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An Office Jungle Gym, a Stool That Follows You Around to Meetings and More Fresh Ideas for the Modern Workplace From Neocon 2016

By Michael Savona - June 21, 2016

Merchandise Mart foyer by Herman Miller Herman Miller's foyer concept touches on two important themes for NeoCon 2016; the social office and the need for power outlets. Michael Savona 1 of 40

Office_Excavate by Wolf Gordon Office_Excavate deconstructs the cubicle office block into a faceted collaborative space. Each triangular wedge features one of Wolf Gordon's extensive upholstery textiles for the workplace. Michael Savona 2 of 40

BuzziJungle by Jonas Van Put for BuzziSpace "Climb, lounge, and meet vertically." BuzziJungle invites users to break the traditional boundary—and posture—of the office worker. Michael Savona 3 of 40

Metropolis presents New Talent in partnership with NeoCon Curated by Metropolis in partnership with NeoCon, New Talent showcases new work from designers and architects. Display design by Design with Company. Michael Savona 4 of 40

Metropolis presents New Talent in partnership with NeoCon Among the innovative practices showcased is St. Petersburg, Florida-based designers, DAMM. Lighting on view is Theorem, Fovea, Myron, and Untitled. Michael Savona 5 of 40

Metropolis presents New Talent in partnership with NeoCon In Doll's House by Design With Company, the house is a fluid site where interiors become exterior and vice-versa. Michael Savona 6 of 40

Riot Flora by 2x4 for Tarkett Inspired by patterns that destabilize surface, Riot Flora flooring by 2x4 for Tarkett features flowers that disperse to pixels. Michael Savona 7 of 40

Glow by K&CO for Tarkett Play with a range of flourescent, pink, mint, and gray gradients with the Glow flooring collection. Michael Savona 8 of 40

Oppositions Forms and Fabrics by Designtex With Oppositions, Designtex looked at how upholstery could transform iconic furniture. Pictured here is Vico Magestretti's Sinbad (1981) covered in Sampler with trim made from Melange. Michael Savona 9 of 40

Oppositions Forms and Fabrics by Designtex The Ekstrem chair (1972) by Terje Ekstrøm upholstered in the nylon/ wool Heather line. Michael Savona 10 of 40

3form Showroom by Standard Issue New York-based design consultancy Standard Issue suspended 3forms' range of lightweight substrates to create an immersive environment of color and light. Michael Savona 11 of 40

Isle by ECA Portable and capable, the Isle provides power and the ability to withstand up to 300lbs. Michael Savona 12 of 40

Fern by Haworth The new Fern task chair launches with a full range of prototypes and models in the Haworth showroom. Michael Savona 13 of 40

Fern by Haworth The new Fern task chair, exploded. Michael Savona 14 of 40

Fern by Haworth A look at the substructure of the new Fern task chair. Michael Savona 15 of 40

Openest by Patricia Urquiola for Haworth A range of color and texture befits the inviting and flexible Openest collection. Michael Savona 16 of 40

Maker Spaces at Haworth Maker spaces offer showroom visitors a chance to chat with artisans at work on iconic pieces in the Haworth Collection. Above, weaving the seating surface of the Superleggera chair by Gio Ponti for Cassina. Michael Savona 17 of 40

Maker Spaces at Haworth A glimpse of the layers of upholstery on a Poltrona-Frau chair. Michael Savona 18 of 40

Cube and drum occasional tables by Prismatique Straightforward power additions to tables from Prismatique. Michael Savona 19 of 40

ArtCenter College of Design for Bernhardt Design A variety of furnishings for every office. Pictured are Hyein Jwa's acoustic Mix Panels, armless Zip chairs by Alex Akopova, and Leo Su's Tour ottoman. Michael Savona 20 of 40

UPis1 by Interstuhl Keep Moving! Upis1 follows its user away from the traditional desk to spontaneous conversations and meetings. Michael Savona 21 of 40

Hack by Konstantin Grcic for Vitra Finished in black lacquer specifically for NeoCon, Hack is an OSB table/ seating system that can be folded up into a practical, flat 'box' in a few simple steps. Michael Savona 22 of 40

Artek stool leg at Vitra A glued up "L-leg" among the props in the Vitra showroom. Michael Savona 23 of 40

Glass Gradients by Scholten & Baijings for Skyline Design View of a softer, restrained landscape provided by patterns etched and printed on glass. Michael Savona 24 of 40

Run by Sam Hecht and Kim Colin for Emeco Run references the ubiquitous picnic table to redefine meeting, eating, learning, sharing, and working in the workplace. The ash Platform and Bookend accessories nest in the plank gaps to create sliding zones of use. Michael Savona 25 of 40

Presto stool by Thorsten Franck for Wilkhahn Presto—the first mass-produced piece of furniture produced by 3d printing technology. Michael Savona 26 of 40

Environmental graphics at Knoll Populated by the new Hi-Lo stool by Box Clever, the Knoll office is lightweight, inviting and mobile. Michael Savona 27 of 40

Horsepower by Antenna Design for Knoll Linked Horsepower modules provide sit and recharge options for the showroom perimeter. Michael Savona 28 of 40

This is Going to be a Fun Drawing to Make by Mike Perry for Herman Miller Herman Miller asked 8 different designers to envision their ideal office environment to be printed as a takeaway. Michael Savona 29 of 40

Public Office Landscape at Herman Miller The Public Office Landscape is contemporary, informal, and collaborative. These more social chairs with stretched-mesh back link desk to table. Michael Savona 30 of 40

Layout Studio at Herman Miller Book and notebook clutter at workstations organize upright. Michael Savona 31 of 40

The Guerilla Truck Show at NeoCon 2016 Back from a one year hiatus, the Morlen Sinoway-hosted Guerilla Truck Show set up temporary exhibition spaces outside the Merchandise Mart. Truck graphics by AIGA Chicago, Ogilvy485, and Someoddpilot. Michael Savona 32 of 40

ÜÜÜ at the Guerilla Truck Show Tanner Bowman, Katie Chung, and Jennifer Kaplan combine efforts to show provocative works in ceramic, hot glue, latch-hook, and bound paper. Michael Savona 33 of 40

The Good Land Studio at the Guerilla Truck Show Milwaukee-based The Good Land Studio present the Frame Collection; a selection of grid-derived seating and shelving in hardwood, wool, and metal. Michael Savona 34 of 40

McKenzie & Keim at the Guerilla Truck Show McKenzie & Keim present a range of lighting, all based on a simple yet flexible system of hardware. Michael Savona 35 of 40

AKMD at the Guerilla Truck Show In addition to exhibiting the Saddle Dining Chair and Kickstarter backed USA-OK Chair, AKMD debuted prototypes of the Campaign Chair. Michael Savona 36 of 40

Steven Haulenbeek at the Guerilla Truck Show Steven Haulenbeek presents resin-bonded sand (RBS) works in new colors and surface textures. Michael Savona 37 of 40

Whatnot Collection/ SAIC at the Guerilla Truck Show In celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the School of the Art Institute, the 2016 Whatnot collection drew from the world as it was 1866. Pictured is Alice Wong's Cloche, a set of nesting glass objects that change color via solar-to-thermal conversion. Michael Savona 38 of 40

Stephen Gulau at the Guerilla Truck Show Stephen Gulau explores a variety of form and furnishings through simple slat construction and manipulation. Michael Savona 39 of 40

Parsons and Charlesworth at the Guerilla Truck Show Parsons and Charlesworth display new edition prints of their many road trips around the US alongside furniture from their American Adhoc Series. This work, in addition to other practical, poetic, and speculative design, will be on view at their upcoming solo exhibit, Spectacular Vernacular, opening at the Chicago Cultural Center September 8, 2016. Michael Savona 40 of 40

Neocon, the leading interior design tradeshow for the workplace wrapped up its 2016 edition at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago last week. Designers and manufacturers featured their latest collections, with a variety of new, innovative solutions for today's fluid office environments. Highlights included Jonas Van Put's BuzziJungle, Metropolis Magazine's New Talents showcase, a new communal work table inspired by the ubiquitous picnic table by Sam Hecht and Kim Colin for Emeco and a captivating Maker Spaces installation by Haworth which gave us a peek behind the scenes as artisans worked on creating iconic pieces from their collection.

After taking a hiatus last year, we were glad to see Morlen Sinoway's Guerilla Truck Show making a comeback at Neocon this year. Lined up outside the Merchandise Mart, ten trucks brought emerging designers to the forefront including furniture designer Steven Haulenbeek, Goodland Studio in Milwaukee and student designers from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Illinois Institute of Technology and Columbia College Chicago.