Created for comfort and durability, NXT MOV is the latest concept from Artcobell, born from a collaboration between design and engineering. The collection of furniture for education began with seating designed by Q Design in conjunction with Artcobell engineers and now includes coordinated mobile desking options. NXT MOV is a direct response to studies that show how activity-permissive learning spaces help prevent student fatigue and promote engagement. “There isn’t anything like this in the market,” said Vice President of Operations Kevin Smith about the NXT MOV chair. “We tried to find a way of introducing something to the school furniture market it had never seen before. Giving the children a little bit of movement, a little bit of flexibility to be themselves while they’re in the learning environment—this chair does that.” Five chairs, four desks, and four tables comprise the collection, offering selections for different types of educational spaces and learning styles: four-leg chairs, swivel designs, two stools, mobile desks, and tables that facilitate group work. Because students spend most of their school day sitting in classroom furniture, Artcobell invited grade-school children and young adults at different age levels to try the NXT MOV chairs. “One thing I noticed is the seat moves with me so it adapts to me rather than me adapting to it,” noted one student. “I feel more comfortable and I don’t feel like I’d be a distraction to the class while moving around,” another explained. Rick Joutras and Tim Buchenberger from Q Design, the team that developed NXT MOV seating, created the seating options with exceptional flexibility in mind. “Being able to re-orient yourself within the seat was an important part of the design,” Joutras said. “You’re able to sit sideways, forward, and backward. We worked hard to create relief points and cutaways to allow the individual to sit 360-degrees, all the way around the chair, as well as allowing the seat to move 360-degrees underneath the person. It’s very adaptable and very comfortable.”
Buchenberger added, “We looked at it from not just an engineering standpoint but how can we make NXT MOV aesthetically pleasing as well. There’s a marriage here between engineering and strength we need in the chair but we also put our design eye on it, making sure that it looks very well-tailored.”