New Seating Collection is Inspired by Home, Engineered for the Workday
Coalesse is excited to introduce Marien152, a new global seating collection designed in collaboration with the Coalesse Design Group and internationally renowned designer Arik Levy. As the modern workforce continues to seek comfortable and inspiring spaces, companies are increasingly developing offices with residential sensibilities in mind. Marien152 is a richly tailored seating experience that’s inspired by the home and designed for the work day. This new seating collection achieves a unique blend of casual elegance and unexpected support with an innovative back cushion carefully engineered to enhance comfort and stability. Easy personalization is built into the collection through a wide range of color, form and materiality choices, further emphasizing Marien152’s ties to the personal environments that set us most at ease.
The first introductions from the Marien152 seating collection include a guest chair and conference chair, anchoring several applications through the workday. From meeting rooms and social cafes, to optimized work-from-home environments, the collection provides comfort for work modes including social connection and creative collaboration. Its distinguishing factor is the cleverly designed back cushion, which gives the appearance of a soft, loose pillow. This trick of engineering at the heart of the design creates subtle, built-in flex, allowing the chair to support the user as they move and shift postures.
“Every time I’ve bought a chair, there’s always an additive to it – a little cushion or something placed on top adapting to the person using it that makes it a little bit more comfortable,” says designer Arik Levy. “In the working environment, this doesn’t quite make sense and a seat should be complete without anything added to it. So, I thought of how we can design a product that fits with so many different people and Marien152 is the result.”
An artist, technician, photographer, designer, and video artist, Arik Levy’s skills are multi-disciplinary, and his works are shown and installed worldwide. Best known for his sculptures–such as his signature Rock pieces–installations and limited editions, Levy has designed everything from jewelry to office systems out of his Paris-based studio, including the Pattern Collection of outdoor furniture for longstanding Coalesse partner EMU. Now, in his first collaboration with the Coalesse Design Group, he brings the idea that “the world is about people, not objects” to center stage with Marien152, designed for how people live and work today.
Constructed with superior craftsmanship and attention to detail, the seating collection invites personalization through finishes and upholstery choices. Marien152’s unique pillow feature also allows for matching or contrasting, two-tone upholstery, evoking the character of a beautiful chair at home. Available in a wide range of textiles, including Customer’s Own Material, Marien152 guest chairs are available with a solid oak base in a variety of stains, or a steel base in various paints or trivalent chrome finish. The conference chair is also available in various paints or a polished aluminum base and in four- or five-star configuration with or without casters.
Sustainability, as with all Coalesse products, is a criterion throughout the rigorous development process – from the selection of materials and production processes to the achievement of third-party certifications. And as part of Steelcase’s commitment to sustainability, Marien152 is produced in one of their carbon neutral facilities.
“Marien152 is one of the most thoughtful, empathetic designs I’ve ever collaborated on,” says John Hamilton, Director of Global Design for Coalesse. “It is led by the human element Arik Levy is known for and there is also a component of the design, and certainly the manufacturing, focused on environmental stewardship, making decisions on the production and materials to be the best possible for the environment.”
The result of careful attention paid to comfort, craft, and customization, Marien152 provides designers with the opportunity to create warm, welcoming spaces that are equal parts soft and supportive — just like the design itself.
For more information on Marien152, visit: www.coalesse.com/products/partners-collections/marien152
For more information on Coalesse and its products, visit www.coalesse.com.
Bringing New Life to Work™
About Arik Levy
Born in 1963 and hailing originally from Israel, Levy set up his studio in Paris in 1992. Heavily dyslexic, art became his medium of expression. Levy studied at the Art Center Europe in Switzerland where he gained a BS with distinction in 1991. After a stint in Japan where he observed Japanese minimalist culture and way of life, Levy took on new experiences such as manufacturing products and pieces for exhibitions. Levy then returned to Europe where he contributed his artistry to another field – contemporary dance and opera by way of set design and installations. Considering himself a “feeling” artist, he continues to contribute substantially to our interior and exterior milieu – his work including public sculpture, as well as complete environments that can be adapted for multi-use. “Life is a system of signs and symbols,” he says, “where nothing is quite as it seems.” Levy collaborated with Coalesse to design the Marien152 Seating Collection, and designed the EMU Pattern Collection of outdoor furniture.
About Coalesse
Led by intuition, backed by research, and driven by design – Coalesse creates thoughtful furnishings for the modern workplace. We help our customers to make great spaces that inspire great work by empowering social connection, creative collaboration, and focus and rejuvenation. For workplaces around the world, we design products that blend beauty and utility, comfort and vitality, and insights with inspiration to bring new life to work. As part of the Steelcase Inc. family of brands, we are globally accessible through a network of over 800 dealers.