Crew Armchair by Steelcase
designed by Brian Kane
At A Glance:
Simple and reliable, the Crew Task Chair shows off an impressive set of adjustment options and an ability to conform to just about any occupant.
What's To Like:
For the price you get a ton of well-made, stable comfort. Steelcase is a reliable, experienced manufacturer of quality task chairs, and the Crew Chair is no exception. Casters, optional adjustable arms, tilt, and seat height adjustment give it flexibility for any task.
What's Not to Like:
It's a little less adjustable than you'd like it to be if you're going to be sitting in it for upwards of 8 hours. But for the price, it'll be hard to find a more adjustable task chair.
The Bottom Line:
The Crew Task Chair comes with a set of intuitive controls that's hard to beat given its price. Designed by Brian Kane, whose body of work includes the immensely popular Leap Chair, Crew comes with the functionality and comfort of task chairs that often cost multiples of Crew's price.
Dimensions
Overall: 39.6-44.6" h x 26.5" w x 26" d
Seat height: 16" to 21"
Seat width: 19.5"
Arms
The Crew Chair comes with standard fixed-height arms, with an option to add height/width-adjustable arms.
Sturdy Base
A 5-point aluminum black base with hard plastic casters (carpet or hard floor) gives Crew a steady platform.
Adjustable Seat and Back Height
A pneumatic piston powers the seat's height adjustments and gets you to the level at which you need to sit, while the back raises and lowers to reach a comfortable height.
Optional Features
Non-marring plastic glides and a platinum powder-coated aluminum frame can be added if desired.
About the Manufacturer
About the Designer
Brian Kane- Designer of the Leap Chair
Kane's ideals are realized through his design of the Steelcase Leap Chairs.
"I believe that less is more - I'd call myself a minimalist - or even a reductionist. I strive for simplification in both form and manufacturing processes. Achieving uniqueness through simplicity is not an easy task but is truly rewarding when it is realized."
A few of the awards that Brian Kane's Leap Chair has won are listed below. In total, Kane has won over 80 design awards. He's been exhibited at the Whitney and Brooklyn Museums in New York and the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco. If you've been in an airport, bank, or hotel, then you've likely seen one of Kane's designs. If you're lucky, you've sat in his newly designed Steelcase Leap Chair.
- Silver Industrial Design Excellence Award (Industrial Designers Society of America)
- Most Innovative Design Award (NeoCon)
- Editor's Choice Award (NeoCon)
- Grand Prize, Workplace Productivity (Buildings magazine Innovations Awards)
A Background and Brief Bio of Brian Kane
Kane graduated form the University of Bridgeport Connecticut with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design. Afterward, he spent some time working in several design studios in New York City and a year in Milan, Italy. Upon his return, he joined Metropolitan Furniture Corporation in 1977. Kane became one of the four partners at Metro in less than three years after joining. In 1987, Steelcase acquired the company, but allowed Kane to remain Vice President, responsible for all aspects of Metro's design, products, and showrooms.
Kane also helped design the first collection of OFFI furniture through Turnstone, which is another Steelcase company. At Turnstone, Kane made quite a name for himself. A few of his products include the Martini Table, the extensive Sweeper seating line, Crew seating, Jenny lounge, Reply casegoods, and Jacket and Jersey task seating. His Pet lounge chair won a Silver Award for Stackable Seating at NeoCon in 2004 for being constructed of recycled soft drink plastic bottles.
"It's very easy to design something that's complicated. It's really difficult to design something that's simple, and offers uniqueness through its simplicity." With such bold statements and designs, it's easy to see why Steelcase took an interest in Kane and his companies.
Currently, Kane is a member of the Industrial Design Society Association. He lives in San Francisco and operates a product development firm, Kane Design Studio. His studio's goal is is to give their clients as complete a finished product as possible and guide them through their internal development process through models, prototypes, and engineered concepts.
The Steelcase Crew Chair is also known by the following manufacturer item numbers: TS30801X, TS30811X, TS30821X, TS30831X.
Dimensions:
- Overall: 39.6" - 44.6" h x 26.5" w x 26" d
- Seat width: 19.5"
- Arm height: 16" - 21"
