NeoCon looks to the future with an intense program of events, talks, new products and cutting-edge research, to explore a new vision of the world in which there are no boundaries between domestic and professional spaces. An evolution triggered by the demands of a period of time that has drastically altered design codes, revising the approach to shared spaces.
From 4 to 6 October, theMART in Chicago becomes the stage for an edition full of new developments, ushering in a new era of design culture while revising office scenarios. Leading companies on the market and new emerging names in the fields of Hospitality, Workplace, Healthcare, Residential, Public Spaces, Education and Government reveal their solutions for public and private spaces, with dynamic, flexible furnishings, dividers and systems that permit privacy, functional and efficient alcoves, and zones conceived for workers with issues of neurodiversity. Products that focus on human beings and their new needs.
“For more than 50 years, NeoCon has helped launch product solutions that meet, and even anticipate, needs and trends in the workplace and other shared spaces. NeoCon 2021 is no different,” says Byron Morton, vice-president of NeoCon. In the area of psychological wellbeing inside workplaces, there is a particular accent on the creation of situations that not only reduce stress, but also take neurodiversity and neurodivergence into account – from autistic spectrum disorder to attention deficits, hyperactivity to dyslexia – through flexible layouts.
One example is the Pergola project by Patricia Urquiola for Haworth, a system of new spaces employees can use when a “change of scene” is important. The need for privacy in the office is addressed by furnishings that provide personal areas: the result is the Work Tent by Steelcase with a desk and a chair, an elegant and safe personal refuge in open-plan facilities. Buddyhub by Pedrali, designed by Busetti Garuti Redaelli, is instead a functional seat conceived as an alcove to foster concentration and to provide visual and acoustic privacy. For physical and smart meetings, Space S by Mute is a pod for video conferencing equipped with an avant-garde ventilation system, while the Varia Desk Partitions presented by 3Form offer a solution for the division of desks, capable of creating personalized configurations and more intimate work zones.
Among the new ideas for security and social distancing, Giro Soft by Andreu World, designed by Alfredo Häberli, is an elegant seat envisioned as an ideal place for a break. Many innovations have to do with outdoor working, a key theme during the pandemic: from seats in completely recyclable metal designed by Division Twelve to the CROP collection from Allermuir that stands up to weather and comes with removable padding for greater comfort, and the Rally chairs offered by JANUS et Cie. Abélio by Fermob is instead an elegant divider that separates spaces in a discreet way, with a plexiglass panel in an asymmetrical form.
Best of NeoCon – the program that honors the most advanced products presented by exhibitors, since 1990 – has a decidedly new look this year, with over 58 categories of products that will be judged by a jury of architects and designers, as well as outstanding names in the sectors of healthcare, commerce, institutions and hospitality. The winners will be announced on 4 October at theMART and via streaming.
NeoCon
4-6 October 2021
theMART – Chicago (USA)
*Due to restrictions connected with Covid-19, to attend it is necessary to carefully read the policy statement at the fair’s website: www.neocon.com
Virtual Streaming: NeoCon Hub
www.neoconhub.com
