The National CollegeDesigning for Life
Norwegian Design: The Work of Furniture Designer Peter Opsvik
Neil Ryan
Fig. 1: Peter Opsvik, 2000.
Courtesy Opsvik.
Peter Opsvik was born in 1939, on the west coast of Norway. He studied design at the Bergen College of applied art (1959-63) and at the State College of Applied Art, Oslo (1963-64). Afterwards, he worked as an industrial designer at Tandberg Radio Factory, Oslo (1965-70). In 1967 he won a scholarship to spend time at a London design studio, and in 1969 to attendVolkwangschule Für Gestaltung in Essen, Germany. He has been a freelance furniture designer since 1970.
In his 36 years as a professional designer, Opsvik's main focus has been to observe the human form and its interaction with the spaces around it. Opsvik does not see what he does simply as designing chairs, but rather as problem solving for modern man - in his case relating to sitting. He talks a great deal about the origins of the human form, explains that man is engineered to move constantly - a nomad. Opsvik's favourite phrase is 'the next sitting position is the best one' (interview with the author), and here lies the crux of his principles of design.
He owns a medium-sized consultancy firm, Peter Opsvik AS, situated in the heart of Oslo, which he runs with the help of seven colleagues. His design office contains a spacious public room, with several offices leading off it. In this communal space are displayed Opsvik's favourite works, as well as some projects on which he is currently working. The room also contains a grand piano and double bass, a clue to the other love of Peter Opsvik's life, Jazz. When one talks to the man, one can see how these two sides of his life help to inspire each other. Although he takes both seriously, what emerges from the fusion, is an environment to work and play in. This room is the focal point of much of the work carried out when arriving at a solution to a chair design; it is a place for discussion testing, argument, and refinement.
It is only in the last 20 years that people have been asked to sit in front of a computer screen for hours on end, the only movement necessary being constant movements of the wrist. Opsvik makes the point that the majority of back related injuries today are from sitting in static positions for long periods of time. Opsvik has written many articles on the history of sitting, its relationship with the evolution of the human body and the need for the body to be in constant motion.
It is a well established fact in ergonomics that it is unhealthy to sit in a static position for too long, because the body's muscles were designed to be dynamic, but in the late 1970s, when Opsvik was first designing his balans series of chairs, this was not the case. In this fact lies one of the reasons why his designs became so successful. The idea of the human as a body constantly in motion is what has captivated Opsvik. He hopes to solve this basic biomechanical urge in modern society with his chairs.
Functionality is what he considers gives the product most of its value and status,
'when the planet is overwhelmed by products and users for an endless number of articles, it can appear a paradox to develop new products. Nevertheless, I am convinced that products will enjoy a longer existence where devotion, farsightedness and thoughtfulness contribute to their development, than those products governed by fashion and trends' (Opsvik, 1996, p. 7).
Opsvik prefers to inhabit the two outer extremities of furniture design. On the one hand, he likes to design chairs where the visual form produces an emotional response - this is chair design as pure sculpture - and on the other hand, his chairs are designed for practical purposes, for use over long periods. The reason why Opsvik does not stray in between these two fields is because he believes there is too much good work being done already, he believes he can best influence people from these two extremities.
Fig. 2: ( from top to bottom) 'Sitti', 1993. balans® 'Variable', 1979. balans©, 'Thatsit', 1991. 'Tripp Trapp', 1972. Courtesy Peter Opsvik.
Some of Opsvik's work is carried out with a specific purpose in mind. In his studio he has an example of the Garden range, which looks more like a tree than a seat. It is created with the intention of sending a signal to anyone who looks at it: the idea behind the chair is not to produce a practical seat or even a piece of sculpture, but to express the designer's opinions on the rules and etiquette of sitting. This is to provoke the users' minds. Speaking about Garden, he says, 'we should be more concerned about our body signal and less concerned with convention' (Opsvik, 1996, p. 8). Any piece of art, sculpture, architecture, or industrial design, will always reflect the way in which its creator perceives the world. In the case of the balans chair, one can see through Peter Opsvik's eyes what was wrong was not the traditional chair itself, but with the accepted notion that this was all that sitting had to offer. The balans series of chairs has a uniquely patented design for sitting, which is based on extensive research in the field of physiology and ergonomics. The results of this research, carried out by various scientist and designers in the early seventies, have led to a new seating position around which Opsvik has designed his chairs.
While other designers were struggling to find a perfect sitting position, all solutions ended with the same problem: they were uncomfortable after a certain period of time. The answer to the problem was not one position, but as many of them as possible. Therefore, he used a combination of features in the chair, which allowed the user to take up a number of positions. This improved the posture of the back and the angle between hip and legs etc. Knee supports and rockers, instead of static legs, are the chair's means of support to encourage the users to vary their position as often as possible. The chair was developed for three to four different sitting positions to avoid damage to the lower back. It was one of the designer's central concerns that the user would not confuse one possible posture as being the only one which he or she must assume at all times.
One of Opsvik's most important theories, that concerning movement, has been under exploited. This Opsvik recognised himself as being a flaw in the original design. That is why a backrest was added to later models. It has a number of benefits, firstly it simplifies adopting the various postures, which were not apparent in the first chair. The backrest is an easily identifiable form, and thus it signals greater movement and variations of sitting postures than were apparent in the Variable.
There maybe different reasons why the use of a formal language that expressed a more flexible chair was not considered in more detail. Firstly, at the time this chair was being developed, Opsvik was working more or less as an individual and had the added factor of limitation of time, 'when we started in the 70's, we were so full of hundreds of ideas that we did not take the time to polish the designs. I have now passed 60, and I can take more time to work with aesthetics and detailing' (Röhsska Mussets, 2000, p. 17); secondly, the need to explore all ideas, which were being spawned from this new field of chair design, meant that Opsvik could not afford to ponder on the more theoretical arguments of human perceptions of what a seat is. Thirdly in a country with a small furniture industry such as Norway in the late seventies, manufacturing concerns where a major part of the design solution. This also meant that it was easier for a designer and manufacturer to follow the established rule in design that form follows function.
Looking at the development of this range is some explanation in itself of his statement 'movement and variation, the next position is the best' (Opsvik, 1996, p. 4). The designer has been freed to express himself through this motto, while keeping in mind the various restraints connected with designing a piece of furniture. He has made it possible to explore an area of design, which demands energy, constant exploration and investigation.
The chair that helped to launch Opsvik's career was the Tripp Trapp chair designed in 1972. The Story of the Tripp Trapp children's chair begins with Opsvik's two-year-old son who had out grown his high chair and was sitting at the table using a normal adult-sized chair. This, of course, proved too big for the child. Opsvik naturally wished the child could continue to participate in the gathering, so he looked for a chair that the boy could use as his own. He was upset not to find any: 'I was upset for about ten minutes, but I was only upset for ten minutes, I am a designer after all' (Röhsska Museets, 2000, p. 16). To date, around three million Tripp Trapps have been sold worldwide and it holds a 90% share of the market in Norway. In Norway especially, it is seen as more than just a chair. As so many people have grown up with it, its presence is accepted just as easily as a door or window in any home, it is still providing income to fund research into other projects through the royalties paid to Opsvik's firm.
There are three key elements of Opsvik's work demonstrated typically in this process. Firstly, Opsvik works through observation; this is probably the most important tool, as he always works by seeing how he and others would interact with his work. '[...] if we see clothes as our second skin, the chair as our third and the buildings our fourth, I believe that seating furniture should serve as a link between the soft clothes and the static building' (Röhsska Museets, 2000, p. 27). Secondly Opsvik is a practical man; his concern for aesthetic is outweighed by a concern for function. This is perhaps a reflection of his culture, but it is also tempered by a more wholesome approach to design, which shows a greater concern for human comfort than any codes set down by civilised culture. It is this concern for functionality which made the chair so successful, especially considering the market he was selling to, which was inevitably young couples with children, practicality and price are extremely important. This is an aspect of which Opsvik is very aware.
Opsvik's work remains just outside the flow of trends and styles. He is affected by considerations on a bigger scale: concern for the environment and an interest in and concern for human welfare are more identifiable signposts in his designs - a noble source of inspiration. Designing a chair in this way takes conviction and belief in the theory behind it. The chair is a representation of these theories, and therefore it cannot be compared aesthetically to a chair that does not have the same set of values and therefore cannot be placed in the same bracket of style or trend. Opsvik's enthusiasm for the work, which he has spent his professional life developing, is still as central now as it was when he began. Observing the human form and its interaction with the environment, is still a key element in how he works. Peter Opsvik's singular views on sitting and its evolution in correlation with the evolution of mankind form the cornerstone of his philosophy in furniture design. Movement and variation are principles, which he has developed. Others in the industry have followed him in this regard. Opsvik's philosophy has provided the basis for the work he has done over the past 36 years in ergonomic chair design. There is no doubt that Peter Opsvik has played a significant role in the development of the office chair, and that his work continues to have a profound influence on the Norwegian furniture industry.
Bibliography
WEST NORWAY Museum of Applied Art (ed.), Peter Opsvik: Open Doors, Bergen, 1996.
RÖHSSKA Museets Göteburg (ed.), Torsten og Wanja Söderburgs Pris: Peter Opsvik, Katalog Nr. 7, Gothenburg 2000.
INTERVIEW with Opsvik, Winter 2000.
