New Biological Benchmark for Seating Comfort
SCHÄFER-OESTERLE in Focus with C2C at ‘heimtextil’ Fair / Casual Elegance built of Bio-leather, Bamboo, and Bark Cloth.
Würzburg / Aspach / Herrenberg (k-w). The creative team at SCHÄFER OESTERLE has re-defined seating comfort in the automobile. Their new “flexi seat” lets the user decide whether to settle into the formed seat as is, or to open out the side flaps and create more sitting space. This practical invention, built of bamboo and biologically tanned leather, is on display at the ‘heimtextil’ fair in Frankfurt from January 12 – 15, 2011.
Right on time for the 125th birthday of the automobile, the new seat was created by Claudia Khalil from Herrenberg, a designer who has already dazzled the market with numerous innovative conceptions. Among them is the nios 2010, the world’s lightest automotive interior, which she developed for STRÄHLE + HESS.
The C2C seat features a special mechanism for adjustment and has a very stylish look. Automotive interior design that is also ecologically sound is a matter of course for the team at SCHÄFER-OESTERLE. Natural materials and the newest technology make the C2C seat variable for increased comfort, but also for convenience: XXL drivers have more space at their disposal, and getting in and out of the seat is easier – for example for drivers with a physical handicap.
To build the seat, SCHÄFER-OESTERLE has combined high-quality leather with circular-knit bamboo. The leather, a natural product in itself, is tanned using plant substances only, which results in a fine, sandy-looking surface. Cream-colored bamboo is used to form the sides of the seat, and the visible stitching, reminiscent of a baseball glove, lends a distinctive flair to the seat and its elegantly simple aesthetic.
The new C2C seat is produced according to the ‘cradle to cradle’ principle by the leading maker of exclusive automotive interiors for premium models. In the work processes at Würzburg and Aspach, a consistent effort is made to adhere to the theses for production cycles proposed by the German chemist Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart and the US-American architect William McDonough. Materials from products that are optimized for biological cycles serve as biological nutrients. They can be released into the environment with no negative effect. Technical nutrients such as metals and polymers are handled in closed-circuit processes. As chief designer, Claudia Khalil has been committed to the C2C principle for many years, together with the textile trendsetter STRÄHLE + HESS in Althengstett led by CEO Kirsten Schönharting.
As a result, the new functional seat is on view in Hall 5 of the Frankfurt trade fair at the booth of BARK CLOTH as a mutual project of SCHÄFER-OESTERLE and STRÄHLE + HESS. BARK CLOTH is a German-Ugandan family enterprise, a pioneer in the systematic production of bark cloth – for example, to be used in the backrests of automobile seats, as realized here in the new C2C comfort seat.