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Only the Best in This gLuxury Carh
The bright white chair frame sits low and broad, extending far
forward of the low-riding chassis. This is the first product made by
MOVE Inc., the design firm located in Yokohama and founded by
industrial designer Hiromichi Hirokawa (64) fiveyears ago.
The model number is F263. gWe started numbering prototypes
at 100, and it was the 163rd model that proved successful.h
After completing his masterfs at Tokyo National University of
Fine Arts, Hirokawa worked as a freelance designer. Facing
age 60 himself, Hirokawa decided to gbring to the world the ideal
wheelchair,hin large part because the follow-up on wheeichair
design in which he specialized at school was ghalf-baked,h in his
words.
What Hirokawa was searching for was ghas to look cool, has to
feel good to ride in, has to be like a Mercedes of wheelchair that
makes passers-by do a double take,h The general trend in
contemporary wheeichair has been lightweight, easy to fold up,
made of round pipeing. Hirokawa wanted to reflect in his design
gthe erasure of the existece of the ofject we now know as a
wheelchair.h He decided to take a completly oppsite approach.
The unique frame which also serves as a guardrail for the lower
legs uses a twin tubing of a material developed together with
Sumitomo Light Metals. It's not just for looks. It is also lightweight
and highly durable, and makes possible an g4-wheel suspensionh
style.
Because ordinaly wheelchair designs join the chassis and chair
togather, depressions and dumps in the pavement are transmimitted
directly to the lower back to the rider. Hirokawa suspended the
underside of the chair from the center of the back wheel with a
reinforced rubber binding, and by adding a suspension mechanism
to the front wheels and chair as well archieves a structual separation
of chair and chasis, making it possible to absorb in large part any
shock that would ordinariy transfer to the chair.
The seat and seatback are made with a luxurious feeling mesh
fabric, providing for excellent ventilation, baranced distribution of
body weight and control of body moisture, making bedsores a rare
occurrence. This fabric is manufactured by Kawashima Textile
Manufacturers, a supplier of seating materials to the airline and
luxury car industries.
Priced at over 300,000 yen, Larry is a little expensive. Only seven
were sold immediately following the initial launch last spring. It is
still up for grabs whether Hirokawafs dream of a wheelchair will
playin the marketplace.
But herefs the evaluation of a 37-year old male retail employee
whose F263 is the gwheelchair of my dreams,h after eight different
chairs in 15years. gIn all the chairs I've ever had, my body weight
would tend to concentrate in a certain spot which would after a
while start to hurt, so I would have to use special cushions, still
having to use my arms to lift myself to shift position every10 or 20
minutes. With the F263 I don't have have to do any of that. I can sit
in it for hours without any cushions at all.h
The brand name is Larry. Hirokawa hopes that gas the population
ages there will be more wheelchair users. I'd like them to use my
chair all day if they like, to move anywhere about the city they like.h@
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