NeoCon 2023: Forging the Hybrid Office

Published 23 June 2023

Author

8 min read

Across NeoCon and the new Design Days off-site programme (Chicago, June 12-14), contract furniture pointed to a future office designed for hybrid work patterns and third-space allure. New products enable ultra-flexible spaces that maximise utility, dial up comfort, fun or sophistication and enhance either connection or privacy.

Flexibility to the Fore

Amplifying Third-Space Appeal

Designing for Connection & Disconnection

Addressing Sustainability Agendas

Reconfigurable spaces and easily moveable products are well suited for today’s hybrid schemes, where different teams occupy an office on rotating days. Maximising space is also key, as half of the largest international employers expect to shrink their global property portfolios (Knight Frank, 2023). See Dynamic Futures in Orgatec 2022 and Evolving Workscapes in Milan Design Week 2023.

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As the embrace of residential cues continues – making for softer and ever-more comfortable environments – manufacturers are also leveraging hospitality design to create spaces that welcome people in with pumped-up playfulness, seductive comfort and amplified sophistication. Integrated biophilia is an increasingly essential element.

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Steelcase notes that while collaboration and social connection are key reasons for in-office working, people typically spend more than half of their day working alone. Accordingly, brands are designing with both privacy and communal needs in mind and also enhancing ways to connect remote workers.

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Brands are increasingly foregrounding sustainability selling points, detailing the amount of recycled material and a product’s recyclability alongside its carbon footprint. Notable projects include a 3D-printed range made from bio-resins, and a seating collection that replaces virgin plastic with moulded PET felt.

NeoCon 2023: Forging the Hybrid Office

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Topics

Art & Design

Consumer Electronics

Disability

Home & Interiors

Health & Wellness

Materials

Outdoors

Work & Education

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