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Thursday, 8 September 2005 | Elif Sungur
A Unique Lounge Collection from Davis Furniture
Davis Furniture, a family owned and operated manufacturer of contemporary office furniture, introduced a unique lounge collection at NeoCon 2005 that was the result of a contest for Industrial Design Students at the University of Graz in Austria.
The initial concept of the project, sponsored by Wiesner-Hager, was to have the students explore their interpretation of the future workspace...they named the project Cross Office. The students were instructed to create their interpretation of the future office environment, imagine the situation they would be working in, and how would the furniture interact and intersect the people, space, and work tools.
With influences such as "Star Wars," sci-fi, and being weaned on the digital formula of the 1990's, the students' derived a broad range of visionary scenarios for future work. Some of the interpretations included pods for community gatherings, self-contained gazebos that could be used individually or circled together for teaming events, and compact units that folded out to handle a vast array of tasks.
The commonality of the designs was a mixture of flexible, casual, comfortable, and spontaneous freedom to work the way you needed to at any given moment. Stereotypes of structured work surfaces were tossed aside for individual freedom and choice...working differently.
Student, Philipp Haselwander, designed the winning project. His vision not only offered the mixture of flexibility, casualness, comfort, and spontaneity...the three seating units deliver a sculptural attitude that allow for a unique design statement.
Individualism played a very important role in Philipp's designs. Create, the single chair unit, has many ways in which individuals may position themselves to achieve a creative frame of mind. The shape and counterbalance of the frames allow for multi-positions in this single chair. One can choose to sit casually sprawled across the chair and work on their laptop...one could also sit cross-legged and read reference material...or one could turn and use the back support as a work surface for artistically capturing the moment. Freedom to Create.
The structural icon of the workplace went by the wayside with the concept of Play. Play has more of a lounging attitude for the less serious-minded thinkers, or perhaps they are more serious-minded but do not need structured surfaces to accomplish their work. The Move support unit easily slides into its docking area and offers a pull-up surface to hold touch screens or laptops. The sweeping motion of this seating unit again offers a sculptural statement, as well as, a relaxed attitude.
Why should teaming be formal and structured? Meet is the teaming attitude where two minds are better than one, especially when it can be a face-to-face encounter. The unique winged structure of this unit positions each person with their feet up and connected to their laptops perched on the Move unit.
Move is the support unit that holds knowledge, whether it is a laptop or a touch screen. It has a lip and two adjustable brackets to hold digital gadgetry in place. The tablet can be adjusted in height and tilt for the correct individual positioning. Each upholstery unit has a docking station for the Move to be placed in while in use or sitting idle.
The streamline construction of each upholstered piece is based on a single bent-plywood shell that conforms to each unique shape. The shells are then covered with multiple densities of foam that fills the one-piece sock-on upholstery cover. Specific textiles and leathers are recommended for the best tailoring of the cover, and only bright, beautiful solids should be specified. The tubular legs are constructed of chrome-plated steel and resemble tentacles stretched out in support of the art form of each unit.
Organic...sculptural...freeform...futuristic...yet extremely functional. COMpod offers an alternative design statement in the Lounge Environment with three unique shapes that are casual, yet artful allowing everyone to work differently.
For more information, please visit http://www.davisfurniture.com
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