Each year, the design world convenes at NeoCon in Chicago as more than 500 exhibiting companies unveil thousands of the industry’s most cutting edge, beautiful, and innovative products. I had a chance to attend the 2019 event, which took place June 10-12. Here are my nine favorite new products from NeoCon.
1. Watson Furniture Group – Cloud 9
This agile and mobile workstation is perfect for hot desk environments. Stations can be turned, rotated, rolled, and angled, connecting to countless configurations. Ideal for space saving while still providing plenty of usable and effective storage. This piece will function efficiently in a variety of office environments.
2. Andreu World – Conference Tables: Reverse Wood & Status
These tables bring a high-end design at an affordable price. One is solid ash and the other you can mix and match with a variety of tops, heights, and power configurations.
3. Clarus Glassboards – Flex Wall
These room dividers have a simple, elegant shape and add dimension to any space, as the glass follows a concave bowing to reach the floor. They are also highly functional with a hidden piece in the base that allows users to pick them up and easily roll them without having an exposed mobile base.
4. CF Stinson – designMix
CF Stinson came to play this NeoCon, including showcasing their new online tool, designMix. This free tool for designers is simple, easy to use, and provides excellent assistance when choosing color and fabric pallets.
5. Haworth – Digital Knitting
Haworth digital knitting for furniture is an innovative way to produce textiles. It allows for designers to completely customize each piece, all with zero material waste.
6. HBF – Lost & Found Fabrics
These fabrics look handmade but are extremely durable. Commercial textiles are expected to last longer, wear better, and be higher quality than ever before. Lost & Found is a creative option.
7. OFS – Obeya Room Division System
Rich wood tones in this room division system are unique, warming up an office space and making it feel more like home. Not to mention, the configurations and accessories are seemingly endless: cork board, slatted wood walls, counters, dry erase surfaces, curtains, frosted glass; you can practically build an office from it.
8. Steelcase - Flex Collection
If you have highly mobile and collaborative teams, Steelcase Flex Collection is a great option. Specifically designed for spontaneity, you can stay in the space and reconfigure the system to suit any office task, adapting on demand. When you’re done, convenient storage carts allow you to pack up and roll away, saving space and helping to maintain multifunction rooms.
9. Milliken – Change Agent Carpet
This modular carpet collection has two options: Brushed Metal or Magnetic Field. Brushed Metal features unidirectional movement in gradient alternating tones, while Magnetic Field features multi-directional movement with coarse accents. These carpets offer high-performance without sacrificing luxury design.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Bartlett, AIA, RID, LEED AP, is a Partner and interior architecture leader with Marmon Mok Architecture
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Jun 27, 2024
Berkeley, Calif., voters will decide whether to tax large buildings with gas hookups
After a court struck down a first-in-the-nation ban on gas hookups in new buildings last year, voters in Berkeley, Calif., will have their say in November on a measure to tax large buildings that use natural gas.
Mass Timber | Jun 26, 2024
Oregon State University builds a first-of-its-kind mass timber research lab
In Corvallis, Oreg., the Jen-Hsun Huang and Lori Mills Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex at Oregon State University aims to achieve a distinction among the world’s experimental research labs: It will be the first all-mass-timber lab meeting rigorous vibration criteria (2000 micro-inches per second, or MIPS).
Sustainability | Jun 26, 2024
5 ways ESG can influence design and create opportunities
Gensler sustainability leaders Stacey Olson, Anthony Brower, and Audrey Handelman share five ways they're rethinking designing for ESG, using a science-based approach that can impact the ESG value chain.
Student Housing | Jun 25, 2024
P3 student housing project with 176 units slated for Purdue University Fort Wayne
A public/private partnership will fund a four-story, 213,000 sf apartment complex on Purdue University Fort Wayne’s (PFW’s) North Campus in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The P3 entity was formed exclusively for this property.
Sustainability | Jun 24, 2024
CBRE to use Climate X platform to help clients calculate climate-related risks
CBRE will use risk analysis platform Climate X to provide climate risk data to commercial renters and property owners. The agreement will help clients calculate climate-related risks and return on investments for retrofits or acquisitions that can boost resiliency.
MFPRO+ News | Jun 24, 2024
‘Yes in God’s Backyard’ movement could create more affordable housing
The so-called “Yes in God’s Backyard” (YIGBY) movement, where houses of worship convert their properties to housing, could help alleviate the serious housing crisis affecting many communities around the country.
Student Housing | Jun 20, 2024
How student housing developments are evolving to meet new expectations
The days of uninspired dorm rooms with little more than a bed and a communal bathroom down the hall are long gone. Students increasingly seek inclusive design, communities to enhance learning and living, and a focus on wellness that encompasses everything from meditation spaces to mental health resources.
Museums | Jun 20, 2024
Connecticut’s Bruce Museum more than doubles its size with a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition
In Greenwich, Conn., the Bruce Museum, a multidisciplinary institution highlighting art, science, and history, has undergone a campus revitalization and expansion that more than doubles the museum’s size. Designed by EskewDumezRipple and built by Turner Construction, the project includes a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition as well as a comprehensive renovation of the 32,500-sf museum, which was originally built as a private home in the mid-19th century and expanded in the early 1990s.
Building Technology | Jun 18, 2024
Could ‘smart’ building facades heat and cool buildings?
A promising research project looks at the possibilities for thermoelectric systems to thermally condition buildings, writes Mahsa Farid Mohajer, Sustainable Building Analyst with Stantec.
University Buildings | Jun 18, 2024
UC Riverside’s new School of Medicine building supports team-based learning, showcases passive design strategies
The University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine has opened the 94,576-sf, five-floor Education Building II (EDII). Created by the design-build team of CO Architects and Hensel Phelps, the medical school’s new home supports team-based student learning, offers social spaces, and provides departmental offices for faculty and staff.
