Ever since the debut of Trea some two months back at Salone, Humanscale has tantalized A&D aficionados with rumors of the wide-spread availability of this impressive Guest Chair. Don’t blame Trea, however, for what appears to be a protracted process; rather, consider Humanscale’s determination to make the proverbial splash at NeoCon 2011. The company has said Trea will be available mid-year. Let’s all hope that means smack dab in the month of June, once the dust has settled after the largest gathering of contract furniture manufacturers this side of anywhere…

Trea Guest Chair. Designed by Todd Bracher. Manufactured by Humanscale.

Trea Offers Simple Sustainability and Enviable Ergonomics

Designer Todd Bracher says Trea was inspired from a simple credo: “as in natural selection, the design should express only what is necessary and essential.” This manifests as a minimalist approach to a highly-functional chair.

Trea displays an exquisite balance between stylish aesthetics and enhanced performance, a synthesis that pivots—if you’ll pardon the pun—about the solid state recline mechanism at the junction between seat and back. This central joint mimics the natural function of the hips as the pelvis pivots back from the legs while sitting. The result is a better distribution of natural forces and a more stable position for the sitter’s spine.

Couple that with Trea’s subtly-cupped seat and back, then throw in Humanscale’s commitment to sustainability (Trea contains a significant quantity of post-consumer plastic), and you have a smart, slim, lightweight, and sensible manifestation of contemporary elegance.

About the Manufacturer: How does the world love Humanscale? Let me count the ways—93 design awards at the most recent reckoning, including such enduring accolades as featured displays at MOMA and the Cooper-Hewitt. The company’s credo is “achieving more with less.” One need only take a quick gander at standouts like the FM 500 Rocking Foot Rest, the Freedom Task Chair, and the Horizon Task Light to confirm that this is indeed the case—that Humanscale remains true to their objective of devising “innovative solutions for functional simplicity and ultimate ease of use.”