Axyl is the result of furniture brand Allermuir's first collaboration with London based designer Benjamin Hubert and his studio, Layer.

Axyl utilizes a strong geometric design language that is entirely original yet draws on familiar references, such as the A-frame typology and a Mid-Century Danish wrap-around shell.

Comprising of a chair and a barstool, with more additions to the collection to follow, the intensive project including high tooling investment was completed in 2 years from sketch to full production.

The chairs employ a unique recycled die-cast aluminum Y-frame silhouette topped with a softly geometric injection molded shell that is designed to embrace the sitter, along with an optional seat pad. Axyl chairs stack four-high to enable easy transportation and storage.

The barstool shares the same characterful design language and is entirely symmetrical with double waterfall edges on the plastic seat.

The chair shells and stool tops are available in a variety of low-impact materials, including recycled wood fiber and recycled nylon; and the recycled agglomerate "recon" foam used for the optional seat pad is made from chipping down foam off-cuts and then forming them back together, offering an efficient way of re-using waste product from the furniture industry.

The shell of the chair and the bar stool seat are available in two materials and eight colors. The polypropylene variation is available in White, Sage, Basalt, Peacock Blue or Coral. The eco-plastic variation has integrated wood fiber and is available in Pebble or Stone.

The die-cast aluminum Y-frame has been engineered to provide the maximum strength with the most efficient use of materials. It is made from recycled and recyclable aluminum, that is long lasting, robust, and low impact. The frame is available in 10 finishes; it can be powder coated in a choice of eight colors to match the chair shells, left raw or polished.

The recyclable seat shells are co-injection molded using a recycled reinforced polypropylene inner that provides high strength together with a polypropylene outer skin to give a flawless finish.

An alternative shell is offered in a wood fiber plastic composite consisting of ABS and eco-plastic with integrated natural wood fibers.

Dimensions:

Chair: 23.75" wide x 22.25" deep x 30.75" high

Stool: 19.5" wide x 18.25" deep 29.5" high

Axyl was designed by LAYER

Benjamin Hubert is a British design entrepreneur and the founder of LAYER, an agency focused on experience-driven design for both the physical and digital worlds. He has partnered with a number of globally recognized brands, including Nike, Samsung, Braun, BMW, Oral B, Panasonic, Maggie's cancer charity, Fritz Hansen, and Herman Miller.

In September 2015, Hubert re-branded Benjamin Hubert Ltd as LAYER, a new agency with a focus on creating meaningful experiences based on extensive research and human behaviors. The agency's practice incorporates diverse industries, including industrial design, mechanical and electrical engineering, user experience design, user interaction design, branding, and human-centered research. Axyl represents the studio's first collaboration with a British furniture brand.

"We see the world in layers – layers of value, trend, people, culture, science, technology, and sustainability," says Hubert. "This project embraces that philosophy and we hope it will enable Allermuir to continue to grow as an influential brand that invests in design."

Axyl is made by Allermuir

UK furniture brand Allermuir is a growing furniture brand supplying long-lasting products with a focus on originality and cutting-edge craftsmanship.

Traditional manufacturing and upholstery expertise lies at the heart of Allermuir and helps to create beautifully finished and detailed furniture collections.

Allermuir uses a combination of in house designers and works with some of the world's most talented designers to create original, inspiring and intelligent furniture. This combination brings a depth of understanding combined with a refreshing injection of new ideas to produce contemporary furniture that fuses original design with exceptional ergonomics and engineering.

Allermuir has showrooms in London, New York and Chicago, soon to be opening in San Francisco, Bangalore, Hong Kong and Birmingham, UK. Our main manufacturing hubs are in Lancashire in the North West of England and Maumee in Ohio.

Allermuir has become a worldwide favorite with designers and specifiers alike and became part of The Senator Group in 2005.

"As a company, we believe that good design should be accessible," says Matt Ousby, Head of Design and Innovation at Allermuir. "Benjamin shares our ethos, so it made sense for us to work together."

The idea

When Allermuir approached Benjamin Hubert in 2015 we wanted more than just another chair. We wanted to work on a project that would result in an original and intelligent collection of flexible, accessible and affordable cafe furniture.

We had a tight brief to create a collection of stacking café furniture with a focus on sustainability, longevity, and robustness. The collection also had to feel very international. Benjamin has said that while he has talked in the past about not wanting to do too many furniture projects, the potential to create a timeless classic, something long-lasting, high quality, and high volume appealed to him.

The process

The development of the AXYL collection involved a rigorous design and prototyping process over two years that took place at LAYER's London studio and our UK factory. The team conducted in-depth market and materials research, mindstorming workshops, and ideation sessions before developing four concepts, including the inverted Y-frame concept that would become Axyl.

The Axyl concept stool out as it balanced an exciting design story with the potential for high-volume production and it utilized a new and ownable design language that still felt familiar.

Over the next 18 months we were committed to producing numerous, high quality prototypes, 25 in total to test form, format, details, construction, and comfort. A two-in-one "sit-rig" and visual prototype was created by engineers to bring the concept to life quickly. It was worth it as we got to see early on exactly how it would look and function.

The connection details, tension of the curves, and three-dimensionality of the form have all been refined throughout this extensive prototyping process, and the result is a sophisticated product where the design intent of the first sketches is still visible in the final product.

The product

Axyl utilizes a strong geometric design language that is entirely original yet draws on familiar references, such as the A-frame typology and a Mid-Century Danish wrap-around shell.

The unique inverted Y-frame that we developed for Axyl was a challenging engineering study and it gives each product a high level of structural integrity and a unique design language. The triangular elements have been engineered to provide the maximum strength with the most efficient use of materials. As a result, the collection has a distinctive, instantly recognizable silhouette that is made familiar through its reference to a traditional A-frame typology and subtle details inspired by Mid-Century design.

Axyl is also extremely comfortable. The chair features a softly geometric, injection-molded shell designed to embrace the sitter. The Axyl stool features a plastic seat with double waterfall edges and double footrests to maximize comfort no matter what side a user approaches it from.

The finish on both the plastic seat shell and recycled aluminum frame is smooth and inviting, and the shell features elegant curves that recall the classic language of Mid-Century design. The connections are fluid and integrated, keeping the form sleek and minimal yet still expressive.

"A chair needs to be both comfortable and beautiful," says Ousby. "So, we spent a lot of time with our 'sit-rigs'. Comfort was paramount."

It was essential that the Axyl chairs be stackable – for ease of transport and storage in both commercial and residential settings. While the A-frame format, that the inverted Y-frame is based on, is a classic stacking format, it was challenging to translate this functionality to the new silhouette.

A carefully engineered solution means that the Axyl chair is able to stack four high. An innovative stacking buffer system is color-matched to the frame and allows the chairs to seamlessly stack seat-to-seat.

Layers of sustainability

Allermuir and LAYER share the belief that sustainability is not one-dimensional, but rather a layered quality that engages with eco-friendly materials, efficient and intelligent design, and longevity – all of this is integral to the Axyl collection.

Axyl is high-quality, robust, modular, and makes efficient use of eco-friendly materials – but none of that matters unless it is also timeless. We want people to be able to live with these products for a very long time and not tire of them.

The inverted Y-frame silhouette has been carefully engineered to make efficient use of materials, and is made from recycled and recyclable aluminum. The shell is available in a number of different recyclable plastic finishes, including a wood fiber composite plastic. Each product in the collection is modular, and components are mechanically fitted together, so each piece can be efficiently packed and easily transported and easily disassembled for recycling at the eventual end of its life.

Sustainability is written in to everything we do at Allermuir, from the materials we source, to the way we design and craft our products, right through to delivery. It's a given for us.

Materiality

Materiality is integral to the sustainability story of Axyl. The recycled and recyclable aluminum in the Y-frame is long-lasting, robust, and low impact. The plastic elements – chair shell and stool top – are available in eight plastic finishes, including a wood fiber composite plastic that has integrated natural fibers.

The granular effect of the composite plastic reflects the pattern in some of the natural aluminum finishes, so you get an effective interplay between the two materials. Over time, both materials will age gracefully, developing a beautiful patina.

The shell of the chair and the bar stool seat are available in eight finishes, including ABS plastic and eco-plastic with integrated wood fiber. The frame can be powder coated in a choice of eight colors to match the chair shells, left raw or polished. There is also the option of upholstered seat cushions.

Flexibility was key to this project as the collection has to be able to fit into any environment, from corporate to residential. You can create over 100 iterations by mixing and matching finishes, colors, and elements.

Launch

Axyl's UK launch was at Somerset House, as part of the Design Frontiers exhibition during the London Design Festival on Monday 18th September 2017. A room in the West Wing was transformed into an architectural infinity room using just two of the aluminum Y-frames surrounded by mirror-clad "forever towers" amid furniture from the collection. The immersive experience celebrated the continuous nature embodied in the sustainability story and timeless nature of the Axyl collection.

Axyl will be launched in the US during NeoCon in Chicago in June.

Axyl is now in production and is manufactured by Allermuir at their UK headquarters in Lancashire. Our US factory in Ohio is all set up and ready for production after Axyl's US launch.

Axyl is targeted at commercial interior designers and furniture specifiers for café and restaurant environments as well as corporate breakout spaces. It is available to order through Allermuir's network of approved dealers and can be purchased for domestic use through this route. The typical price is $558 for an armchair without seat pad.