Teknion’s 22,000-square-foot booth on the 10th floor of Chicago’s Merchandise (a booth redesigned by Vanderbyl Design) is definitely one of the “places to be” at NeoCon, which continues through June 17. Teknion is introducing its latest workplace products designs from Teknion, Teknion Studio and Teknion Textiles, along with exciting new ventures with Cisco and Pearson Lloyd.
TEKNION
• UpStage, a new workplace furniture system, addresses the apparent paradoxes between the need for privacy and the need to be connected to coworkers in the modern workplace. “UpStage connects individual personalities and personal workstyles by allowing people to manage independently their own preferences for privacy, movement, orientation and storage – touching on many important worker well-being aspects that are top of mind in current thinking about effective workplace strategies,” says Steve Verbeek, V-P, Design and Innovation. “When individuals have some degree of control over their physical environments, they feel empowered, energized, inspired – and therefore more productive.”
• The Livello Height-Adjustable Bench provides each user with individual control of his/her work environment. “The Livello Height-Adjustable Bench creates benching workspaces that provide each user with individual control of his/her work and movement. Single or linked, stations create a benching environment that fully supports user sit-stand ranges, technology requirements, and a high level of flexibility to create individual privacy,” says Dannion Smith, director, Ergonomic Initiatives, at Teknion. “Not only is this the most height-adjustable bench on the market, it offers an industry-leading three-inch leveling feature, the tallest glass screens and more power delivery options to a run of stations, addressing today’s most common benching application issues.”
• The Variable HybrED Chair, designed by Alessandro Piretti,is a lightweight, mobile, compact, self-contained individual chair/desk. It enables classrooms and training rooms to change from traditional rows of training tables and desking to a more modern, individually controlled, dynamic setting. Designers and users can fully customize their spaces.
• Teknion’s new Laminate Program features custom-developed colours and patterns that are specifically designed for today’s office environments, plus low- and high-pressure (LPL and HPL) laminates developed to overcome typical industry visual discrepancies – an industry first. The laminate colour palette supports the trend towards mixed material furniture compositions while setting a new colour tone for future Teknion finish updates.
TEKNION STUDIO
• Designed by Monica Armani, the Qui collection of seating and surfaces encourages creativity to design highly functional, collaborative scenarios. Qui is a system of ottomans, tables and space dividers completed by a lamp and several components and accessories; the collection defines and creates environments to encourage meaningful dialogue between a multitude of colleagues, and small-format, touch-point areas for quick interactions and exchanges.
• Designed by Claesson Koivisto Rune, the Cover collection of lounge seating and tables is light in scale and integrates well within a wide range of interior spaces “Our aim with the design is to imbue Cover with elegance and timeless qualities. The result is a furniture collection that blends well into a wide range of interior spaces, complementing other furniture in the room, regardless of style,” says Claesson Koivisto Rune. “Continuous, sweeping outlines and the layer-on-layer concept define the design while the slimmed dimensions gives Cover an important ‘furnishability’ factor. However, the Cover easy chair and sofa feature a generous seat, yet surprisingly economical outer measurements, making the collection really versatile.”
• 7 Infinito Lounge Seating + Masalla Tables were designed by Toan Nguyen. From breakout spaces to reception areas, executive offices and beyond, Infinito + Masalla embodies the traditional applications of a lounge group while adding verve and functionality to any environment. Infinito brings a traditional lounge look with a not-so-classic feel to any scenario; it comprises a lounge chair, settee and three-seat sofa. Infinito is complemented by Masalla, a collection of occasional tables based on the same concept of versatility.
• Designed to be part of an office space in constant change, the Cavu family of wooden tables makes workplace meetings and communication experiences much more comfortable and inviting. The design provides several options of coffee tables with different sizes, meeting tables of different heights to make meetings more relaxed and comfortable, and high tables for meetings with stools or standing. “The design celebrates the beauty and flexibility of wood as a material,” says Mario Ruiz. “The forms and joinery of Cavu provide the sense of a hand-built object with unique, flowing details.”
TEKNION TEXTILES
• Textured Edge is a new collection of upholstery, panel and wall fabrics designed by Suzanne Tick.”It pays homage to the action of creating art,” says Suzanne Tick, creative director, Teknion Textiles. “Whether it’s painting, drawing, drafting or sculpting, the process of artistic expression involves materials and tools that help ideas take shape. Early sketches and line studies come to life through the artist’s hand. Texture, both visual and physical, renders the surface with life and stimulates the senses. Layers of colour, light and shadow help define form.”
NEW VENTURES
• Teknion has a new partnership with PearsonLloyd. The London-based design studio established by Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd works across the workplace, aviation, urban design and healthcare sectors with a goal to identify and respond to the shifting patterns of behavior in contemporary life. “Luke and Tom bring a new way of thinking about product design for the contemporary workplace to Teknion,” says David Feldberg, Teknion president & CEO. “Their first designs for Teknion represent an artistically crafted collection of objects for the workplace, including a coat stand, love seat, high table and a range of accessories. The collection, which celebrates Teknion’s materials palette and manufacturing capabilities, stands completely on its own, but also forms the conceptual foundation for more product development to come.”
• In collaboration with Cisco, a worldwide leader in IT, Teknion is featuring several examples of innovative work environments that address three key trends in the evolution of workplace needs: a focus on health and wellness; increased demand for flexible workspaces; and the rise of the remote worker.
For more info, visit www.teknion.com