May 29, 2013
NEW YORK, NY, May 29, 2013 — To mark its 75th anniversary, Knoll will present a range of workplace planning approaches and new products at NeoCon 2013, including “Tools for Life,” a new collection of furniture by OMA, the collaborative practice co-founded by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. The 2013 showroom display reflects the company’s ongoing research into the evolving workplace. NeoCon is the contract industry trade show taking place in Chicago, June 10-12.
The showroom also celebrates the Company’s Modern always™ 75th anniversary campaign, an integrated cross-platform program that includes the new knoll.com, advertising and social media activity. Modern always embodies the essence of Knoll design innovation and celebrates the Knoll brand — past, present and future — since the company’s founding in 1938.
“NeoCon 2013 celebrates our diverse workplace brand portfolio in the context of our rich history and commitment to truly innovative design,” said Andrew Cogan, Knoll CEO.
“Our showroom has been designed to showcase planning opportunities for design professionals and Knoll dealers to share with their clients, added Lynn Utter,” Knoll President and COO, KnollOffice.
The 2013 Knoll NeoCon display weaves the company’s diverse workplace products throughout three common typologies:
- Distinctive. Characterized by a refined approach, substantial in form and materials, that focuses on holistic planning between open and closed primary workspaces and formal and informal Activity Spaces
- Efficient. Streamlined to the essence of what matters functionally and physically, with a densified planning approach, featuring compact primary workspaces as well as varied and small Activity Spaces
- Progressive. Illustrated by highly adaptable, dynamic planning that stimulates diverse workstyles and freedom of movement within a broad range of primary workspaces and flexible and accessible Activity Spaces
In the evolving workplace, Activity Spaces are “go to” spaces accessible to everyone for everything from focused, individual work through large community gatherings. Activity Spaces generally fall into five categories: Refuge, the “get away” room for one to two people; Enclave, a “get together” space for three to four; Team Meeting, often a “war room” for four to eight people to collaborate on a specific project; and Assembly and Community spaces for larger groups.
The display has been designed to showcase how new technology is transforming and liberating the workplace. Knoll furnishings offer a flexible platform for the use of technology that helps people connect with each other, display and share information, and adapt to ever-changing work processes.
The display also offers viewpoints on classic and contemporary Knoll designs, including the Generation by Knoll® family of work chairs, which sets a new standard for comfort and freedom of movement through material innovation. The family includes the award-winning Best of NeoCon Gold Generation by Knoll® high performance work chair; the ReGeneration by Knoll® everyday work chair that simply supports the way you work; and the MultiGeneration by Knoll® grab-and-go multipurpose chair that is where and when you need it.
2013 Product Introductions
2013 Knoll NeoCon workplace product introductions and enhancements to existing product lines include:
- Anchor™ storage, designed by Marc Krusin with David Noel, addressing a variety of work styles. The new collection, constructed in wood, is available in multiple configurations including all-open, all-closed with drawers or doors, or a blended solution of open and closed. Anchor storage offers seamless coordination with Antenna® Workspaces and Dividends Horizon®.
- Interpole™, designed by Antenna Design principals Masamichi Udagawa and Sigi Moeslinger, a unique vertical planning approach based on a floor-to-ceiling H-post applicable in open plan, private offices and Activity Spaces. Interpole can be used in community spaces to support portable technology; in offices and activity spaces to support video displays at any height; and as a conduit for power throughout the workplace.The new Interpole storage wall offers open shelves, open cabinets and partial height screens between poles to establish boundaries of Activity Spaces. Antenna Design’s Toboggan™ series (including a sled base collaborative chair, a new plannable bench and a new pull-up table), new standing height Big Table and Power Cube, for “plug and play” access, complement the range of Interpole applications. Introduced in 2010, Antenna® Workspaces is a pace-setting approach to the workplace that supports the freedom and mobility people seek in today’s office, facilitating transitions between individual and group work.
- Expanded Reff Profiles® capabilities designed by Brian Graham for Activity Spaces and open plan offices, including a Media Enclave table and lockers. Reff Profiles delivers a progressive and architectural design solution for private offices, administrative areas and open plan environments, leveraging the product line’s history of refined wood detailing, planning flexibility and breadth of options.
- Dividends Horizon® worksurface shapes conceived to maximize the footprint for Focused work (concentrative work by one person), create innovative free-address for Shared space (among two or three people) and define the work zone in Team space (among four or more people).
- Knoll LED Lighting Series, designed by Antenna Design principals Masamichi Udagawa and Sigi Moseslinger, including Sparrow™ for desktop use, Highwire™ for under cabinet light, and T-light for Antenna Workspaces Big Table applications.
- “Tools for Life,” the new collection of furniture by OMA offering a contemporary interface between furniture and people, supporting the ebb and flow of work and social life. The collection debuted at the April 2013 Salone Internationale del Mobile at Prada’s exhibition space.
- KnollTextiles upholstery fabric, including the SUNO Collection, the third fashion-driven textile collaboration from Knoll Luxe; fabrics by creative director Dorothy Cosonas and the Stripes Collection by Irma Boom, which continues Knoll’s tradition of working with the world’s best graphic design talent.
- FilzFelt® designs by Ayse Birsel including graphic ready-made hanging panels, drapery and floor coverings that utilize the repetition of simple shapes to form intricate patterns at various scales. FilzFelt is a purveyor of German-milled 100% wool design felt as well as felt floor coverings and architectural applications.
- Spinneybeck® leathers and related products including Wave, the first in a collection of shaped wall panels.
The range of new products and enhancements to existing product lines underscores the Company’s ongoing commitment to achieving BIFMA level® 3 sustainable design certifications for its open plan, private office, seating and filing product lines. level® 3 is the highest rating a product can achieve under the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association’s (BIFMA) level® furniture sustainability certification. Knoll has been awarded twenty-two level 3® certifications for the following products:
Systems
Antenna® Workspaces
AutoStrada®
Currents®
Dividends Horizon®
Equity®
Morrison™
Reff Profiles®
Template®
Upstart®
Casegoods (including Files & Storage)
Calibre®
Reff Profiles®
Series 2™
The Graham Collection®
Seating
Chadwick®
Essentials Work Chairs (EWC)™
Generation by Knoll®
Life®
Moment™
MultiGeneration by Knoll®
ReGeneration by Knoll®
RPM®
Sapper™
About Knoll
Knoll is the recipient of the 2011 National Design Award for Corporate and Institutional Achievement from the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Since 1938, Knoll has been recognized internationally for creating workplace and residential furnishings that inspire, evolve, and endure. Today, its commitment to modern design, understanding of the workplace, and dedication to sustainable design have yielded a unique portfolio of products that respond and adapt to changing needs. Knoll is aligned with the U.S. Green Building Council and the Canadian Green Building Council and can help companies achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED workplace certification. Knoll is the founding sponsor of the World Monuments Fund Modernism at Risk initiative.
Contact:
David E. Bright
Knoll, Inc.
212 343-4135