by Ann Withanee — June 22, 2011—Increasingly, today’s offices are shaping up to be collaboration workplaces, maintains Allsteel Inc. How to furnish this new design paradigm? For Allsteel it was a matter of collaboration. And for its Gather collection, Allsteel won a Silver Award for Gather in NeoCon’s Sofas & Lounge Seating category and a Silver in the Education Solutions category.
The solutions-driven contract furniture manufacturer brought together two respected teams and challenged them with the task of creating an appropriate collection. Gather is the culmination of a two-year process led by industrial designers IDa Design in consultation with HOK, and the collection of superbly practical, functional—and, in some cases, novel—furnishings that they have developed were presented by Allsteel at NeoCon World’s Trade Fair in its Chicago Merchandise Mart Resource Center.
Gather is a series of unprecedented designs unlike any other conventional contract furnishings, says Allsteel. The collection includes seating, tables, storage and accessories, but, with more than half the series incorporating dual functions, these traditional descriptions are reportedly insufficient. Seating/Space Division, Worksurface/Interaction Center and other similar slashed labels more aptly apply. For instance, Linger is a well-proportioned lounge-type chair, but it also features a seat back that is deliberately formed to allow another individual to lean against or perch atop it.
Allsteel says Hedge has no equal: it is a vertical, freestanding unit that is designed to be a workplace meeting hub for spontaneous gatherings, and it could reportedly make the water-cooler-as-office-hot-spot obsolete. Hedge is contoured on one side so that individuals can comfortably lean against it while the other side features a worksurface that supports laptops and electronic tablets.
Rise is upholstered stepped seating modules in a composition that is reminiscent of stadium seating. Sketch is an ultra-modern marker board that top-to-bottom is a minimalist’s dream—sleek, elegant and streamlined—and that is worthy of being freed from the storage closet, says the company. Its handy magnetic shelf for markers, erasers and other accessories can be raised or lowered as needed, and clips are provided to hold presentation boards or flip charts in place. This is a completely mobile unit able to roll into place wherever needed, staying put when in use, and helping to divide and define a space.
The overall aesthetic of the Gather collection is modern; it is a look of clean, sparse lines and simple details that will integrate well with existing office interiors. Some of the pieces are designed to delineate spatial boundaries. Although some Gather pieces stand out because of their distinctive visual forms, all are absorptive and able to work in any space. They are intended to support the individual’s work activity as well as interactivity between associates in both impromptu as well as formalized work settings.
For more information visit the Allsteel Web site.
