The recently concluded edition of Orgatec exceeded expectations: more visitors, more exhibitors, more in-depth and business initiatives (the Work Culture Festival foremost), and a growing range of product innovations, increasingly focused on specific and vertical thematic areas – which is why the exhibition was divided into Focus Areas that identified different trends in the working world.
In light of an unprecedented change in the office universe, this sector is called upon to meet new and evolving needs – just as today’s lifestyles are ever-changing – and therefore to be more flexible, diverse, and even attractive. Three macro trends have thus traced a common thread among the countless proposals at the event, detailed here alongside the companies leading the charge.
Elle by Mara, design Ferruccio Laviani
Cultivating emotional harmony
The office is conceived as a refuge of well-being, not just a place dedicated to productivity. Today, the workspace is viewed as an environment that stimulates creativity, where one can feel comfortable and express their potential and sensitivity. For this reason, furnishings must recreate a positive and inspirational atmosphere. How? Through color and simple shapes. Moving away from the rigidity of traditional office furniture, design embraces organic and minimalist forms, an enveloping color palette, atmospheric lighting, and an abundant use of natural as well as technical materials, to create a connection with the world of work.
Shapes by JAB Anstoetz, design Werner Aisslinger
S 243 by Thonet, design Frank Rettenbacher
Like Shapes, a collection by Werner Aisslinger for the German fabric brand JAB Anstoetz: art and sculpture-like works with intense shades, yet in reality, they are sound-absorbing acoustic panels. Or Elle, the bookshelf by Mara created with Ferruccio Laviani: warm and pastel colors highlight the graphic lightness of this interior architecture, capable of changing configuration as needed. Also noteworthy is the new Thonet S 243, a chair designed by Frank Rettenbacher inspired by the tradition of tubular steel seating, creating a lightweight, stackable model that plays with color and style, so modern and understated that it can easily fit into an office or a living environment.
BuzziBrella by BuzziSpace, design Sebastian Herkner
Moving offices
Goodbye staticity, welcome smart work. This means changing workstations and transforming spaces as needed. Agile work is the frontier of contemporaneity, and the design follows suit: versatile and modular furniture that adapts to work and functionality demands, furnishings designed for both desk and home work, solutions for meeting rooms that also accommodate team discussions; partition systems that change boundaries, seating with dual identities to offer a moment of relaxation and, if necessary, transform into a comfortable workstation.
Tool by Sellex
An example is the new BuzziBrella collection by BuzziSpace: Sebastian Herkner conceived islands of comfort for open spaces for meetings, idea exchanges, but also for working in a smart and relaxed mode (thanks to integrated outlets or versions with shelves and separated areas), with advanced acoustic performance. Sellex, on the other hand, introduces the Tool table, foldable, stackable, and multifunctional: depending on the inclination of the tabletop, it can become a practical blackboard or a desk, up to multiple compositions as a meeting table.
WOD by Lapalma, design Raffaella Mangiarotti – Photo © Mattia Parodi
Flexible furnishing architectures include solutions such as WOD, the new screen by Lapalma designed by Raffaella Mangiarotti – which, thanks to wooden or felt panels connected by interlocking games, modulates environments to ensure privacy or create rooms when necessary – and the Kriskadecor dividers, composed of aluminum rings, fully customizable, for dividing spaces with a touch of lightness, transparency, and color.
Noha by Viccarbe, design Ludovica+Roberto Palomba
Versatility across different environments is finally a prerogative of the Noha seating collection designed by Ludovica+Roberto Palomba for Viccarbe, elegant and comfortable suitable for both contemporary offices and residential interiors demanding style.
GEN4 by SilentLab
Silence, please
The request for privacy in the office for individual work, where concentration is necessary, contrasts with collaborative and shared spaces. Hence, there are increasing proposals that ensure acoustic comfort and privacy – from panels to sound-absorbing fabrics, acoustic pods to multifunctional dividers, all solutions that transform open spaces into personal work environments, favoring hybrid work models. This trend includes Kabin‘s new proposal, Kabin 1, a compact workstation that retains all the perks of an office inside, ensuring well-being and performance, not only for work but also for relaxation. Similarly, GEN4 by SilentLab, an acoustic pod offering acoustic isolation, fully customizable and modular, designed even with multiple workstations.
Kabin 1 by Kabin – Photo © Harriet Clare
Nesting Sofa by Wagner, design Steven Dahlinger
The concept of “tailor-made privacy” also accompanies the design of the Nesting Sofa, created by Steven Dahlinger for Wagner: a cocoon-effect sofa that amplifies its potential through the upholstery extended in height to create a reserved and welcoming corner.
