by Brianna Crandall — June 29, 2016 — Modern design firm Knoll introduced Best of NeoCon [see FMLink article] Gold and Silver award-winning Rockwell Unscripted at the NeoCon 2016 contract furnishings show earlier this month in Chicago. HiLo, a dynamic pull-up perch for active workstyles, designed by Box Clever, also debuted, along with other innovative products.
According to Knoll, Rockwell Unscripted and HiLo support group and individual needs in the evolving workplace — where traditional boundaries between residential and contract settings blur, companies thrive by attracting and retaining top talent, well-being is a primary consideration, and the design of total environments outshines any one particular work element.
Rockwell Unscripted
Spanning six categories and including more than 30 products, Rockwell Unscripted is said to be the company’s most expansive collection to date. Rooted in Rockwell Group’s innovations in hospitality, entertainment and public space, Unscripted is a collection of improvisational elements — spanning six categories and including more than 30 products — that give people the powerful tools they need to cultivate community and creativity for the pace and flow of how we work today.
Rooted in Rockwell Group’s innovations in hospitality, entertainment and public space, Unscripted is a collection of 30+ improvisational elements that give people the powerful tools they need to cultivate community and creativity.
Diana Budds in Fast Co.Design writes:
One of the most direct links between theater design and the Unscripted collection is that the pieces are flexible and can be used in a handful of ways, depending on an office’s needs. For example, a wood “bleacher” seat could be used on its own or grouped together to create a dining-style booth — it’s stage dressing for the workplace.
HiLo
Designed by Box Clever, HiLo is a dynamic pull-up perch for active workstyles. Designed for action, HiLo keeps the user on their feet. “Small, simple, and something new” — Knoll says the playful perch will change the way users work.
HiLo is a dynamic pull-up perch for active workstyles, designed by Box Clever.
Other highlights
The Knoll showroom highlighted an experience-based approach to workplace planning, demonstrating the power of bringing the company’s constellation of design-driven brands and people together to create inspired modern interiors. Taking cues from theater, hospitality and start-up culture, the showroom introduced Immersive planning to the r/evolution workplace platform, putting experience at the center of the story, blurring boundaries between primary workspaces and activity spaces, inviting connected experience, and creating a sense of hospitality at every exchange.
The company featured enhancements to all Knoll Office systems and storage lines, new and classic furniture from KnollStudio, new collections from KnollTextiles, work tools from KnollExtra, and coverings and architectural solutions from Spinneybeck and FilzFelt, including the Beller Collection by Norwegian designer Lars Beller Fjetland, a new collection of natural cork composite for wall applications.
The display also included these recently introduced products:
- Horsepower, the visually light technology channel;
- Pixel by Marc Krusin, an innovative suite of flexible work and meeting tables; and
- Pilot by Knoll, the lounge chair with a striking, slim profile designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.
Introducing Immersive Planning
Based on its latest research, Immersive Planning, From Research to Realization, Knoll has identified a new way to think about space. Dubbed Immersive Planning, the model orients a modern workplace that puts people’s experiences at the center. In Immersive planning, boundaries blur not just between work, life and play, but between individuals and teams, primary workspaces and activity spaces, and owned and shared work areas and tools.
Comfortable furnishings and fluid boundaries characterize this group-based workplace, where the actions of the people themselves define the space. The result: an environment that enables a variety of experiences that can transform at a moment’s notice and evolve with use.
Immersive is Knoll’s fifth r/evolution workplace planning approach, joining Perimeter, Core, Efficient and Adaptive. The approach takes insights from startup culture, residential and hospitality design, co-working and the ambiance of the third place to appeal to new talent, support group-based knowledge work and promote on-site attendance.
Comprised of three fundamental elements — Improvisational, Communal and Dimensional — the model cultivates a multisensory environment of dynamic flow, constant movement, meaningful interaction, creative group effort and innovation within a gracious and welcoming setting.
