Niels Diffrient: Rethinking the way we sit down

譯者: Zhixian Yu (Fiona) 審譯者: Joyce Chou

When I was five years old

當我五歲的時候

I fell in love with airplanes.

就愛上了飛機

Now I'm talking about the '30s.

我指的是30年代的飛機

In the '30s an airplane had two wings

30年代的飛機有兩個翅膀

and a round motor,

和一具圓型馬達

and was always flown

而且駕駛者永遠是

by a guy who looked like Cary Grant.

長得像Cary Grant的傢伙

He had high leather boots,

他穿著雙長皮靴

jodhpurs, an old leather jacket,

馬褲和老舊的皮夾克

a wonderful helmet

帥氣的安全帽

and those marvelous goggles --

還有迷人的太陽眼鏡

and, inevitably, a white scarf,

當然還要有條白領巾

to flow in the wind.

隨風飄揚

He'd always walk up to his airplane

他走向飛機的樣子

in a kind of saunter,

看來那樣地悠哉

devil-may-care saunter,

一種漫不經心的悠哉

flick the cigarette away,

把菸輕輕彈開

grab the girl waiting here, give her a kiss.

一把抱住在那等待的女孩，吻她一下

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And then mount his airplane,

然後爬上他的飛機

maybe for the last time.

或許是最後一次了...

Of course I always wondered what would happen

當然我每次都忍不住會想

if he'd kissed the airplane first.

如果他先親飛機會怎麼樣。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But this was real romance to me.

但這對我來說是很浪漫的

Everything about flying in those years,

那幾年關於飛行的東西

which was -- you have to stop and think for a moment --

都是, --等等我思考一下--

was probably the most advanced

大概都是當時

technological thing going on at the time.

最先進的科技產物了.

So as a youngster,

我當時是個孩子

I tried to get close to this

只想嘗試透過繪畫

by drawing airplanes,

來接近這個東西

constantly drawing airplanes.

於是我不斷地畫飛機

It's the way I got

這是我

a part of this romance.

親近這份浪漫的方法

And of course, in a way, when I say romance,

當然,從某個角度來說,我說浪漫,

I mean in part

是指

the aesthetics of that whole situation.

是指整體的美學

I think the word is the holistic experience

這該說是一種整體的感受

revolving around a product.

圍繞在一個產品上的感受

The product was that airplane.

那個產品就是飛機.

But it built a romance.

而它所成就的浪漫

Even the parts of the airplane

縱使這台飛機

had French names.

有個法文名字

Ze fuselage, ze empanage, ze nessal.

機身，尾翼。

You know, from a romance language.

你知道，這是一門浪漫的語言。

So that it was something that just got into your spirit.

所以這是那些恰恰能成爲你靈魂的事。

It did mine.

它進入了我的（靈魂）。

And I decided I had to get closer than

然後我決定要更加的接近

just drawing fantasy airplanes.

那畫筆下幻想中的飛機。

I wanted to build airplanes.

我想要建造飛機。

So I built model airplanes.

所以我建了一個飛機模型。

And I found that in doing the model airplanes

並且在我製造飛機模型的過程中發現

the appearance drawings were not enough.

僅憑飛機外觀的繪圖是遠遠不夠的。

You couldn't transfer those

我無法把這些

to the model itself.

轉換成模型。

If you wanted it to fly

如果你想要飛機在天空中飛翔

you had to learn the discipline

就必須學會它飛行的

of flying.

準則。

You had to learn about aeronautics.

你必須去學習航空學。

You had to learn what made an airplane

你必須了解飛機是什麽原理使得飛機

stay in the air.

能夠停留在天空中。

And of course, as a model in those years, you couldn't control it.

當然，在那個年代，你無法控制模型。

So it had to be self-righting,

所以它必須能夠自我調節，

and stay up without crashing.

並且保持飛行不墜機。

So I had to give up

因此我不得不放棄

the approach of drawing

這種繪製幻想中機型

the fantasy shapes

的方式，

and convert it to technical drawings --

於是轉而開始繪製技術圖紙，

the shape of the wing, the shape of the fuselage and so on --

繪製機翼的形狀，機身的形狀等等。

and build an airplane over these drawings

我在這些

that I knew followed some of the principles

遵循的飛行原理圖紙的基礎下

of flying.

製作了一架飛機。

And in so doing, I could produce

在做了這些以後，

a model that would fly, stay in the air.

我就能夠建起一架能夠在空中飛行的飛機模型。

And it had, once it was in the air,

當它在空中飛行的那一刻，

some of this romance that I was in love with.

它就擁有了那些我所鍾愛的浪漫。

Well the act of drawing airplanes

繪製飛機的熱愛

led me to,

引導著我

when I had the opportunity to choose

當我有機會

a course in school,

在學校選擇一門課

led me to sign up for aeronautical engineering.

它引導我毫不猶豫地選擇了航空工程

And when I was sitting in classes --

但是當我坐在教室中，

in which no one asked me to draw an airplane --

讓我驚訝的是，

to my surprise.

竟然沒有人要求我去畫飛機。

I had to learn mathematics and mechanics

我不得不去學習數學和力學

and all this sort of thing.

以及一些相關的學科。

I'd wile away my time drawing airplanes

我喜歡在課堂上

in the class.

畫飛機。

One day a young man looked over my shoulder,

有一天一個年輕人繞過我的肩膀看了一看，

he said, "You draw very well.

他說：“你畫的真好，

You should be in the art department."

你應該去念藝術系的。”

And I said, "Why?"

我問：“爲什麽？”

And he said, "Well for one thing, there are more girls there."

他說：“嗯，有一個原因，那裏女孩子比較多。”

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So my romance was temporarily shifted.

於是我的浪漫暫時的轉移到別的地方。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And I went into art

我轉到了藝術方面

because they appreciated drawing.

那裏的人更懂得欣賞畫。

Studied painting; didn't do very well at that.

學習繪畫。在那裏並不是很出色。

Went through design,

學習了一些設計，

some architecture.

一些建築。

Eventually hired myself out as a designer.

終於，我成爲了一名設計師。

And for the following 25 years,

在之後的25年中，

living in Italy,

我生活在義大利，

living in America,

生活在美國，

I doled out a piece of this romance

我向任何願意為之付錢的人，

to anybody who'd pay for it --

發放一點點這種浪漫。

this sense, this aesthetic feeling,

這種感覺，這種美學的感知，

for the experience revolving around

是源于對一個設計產品

a designed object.

的體驗。

And it exists.

它是存在的。

Any of you who rode the automobiles --

你們之中的任何人在路上開著汽車

was it yesterday? --

是昨天嗎?

at the track, you know the romance

當開高性能的車，飛奔在路上時

revolving around those high performance cars.

你就能明白這種浪漫。

Well in 25 years

在這25年裏，

I was mostly putting out

我大多是把這種浪漫

pieces of this romance

一塊塊分發出去

and not getting a lot back in

但並沒有從中得到很多收穫

because design on call

因爲這種設計是即興的

doesn't always connect you with a circumstance

即便能製造出這種自然的本質

in which you can produce things of this nature.

並不能完全把人和環境連結起來。

So after 25 years I began to feel

所以，25年後，

as though I was running dry.

我開始意識到我的才思枯竭了。

And I quit.

於是我選擇放棄。

And I started up a very small operation --

接著我開始經營小型的工作室

went from 40 people

從40人

to one,

變到只有我一個人的團隊

in an effort to rediscover my innocence.

努力重新發現我的純真。

I wanted to get back

我想要回到過去

where the romance was.

那些原有的浪漫。

And I couldn't choose airplanes

我無法選擇飛機

because they had gotten sort of unromantic

因爲在某種意義上

at that point,

那些東西開始逐漸變得不那麽的浪漫。

even though I'd done a lot of airplane work,

即便是我曾經做過很多

on the interiors.

與飛機内部設計相關的工作。

So I chose furniture.

所以我選擇了家具這一行。

And I chose chairs specifically

我刻意的選擇了椅子

because I knew something about them.

因爲我對它們有所了解。

I'd designed a lot of chairs, over the years

幾年裏，我設計了很多椅子，

for tractors and trucks

給拖拉機和卡車

and submarines --

還有潛艇。

all kinds of things.

各種各樣的東西。

But not office chairs.

但不是辦公室的那種。

So I started doing that.

因此我開始著手與此。

And I found that there were ways

我發現

to duplicate the same approach

有許多我運用在飛機上的方法

that I used to use on the airplane.

都是能被複製的。

Only this time,

只是這一次

instead of the product being shaped by the wind,

產品的形狀不是由風來決定，

it was shaped by the human body.

而是由人體來決定的。

So the discipline was --

所以準則就是，

as in the airplane you learn a lot about

就像在飛機中你所學的那樣

how to deal with the air,

如何去應對空氣，

for a chair

但對於椅子來説

you have to learn a lot about how to deal

你必須去研究

with the body,

如何和人體接觸。

and what the body needs, wants,

包括身體需要什麽，

indicates it needs.

符合身體的需求。

And that's the way, ultimately

就是這樣，

after some ups and downs,

再經歷一些波折之後，

I ended up designing the chair I'm going to show you.

我完成了這把我即將呈現給你們的椅子。

I should say one more thing. When I was doing those

在這裡我要多說一件事，

model airplanes,

當我曾經製作那些模型飛機的時候，

I did everything.

我做了所有能做的，

I conceived the kind of airplane.

我構思了各種各樣的飛機，

I basically engineered it.

我基本上設計它。

I built it.

我製造它。

And I flew it.

並且讓它飛了起來。

And that's the way I work now.

這就是我現在的工作方式。

When I started this chair

當我開始設計這把椅子的時候

it was not a preconceived notion.

它並沒有一個先入爲主的概念。

Design nowadays, if you mean it,

現今的設計，如果你認真來看，

you don't start with styling sketches.

你不會從花俏的構圖開始。

I started with a lot of loose ideas,

我從異想天開開始。

roughly eight or nine years ago.

大約在八九年以前。

And the loose ideas had something

這些隨意的想法

to do with what I knew happened with

在那些辦公室的人身上

people in the office,

開始逐漸成形。

at the work place -- people who worked,

在辦公場所，那些工作的人們

and used task seating,

使用電腦椅

a great many of them sitting in front of a computer

很多人坐在電腦面前

all day long.

一坐就是一整天

And I felt,

我覺得

the one thing they don't need,

有一樣東西他們是不需要的

is a chair that interferes

就是一把會干擾他們工作的

with their main reason for sitting there.

椅子。

So I took the approach

所以我要做這樣一把椅子

that the chair should do as much for them

能盡可能的幫助他們

as humanly possible

盡可能的人性化

or as mechanistically possible

或者盡可能的機械化

so that they didn't have to fuss with it.

使得人們不會為它所困擾。

So my idea was that,

我的想法就是

instead of sitting down and reaching

不是讓人坐下

for a lot of controls,

然後伸手去購各種操縱杆，

that you would sit on the chair,

而是坐在椅子中

and it would automatically balance your weight

它會自動地根據你的體重調整平衡

against the force required

對抗

to recline.

使人傾斜的力。

Now that may not mean a lot to some of you.

也許這對在座的大多數的人來說並不具意義。

But you know most good chairs do recline

但是你們知道大多數的好椅子還是會傾斜的

because it's beneficial to open up this joint

因爲這有助於伸展

between your legs and your upper body

你的腿和上身之間的關節

for better breathing

以便能更好的呼吸

and better flow.

還有更好的血液循環。

So that if you sit down

如果你坐在

on my chair,

我的椅子上，

whether you're five feet tall

無論你是五尺高，

or six foot six,

還是六尺高，

it always deals with your weight

它永遠可以根據你的體重

and transfers the amount of force required

轉換成傾斜

to recline

所需要的力

in a way that you don't have to look

這樣你就不需要去尋找

for something to adjust.

那些用來調整的東西。

I'll tell you right up front,

我現在就告訴你們

this is a trade off.

這是有得有失的。

There are drawbacks to this.

這個椅子有些缺點。

One is: you can't

其中一點就是

accommodate everybody.

不能適應每一個人。

There are some very light people,

像是一些體重非常輕的人

some extremely heavy people,

或是體重非常重的人。

maybe people with a lot of bulk up top.

也許有人上身龐大。

They begin to fall off the end of your chart.

他們就會坐著向下滑落。

But the compromise, I felt,

但我覺得這種得失

was in my favor

正是我喜歡的

because most people don't adjust their chairs.

因爲大多數的人不調整他們的椅子。

They will sit in them forever.

他們就一直的坐著。

I had somebody on the bus out to the racetrack

在我去賽車場的公車上我遇見過一個人

tell me about his sister calling him.

他告訴我他的姐姐告訴他。

He said she had one of the new, better chairs.

他說她有了一把新的更好的椅子。

She said, "Oh I love it."

她說：“哦，我喜歡這把椅子。”

She said, "But it's too high."

她又說：“但是它太高了。”

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So he said, "Well I'll come over and look at it."

他接著說：“我們去你那兒看看那把椅子吧。”

He came over and looked at it.

他來了看了椅子。

He reached down. He pulled a lever. And the chair sank down.

他俯下身，拉了拉操縱桿。然後這椅子就降下去了。

She said, "Oh it's wonderful. How did you do that?"

她說：“哦，太棒了。你是怎麽做到的？”

And he showed her the lever.

接著他把操縱桿指給她看。

Well, that's typical

是的，這就是典型的

of a lot of us working in chairs.

我們大多數人工作中用的椅子。

And why should you

爲什麽

get a 20-page manual

要透過看一本20頁的使用手冊

about how to run a chair?

學習如何使用一把椅子。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I had one for a wristwatch once. 20 pages.

我曾經有一只懷錶。它有20頁的說明書。

Anyway, I felt that it was important

不管怎麽說，我覺得這很重要

that you didn't have to make an adjustment

當你想要進行這類活動時

in order to get this kind of action.

不需要去調整它。

The other thing I felt was that armrests

另一件事就是

had never really been properly approached

我覺得扶手從來沒有被適當的使用過。

from the standpoint of how much

從扶手能給你在工作生活中

of an aid they could be

給予你多少的幫助

to your work life.

的角度來説。

But I felt it was too much to ask

但我覺得這樣太繁瑣

to have to adjust each individual armrest

如果把每個獨立的扶手

in order to get it where you wanted.

調整到你想要的位置。

So I spent a long time.

我因此花費很長的時間。

I said I worked eight or nine years on it.

這就是我剛說的我在這上面花費了八九年。

And each of these things went along

每一件事情

sort of in parallel

都在平行的進行著

but incrementally were a problem of their own.

但它們的本身的問題也隨之增加了。

I worked a long time on figuring out

我花費了很多的時間才解決

how to move the arms over a much greater arc --

扶手如何能更大角度的移動，

that is up and down --

像這樣上下的移動，

and make them a lot easier,

使之更方便。

so that you didn't have to use a button.

所以你不需要去按一個按鈕。

And so after many trials, many failures,

經過了許多次的嘗試與失敗，

we came up with a very simple arrangement

我們提出了一個很簡單的改裝

in which we could just move

我們僅僅是移動了

one arm or the other.

其中的一只扶手。

And they go up easily.

它們就很容易的升起來了。

And stop where you want.

並且停留在你想要的位置上。

You can put them down, essentially out of the way.

你可以把它們放下來，

No arms at all.

事實上根本不需要動手。

Or you can pull them up where you want them.

或者你能在你需要的時候拉上來。

And this was another thing that I felt,

這是我所感覺到的另一件事。

while not nearly as romantic

雖然不像

as Cary Grant,

Cary Grant那樣的浪漫，

nevertheless begins to

然而已經開始

grab a little bit of aesthetic

一點點的抓住美感了，

operation, aesthetic performance

在一個產品裏，

into a product.

運用美學的表現。

The next area that was of interest to me

下一個吸引我的方面，

was the fact that reclining

是傾斜這件事

was a very important factor.

這是一個很重要的因素。

And the more you can recline,

在某種程度上，

in a way, the better it is.

能越傾斜，就越舒服。

The more the angle between here and here opens up --

這兒和這兒的角度變得更大了，

and nowadays, with a screen in front of you,

在你面前成爲一個平面，

you don't want to have your eye drop too far in the recline,

你不會想在傾斜時視線下降的太厲害。

so we keep it at more or less the same level --

所以我們盡可能的保持在同一水平

but you transfer weight

但這樣你就可以把體重

off your tailbones.

從尾椎骨上轉移走了。

Would everybody put their hand under their bottom

每個人都能伸手從後面

and feel their tailbone?

構到自己的脊椎骨嗎？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

You feel that bone under there?

你能感覺到下面的那塊骨頭嗎？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Just your own.

只是你自己的。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

There's two of them, one on either side.

它一共有2塊。一邊一塊。

All the weight of your upper torso --

但你坐下的時候，你上半身的所有重量

your arms, your head --

你的手臂，你的頭，

goes right down through your back,

直接的通過你的後背，

your spine, into those bones when you sit.

你的脊椎，直到那些骨頭。

And that's a lot of load.

這是一個很大的負荷。

Just relieving your arms with armrests

僅僅是用扶手來舒緩你的手臂

takes 20 percent of that load off.

就能減少20%的總負荷。

Now that, if your spine is not held in a good position,

現在，如果你的脊椎處在一個不正確的位置，

will help bend your spine the wrong way, and so on.

這會導致你的脊椎錯誤的彎曲，諸如此類。

So to unload

所以為了卸下

that great weight --

這些巨大的負擔，

if that indeed exists --

如果真的存在的話，

you can recline.

你可以斜倚著。

When you recline you take away a lot of that load

當你斜倚的時候，能帶走很多的負荷

off your bottom end, and transfer it to your back.

從底部，轉移到你的背部。

At the same time, as I say, you open up this joint.

與此同時，就如我所說，你活動了關節。

And breathability is good.

並且透氣性很好。

But to do that, if you have any

但為了做到這一點，

amount of recline,

如果你有任何的一點傾斜，

it gets to the point where you need a headrest

就需要在某一點有個靠頭之物

because nearly always,

因爲

automatically hold your head

它會自動地支撐你的頭部

in a vertical position, see?

在一個垂直的位置，看見了嗎？

As I recline, my head says more or less vertical.

當我傾斜的時候，我的頭會變成和身體垂直。

Well if you're reclined a great deal,

而且，如果你傾斜的比較厲害，

you have to use muscle force

就必須借用肌肉的力量

to hold your head there.

去支撐你的頭。

So that's where a headrest comes in.

所以這就是爲什麽需要頭枕。

Now headrest is a challenge

現在頭枕是一個挑戰

because you want it to adjust

因爲你想要去

enough so that it'll fit,

充分的調節它直至舒服。

you know, a tall guy and a short girl.

你知道，一個高個男孩和一個小巧女孩。

So here we are.

讓我們來看看。

I've got five inches of adjustment here

我在這兒留了五英寸的調節空間

in order to get the headrest in the right place.

以便能為頭找個合適的位置。

But then I knew from experience

但我從經驗中得知

and looking around in offices

在辦公室中觀察

where there were chairs with headrests

那些有頭枕的椅子

that nobody would ever bother

甚至沒有人願意

to reach back and turn a knob

伸到背後去扭動把手

and adjust the headrest to put it in position.

調整頭枕到一個合適的位置。

And you need it in a different position

當你從坐直變爲傾斜時

when you're upright, then when you're reclined.

需要換一個位置

So I knew that had to be solved, and had to be automatic.

所以我意識到這個問題必須解決，必須是自動的。

So if you watch this chair

如果你看看這把椅子

as I recline, the headrest comes up

傾斜時，頭枕就出現了

to meet my neck.

配合我的脖子。

Ideally you want to put the head support

理想的情況下，你希望頭能有一個支撐

in the cranial area, right there.

在顱骨的區域，就在這兒。

So that part of it took a long time

為解決這個問題，

to work out.

花了不少時間。

And there is a variety of other things: the shape of the cushions,

還有其他的種種，例如一點的形狀。

the gel we put.

我們使用的凝膠，

We stole the idea from bicycle seats,

我們借用了自行車座椅的構思，

and put gel in the cushions

把凝膠放入椅墊中

and in the armrests

還有扶手中

to absorb point load --

用來承受其負重

distributes the loading so you don't get hard spots.

分擔了這些負荷，這樣你就不會感覺到硬塊了。

You cant hit your elbow

你能用手肘

on bottom.

按按鈕。

And I did want to demonstrate

我想為你們示範一下

the fact that the chair can accommodate people.

這把椅子能配合乘坐者調整的樣子

While you're sitting in it you can adjust it

當你坐在上面時

down for the five-footer,

它能向下調整五英尺

or you can adjust it

或者你也可以調整它

for the six-foot-six guy --

對於那些六尺高的男孩。

all within the scope of a few simple adjustments.

所有這些調整只需要在很小的範圍内進行。

(Applause)

（掌聲）