Geiger Introduces Leeway Seating by Keiji Takeuchi
Geiger today introduced Leeway Seating, designed by Keiji Takeuchi, as the company’s most varied seating line. Leeway is Takeuchi’s first solo project with Geiger, though he played an important role in the development of Geiger’s Saiba line working as part of designer Naoto Fukasawa’s studio.
Allowing freedom of movement within Leeway’s minimal footprint was an important design consideration for Takeuchi. The range of motion allowed by most side chairs is defined by the space between armrest supports. With Leeway’s crescent-shaped, cantilevered backrest, which attaches only to the back legs, users are given a place to rest elbows while being free to spread out and move naturally as they sit to collaborate or socialize.
“My work was not done until people were happy to sit on them.” Takeuchi explained, “If people have any hesitation choosing my chair over something else, that means something is missing.”
The Leeway Seating family is available in bar- and counter-height stools as well as side chairs, to create a clean, uniform aesthetic throughout a space. Leeway Chairs come in all-wood, or with metal frames and a choice of wood or polyurethane seats and backrests. Chairs with metal frames can be stacked three-high. Leeway Stools have a metal frame with seats and backrests available in wood or polyurethane. All wood seats can be upholstered in a range of options from Geiger Textiles, Herman Miller, and Maharam.
Starting at $585, Leeway Seating will be orderable through Geiger and Herman Miller’s North American contract dealer network, as part of the Herman Miller Collection, beginning spring 2018.
About Geiger
At Geiger, why we do things and how we do them are inexorably one. Achieving quality through craft, celebrating materiality through elegant simplicity, improving the work environment for individuals through design that endures. Standards of craftsmanship and customer satisfaction set more than 50 years ago by founder John Geiger have driven the company’s growth and continue to inspire people today. Founded in Toronto and headquartered in Atlanta since 1979, Geiger International is a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly held Herman Miller, Inc.
About Keiji Takeuchi
Born in Fukuoka, Japan, Keiji Takeuchi moved to New Zealand at age 15. He studied product design at art school in Auckland, where he earned his bachelor’s degree and a scholarship to ENSCI-Les Ateliers, a prestigious graduate-level industrial design program in Paris. Takeuchi’s education continued in the Tokyo studio of designer Naoto Fukasawa. After seven years, Takeuchi’s interest in exploring furniture design took him to Italy, where he set up Fukasawa’s Milan office. While continuing to work with Fukasawa, Takeuchi established his own practice and began taking on design projects for a mix of global clients. Geiger Leeway Seating, part of the Herman Miller Collection, is his first major commission from a US manufacturer.
