There are many children with disabilities that require special seating solutions to support them to sit upright throughout the day. IKOU Portable Chair has been designed to provide equitable access to a special chair to the world outside the home.
In Japan, the government is very concern about special custom-made furniture to support these children. The government subsidies the manufacture and delivery of custom-made supportive chairs which the design has remained unchanged or under-considered since the eighties.
A mother of a young boy with cerebral palsy and an owner of that supportive chair has tasked IDEO Tokyo to modernize and improve this furniture. Yuri Matsumoto, the mother, wanted the design team to come up with modern and attractive chair. Even though the current seating solution was cumbersome, yet it does serve its purpose within home. it supports physically handicapped children while they performing difficult tasks such as eating or studying. The problem is when the family have to go outside home such as in a restaurant, at the park, or at a friend’s house, in these events, most children with disabilities would have limited access to that type of chair. It will probably exclude them from experiences that regular children might have access to.
This is where IKOU Portable Chair comes in. Designed by Chris Pearce of IDEO, it’s a portable, compact, and lightweight chair that would support the children in any scenario.
