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Modern seating design often elicits wariness from those who prefer Barcaloungers to Barcelona chairs. But Fleeting Seating: The Slightly Uncomfortable Chair Collection, by the 250-strong Sid Lee agency, makes everyone uneasy. After realizing that he and his coworkers were wasting crucial office hours with unproductive meetings, Louis-Thomas Pelletier—the creative director of the collective’s Montreal branch—conceived of these misleadingly sleek seats intended to keep sitters on their toes, literally.   MORE >>

Modern seating design often elicits wariness from those who prefer Barcaloungers to Barcelona chairs. But Fleeting Seating: The Slightly Uncomfortable Chair Collection, by the 250-strong Sid Lee agency, makes everyone uneasy. After realizing that he and his coworkers were wasting crucial office hours with unproductive meetings, Louis-Thomas Pelletier—the creative director of the collective’s Montreal branch—conceived of these misleadingly sleek seats intended to keep sitters on their toes, literally.

The Rococo is a side-to-side rocking chair that requires both feet to be planted firmly on the ground to prevent tipping over. The gabled seat of the Space Invader does exactly as its name suggests, while the low, stubby legs of the Talking Head drops the sitter below a conference table. Sugar Fix finds its inspiration in shoddy café chairs, becoming level only when one leg is propped up with sweetener packets. Men with cheeseburger-sized billfolds can equalize the slanted seat of Wallet Factor, and finally, Gottago’s angled back forces the body forward, as if you’re about to stand and run.

Though they’re not quite medieval torture devices, the half-dozen chairs—which go on sale this winter at Sid Lee’s eponymous Amsterdam boutique—accomplish precisely what Pelletier intended. “At first, you’re not that bad,” he says, “but after five minutes, it’s really uncomfortable.” Just goes to show that some people will do anything to get out of meetings. sidlee.com   << LESS