Notes on the Billow Chair, Garden and Animal Events : The Billow Chair

SURELY, the interior designers attending Designer’s Saturday, the big New York City trade show held in October, are the most jaded chair-sitters in the country. But they knew something was up at the Nienkamper showroom when they spied the smug expressions on the faces of company honchos debuting the Billow chair. “What’s all the fuss about?” they wondered as they regarded the innocuous-looking chair (so-named for the profile of its seat and back, which resembles a billowing sail). They found out in a hurry, as their “wows” proved.

The Billow’s sensuous, springy aliveness derives from its patented Z-coil suspension (inspired by the compressor coils behind a refrigerator). The chair is the brainchild of Hollywood-born David Rowland, only the second American designer to win the prestigious Milan Grand Prix (Buckminster Fuller preceded him). It was awarded in 1964 for his 40/4 chairs, seating that stacks 40 high in the space of 4 feet.

The Billow chair won’t have you fidgeting after five minutes. The back’s lumbar curve uncannily seeks out the small of your back, no matter what your height, and stays there, shifting with you as you turn to the right or the left; the seat’s gently rounded “waterfall” front edge assures that blood circulation won’t be cut off under the thighs.

Ergonomic task chairs offer similar comfort. But with their movable backrests, tilt supports and 5-branched swivel bases, they better suit the office than the dining table. They also exceed the Billow’s $375 (roughly) list price. The Billow chair comes as a side or arm chair, in fabric or leather, in polished chrome or paint-finish frame.

The Billow chair is available through interior designers and architects and can be seen at the Nienkamper showroom at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles; telephone (213) 652-4060.