Three days, one place. Just enough to stage the biggest news from American and international brands specializing in the workplace and commercial sector. This is NeoCon, an event that, from June 10th to 12th, enlivened Chicago from the central location of The Mart, the iconic building that, for the occasion, opened its numerous interior and design showrooms to the public and made several of its 14 floors available for pop-up showrooms.
Office furniture dominates the exhibition proposal, telling the story of the increasingly dynamic and transversal evolution of the sector: furniture, systems, fabrics and wall coverings, sound-absorbing elements, lighting and accessories studied in materials and design to be both high performance and comfortable, transversal to guarantee privacy as well as to stimulate creativity in an open space.
Versatility is the concept that accompanies Bernhardt Design’s new products, designed to furnish both the office and the contemporary home. Among the new collections, the Ice coffee table collection, designed by architect Daniel Germani, stands out: made of blown Murano glass, it comes in three sizes and three different colors (cobalt blue, amber and smoke). The Bolete seating collection, designed by Patricia Urquiola for Andreu World, also has an artistic appeal: a multipurpose chair and a table have been added to the original family, which also includes a line of sofas and the new Bolete Chair BIO®, characterized by its characteristic ribbed structure made of the exclusive BIO® thermopolymer developed by the company, a material of 100% natural origin, non-fossil, compostable and biodegradable at the end of its life cycle.
Flowing shapes abound in Poltrona Frau’s Squash collection, which was launched at the Salone del Mobile in Milan in April and is now being presented to the US market at the Haworth store (of which the brand is a member). Faye Toogood imagined a series consisting of an armchair, rug, mirror and coffee table with soft lines inspired by the 1950s and the company’s past.
Kettal’s proposals are equally balanced between home and business, as well as between inside and outside. Inside the showroom, the outdoor furniture company presented its new direction towards interiors, perfectly represented by the Passage seating, designed by Ronan Bouroullec, which stands out for its technical sophistication, the precision of its joints and the delicacy of its back. The same philosophy applies to Pedrali and its Lamorisse collection (designed by CMP Design), which is multifunctional and welcoming thanks to the soft upholstery contained in the wooden frame.
Innovation, then, is as much about functionality as it is about materials. In the first case, the solution is offered by Silen with Chatbox, a flexible pod that offers privacy in its simplest and most accessible form, for work, private calls or creative sessions; available in three sizes – Single, Duo and Quattro – the structure combines technology with minimalist aesthetics. The same is true of the Luna seating collection by Stylex, which can be adapted to any environment thanks to its curved shapes, rounded edges and open elements, as well as the different heights of the backs and the integrated accessory tables. In the second case, the novelty is Supreen™, a revolutionary performance fabric made of a patented silicone blend that is virtually impermeable to any liquid, able to repel liquids and prevent future stains.
Nowadays, the office is also outdoors: outdoor furniture is an integral part of a workspace project. Here are the proposals of the American company Tuuci, with its Luma loungers, and the Made-in-Italy proposals of Ethimo, which presents the Rotin collection by the duo Zanellato/Bortotto.
