A desk system for collaboration

Designer Seth Moczydlowski was thinking of educations establishments when designing the Synthesis Collaborative Desk, but we feel that there is serious potential for a wide range of applications. 

Each desk stands alone or fits snugly in a group of five for collaboration. The blend of wood and vibrant colors creates an interesting visual contrast that defines individual space when working together. Stackable, durable, and lightweight, they’re a great solution in any creative environment.

They were designed as part of an open-ended assignment that was themed around nature and the concepts of isolation vs. togetherness. Fulfilling this brief Seth states "In the classroom, students are required to work individually, as well as collaboratively at different times of the day. My desk design allows both functions, while providing an aesthetically pleasing environment for learning."

Let us know what you think of them; would you like to use them in your office?

Office sector outlook

Our guest blogger Helen Parton takes a look at current office furniture trends.

Orgatec, the biennial exhibition championing all things workplace, is rapidly approaching. Before you all head to Cologne, let's consider how the office landscape has changed in the last few years.   

Now that even those so staunchly resistant to the open plan working concept such as the legal profession have wholeheartedly embraced it, what office workers are now crying out for is somewhere to think and be contemplative. Private phone booths, high back sofas, noise absorbing panelling, you name it, it's all about finding a way for concentrated work to take place.  

Collaborative working still remains at the heart of how we work today but the break out space has to aesthetically please and sustain a number of functions nowadays - a few mismatched pieces of furniture will simplify not cut the mustard. When myself and Kerstin Zumstein wrote our book, Total Office Design, (published by Thames and Hudson in 2011) offices such as Microsoft's Amsterdam headquarters by Sevil Peach introduced the idea of 'activity-based working': work wherever you like in the building or even at home as long as long as the job gets done.  

Now in, increasing numbers of forward-thinking companies, you're just as likely to see the CEO perched on a bench in the cafe as the boardroom and hardly anyone, apart from finance departments who need designated desks to crunch those all important numbers and print confidential documents, working nine-to-five at the same workstation day-in, day out.  

Another important trend in workplace design is a reaction to our continually wavering outlook to the economy. It seems that almost daily another report from another institution comes out saying we're either teetering on the brink of economic collapse or actually it's not so bad after all. Little wonder businesses are confused, which is why interior designers and facility managers are opting for furniture and fixtures that can adapt to a changing number of staff. Lots of the projects we featured in the book adopted this principle from the PostPanic production studios in Amsterdam to the Student Loans Company in Darlington.  

Flexibility, whether that's in terms of where your staff are working or how many of them you employ at once is where it's at in workplace design in 2012. Let's see what solutions Orgatec presents to meet these demands.

Two new interiors shows to open in London in 2013

Two new interior design trade fairs are set to open their doors in London next year.

In a brave move in a market that has seen the demise of several shows, including Design Prima, in recent years Office Interiors at Earls Court and DX, at Excel, will avoid the September Interiors scrum focussing on the beginning of the year.

Office Interiors is organised by Diversified Business Communications and will be held on 13th and 14th February. The organisers present the show as a 'vibrant, fresh and exciting new event dedicated to the UK's office interior industry'. 

DX is organised by UBM and launched by Ian Rudge, co-founder of the 100% Design and Tent shows, in collaboration with graphic designer Neville Brody and architect Ad Rogers. The show will focus on the relationship between design and technology and will be at Excel on 19th and 21st May 2013.

To find out more about DX click here

To find out more about Office Interiors click here.

A scary prediction for the paperless office!

In a world that is going paperless, or so we have been told for the last 20 years, Canadian paper manufacturer Domtar Paper is challenging the concept through a campaign called 'Paper Because' by ad agency Eric Mower Associates.

In an ad called 'Office' they show what the digital world would be like without paper.

Let's hope it doesn't come to this for the sake of all our sanity!



Find out more about the campaign here.