QOR360

QOR360 is a Vermont company designing active chairs that keep the body gently moving while it sits, started by Dr Turner Osler, a trauma surgeon and epidemiologist who spent 30 years at the University of Vermont. A second career at a computer brought relentless back pain, so he invented the chair he could not find: the Ariel, whose rounded base rocks subtly so the sitter shifts position without levers.

QOR360 argues that the problem is not sitting but sitting still, and cites university research on movement. The range is short: the Ariel, a refurbished programme for earlier models, and a line of glides, wheels and cushions. Awards include a bronze A’ Design Award, Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas, gold at the International Architecture & Design Awards and platinum at the Architecture & Design Collection Awards in 2023.