by Ann Withanee — June 14, 2011—NeoCon World’s Trade Fair is the stellar event of the commercial/institutional furniture and furnishings fields, and the highlight is the Best of NeoCon product competition. This year, Halcon won the Best of the Best, as well as a Gold in the Tables: Training and Work category. NeoCon World’s Trade Fair is held annually at The Merchandise Mart in Chicago. This year, the show ran June 13-15.
Halcon was one of 72 award recipients in the competition that drew 325 products in the 40 product and furnishings categories.
Entries limited to products making their débuts at NeoCon are scrutinized by panels of experts from the fields of facilities management and interior design specifiers. The final selection combines the wisdom from each of these specialties. The jury was composed of 45 corporate, government and institutional facilities management executives, interior designers and architects who are responsible for selecting and buying furniture and furnishings for their organizations or clients. The seven jury teams visited Merchandise Mart showrooms and temporary market suites to judge each product in person. Manufacturers or product designers had the opportunity to explain and discuss details of the entered product and answer juror questions.
The product competition, inaugurated in 1987, is sponsored by Contract Magazine, Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., The International Interior Design Association (IIDA), The International Facility Management Association (IFMA), and McMorrow Report.com.
The following are Gold Award winners in the Best of NeoCon product competition listed by categories.
GOLD AWARD WINNERS
Best of Competition:
Halcon, for MOTUS
Also Gold Award for Tables: Training and Work category
Architectural Products
Seeyond Architectural Solutions, for SEEYOND Architectural Solutions
Carpet: Broadloom
Bentley Prince Street, for Silver Screen Collection
Carpet: Modular
Shaw Contract Group, for On The Edge
Casegoods
Nucraft, for Cavera
Conference Room Furniture
Davis Furniture Industries, for Ekko Table Series
Education Solutions
KI, for Learn2 Mobile
Files & Storage
Haworth, for Besides Storage
Flooring: Resilient
USFContract, for Cork Dcor, Vol 2
Furniture: Benching
Steelcase, for Bivi by Turnstone
Furniture Systems
Haworth, for Integrated Palette
Healthcare Flooring
Mannington Commercial, for Vivendi Collection
Healthcare Furniture
Nemschoff, a Herman Miller Healthcare Company, for Oasis Overbed
Healthcare Solutions
SIS-USA Inc., for Auto-Wall Tracx
Healthcare Fabrics & Textiles
Knoll Textiles, for Vista Collection
Lighting: Decorative
Boyd Lighting, for Chateau Lantern Sconce
Lighting: Task/Desktop
Koncept Technologies, for UCX Undercabinet Lights
Seating: Benches
Haworth, for LTB
Seating: Conference
Davis Furniture Industries, for Sofa Chair Series
Seating: Ergonomic Desk/Task
Vitra Inc., for ID Chair Concept
Seating: Guest
Andreu World America, for Sit Wood
Seating: Sofas and Lounge
Davis Furniture Industries, for Kontour Lounge Series
Seating: Stacking
Andreu World America, for Sail
Software Technologies
Spacefile International, for Spacefile Asset Tracking
Tables: Occasional
Coalesse, for Sebastopol
Tables: Training & Work and Best of Competition
Halcon, for MOTUS
Technology Support
Vitra Inc., for AirShare
Textiles: Upholstery
cf stinson, for the Lumina Collection
Wall Treatments
Murals Your Way, for SmartStick Re-Positionable Wall Fabric
Window Treatments
Carnegie, for Halina
Workplace Technologies
acoustictrade, for ADAPT
SILVER AWARD WINNERS, partial list
Carpet, Modular
InterfaceFLOR, for Luxe at Work
Casegoods
Allsteel, for Involve
Flooring: Resilient
Milliken, for the Rinascita Collection
Signage: Environmental Graphics
Peter Pepper Products, for ICON Healthcare Alert Signage
Seating: Conference
Keilhauer, for Unity
Seating: Ergonomic Desk/Task
Geiger International, for Geiger Sotto Executive Chair
Seating: Stacking
izzy+, for Webster from Fixtures by izzy+
Tables: Training & Work
Humanscale, for Float
Walls: Movable
Haworth, for ERA
Two other programs acknowledged the following companies and their products.
Innovation Awards:
Anthro Corporation, Steve’s Station
Evans Consoles, Strategies
io Lighting, Balance Beam
Karndean International, Karndean Loose Lay
Shaw Contract Group, On The Edge
Seeyond Architectural Solutions, SEEYOND Architectural Solutions
Editor’s Choice Awards:
Allsteel, Mind-Share and Rise from the Gather Collection
ITOKI Design, HIDA Series Furniture
Tandus Flooring, Change Modular Collection
Unika Vaev, Illias Collection by Instyle: Molecular, Braille & Blink
In the following weeks, many of the above award-winning products, including those in the Best of NeoCon competition, will be showcased in FMLink.com.
