This year at NeoCon, the annual commercial design conference in Chicago, the Steelcase family of brands and partners will showcase a new way of thinking about space that gives more control to teams and individuals. “We’re at a tipping point,” says Cherie Johnson, Steelcase global design director. “The workplace is no longer just about giving people access to different kinds of spaces. It’s about giving them control and the ability to adapt the spaces where they work everyday.”
For two years in a row, judges have awarded Steelcase Best Large Showroom at NeoCon and last year Steelcase also took home Best of Competition. This year, Steelcase returns to the third floor of the Merchandise Mart where new solutions, new products and new partnerships come to life in two main settings—the WorkLife and the WorkCafé. With NeoCon just a few weeks away, here’s an early look at the new solutions you’ll see from Steelcase.
Here’s a preview of what’s in store:
The WorkLife will focus on how to create spaces that empower teams and individuals using agile methodologies and design thinking. Visitors can explore how the Steelcase Flex Collection, which was just revealed in April gives teams control to adapt their space to meet the needs of one activity to the next in a matter of minutes.
“At NeoCon, we’re sharing how teams can create dynamic neighborhoods. We’re curating spaces through the end users’ mindset. It’s much more than just having objects that move. It’s about how workers can change their space with these new tools and furniture while staying in flow,” says Johnson.
In addition to the Steelcase Flex Collection, the space will showcase products from a variety of other Steelcase brands and partners, including Orangebox, Steelcase Roam Mobile Cart with Microsoft Surface Hub 2S, Coalesse and Bolia.
“We’re demonstrating the range of choices for individuals and teams, showing the user how flexible and agile space can be. We’re rethinking the workplace to empower people and teams to keep up with the fast pace and constant ebb and flow they experience at work,” says Johnson.
In the WorkCafé, you’ll find more informal, relaxed spaces supported by Steelcase and our family of brands and partners.
The range of products includes inviting, hardworking collections such as the co-created West Elm Work Collection and smaller scale artisan goods that let designers shape a culture and brand in both big and small ways throughout a space.
“We’re also continuing to focus on how authenticity is becoming more and more about self-expression. You’ll see the juxtaposition of the natural and man-made as a continued theme. Our surface materials are inspired by movement and you’ll see some very interesting ways that manifests itself in our spaces,” says Johnson.