Trends at NeoCon 2014: Movement
As I mentioned Tuesday, NeoCon was a great time to see a completely different side of the office design industry that I’m used to. Because I’m generally looking at and focusing my attention on the arrangement and design within office spaces, it was a wonderful opportunity to learn a bit about the design of products that particularly affect the end user in an office.
My goal has been to identify several products that fit within and address trends occurring in the projects we’re seeing on a regular basis here on Office Snapshots; today’s trend is Movement. It has been fairly apparent for several years that movement and ergonomics were going to be important aspects of office design. This was my first NeoCon so my view is slightly limited, but from what I could tell, all major brands had products designed for this growing movement (pun!) – the to categories I’m pointing out below are seating and height adjustable surfaces.
One of the interesting things about movement and office design is that though it is important to have ergonomically supportive furniture that encourages natural motion, the placement of said items in an actual office and the culture of the company probably have more to do with the gained benefits than the furniture itself.
That said, lets take a peek!
Height-Adjustable Desks
Focal Upright Locus
The desk top can be used either flat or angled up to 15º. Includes a synthetic leather work surface, two cup/pencil holders and cable management clips for the desk leg. The lifting mechanism of the Locus Workstation is a simple and elegant German-made system designed to effortlessly glide up and down. Turning the small hand crank on the front frame of the desk drives a series of three hardened steel rods and gears.
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Herman Miller Locale
“A thoughtful composition of Locale’s elements encourages people to freely and intuitively cycle from individual work to collaborative group and social activities. With close proximity to each other and to everything they need to comfortably complete their tasks, people can be more focused, creative, and free to do their best.”
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Humanscale Quickstand
“Sleek, sturdy and simple to use, QuickStand is the ultimate sit/stand solution for new and existing workstations. Humanscale created QuickStand to encourage users to be active and integrate movement into their days, which is vital to health. For easy installation, QuickStand clamps to any fixed-height work surface like a monitor arm. It is built with all the cables the user needs to simply plug in and go, and these cables are expertly managed for a clean aesthetic. And best of all, QuickStand doesn’t compromise the user’s desktop, leaving space on either side for paper-based work or other items.”
Seating
Focal Upright Mogo
“The Mogo Kickstand Seat from Focal Upright Furniture is a lightweight height-adjustable seat offering lean-to support almost anywhere you go. Mogo is right at home in the conference room too, allowing all those outside-the-box ideas fly (you know, the ones that end up actually working!). “
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Allsteel Mimeo
“Moving is fundamental for a healthy work environment, and Mimeo was designed to promote the individual movements of the user. It supports active sitting and work styles in today’s active workplace. Mimeo’s unique IntelliForm™ back technology allows for optimal flexibility and responsive movement that conforms to the user, resulting in the feeling of being embraced. “
