In Peter Opsvik's book Rethinking Sitting the reader will gain insight into Opsvik’s thinking on the subject of sitting and will become acquainted with the philosophy that informs his furniture designs. The book is richly illustrated in colour and black and white, and it is not intended to be read integrally from cover to cover. Rethinking Sitting is quite simply a beautiful reference work containing useful information for all who are interested, for professional, educational or personal reasons, in sitting solutions.

Rethinking Sitting published by Gaidaros Forlag AS, Oslo.

First Edition 2008, Reprinted 2017, 2022

For millions of years on earth the human race has led physically active lives. Throughout the most recent centuries, however, industrialization has fostered passivity and the growing predominance of the sitting posture for more and more people. In an increasing number of societies, chairs and furniture for sitting have become standard pieces of equipment in the workplace, institutions and private homes. These sitting devices were formed according to the established standard of the chair, based on the “accepted western manner of sitting”.

About this publication: In Peter Opsvik’s Rethinking Sitting, the issue is addressed as to whether this is the only, and functionally best, design for the human body. When the various authorities in ergonomics were all promoting their one and only “correct” sitting posture, his comment was that all of them were right. All of the recommended sitting postures were good, and he saw it as his task to design chairs that allowed as many different sitting postures as possible and to make it easy to move and change frequently between them. Via texts and examples drawn from a profuse production, the reader will gain insight into Opsvik’s thinking on the subject of sitting and will become acquainted with the philosophy that informs his furniture designs.

English: ISBN 978-82-8077-119-3
German: ISBN 978-82-8077-127-8

Rethinking Sitting published in Japanees by Gaia Books in 2009

著者ピーター・オプスヴィックによる座ることについての再考   ISBN978-4-88282-730-6 人類は、地球上で数百万年にわたって、からだを活発に動かして生活を送ってきました。しかし、ここ数世紀の間に、工業化によって多くの人々が活動的でなくなり、椅子に座る姿勢を取ることが増えてきました。現在ますます多くの社会で、椅子や座るための家具は、自宅、職場、学校、公共施設、等々の標準的な設備となっています。こうした座るための用具は、いわゆる「西洋式座法」に基づく、確立された椅子の常識に沿って作られました。　本書では、これが人間の体にとって唯一の、かつ機能的にベストのデザインであるかどうか、という問題を取り上げています。人間工学のさまざまな権威がこぞって自分の唯一無二の「正しい」座る姿勢を推進するならば、それらはすべて正しいというのが彼の意見でした。推奨された座る姿勢はすべてよいものだったので、彼はできるだけ多くの座る姿勢を可能にする椅子をデザインし、体を動かしやすくして頻繁に姿勢を変えられるようにすることが自分の仕事であると考えました。　本文と多くの製品から選ばれた実例を通して、座るというテーマに対するピーター・オプスヴィックの考え方を理解していただけるでしょう。そして、彼の家具デザインを特徴付ける哲学を知っていただけるでしょう。従って、本書はカラーやモノクロの図版を豊富に取り入れていますが、完全に隅から隅まで読んでいただくことを期待したものではありません。本書は、端的に言えば、職業的、教育的、個人的理由から椅子に興味があるすべての人々に役立つ情報を備えた、とても美しい参考資料なのです。
武蔵野美術大学　名誉教授
島崎　信

Buy the book:
www.gaiajapan.co.jp

Rethinking Sitting published by WWNorton in 2009

For millions of years on earth the human race has led physically active lives. Throughout the most recent centuries, however, industrialization has fostered passivity and the growing predominance of the sitting posture for more and more people. In an increasing number of societies, chairs and furniture for sitting have become standard pieces of equipment in the workplace, institutions and private homes. These sitting devices were formed according to the established standard of the chair, based on the “accepted western manner of sitting”.

About this publication: In Peter Opsvik’s Rethinking Sitting, the issue is addressed as to whether this is the only, and functionally best, design for the human body. When the various authorities in ergonomics were all promoting their one and only “correct” sitting posture, his comment was that all of them were right. All of the recommended sitting postures were good, and he saw it as his task to design chairs that allowed as many different sitting postures as possible and to make it easy to move and change frequently between them. ISBN 978-82-8077-119-3