From IFA Demonstrations to a Wider Design Question: Why Should an Office Chair Expect the Body to Stay Still?
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ARBREST presents COVE at IFA Berlin 2026, debuting with the IFA Best of Design award.
Credit: ARBREST
At IFA Berlin 2026, ARBREST put a chair through movements that office furniture often treats as exceptions. COVE is the brand’s inaugural product and its first expression of the idea that support should not disappear when the body changes position during work.
COVE is a smart lifestyle technology brand focused on addressing genuine needs often overlooked in both work and everyday life, aiming to let technology recede into the background. While ARBREST started with ergonomic chairs, it’s not limited to this category moving forward.
The development of COVE was sparked by limitations in standard office furniture design. Many chairs are designed around a standardized reference body, with adjustments made later. This often leaves users, especially those who are smaller or have different proportions, compensating for ill-fitting seats. ARBREST decided to prioritize women’s bodies as an initial design reference, marking a departure from past practices in the category.
COVE features a 7-Point Fit Calibration considering seat height, width and depth, lumbar support, armrests, headrest, and footrest together. The recommended user height is 150 to 175 centimeters, with seat height ranging from 46 to 54 centimeters and seat depth from 43 to 49 centimeters. This aims to establish a better fit from the outset, rather than relying on adjustments.
The chair’s design incorporates:
- Firmer sit-bone zone for stability.
- Contoured pelvic area that follows natural body shape.
- Flexible front edge to reduce pressure under thighs.
- Dual-tier active footrest to bridge gaps between leg length and seat height.
These details aim to solve common issues where users keep moving due to an unstable base when legs, pelvis, and lower back are out of sync.
COVE’s other innovations include:
- 3D Winged Headrest for clearance with ponytails and styled hair during recline.
- Wide-surface touch controls designed for easier use with longer nails.
- 5D armrests that follow the user’s elbows as they type, read, browse, or communicate.
While these features might seem incremental on their own, together they suggest a chair designed around actual human routines rather than abstract sitting diagrams.
The chair’s mechanism includes:
- Multi-axis forward-tilt chassis reaching 16 degrees for closer desk access without perching on the seat edge.
- 12-Zone Micro-Motion Backrest with independent units along a flexible spine plate, providing support through small movements like shoulder turns or shifts in weight.