by Brianna Crandall — July 6, 2016 — At NeoCon 2016, Swiss family-owned furniture company Vitra displayed an eclectic layering of products that the company says blur the traditional distinctions of home, office and public spaces, emerging with two Silver awards in the prestigious Best of NeoCon Competition [see FMLink article], described below.
In the Vitra showroom, iconic classics designed by Jean Prouvé, Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames were layered among contemporary classics by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Konstantin Grcic, Jasper Morrison and Antonio Citterio. The showroom was refracted through the prism of the Vitra Color and Material Library, the culmination of ten years of research by Hella Jongerius, Vitra’s Art Director for Colors and Materials.
Silver: Hack furniture system
After a tour of tech firms on the American West Coast, German designer Konstantin Grcic collaborated with Vitra to develop Hack, a disruptive workstation typology that allows for agile reconfiguration to meet evolving needs the moment they arise.
Konstantin Grcic collaborated with Vitra to develop Silver winner Hack, a disruptive workstation typology that allows for agile reconfiguration to meet evolving needs the moment they arise.
Vitra’s Hack workstation earned a Best of NeoCon Silver award in the Furniture Systems category. Hack enables easy D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) reconfiguration in response to scalability requirements and rapidly evolving business conditions.
Silver: Belleville Chair and Armchair
Vitra’s Belleville Chair and Armchair gained a Best of NeoCon Silver award in the Seating: Stacking category. Belleville is the name of the Paris neighborhood where Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have their studio.
Evoking classic French bistro furnishings, Vitra’s Belleville Chair and Armchair gained a Best of NeoCon Silver award in the Seating: Stacking category.
Visual references for the Belleville Chair can be found in the classic French bistro furnishings. The chair’s familiar shape can at first be taken for granted, yet it also evokes a sense of mystery, since the materiality, construction and fabrication of the chair only become apparent at second glance, notes Vitra.
Artek – Kaari Collection
Based on a simple yet intelligent component of the metal loop, Kaari — meaning “arch” in Finnish — is a product range in the Tables: Training and Work category comprised of tables, desks, wall-mounted shelving units and consoles.
Kaari — meaning “arch” in Finnish — is a product range in the Tables: Training and Work category comprised of tables, desks, wall-mounted shelving units and consoles.
The principles underlying the collection are simple: vertical loads are supported by wooden elements, and bent steel bands provide elegant, transparent support.
Kado transversal elements
Entered in the Architectural Products category, the Kado modular retail shop-fitting system has been deployed as an architectural product range for the open-plan office.
The Kado modular retail shop-fitting system has been deployed as an architectural product range for the open-plan office, using an “erector set” approach to structural framework construction.
Utilizing Kado’s “erector set” approach to structural framework construction, the following can be achieved: freestanding shelving, drawer storage, closed cabinetry, work benches, phone booth enclosures, collaborative partitioning, surfaces for graphic ideation, and lockers.
Visit the Vitra at NeoCon 2016 page for additional product and showroom photos and more information about the designers.
