Gene Chair by Taku Kumazawa
Davis Furniture is proud to unveil the Gene Chair, a groundbreaking addition to its offering for the US commercial furniture market. Designed by Taku Kumazawa, one of Japan’s foremost eco-designers, and licensed from axona AICHI, this sustainable high-density stacking chair solution brings modern sophistication and environmental consciousness to the forefront of commercial furniture design.
A testament to Davis Furniture’s commitment to offering innovative, environmentally conscious and high-quality designs, the Gene Chair places sustainability at its core. Crafted with care, the internal resin components of each piece are made from 100% recycled polypropylene pre-consumer waste by-products. Furthermore, all the chair’s components are fully recyclable, and its straightforward construction allows for easy disassembly, facilitating the recycling of each material type, thus ensuring a significant reduction of discarded waste at the end of the product’s life.
In addition to its eco-friendly attributes, the Gene Chair prioritizes comfort and design versatility. Its flexible seat features an inner recycled polypropylene core with expanding perforated slits providing a flexible user-focused, comfortable seating experience which is highly unique for this type of high-density stacking product. Furthermore, Gene’s economical price point positions the chair as a perfect solution within a wide range of projects where design, sustainability and budget are all important considerations.
“Form and functionality are always considered together, along with price; ESD (Education for Sustainability Development) is always there, always, although it doesn’t drive the actual design itself.” – Taku Kumazawa
Featuring an upholstered seat and back, the waterfall design on Gene’s upholstered seat’s front edge enhances the user’s experience by providing additional comfort at that pressure point, while the back options, including fully upholstered and upholstered front with plastic shell back, cater to diverse aesthetic preferences. The chair offers options for non-ganging and ganging glides for seamless integration into various applications. The ganging glides can discreetly connect multiple chairs for large assembly interiors; meanwhile, the non-ganging glides allow the chair to be used within café, meeting and even guest seating applications.
The Gene Chair’s structural integrity is ensured by a 1/2″ high-tension hollow tubular steel frame, available in chrome plated or one of Davis’ 35+ standard powder coat colors. This chair’s lightweight, sturdy construction and slim profile allow for high-density stacking. Gene can be stacked up to 40 units high when using the dolly or up to 15 units high on the floor without the dolly, providing an efficient use of space and storage.
Taku Kumazawa’s vision for sustainable design shines through in the Gene Chair. Reflecting on his journey, Kumazawa states, “It is okay to design a good chair, but what we don’t need is another bad chair – bad form, bad design. I never lose hope because I keep making these good products with recycled materials, and hopefully, my influence will filter down.”
Born in Japan, Taku Kumazawa was encouraged by his father, an industrial designer, to explore creativity and design since he was a boy. Having later studied industrial product design at the Nagoya University of Arts, Taku began to merge his passion for design with an interest in sustainability and product life cycles. In 1994, he joined axona AICHI, where he continued researching and developing his passion for ecological design thinking. Since 2011, Taku has led the product development of axona AICHI, allowing him to work through design concepts that combine functional beauty with a minimalist, clean, environmentally-conscious design. Taku’s work has been recognized with over 50 prestigious honors in Europe and the US, including the red dot, IF, German Design Award Design and Best of NeoCon awards.
Founded in 1944, Davis Furniture is a leading voice in the contract furniture industry focused on placing Design at the center of every initiative while looking to the future of the workplace. Davis offers cutting-edge, innovative and aesthetically pleasing products designed and manufactured to benefit the functionality of the user and the interior. This fourth-generation, family-operated company continues to maintain the highest corporate integrity, a devoted loyalty to its customers and a never-ending dedication to design.
