Skip to main content directly

    Life®

    Light. Intuitive. Flexible. Environmental.

    With intuitive adjustments, a slim silhouette and a broad color and finish palette, Life sets the standard for ergonomics and innovative design. The advanced control automatically adjusts to the weight of your body, providing personalized and effortless ergonomic support.

     

    Synchronized Recline

    Life features a synchronized recline mechanism with auto-balanced tension. The fluid, natural movement of the mechanism uses your body weight as a ounterbalance, supporting reclined, upright and forward seated positions without the need for manual adjustments.

    Dynamic Seat Pan with Forward Flex

    The innovative flexing seat pan alleviates pressure points, allows for proper circulation, supports perched postures and eliminates the need for thick foam upholstery. Seat pan has 4" of depth adjustment.

    Knit Back Suspension on Flexible Frame

    The Life Back Suspension Fabric (BSF) is an exclusive elastomeric knit that is soft, resilient and durable. Coupled with the curve and flex of the back frame, it provides integral pelvic, lumbar and shoulder support.

    Life Finishes

    The Knitted Seat Topper is the base grade fabric for Life, but the chair is also available with 150+ KnollTextiles fabrics and Spinneybeck leathers.

    View Approved KnollTextiles

     

     

    • color Beige Knit Topper Fabric
    • color Camel Knit Topper Fabric
    • color Dark Brown Knit Topper Fabric
    • color Olive Knit Topper Fabric
    • color Eclipse Knit Topper Fabric
    • color Dark Grey Knit Topper Fabric
    • color Dark Blue Knit Topper Fabric
    • color Scarlet Knit Topper Fabric
    • color Grape Knit Topper Fabric
    • color Frost Back Suspension Fabric
    • color Platinum Back Suspension Fabric
    • color Charcoal Back Suspension Fabric
    • color Eclipse Back Suspension Fabric
    • color Blackout Back Suspension Fabric
    • color Beige Back Suspension Fabric
    • color Grain Back Suspension Fabric
    • color Avocado Back Suspension Fabric
    • color Bronze Back Suspension Fabric
    • color Chestnut
    • color Rouge Back Suspension Fabric
    • color Sunset Back Suspension Fabric
    • color Plum Back Suspension Fabric
    • color Navy Back Suspension Fabric
    • color Black
    • color Grey Plastic
    • color Polished Aluminum
    • color Silver

    Dimensions

    Additional Info

    Environmental Certification
    • BIFMA LEVEL® 3 certified
    • Life® is certified Clean Air GOLD
    • Can contribute to achieving U.S. Green Building Council LEED® credits
    • Visit Ecomedes to learn more about product certifications and sustainable design at Knoll.
    Sustainable Design
    • Plastic base version made with 55% recycled content and 58% readily recyclable parts
    • Aluminum base version made with 60% recycled content and 70% readily recyclable parts
    • Constructed using minimal materials
    • Adhesives and coatings are virtually VOC-free
    Awards
    • Good Design Award, Chicago Athenaeum, 2003, USA
    • NeoCon Gold, Best of NeoCon, Task Chair - Seating Design, June 2002, USA
    • IIDEX/NeoCon, Sustainable Design Gold Award, 2002, Canada

    Although Knoll has emphasized and incorporated sustainable manufacturing processes since the 1970s, the 2002 introduction of Life® marked a new level of commitment to environmental responsibility.

    Designed in collaboration with Formway Design, Life® represents a complete rethinking of how to approach sustainability through design. It’s not just about what materials are used, but how much material is used and how readily those materials can be separated and recycled. Almost all of the parts can be removed and updated, which combined with superior ergonomic comfort, make Life® quite possibly the last chair you will ever buy.

    Founded in 1956, New Zealand-based Formway Design has been designing furniture for more than five decades. In 1979 the company redefined itself, developing a new identity and philosophy that focused on team-based design and extensive research. Formway’s designs are informed by insight gained through the observation and consideration of human behavior. Their user-centered approach marries a rigorous design process, an aesthetic sensitivity, and a passion for the environment.

    Knoll and Formway first collaborated on the highly successful Life® chair, introduced in 2002, which is celebrated for its sophisticated design, intuitive adjustments, responsive ergonomics, and sustainable attributes. Building on these features, the two companies came together once again to develop the Generation chair, introduced in 2009. The progressive design features new materials and an elastic design that supports the physical and cognitive activities of the modern office worker.

    Formway then developed a family of chairs inspired by Generation. MultiGeneration extends the comfort and freedom of movement to the multipurpose seating category and ReGeneration aims to do "more with less" — pairing down the form of Generation and minimizing materials and components without sacrificing key performance. Knoll and Formway's most recent release, Remix, delivers unexpected performance in a familiar form. It pairs upholstered comfort with an innovative Flex Net Matrix for active, all-day support.