The Mechanism
Sit Down and It Is Set
Most ergonomic chairs give you five or six controls and expect you to learn them. The Liberty gives you none of that. Its mechanism reads your body weight the moment you sit and sets the recline resistance to match, then keeps the backrest against your spine through 18° of recline and a further 8° of backrest tilt.
That is the whole idea Niels Diffrient designed it around: the best ergonomic chair is one you never have to adjust. It is also why it suits shared desks so well. Every person who sits in it gets a chair set up for them, without touching anything.
Form Sensing Mesh
A Back That Reads Your Spine
The backrest is Humanscale's Form Sensing mesh: three separate, non-stretch panels rather than one stretched sheet. Because each panel moves on its own, the back takes the shape of your spine instead of pulling it into a single curve, and the lumbar support you feel is your own shape held, not a pad pushed into you.
It stays cool, it stays taut over years of use, and it needs no adjustment.
Humanscale Liberty
The Designer
Designed by Niels Diffrient
Niels Diffrient spent his career on one question: how do you design a chair around the body rather than around a control panel? The Liberty was his answer for Humanscale, and the ideas in it, weight-sensitive recline and a back that senses form, went on to define the whole range, including the World One.
The result is a chair with fewer parts, less to go wrong and nothing to explain to the person sitting in it, which is why Humanscale stands behind it for 15 years of round-the-clock use.
Configuration
With Arms, or Without
We stock the Liberty in black, with a black frame, black Form Sensing mesh back and a black upholstered seat, in two configurations: height-adjustable Duron arms, or armless. The armless chair is 14 cm narrower and tucks fully under a desk, which makes it the usual choice for sit-stand desks and hot desks.
Both come on the standard cylinder (42 to 53 cm seat height) with Humanscale's standard hard castors, which are made for carpet; if your floor is timber, tile or polished concrete, ask us for the soft-castor option. Low and high cylinders, other mesh and seat colours and a polished base are available to order; call 02 9640 0642 for lead times.
Features & Specifications
Key Features
-Weight-sensitive recline: the mechanism reads your body weight and sets the resistance, with no levers, knobs or tension springs to adjust
-Form Sensing tri-panel mesh back: three non-stretch panels take the shape of your spine and give lumbar support in every position
-Recline range 18°, plus 8° of backrest tilt that follows you as you move
-Contoured seat cushion with a waterfall front edge, upholstered in black
-Height-adjustable Duron arms, or armless for a cleaner profile that tucks under a desk
-Die-cast aluminium and steel frame, black; five-star base
-Standard hard castors (Humanscale's carpet castor); soft castors for hard floors to order
-Rated for users up to 181 kg (400 lb)
-BIFMA LEVEL 3, SCS Indoor Advantage Gold, Declare Red List Free, Living Product Challenge certified
-Designed by Niels Diffrient. Humanscale 15-year, 24/7 warranty
Dimensions
Seat Height (standard cylinder)42–53 cm
Seat Depth (adjustable)42–48 cm
Backrest Height58 cm
Overall Height100–111 cm
Overall Width67 cm with arms, 53 cm armless
Overall Depth63.5 cm
Base Diameter63.5 cm
Recline18° recline + 8° backrest tilt
Chair Weight15.4 kg with arms, 13.6 kg armless
Weight Capacity181 kg (400 lb)
Frame and BaseDie-cast aluminium and steel, black
BackForm Sensing tri-panel mesh, black
SeatContoured cushion, upholstered, black
Arm PadsMulti-layer Duron
Warranty15 yr frame and mechanism / 5 yr textiles, cushions, arm pads, castors
Dimensions, weights, capacity and warranty terms are Humanscale's published figures for the Liberty task chair (humanscale.com and shop.humanscale.com), converted from inches by us and rounded to the nearest 0.5 cm. Seat height is for the standard cylinder; low and high cylinders are available to order. Certifications are as listed by Humanscale for the Liberty.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Liberty's mechanism is weight-sensitive. When you sit, it reads your body weight and sets the recline resistance to match, so a lighter person gets a lighter recline and a heavier person more support, without anyone touching a control. Lean back and the chair gives 18° of recline while the backrest tilts a further 8° to stay against your back. It is why the Liberty works on shared desks: every person who sits in it gets a chair set up for them.
Most mesh backs are one stretched panel. The Liberty's back is three separate non-stretch panels, so it takes the shape of your spine rather than sagging into a single curve. That gives lumbar support that follows you as you recline, with no lumbar pad to position. It is the same Form Sensing mesh Humanscale uses on the World One.
The arms are height-adjustable Duron arms and suit keyboard and mouse work at a fixed desk. The armless version is 14 cm narrower, 1.8 kg lighter and $200 less, and it suits sit-stand desks, hot desks and anyone who prefers to tuck the chair fully under the desk. The mechanism and back are identical on both.
On the standard cylinder the seat runs from 42 to 53 cm, which covers most people between about 155 and 190 cm at a standard 72 cm desk, and the seat depth adjusts from 42 to 48 cm. Humanscale also makes a low cylinder and a high cylinder with a foot ring for the Liberty; ask us if you sit outside that range. The chair is rated for users up to 181 kg (400 lb). You are welcome to try it at our Pyrmont showroom; call 02 9640 0642 first so we have one on the floor.
Both are Niels Diffrient designs with weight-sensitive recline and the tri-panel Form Sensing mesh back, so the sitting experience is close. The Liberty has an upholstered seat and a 15-year warranty; the World One LM has a mesh seat and a 12-year warranty and costs less. Choose the Liberty if you prefer a padded seat or want the longer warranty, and the World One if you run warm and want airflow under you as well as behind you.
Humanscale covers the Liberty with a 15-year warranty on the frame and mechanism for 24/7 use, and a 5-year warranty on textiles, cushions, arm pads and castors. Chair Dinkum is an authorised Humanscale reseller; contact us on 02 9640 0642 for any claim and we will handle it with Humanscale Australia. This warranty is in addition to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, which are not limited by it.
