A number of years ago, Herman Miller conducted research on the “natural preferred habitat,” which are places that our prehistoric ancestors sought to settle in while they were hunting and gathering. In these spaces, they looked for certain features with benefits. One of these was a wide, distant view. With this view from your habitat, you would get a lot of information, like where your resources were located; whether or not danger was approaching; and if there was a clear path available if you needed to move.

As part of the research, we applied this attribute — a view from the natural preferred habitat — inside that of a built environment. We found humans still have this longing for a wide, distant view, just like our prehistoric ancestors. We still want to put ourselves in a place where we can see out and not be seen. This is due to all the helpful information that a view can give you.

As humans, we are also innately attracted to nature (biologist and researcher E.O. Wilson coined the term “biophilia”)—it’s in our genetic makeup and our genetic memory. We have an affinity to and seek comfort in nature, and when we have views of it, it enhances our well being. In fact, there have been studies done in the healthcare arena that indicate that when patients have a view of nature, they heal a lot quicker and don’t need as much medication.

There may be more attention given to nature nowadays because our lives are more hectic. We are always online, always connected, always on, 24/7. It has put us in this continual state of partial attention to everything, without focusing on anything. And that does cause stress. Anything you can change in your surroundings to alleviate stress is healthy — and making sure you have a window view to nature is one of the best, most human things you can do.

- As told to Amy Feezor

Find the above featured Nelson Swag Leg Desk, Eames Molded Plastic Chair, Aeron Chair, Setu Chair and other inspiring furnishings for an elegant and intelligent office in the Herman Miller Store.

1. Mirra Chair, Studio 7.5 – Take a mid-day break and roll yourself over to the lunch table in the highly-supportive Mirra Chair. The award-winning chair uses fewer components and yet offers unparalleled support and comfort thanks to its PostureFit back and AireWeave suspension. Balanced and cool, perfect for every part of your day. Customize yours at Herman Miller.

2. The Just Bento Cookbook, Makiko Itoh – JustBento.com, the blog from Makiko Itoh has over 150,000 followers who clammer for her delicious, practical and healthy Bento recipes. Re-invigorate your brown bag lunch with 150 Japanese and not-so-Japanese ideas. Pick it up from Amazon. (And check out the great Bento boxes from Bento & Co.)

3. Setu Side Chair, Studio 7.5 – Ready for lunch? As the Setu owner’s guide politely suggests: Just sit down. No adjustment levers, no knobs, just movement mimicking support thanks to Setu’s innovative Kinematic Spine and Lyris 2 suspension. (And in the not too distant future, sit down around the forthcoming Setu Table, too.) Find all the Setu Chairs at Herman Miller.

4. Fruit Bloom, Laurens van Wieringen – In many countries, it’s customary to follow a meal with the sharing of fruit. The Fruit Bloom from designer Laurens van Wieringen is the perfect sharing centerpiece. Eye-catching and fun, your team can pick fruit from the tree to keep their creative (and fruit) juices flowing. Find one at YLiving.com.

5. Lunch Pot, Daniel Black and Martin Blum – Abandon plastic bags and deli containers with the stacking Lunch Pot. Seal soup, pastas, and other delicious lunch options in two watertight pots, and strap them together with a handy spoon/fork utensil. The microwaveable, dishwasher-safe pots nest for easy storage. Available at the MoMA Store.

6. Bambu Spork & Cork – Speaking of sporks, eschew plastic flatware with this perfectly portable, naturally strong and stain-resistant organic bamboo utensil. Take the spork anywhere in its durable (and washable) cork sleeve. Ideal for work and the occasional field trip to the park. Get one at Bambu.

Photos linked within text.

1. “Design Q&A with Charles Eames,” a short film from 1972, featured on Network Awesome.

2. A full tour of Jonathan Lo’s Solana Beach, CA, rental home at Old Brand New.

3. The Design and Architecture Crossword from the New York Times and Design Within Reach. (Here’s a hint for 95 Across.)

4. Speaking of married couples who design together (another hint for the crossword above), check out Design Is One, the documentary on Lella and Massimo Vignelli opening October 18 (via Very Short List).

5. The idea-filled chat about home offices with organizer Kacy Paide from the Washington Post.

6. Curbed’s look at the transformation of an NYC loft to accommodate a collection of Eames furniture.

7. 10 of Architizer’s favorite workspaces, including the Obscura Digital HQ in San Francisco, featuring our Setu Chairs (in the photo above).

8. This quick 1955 telegram from Alexander Girard to industrialist J. Irwin Miller at Documenting Modern Living.

9. Jaunted’s history lesson on Eames Tandem Sling Seating in airports.

10. The playfully inspiring design of this floating dreamscape made from hundreds of kites featured at Co.Design.

Photo: Obscura Digital / Architizer

Either way, we’re feeling it. And apparently, so is the bandwidth of Internet connections at companies across the country. In fact, according to the Los Angeles Times, just a few days ago at L.A.’s City Hall, chief technology officer Randi Levin issued an email asking employees to stop watching the games, as its high-traffic demands were ultimately “impacting city operations.”

Network speeds, however, may not be the only thing affected. As reported by SmartMoney.com, the time spent viewing the events by workers (and not spent actually working) could create an estimated loss of $650 million for U.S. companies — a seemingly high price to pay for the chance to see if your favorite team can strike gold. Some inspiration could come from the downtime, though: South Florida’s Sun Sentinel lists a few lessons that employees could learn from watching world-class Olympians in action.

So what about you? Are you watching the Olympics at the office? How is it affecting your workload? And is it pre-approved by management, or is it in secret? (We won’t tell. Besides, we’ll probably be off watching today’s cycling events starting at 11am EST…)

Featured in photo: Setu Chair options

1. The “From the Desk of…” series from SPD, the Society of Publication Designers.

2. This month’s issue of FX Magazine featuring a review of our Setu Chair.

3. Think Charles Eames would have appreciated the “Play” issue of Google’s Think Quarterly?

4. Liking these Lath Lamps by Jonathan Dorthe for Atelier-D over at Design Milk.

5. The 10 best Eames designs, as determined by The Guardian.

6. Speaking of, did you make it to the screening of Charles and Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter at the White House?

7. The Great Discontent’s interview with Twitter NY design lead Yaron Schoen. (Especially this line: “Design is really about people; the more you understand humans, the better you will be as a designer.”)

8. The Conversation’s case for “an urban design revolution.”

9. The top 6 green buildings at the 2012 London Olympics via Inhabitat.

10. Slightly amused and very inspired by artist Jim Lamble’s colorful geometric tape installations (via Intralld).

Featured in the above photo: George Nelson Swag Leg Desk

“Essentially we were tasked with celebrating the idea of an “everywhere chair”! A small group of us that included Melissa Mizell, Rebecca Ruggles and Annie Book here at Gensler have really enjoyed working together in the past on the USGBC’s Sustainable Suites Competition as well as a packaging re-purposing design competition, so we jumped at the challenge. Not only are they fantastic ways to stretch ourselves creatively but they also lead us into research and design thinking in fields that we may not get much exposure to in our daily work.”

Can you tell us a bit about the idea behind the shoot? We embarked with the original plan of re-enacting some of our favorite movie scenes set in San Francisco with Setu as the lead role. With screen captures such as Steve McQueen in “Bullitt” or James Stewart and Kim Novak at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge in “Vertigo”, we loaded Setu in the company van and began to drive across the city. We made it halfway to our first stop before noticing an airstream trailer on the side of the road with the words “everywhere tour” painted on the side. It would have been downright irresponsible to not photograph the “everywhere chair” on the “everywhere tour”, so we stopped for a photoshoot. In the process, we met representatives of Threadless Tees, a fantastic company supporting great graphic design as well as partnering with the likes of Architecture for Humanity to support disaster relief efforts.

This was a tipping point for us and we all agreed we would likely build a better photo story just letting the beauty and randomness of city present itself to us. With only a loose plan, we set out to photograph the chair as if it were an integral part of the variety and energy that makes this place so great. Stopping in the marina green, we worked up the nerve to ask the Baracus Rugby Club to humor us by mixing the chair into their practice time. Our second day started at Dolores Park where we loved the character of the girls on the green bench and the nonchalant attitude they had in letting Setu join them for a smoke.

There was also a playfulness in rolling the chair to the dog park that really speaks to the spirit of Setu’s versatility.

Our last stop was in Clarion Alley in the Mission, which has an incredible array of street art in a district famous for its murals. There happened to be a vibrant trio being photographed in parallel to us who were more than happy to pose for a few shots with the chair.

We really feel like the warmth and spirit of the people and locations we visited tie perfectly with the intent of approachability and versatility of the Setu chair. Not only did we have a lot of fun doing it, but we also found out that it is possible to clean a wide range of grass, mud and dog stains from a stark white Setu chair!”

We were kept out of the audience – it wouldn’t look good if I took a seat from a ‘real’ audience member now would it!

So I watched from the green room as Ellen had Hilary Swank guess a mystery word.

Once she’d guessed it (it was gummy bears) the audience were rewarded with a Setu chair. You can watch the show here.

It was such a thrill to be part of all that energy and well-wishing. Ellen gave away over $3000 worth of gifts to each audience member. And the audience was ecstatic. In the line to get to our cars after the show the woman in front of me turned around, wide-eyed and said “There wasn’t a second of down time. Where does she get all her energy?” I didn’t have an answer. But I knew that we were just the first show. Ellen was taping Monday’s show right after ours. Two shows back-to-back on Thursdays. Makes for an intense work week but one that gives you a bit of down time on a Friday!

“Burkhard Schmitz, Claudia Plikat, and Carola Zwick began their partnership in 1992. They were looking for the freedom to work on projects that interested them. And for the freedom to do so without bosses and titles.

And that’s pretty much how they’ve operated ever since. “Everybody does everything,” says Burkhard, speaking for the group that now includes Carola’s brother Roland Zwick. “That’s how we cultivate ideas and maintain our openness and curiosity.”

The group’s name—Studio 7.5—comes from an early idea to rent a 7.5-ton truck, put a model shop in it, and drive from one project site to another. Obviously, freedom of movement is a big deal for these designers. They move freely—and smartly—when designing products for their clients.

Going from concept stage to the model shop, sometimes within a day or two, they begin to create rough prototypes. And like kids let loose with a pile of clay, this is their favorite activity.

You really have to work in three dimensions when designing products,” notes Claudia. “So we don’t spend much time on fancy renderings. Computer drawings just don’t give you the feel, the touch, the smell.”

And they love designing furniture. “What’s so interesting about designing furniture as opposed to, say, a tape recorder, is that the designer who designs the recorder comes in last in the chain of command,” explains Roland. “It’s just the beautification or ‘packaging.’ With furniture, it’s far more holistic.”

They find designing office chairs in particular to be the most rewarding. One reason is their experience working with Herman Miller on their award-winning Mirra chair and their newest design called the Setu chair. “We define not only how the chair looks but how it performs,” says Carola. “We’re very involved with its physical behavior, because beauty is not only what you see, it’s also what you feel.”