Skip to main content directly

    MultiGeneration by Knoll® Hybrid Base

    Keep the Conversation Moving®

    MultiGeneration by Knoll® encourages collaboration with a responsive, open design that supports multiple postures and a diversity of people in shared, team and large group environments. MultiGeneration facilitates natural movement, allowing us to focus, interact and communicate more effectively.

     

    Hybrid Base

    The unique hybrid chair design combines comfort and mobility. A buoyant, cantilevered form meets a 4-leg construction with the option of casters. The Dynamic Seat Structure creates an active ride for enhanced performance and comfort.

    Open Design

    The full, curved back allows for upper body movement and supports the lower back for upright, interactive postures, while a gently contoured seat with rounded corners and a cantilevered arm design lets you shift positions easily. The arms feature contoured arm pads to lean against when side sitting.

    Passive Flex

    The flexing shell of the seat provides comfort and promotes natural movement without the need for a mechanism.

    Performance Back

    The back of the chair, while visually simple, is designed for performance. The perforated back makes the chair more breathable than typical shell chairs. The rolled top edge serves as an armrest for side sitting and a handle for easy transport.

    MultiGeneration Finishes

    Generation Fabric is the base grade fabric for MultiGeneration by Knoll.

    View Approved KnollTextiles

     

     

    • color Dark Red
    • color Red Orange
    • color Yellow
    • color Bright Blue
    • color Dark Teal
    • color Onyx
    • color Dark Grey
    • color Grey
    • color Off White
    • color Black
    • color Metallic Grey
    • color Silver
    • color Chrome
    • color Bright Blue
    • color Red Orange
    • color Dark Teal
    • color Storm
    • color Pebble
    • color Desert
    • color Lemongrass
    • color Espresso
    • color Firecracker
    • color Bluemarine
    • color Onyx
    • color Olive

    Dimensions

    Additional Info

    Sustainable Design and Environmental Certification
    • Learn more about MultiGeneration by Knoll Hybrid Base product certifications and materials at Ecomedes.

    Configure MultiGeneration by Knoll® - Hybrid Base

    Not all options and finishes are represented below. For the complete scope, please refer to the Office Seating Price List or contact a Knoll dealer.


    •  

    “We fidget to focus.” This, according to Formway Senior designer, was the central thesis that informed MultiGeneration by Knoll®. Contrary to popular assumption, foot-tapping, pen-twirling and position-shifting actually help people stay engaged.

    Therefore, MultiGeneration is designed to allow for and encourage movement, while still providing adequate support. The shape and material of the shell give the chair a buoyancy that prevents the user from feeling “locked in” while the arm and leg positions allow for 270 degrees of movement.

    The optional hybrid base for MultiGeneration is a unique design solution that combines the comfort of a cantilever form with a sturdy four-leg construction, giving the option of mobility from casters and freeing up the front corners for various postures. Cantilevered chairs have dynamic frames that respond to a user’s weight, but typically they cannot accommodate casters, which are desirable in a multipurpose chair, nor do they have front leg structures that can limit the user’s leg movement. Four-leg chairs are sturdy and allow for casters, but they don’t have a dynamic frame. Formway selected the most desirable attributes of the traditional base types to create the MultiGeneration hybrid base, a melding of cantilever and four-leg constructions.

    MultiGeneration serves the functional purposes of a side chair, with the consideration and ergonomics of a standalone seating solution.

    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.