Task chairs have been on my mind a lot lately. This isn’t just because my mid 30s have brought (along with a preponderance of worldly wisdom, of course) a host of orthopedic/ergonomic concerns ranging from sprained wrists to a hyper-contracted trapezius muscle, but also because “office malaise,” as I’ll call it, has become a legitimate societal concern. And when I say “malaise,” I don’t just mean the kind of cubicle-induced, stapler-hoarding pathology featured in the classic film Office Space, but the exponentially increasing list of ailments caused by spending 40 to 50 hours in front of a computer screen.

Marini Task Chair. Designed by Conrad Marini for Teknion.

So what can the Marini Task Chair by Conrad Marini for Teknion offer that competitors Leopard, Generation, and Spina haven’t already? Well, for one, there’s designer Marini’s impressive pedigree in contract seating development for manufacturers from Tacoma to Timbuktu; for another, there’s molded comfort foam for weight distribution, auto-adapt backrest contour for personalized lumbar support, different central cylinder sizes for precise seat-height adjustment, and four “free recline” settings for appropriate support in multi-task environments. Further, the chair is a handsome affair—as task chairs go—with full inner and outer upholstery in Teknion’s impressive range of fabrics which includes styles in textured patterns and smooth solids, multiple choices in each of four “color families” (from reds, to yellows, to blue-greens, to neutrals), and new fabrics like the anti-bacterial, anti-microbial “Ultra Durable” (perfect for high-use areas) and “Smart Leather,” offering classical textural appeal without the fabric’s traditional pitfalls.

Last, but not least, Marini’s metal components come in polished aluminum or ebony—a final appealing aesthetic option for a task chair with classical style and contemporary functionality. As Teknion puts it, “luxurious yet subtle in style, Marini is a high-performance executive task chair well suited for offices and boardrooms.

Have a good sit in Teknion’s Marini at #IIDEX09 in Toronto, September 23-26.