The chair is one of the most complex yet prevalent design elements within a human’s everyday life. Especially, when we consider the human factors from a gender-based perspective. Jennifer Kaufmann Buhler discusses this important topic within design because there is historical analytic data that has been created and established that has been sustained to the present day throughout the 21st century. In other words, there have been notions of discrimination and marginalization connected directly to different types of design elements that are utilized in day-to-day work life, particularly in office spaces. Due to gender-based approaches being directly correlated into the design of the chair there has been a huge discrepancy between the male and female. For instance, the scale, size, aesthetic, and accents of both “types” of chairs have revealed a clear sense of hierarchy and assumption of what sort of role each gender would hold within an office space. Between these two types of chairs there has been proposed solutions of dissecting the two presumed measures of the gendered-based approach to create a chair that obtains a solution through balanced measurements allowing for a modular and flexible interior element. More importantly, the implementation of new design technology that allows the human to have the chair fit their needs based on comfort and support. Overall, we as humans have continuously suffered from the chair because of past design approaches that carried hierarchy, marginalization, and assumptions because of the type of world we lived and live in based upon our social and political life. But now within the design field there is a high sense to introduce new technologies that allow humans to recreate interior design elements through modular and flexible ergonomics.  

Ergonomics and anthropometrics are two nuances within design that have resulted in a conflicted interest. Because both types of research topics are critical towards the creation of day-to-day design elements and their utilization. As an aspiring designer I’ve often found myself contemplating what types of human factors I should consider when creating a product. Everyone is different but there are also similarities within individuals based on gender and race. However, instead of limiting oneself to specific human factors there must be an awareness of how to establish measurements that can support the average human being but offers a very high sense of modularity that allows an individual to adjust and fixate the item to their specific needs. Or consider the activities connected to the product followed by making the product multifunctional to be sufficient and fulfill the needs based upon utilization. The 21st century is the perfect time to discover solutions through new technologies to create design elements that emphasize modularity and flexibility ensuring that one can leave their trace by being able to adjust a product for their personal needs. More importantly, being able to broaden the intended market of a product for all users to share and connect through mutual-based design approaches.  

 Furniture is an example of an interior element that can either confine or liberate space. In other words, furniture can be fixed or flexible products that either tell a dweller what to do or give the dweller the “idea of choice” on what to do. As mentioned above, furniture has been placed within our daily lives and consumer markets through implemented social hierarchies and implicit biases through different forms of human factors, specifically gender. So, I decided to seek a space that eliminates these social constructs through modular and flexible seating units that enhance accessibility and ownership. Along with enhancing collaborative and conversational dynamics due to the type of interior elements (seating units) available. The Knight Library is an example of different types of chairs from an ergonomically approach that become utilized for varied task and quantity of dwellers. There is a specific room located in the library that comes to mind when thinking about a space that becomes activated based upon the dweller’s preference through furniture. The IDEA space, which is acronym for innovate, design, educate, and aspire with this sort of title there must be modular furniture. IDEA is an exemplar of this sort of space by sustaining different types and sizes of seating units. Such as units that can be carried and rolled for individual tasks, collaborative projects, and moments of conversation. Overall, this space breaks past and present issues of furniture defining spaces based upon human factors and roles. But rather allowing for flexibility and modularity towards breaking the barrier to building bridges within all humans through the notions of seating. 

(Knight Library, IDEA Space Entry Door)

(IDEA Space, Interior Space & Furniture)