Tag : NeoCon 2013

This week, we’ll be looking at a big name in the NeoCon 2013 competition hosted by Contract Magazine. Herman Miller earned an innovation award for its Metaform Portfolio. The recognition is for the lightweight polypropelene that makes up the modular blocks in this systems furniture. Because each “block” weighs less than 20 pounds, employees can actually reconfigure their workspace on the fly. That’s a massive shift in thinking about office design. Instead of providing different spaces for head down and collaborative activities and having workers move from one spot to the next, employees can move the furniture around them. Facility managers may not think this “no tools, no rules” approach is necessarily a good thing, but it will certainly open up new possibilities.

One of the configurable features of Metaform is the addition of privacy screens that can be slotted into the top of each block. It’s a pretty sweet furniture system. Of course, you’re looking at a price of several thousand dollars per unit. So just adding OBEX privacy panels is going to be a lot more cost effective unless you plan to replace all your current workstations.

It’s time to look at another entry in the Best of NeoCon 2013 competition hosted by Contract Magazine. This entry is from Peter Pepper Products, a company that’s well known for its trendy and eye-catching office furniture accessories.

From the Ski Slope to the Workplace

For this year’s NeoCon, the firm is entering the Slalom EcoFlex Partition System into the competition. It appears that PPP is the US distributor for the product. This particular piece is by designer Elettra de Pellegrin from Italy. The Slalom is named after the type of ski trail with poles placed close together for skiers to navigate between. In the same way, this flexible panel can weave its way between workplace obstacles to divide spaces in many different ways. Dividers can be connected in an intersecting fashion, in curves, or at right angles. The panels are modular (you can connect up to four in a row).

We see this product being useful as a temporary way to create collaborative environments in the open office or to make touch-down areas for mobile workers. They could also be used to manage the flow of traffic or keep noise levels under control in busy areas. You could even construct a maze!

Here’s What We Like About the Slalom EcoFlex Partitions

• They come in several heights to create a variable landscape
• They are available in many different colors to add visual interest to the office environment
• The surface can be customized with graphics for branding purposes
• The panels are finished with fire retardant, eco-friendly fabrics to comply with workplace safety and sustainability programs
• They boast a sound absorbent core to provide acoustic control (absorbency decreases the “leaking” of sound from one space to another)
• The products are recyclable at the end of their lifespan

Come to think of it, the things we like about these full-height freestanding panels are the same things we like about our OBEX panel extenders and desktop dividers. Maybe we should make a curvy desk divider next. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.