When we first kicked off the project with Arper, the goal was to create a plastic chair that would accommodate a wide range of contexts, from workplace to hospitality and lifestyle scenarios. Because of the sheer scale of Gensler, we have access to so many different design perspectives and voices, which we were able to leverage during the initial research phase of the project. We embarked on our research by interviewing design directors from 15 different practice areas across our firm about both their needs as well as their client’s needs around the idea of the plastic chair. The feedback that we got back from the designers reflected a kind of ambivalence about plastic chairs. They come in a set number of colors, a set number of finishes and they could limit the creativity designers have when crafting an experience for their clients. There was a strong consensus amongst the participants that a plastic chair lacked both a sense of craftsmanship and humanistic qualities. In response, we realized we needed to create a chair that offered interior designers a degree of authorship and a sense of the human touch. With this in mind, we pivoted from the original design brief and cocreated a direction that focused upon accommodating customization.