As we begin the new year and return to work, the office, in all of its current forms is top of mind. I’m hoping this is the year that I finally update my home office desk, and I’m always on the lookout for innovative new chairs to share with you, as I believe this is such an important element to get right. Based in Oslo, Flokk is the leading manufacturer of high-quality workplace furniture in Europe, with products sold in more than 80 countries worldwide. Created especially for the new working landscape and staying true to a long tradition of design collaborations, the new HÅG Tion chair is the product of an extraordinary four-way joint effort between the Flokk in-house design team, and a trio of revered design studios: Oslo’s Anderssen & Voll; Swiss designers BIG-GAME; and London-based Norwegians Hunting & Narud.
In the age of distributed working, today’s workforce operates from dedicated home workspaces, dynamic office environments and, in many cases, both. Helping to navigate different settings the HÅG Tion chair can sit effortlessly in any type of workplace, whether that’s a kitchen-table hotdesk, a dedicated workstation, or a traditional office situation.
This flexibility is thanks to a huge range of options for colour and material customisation, combined with a lightweight construction that makes the chair easy to manoeuvre between spaces. A single seat, for every setting.
“There is such a huge demand for a chair that fits in with your life, does not take up too much space and works just as well in your home office as in an actual office.”– Oscar Narud, Hunting & Narud
Following extensive research into modern workspaces and home-working behaviours, the international team developed a task-chair concept that was aesthetically and ergonomically refined, easily adaptable to suit any interior style, built for durability and longevity, and – thanks to its neat frame and small footprint – suited to even the most compact of home-working set-ups.
Each studio brought its own distinctive approach, perspective and skillset to the project. BIG-GAME brought their central-European sensibility and a playful touch and were instrumental in incorporating movement and flexibility into the design. Renowned Scandinavian duo Andersen & Voll offered extensive practical expertise in furniture design and a deep understanding of form and refinement. Norwegian ex-pats Hunting & Narud have a reputation for strong narratives, crafted aesthetics, and an eye for colour and material fluency.
The influences of all three are immediately visible in the final product, combined with Flokk’s own creative vision to produce a unique chair that is also their most sustainable task chair to date. The use of colour-sorted post-consumer plastics marks a major breakthrough for the brand, allowing Flokk to broaden its plastic colour palette – previously limited to black – to include a range of different shades.
Made with energy-efficient processes using recycled and renewable materials wherever possible, versions featuring wood will be made using responsibly sourced timber, and easily removable upholstery options include a variety of sustainable fabrics, selected to meet EU Ecolabel criteria. Textiles available include both wool with finishes from Kvadrat, Gabriel, Camira and Norway’s heritage wool manufacturer Gudbrandsdalens Uldvarefabrik and post-consumer recycled polyester, chosen for their durability and longevity.
“HÅG Tion is a game-changer in its approach to material: not only is it designed to be long-lasting, easy to repair, made from recycled, recyclable and renewable resources, but the aesthetics of the materials is truly setting new standards in the office furniture industry.” – BIG-GAME
Through a combination of wood, plastic and aluminium components, the option of including armrests, and upholstery in a wide range of colours, styles and finishes, the HÅG Tion provides freedom to create designs that suit personal style or any interior environment.
“HÅG Tion is a chair that should not feel too corporate, too sterile or too bland. So often colours from industrial products are taken from a RAL chart without a narrative. For HÅG Tion’s palette, we thought it was important to draw inspiration from domestic settings and homes. To make sure the chair could have these qualities, we have researched and studied interior colour palettes from English heritage until modern times. The result is a range of colours with a nod to domestic settings that hopefully stand the test of time.” – Amy Hunting, Hunting & Narud
As well as providing the freedom to choose colour combinations that improve focus and mood, the HÅG Tion features the trademark HÅG inBalance® movement mechanism, an ergonomic feature providing comfort while encouraging movement and variations in posture, allowing the chair to move with the user's body, helping them to stay active and mobile without compromising productivity.
As is typical of Flokk products, HÅG Tion has been designed without glue, allowing for easy disassembly, and all parts can be repaired or replaced, maximising the chair’s lifespan. A 10-year guarantee stands testament to the design’s durability, and to Flokk’s commitment to producing high-quality furniture that is built to last.
"With the introduction of colour-sorted post-consumer plastics, HÅG Tion is breaking barriers for Flokk by setting the standard for how to transfer more trash and resources astray into beautiful high-quality products. By also featuring the highest share of recycled materials in the Flokk portfolio to date, HÅG Tion is a true manifestation of Flokk's ongoing efforts to reach several of our 2030 Sustainability Goals – such as using 1,500 tonnes of recycled plastics in our products by 2025 and having 60% recycled materials on average in our entire portfolio by 2030."– Atle Thiis-Messel, Vice President, Sustainability at Flokk
HÅG Tion will be on show at Flokk’s pop-up exhibition during Stockholm Design Week on 7–13 February 2022. Visit Flokk to see the full range of colours and finishes available, and customise your own.
Images 1-4,6: Styling: Kråkvik/D’Orazio / Photography: Anders Schonnemann / Production: The Lab Cph
Imaages 5,7: Styling: Kråkvik/D’Orazio / Photography: Einar Aslaksen / Production: Pudder Agency