the same rigor as Claé’s mechanics. Fabrics were chosen for controlled stretch, durability, and long-term shape retention, so pressure distribution, cooling, and support remain consistent over years of use. Mantle delivers high-load performance where structure matters most, while Matrix adds visual warmth without sacrificing durability or stability.
Material Engineering in Detail
Why Fabric Choice Matters
Claé’s systems only perform as designed if the upholstery preserves their geometry. Fabrics that stretch unevenly, pill, or sag don’t just age poorly—they alter pressure distribution and compromise long-term support. Upholstery was therefore selected for measurable performance in abrasion, recovery, seam integrity, and colour stability.
Mantle — Controlled Stretch for High-Load Zones
Mantle is a 100% polyester performance textile engineered for areas that experience constant movement and pressure, including the seat and primary backrest zones.
Key Properties
- Composition: 100% PES
- Weight: 611 g/m²
- Width: 142 cm (138 cm usable)
Durability Under Continuous Motion
Mantle was tested to contract-grade standards to ensure it withstands years of active sitting.
- Martindale abrasion: >100,000 cycles
- Wyzenbeek abrasion: >100,000 double rubs
These values place Mantle in the highest tier of seating textiles for sustained use.
Surface Integrity and Shape Retention
- Pilling (Martindale & Brush): 4–5 rating
- Yarn slippage: Warp 109.9 lbf | Weft 110.6 lbf
High yarn stability keeps the fabric tight around expandable pads and the dual-density seat, preserving Claé’s engineered pressure-management patterns.
Colour Stability and Fire Safety
- Colour fastness: Light 5 | Rubbing (wet/dry) 4
- Fire performance: CAL 117/2013 compliant
Mantle maintains appearance in bright workspaces while meeting safety requirements.
What Mantle Means in Use
Controlled elasticity allows the fabric to move with foam and springs without sagging. After use, it recovers cleanly, helping Claé’s contours, cooling paths, and load distribution remain consistent over time.
Matrix — Warm Tactility with Work-Grade Performance
Matrix is a 100% polyester upholstery designed to deliver a softer, wool-like aesthetic while meeting the demands of daily professional use.
Key Properties
- Composition: 100% PES
- Weight: 464 g/m²
- Width: 145 cm (138 cm usable)
Durability and Surface Quality
- Martindale abrasion: 75,000 cycles
- Wyzenbeek abrasion: >100,000 double rubs
- Pilling: 4 rating
Matrix exceeds intensive-use thresholds while maintaining a refined surface.
Colour Stability and Safety
- Colour fastness: Light 5 | Rubbing (wet/dry) 3–4
- Fire performance: CAL 117/2013 compliant
It holds colour reliably under office lighting and regular cleaning.
What Matrix Means in Use
Matrix is used where tactile comfort and visual warmth matter most. It allows Claé to feel like carefully tailored furniture, without compromising the structural performance the chair relies on.