Sayl Stool

Inspired by suspension bridges – structures that deliver the most using the least material – Sayl stools extend the distinctive look of the Yves Béhar-designed Sayl chair into settings that feature high tables or counters. The elastomer strands of the stool’s 3D Intelligent back support you as you stretch and move, striking a healthy balance between support and freedom.

Design Story
We asked designer Yves Béhar to design a highly affordable chair that would incorporate everything Herman Miller is known for – beautiful design, first-class ergonomics, elegant engineering and respect for the environment.

Suspending a chair
Béhar, who calls San Francisco home, began by looking at designs that deliver the most with the least. And then he took a look at his city’s best-known landmark: the Golden Gate Bridge. Béhar wondered, could the engineering principles of a suspension bridge be applied to a chair?

The notion of using a suspension tower to support an unframed suspension back meant that the flexible elastomer suspension material could be stretched in a way that provided the greatest tension at points where support is needed and the least in areas that would allow for the most expansive range of motion.