During my internship at Perkins&Will in Washington, D.C., I participated in their annual firmwide intern design competition. We had eight hours to research, design, and document our submission based on the prompt we received that morning. This year, the prompt was to design a chair that reflected the firm’s values.
I approached this design exercise with a very utilitarian and humanitarian drive. I wanted to design a chair that solves a problem, and in the process, contributes to the greater goal of creating a more accessible, inclusive, and beautiful environment.
The problems I sought to help alleviate were ones that many wheelchairs users encounter on a daily basis. For some, the process of standing up or lying down can be a struggle. Often times, they are at the mercy of someone nearby to help lift them up in order to stand. Or when a user wants to lay down, it can be even more cumbersome to have to transfer from the chair to a flat surface like a bed. My solution was to design a chair that can allow someone to achieve any one of these positions with complete ease and independence. This is accompanied by a digital control panel and smart digital assistant built right into the right armrest.
Out of over 50 submissions, Easy Seat won one of the five honorable mention awards.
