Steelcase Inc. (Grand Rapids, Mich.), the world's largest manufacturer of office and commercial furniture, won five Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) from the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA).
The awards included a gold award for its Cachet chair and silver awards for its Pathways portfolio of products, RoomWizard graphical unit interface, Working Lunch project and Lucy chair.
Gold-winning Cachet was described as “a comfortable, lightweight seating option for shared areas and mobile workers combining simple design with advanced technology. Its balanced action rocking (BAR) system allows individuals to gently recline while the seat flexes, achieving a comfort level not found in most meeting and stackable chairs. BAR relies on physics to let any individual, regardless of posture, height or weight, find the proper balance by automatically adjusting to the individual sitting in the chair. Designed by Peter Jon Pearce, the Cachet chair is 99 percent recyclable.”
The Lucy chair was designed and manufactured by Vecta, a Steelcase Design Partnership company. The Room Wizard and WorkingLunch products were designed by IDEO, a Steelcase subsidiary that focuses on design and manufacture for specialty markets.
The IDEAs, co-sponsored annually by IDSA and Business Week magazine, recognize excellence in design.