Considered by some to be the daddy of office furniture trade shows, the biennial Orgatec fair returns to Cologne this month, promising five days packed with new product launches, seminars and networking events.
Taking over the city’s vast Koelnmesse (Cologne Exhibition Centre) from 23-27 October, Orgatec has traditionally been a launch pad for some of the best new furnishing, lighting, flooring products, acoustics and communications technology, and the show’s director, Katharina Hamma, promises that the 2012 outing will be just as good.
In addition to more than 600 companies from around the world and occupying some 105,000 sq m of exhibition space, the fair will also host its International Trend Forum, a platform for experts from the fields of architecture, planning and consulting, to discuss the latest trends and present examples from the working world.
This year’s programme of events poses the questions: How do we work and live? What requirements have to be fulfilled in order to provide ideal working conditions? Manufacturers from the furnishing, flooring, acoustics, lighting and media and conference technology sectors will be offering their answers.
If you’re attending, you’ll be in good company: Hamma expects some 60,000 trade visitors this year, including architects, interior designers and specialist retailers. According to Hamma, some 90 per cent of visitors to the show will be decision makers, meaning exhibitors can expect more than just good conversation.
But it’s not all work. There’s fun to be had too, with the Six-to-Nine Party taking place at the end of the first day and Insight Cologne, an evening event that gives visitors access to some of Cologne’s most interesting buildings.
Here is our pick of the products to look out for at Orgatec 2012.
orgatec.com
Docklands by Bene
Open-plan, collaborative workplaces are great, but sometimes you need to get away from the thrum of the office. That’s the idea behind Docklands, a range of office furniture designed by PearsonLloyd for Bene. Complementing Bene’s Parcs range of collaboration-friendly breakout furniture, Docklands is a range of semi-enclosed workstations designed for focused work, private contemplation and reading.
bene.com
MOVYis3 by Interstuhl
Described as ‘refreshingly unconventional with its futuristic design, innovative material and excellent performance’, MOVYis3 is a new range of swivel task chairs, whose maker, Interstuhl, promises ‘a unique cost-performance ratio forgoing all compromise’. The range comprises a four-legged chair on glides or castors, conference chair, cantilever chair and swivel chair with a mesh or upholstered backrest.
interstuhl.de
Arctic Summer by MDD
Arctic Summer is a new reception desk by Polish office furniture manufacturer MDD designed ‘for people with imagination, who appreciate elegance and dislike monotony’.
Its surface is made up of sharp, irregular panels designed to look like melting ice floes, with the gaps between each panel dramatically backlit with tube lighting.
mdd.eu
X-Code by Dauphin Human Design
‘The future of seating begins now’ – that’s the bold claim made by ergonomic design specialist Dauphin Human Design for its latest task chair range, X-Code. Designed by Daniel Figueroa, X-Code uses innovative fabrics and production techniques to create what Dauphin Human Design says are ‘chairs for today’s dynamic office workers’.
The company is also launching Züco Cocone, a range of office lounge furniture, and Bosse EPA AccuShred, a document shredder concealed inside a storage pedestal at Orgatec.
dauphin.com
Meet U by Burgess Furniture
Two years in the making, Meet U is a new range of meeting tables designed by Broome Jenkins. The table comes with a choice of top shapes, including rectangles, squares, triangles and quadrants, which link together to form the desired layout for any meeting room. The tables can be further customised with bridging units, minimising the number of table legs needed and so allowing more people to sit in comfort around the configuration.
burgessfurniture.com
Float /Element disk by Humanscale
New workstation Float aims to meet the demands of healthier work environments with a combination of ease of use, adjustability and safety. Using an innovative counterbalance mechanism, Float enables easy one-handed weight adjustment, and constant-force height adjustment means users can easily swap between sitting and standing positions.
Also showing will be Element Disk, a new LED light by Humanscale design director Mark McKenna and the Humanscale Design Studio.
humanscale.com
Buzzi me / Buzzi wings By BuzziSpace
Making its debut will be Buzzi Me, a cocoon chair from Belgian designer Axel Enthoven, that harmoniously combines functionality and ergonomics. And from design duo Couvreur Devos comes Buzzi Wings, ceiling-hung acoustic and optical partitions.
buzzispace.com
Flo Plus by Colebrook Bosson Saunders
Designed with the multitasking worker in mind, CBS’s new monitor arm Flo Plus supports two monitors. Using a unique geometric spring system, Flo Plus can support weights of between 6kg-18kg and be easily be placed into an ergonomic position by using the adjustable handle. Flo Plus is made from 33.5 per cent recycled material and is 100 per cent recyclable.
colebrookbossonsaunders.com
Hemp / Hebden By Camira
Fabric specialist Camira will be showing its Hemp and Hebden textiles, created from harvested hemp and pure new wool.
Hemp is in a palette of subtle neutrals and earthy tones while Hebden has a diffused, large-scale check design that suits large furniture pieces. Hardwearing Timeline will also debut at Orgatec together with Binary, a ‘confident retro designer fabric for statement furniture’.
camirafabrics.com
Be by Bisley
Bisley is launching Be, a versatile office-furnishing system that, it says, will reposition storage as ‘the pivotal and dynamic hub of the office landscape’. Designed to integrate with any workstation, Be starts as a basic frame with no defined front or back, so that it can be customised to fit any furnishing configuration.
In a range of materials and finishes, Be features an in-built powermanagement system, enabling the incorporation of sockets, lighting, illuminated signage and interactive media equipment.
bisley.com
Urban Retreat by Interface
Leading carpet tile manufacturer Interface chose Orgatec to launch its first collection of carpet tiles to be produced and available globally. Interface says that Urban Retreat is inspired by our instinctive love of nature and is designed to give a natural feel to the office environment.
interfaceflor.co.uk
