VESUV.
It’s a subtle violence – sitting for hours in front of screens, holding your body back and correcting posture until pain kicks in. In this realm of extreme productivity and neglecting one’s physicality, VESUV Design steps out as a provocation and an attempt at reassessing how the human body should relate to the spaces created for it.
VESUV was founded in Berlin by Stephan Lautz and Juliette Marquès, who combine decades-long experience in architecture and somatics with contemporary design-related disappointment regarding the shortcomings of ergonomic furniture. The common denominator here lies in their belief that no matter how much someone wants to be productive and concentrated, this always comes at the price of neglecting one’s body.
Their solution is named ELAN: a dynamic 3D stool that challenges the notion of immobility embedded in standard chairs. But ELAN is much more than that; it’s an approach towards a new type of living and work environment where “the best posture is the next posture.”
How did you meet and how would you narrate the beginning of the VESUV adventure?
Juliette Marquès: This is the story of two founders – one German, one French – from two different generations, shaped by divergent paths – yet driven by the same frustration. We both work hard, spending many hours in front of a screen, and we’ve experienced the cost. We both refuse the idea that ambition must come at the expense of our physical wellbeing.
When Stephan showed me one of his first prototypes, something immediately clicked. At the time, I was struggling with back and neck pain myself – constantly catching my “dinosaur posture”, slouching over my laptop – and it was surprisingly difficult to find a chair that was both truly ergonomic and beautiful enough to belong in my space.
Together, we chose to disrupt the market by offering a genuinely healthy solution with an iconic design. We change how people experience work. Our chair connects them back to their body, their strength. It keeps them engaged, awake and present.
VESUV.
Stephan, you come from 40 years of architecture and body therapy. At what point did you realise that seating was the more urgent redesign, rather than architecture in general?
Stephan Lautz: My interest in chairs began at a very personal moment. I was spending more and more hours at my computer, designing my website for my bodywork practice. I had to sit for many focused hours while writing about movement and physical awareness. It felt like a contradiction – almost a conflict between mind and body.
In the market, I couldn’t find a solution that truly satisfied me. I understood the principle of what the chair needed to do relatively quickly. But translating that principle into a technical solution – that was the real challenge.
I am very solution-oriented. I could foresee that my work at the computer would not disappear, and I had no intention of sacrificing my body for it. That’s when my constructive curiosity awakened. I began building prototypes for myself – testing them immediately at my desk, refining them through real use. What started as a personal necessity slowly became a design mission.
We live in a hyper-digital, hyper-static culture. Do you see VESUV as a reaction against conventional understandings of the body?
JM: We’ve become very good at living in our heads, and often, we disconnect from the body until it hurts. It has become the norm to sit for hours. VESUV brings (micro)-movement back and invites people to engage again with their bodies.
The understanding of the body has evolved over the past 20 years: we’ve seen a remarkable rise in sports, yoga and somatic awareness. People want to feel strong, balanced and present. VESUV builds on that shift and aims to accelerate it, to make body awareness part of everyday life, not just something reserved for the gym or the yoga studio.
You say: “Die beste Haltung ist die nächste Haltung.” How would you explain this philosophical approach?
JM: Exactly. “Your best posture is your next posture.” There is no perfect static position. The body is designed for movement.
We often treat concepts like balance or posture as something rigid. Balance sounds like an old mechanical scale – you place a sack of rice on one side and wait for stillness. Posture is often perceived in a similar way: something you “have”, like a soldier standing at attention or a bouncer guarding a door – fixed, immobile, controlled – but the human body doesn’t work like that. Real balance is dynamic. It is a continuous dialogue with gravity. Movement fuels energy. It keeps the spine alive. When we move, we don’t collapse under gravity – we flow with it. That’s what the ELAN chair encourages: responsiveness instead of rigidity.
Can you explain what makes ELAN fundamentally different from other “active seating” concepts?
JM: With an 18.8° dynamic angle and our patent-pending 3D mechanism, it allows multidimensional motion – forward, backward, lateral, circular – but what truly differentiates it is how that movement feels. It’s soft, controlled, almost weightless – like floating rather than balancing.
Many “active seating” concepts offer freedom, but not orientation. On a ball, for example, you experience mobility – but at the edges, you lose security. There’s always a subtle fear it might roll away. You stay cautious. You don’t fully release into movement. ELAN resolves that tension between freedom and safety.
The tipping point sits low, creating natural orientation. The outer edge gently catches you, offering support when you reach the limits of motion. You can lean, stretch, circle and swing – without instability. That’s the difference. You’re not balancing against the chair. You’re balancing with it.
VESUV.
Office culture shaped the 20th century. Remote work is shaping the 21st. How do you think our relationship to sitting is evolving?
SL: At home, the small movements of office life disappear – we move from call to call without standing up. The real shift actually lies in daily movement. A person who moves consistently throughout the day will age better than someone who sits for eight hours and relies on one intense workout to compensate. Consistency wins over intensity.
There’s often a visual divide between design and bodies. Why do you think ergonomic design has historically struggled to be aesthetically desirable?
SL: The market has long believed in a false choice: function or beauty. For decades, ergonomic products have been sacrificing aesthetics in the name of health, but ironically, many also misunderstand the body. They focus on static “support” rather than movement. The result is objects that look technical – and make our bodies passive.
At the same time, in the world of design, we see the opposite problem: beautiful objects that photograph well, but don’t truly support everyday life. They are pleasing to look at – yet not practical, not durable, not deeply considered. Our bodies adapt to the furniture around us, but it should be the other way around.
With 24 colour variations and a strong silhouette, ELAN is also a visual statement. How do you approach the aesthetic work behind each design?
SL: We wanted to create a minimal, elegant object that energises workspaces and homes.
With different colour variations, ELAN becomes personal, expressive. The oval seat is both functional and iconic. It avoids pressure on the thighs – but it also gives you choice. You can sit lengthwise, or you can ride it like a horse.
What does sustainability mean for you in practical terms, such as materials, production and lifespan?
JM: For us, sustainability starts with longevity – for your body, your wellbeing and the product that supports you every day. Every part of ELAN is replaceable, including the seat upholstery. If you want a refresh, you don’t replace the chair. You upgrade it.
ELAN is the first chapter of VESUV. What larger vision are you building toward? What comes next?
JM: Our goal is to support every generation with preventive and beautifully designed tools that allow them to thrive. We want to create better conditions for meaningful work – in Germany, across Europe and internationally.
We are currently building the structure for our next phase. New products and collections will follow, alongside fundraising to accelerate our impact. VESUV is a company in motion: growing, evolving, expanding.
Find out more about VESUV here.
interview. Patrick Clark
edit. Olivia Cichero + Huma Humayun
photography. courtesy of VESUV
