#HTE

Pommel Horse Seating to Encourage Office Chatting, Yea or Nay?

The last time we saw equestrian-inspired seating, it was chiropractor David James France’s Workhorse Saddle Chair for posture improvement. Now we’re seeing another horse-based seat design, the Sitzbock Pommel Horse, designed for a different reason: Intra-office communication. “Nowadays, a big challenge businesses face,” writes German furniture manufacturer Willkahn, “is to find ways of nurturing a team spirit and animating staff to stop and chat, brainstorm and collaborate.” They reckon the Sitzbock would take care of that:

Just like a real horse, people can sit astride or ride “side saddle” or use it to lean on. At just 4.8 kg in weight, they’re easy to place in groups for spontaneous meet-ups, stack cross-wise or pick up and put on patios for a while. There’s also an optional anthracite, light mottled, graphite or mango-coloured felt “saddle blanket”. Grouped in small herds, the Sitzbock pommel horse seats conjure up an atmosphere that’s just as playful as it is ergonomic and invites interaction.

I can’t deny that when I worked in an office, there were times when someone said something interesting enough for me to want to linger for a few moments, but not sit; in a corporate environment, committing myself to a chair screams “let’s drag this out” and changes the dynamic of informal conversation. If I had one of these to merely lean on, I might’ve stuck around for more conversations.

What say you? Am I crazy for thinking this unusual piece of seating might actually serve a very useful function?