Orgatec Cologne 2016 “New visions of work”, one of the most important Office Furniture Fairs, has ended.
Through the motto Creativity works, exhibitors and visitors were asked to think about the deep changes that are affecting the world of work and the massive request of furniture coherent with the new employee needs.
The workers’ wellbeing and comfort are the leitmotiv of this edition, main characters of every single stand through the proposal of soft-seatings, sofas and armchairs developed for lounge areas, informal meetings and also for focus work. With its curvy lines and soft shapes, these furniture ensure ergonomics, visual and acoustic isolation. The majority of exhibitors shows entire systems of products made with insulation materials to divide the space and soften the noise caused by the crowd inside the office. The objective is to create workspaces suitable to the need of privacy of the employees.
Unfortunately, this year Biophilic Design remains an unexplored field. Lots of Brands are using moss tiles, but this is only one of the large uses of this philosophy that has enormous potentials for tomorrow’s office layouts. Companies need to realize that the integration of natural elements inside the working environment, can significantly increase employees productivity.
The open-space layout, recently criticized because of some studies that pointed out the connection between a reduction of productivity with noisy and crowded spaces, remains the focal point of the Fair scene. This year the protagonists are multiple furniture designed to favor the sharing of data and information. Companies are developing new ergonomic solutions that aim to separate acoustically, but not visually.
The growing need of privacy, leads to the creation of independent boxes, separated from architectural shells and phone boots, where people can have phone or video calls, remaining temporarily isolated from their shared workspace. Interesting proposals have been developed by companies specialized in different fields like seating, or brands that are realizing new products starting from their traditional partition systems.
Walking through Orgatec’s stands, it is natural to observe the latest trends, but it is interesting also to comprehend if these new proposals will affect and modify completely the Office environment that we all know. Many questions needs answers from companies that are shaping the future of the world of work: tomorrow will we work sitting on chairs or in a standing position? Desks will be adjustable only in height? And what if we will no longer need a desk?
The liquid society theorized by the sociologist Bauman is todays’ society, where technology is the essential element of our lives: the key ingredient of flexibility that connects the world of work and the private environment. Online and offline world are rapidly merging together and the office is losing its boundaries. It won’t be any longer a space with physical borders, but evermore a transitory and flexible environment, where the sharing and interaction through people allows a more free management of time and space.
The method of work without borders requires a change in the dynamics of the project, both from Office Furniture Companies and Architects, Designers and Professionals. The Office Design needs a new and original approach, capable of imaging new scenarios opened to the Virtual reality and to the new devices like Microsoft Hololens that will reshape tomorrow’s working attitudes. Technology will no longer be an addition to the Office Furniture field, exposed in a separated hall inside a Fair, but will be the focal element to design new User Experiences and transform the workplace in a real Smart Office.
*All the images of the report are taken by Level Office Landscape R&D Department. The products photographed are not property of Level.