Mantis: The Ergonomic Prayer Chair (2025)
Featured in the Design Week’s picks of 2025’s standout degree show projects & Arts Thread Global Creative Graduate showcase
Goal
As a designer grounded in diasporic experience and cultural narratives, my goal with the Mantis Prayer Chair was to explore how form, faith, and ergonomics can intersect to support the body in sacred space.
The project aimed to create an inclusive prayer aid for elderly and mobility-impaired Muslims—particularly those experiencing arthritis, knee pain, or age-related physical decline—who struggle to perform conventional prayer postures. Rather than treating assistive seating as a compromise, the ambition was to redefine accessibility as dignity, ensuring that physical support does not disrupt spiritual connection or ritual continuity.
Challenge
Through mosque observations, interviews, and surveys, I identified a series of unspoken yet systemic challenges surrounding aging and prayer:
-
Conventional chairs used in mosques are functional but ergonomically unsuitable, often causing discomfort and postural strain.
-
Knee pain is the primary reason worshippers resort to chairs, yet most seating solutions do not support kneeling, spinal alignment, or smooth transitions between prayer positions.
-
Aging and reduced mobility in religious practice are rarely discussed openly, leading to quiet exclusion rather than intentional design.
-
Many worshippers expressed discomfort with praying fully seated, as it disrupts the embodied rhythm and symbolism of prayer, particularly during sujood
Gateway 3- Mantis Prayer Chair …
.
The design challenge therefore extended beyond ergonomics:
How might an assistive object support the biomechanics of prayer while remaining culturally sensitive, spiritually respectful, and visually integrated within sacred spaces?
Solution / Result
The outcome is Mantis, a kneeling prayer chair designed specifically around the movement logic of Islamic prayer—balancing moments of stillness with controlled transition.
The final prototype features:
-
A tilting, sliding seat that supports the spine and redistributes load away from the knees during prolonged worship.
-
An adjustable knee rest to accommodate arthritis and reduced joint flexibility.
-
A lower prostration support that enables smoother entry into sujood rather than eliminating it.
-
A cushioned headrest that mimics the natural gesture of forehead placement, maintaining ritual familiarity.
-
A compact footprint suitable for home or mosque use, with consideration for alignment within prayer rows.
By creating an ergonomic solution for individuals with arthritis, aging bodies, or physical impairments, I aim to redefine how assistive design can be integrated into religious contexts — not as a compromise, but as a means of inclusion and beauty. The Mantis prototype previewed below is a kneeling chair designed specifically for Islamic prayer. It features a tilting seat that supports the spine and knees during prolonged sessions of worship. The lower rest allows for easier transition into the sujood (prostration) position, while the head support mimics the natural gesture of forehead placement. The piece incorporates motifs from Islamic architecture and was developed through a combination of digital design (CAD), 3D printing, and handcrafted assembly (Wood and steel fabrication).