Bene Office Furniture

NEOCON 2010

Neocon 2010 was better attended and more lively than in the crisis year of 2009. Even though attendance numbers did not approach those of the best years, the quality of the meetings was significantly better than before, and the queues to the lifts and taxis at the Merchandise Mart were long: perhaps the most telling economic indicator.

In general, Neocon serves as a barometer for the industry. Business remains slow, which means that we couldn’t expect a firework of innovation at the trade fair, but a closer look definitely revealed some new developments. So the office furnishing industry is certainly on the move. Perhaps because of renewed hope for better times and / or because of changes in the work environment, which are calling for new solutions.


Education!

Some of the American manufacturers are focusing increasingly on new business fields, such as furnishing hospitals, doctor’s offices and other health care businesses. We have been seeing this trend for a few years. What was new this time was a clear positioning in the education segment. This can be attributed not only to international economic stimulus packages from the public sector – investments in education are doubtlessly in vogue politically now – but also to the increasing importance of training and continuing education in corporations.
One product that is particularly striking in this context is the Node Chair by Steelcase. A hybrid between desk and chair, it is a true all-rounder for quickly shifting between lectures and team work.
Other examples were the Multi-Generation by Knoll and the Seek by Allsteel.

The difficult economic environment of the past two years has also affected product development. The cutthroat competition resulting from the market situation has had the effect, for example, that nearly all major firms are bringing new swivel chairs to market in the more affordable price segment. Professional products that, viewed individually, are not worth mentioning. To be fair, though, we should note that after the interesting new developments in the last two years – especially the new mobility and mechanical designs by Herman Miller, Humanscale and Wilkhahn – we couldn’t expect much.
The "Luce" by Okamura was particularly striking from a technological perspective. The mechanics come from the functional principles of robot legs. Luce is also a positive development in terms of design.

Bene’s B_Run swivel chair (design: Justus Kolberg) has quietly found its way into North America and is being distributed under licence by the Canadian seating furniture specialists Keilhauer.


Relaxed Conferencing – "Group Task" Seating

Providers have gradually manged to create a new product category in chairs: a sort of mix between the simple Task Chair for the individual workstation and a conference chair with completely new functionality. Because these chairs bring ergonomics, comfort and above all dynamism into the previously static furnishing of conference and meeting rooms – and these office chairs are easy to operate and adjust, without complicated, detailed functions.
Exemplary products in this regard were the Level by Haworth; the Cobi Chair by Steelcase, which evolved from the Feder by PearsonLloyd; and the Diffrient World Chair by Humanscale, which recently was awarded the Best of the Best Red Dot Award in Germany.


Collaboration

Slowly but surely, new approaches to formerly classic conferences and meetings are being implemented. We can show a certain degree of self-confidence here... Bene’s PARCS continues to be considered pioneering from a design perspective. There were also, however, a few interesting products and solutions to be found at Neocon.
Davis has moved more in the direction of lounge furniture with their Site collection; with its benches around a low table, it offers an alternative to the traditional conference.
Coalesse, a brand by Steelcase, presented an interesting solution for laptop-supported collaboration with their SW 1 desks and chairs.

Steelcase and Haworth have created wall-oriented solutions for monitor-oriented work in small groups, in different heights, shapes and sizes.

Among the upholstered furniture manufacturers, Keilhauer surprised attendants with their comprehensive Cahoots product family in collaboration with the Austrian design trio EOOS. A product group of seating furniture and side tables for waiting, relaxing and working, defined as products for smaller groups. That’s where the name comes from. Whenever you are "in cahoots" with someone, you are meeting with them for personal, confidential, and perhaps even conspiratorial activities...


Desking

For starters, the most important discovery: benches have arrived in the USA. The Americans view benches as a "European alternative" to panel systems. The colours, the cable management, and the various accessories are presented as if they were at a trendy fair in London Clerkenwell. European bench solutions bring lightness and clear lines, facilitating collaboration in teams.

The large manufacturers are striving appreciably to create furnishing elements for shielding, personal storage space, personalisation of the workstation, air filtering, ergonomic monitor stands and energy-efficient LED workplace lighting. For individual users on one hand, and on the other to escape the high price pressures in the desk and benches segment.

The FrameOne by Steelcase is particularly interesting and worth mentioning. With its shelving and dividers above the desk, the product spectrum provides lockable boxes, cable outlets, storage room for supplies, and pocket shelves directly at the personal workstation. Fabrics and colours increase the feel-good factor for knowledge workers.

The Stride system by Allsteel was one of the Gold Award Winners at Neocon. The storage space element is located above the bench, and defines or divides relatively flexible spaces from one another, expanding them functionally. The system thus offers the functions of a container and can be interpreted as a screen with additional storage space.

Antenna Workspace, the new bench product by Knoll International, is strikingly European because of its minimalist design, colour palette and a few interesting details. Incidentally, the design team Antenna is made up Sigi Möslinger, a woman from Upper Austria who has lived and worked in New York for over ten years, and her Japanese partner, Masamichi Udagawa.


Sustainability

Although environmental themes were not as hyped as they were at recent Neocons, "green", "eco" and "sustainability" have been promoted aggressively by the large American manufacturers for the past two to three years. Even if America is a few years behind Europe in this regard, everything they do is consciously marketed. We Europeans could learn something here. And, in their way, the Americans are of course working towards this good cause.


Approach

In summary, it is clear that the convergence of design and office culture between America and Europe continues apace. At the most important trade fairs, at least, the American manufacturers are presenting themselves as more European. The degree to which this corresponds to actual office life, and the extent to which this development is sustainable, will remain an open question going into the coming years.
By the way: even in America, small providers are able to enter the spotlight with smart ideas. Like Izzy, with its Mini topped by a surfboard, surrounded by the traditional monster trucks of the industry giants. Parked directly in front of the Merchandise Mart trade fair grounds.

The city of Chicago was not much impressed this year either by the influential office furniture trade fair. Chicago is still celebrating their Blackhawks, their ice hockey stars who won the Stanley Cup in the Illinois metropolis in 2010. Even the legacy of Picasso was not spared...


Juni 2010, Peter Handlgruber