banana-ads: CHAIR OF THE DAY 11-4-2009

Walking Neocon can be exhausting, all 1.2 million feet of it. The crowds, waiting for elevators, 3d forms, colors can be exciting and after five hours certainly exhausting. Of course you will be meeting new customers while running into friends, past coworkers, mentors, and nemeses. For me it's also about what chair I worked on... Maybe a prototype will be showing? I worked on a new KI chair and that prototype was showing in the KI showroom. We have a hand full of past students currently working at Herman Miller... which chair and what role did our past students have on new furniture? I am told that all the new Herman Miller showings were off site since they are not into tooling phase yet. Neocon can be a great sensory overload experience.

The current buzz in the air for the big three furniture manufactures is the economy slowing down. Because of the cost savings the third floor is now a home to Steelcase, Herman Miller (all moved from the from the 10th floor) and reduced the size of their showrooms. The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacture Association BIFMA foretasted a 6 percent point drop from last years shipment level. The next few years will require tighter design and leaner engineering recourses.

The Bernhardt Design completion among the Art Center students turned out three amazing winner pieces. See the top images below.

It was a pleasure too see furniture designers Lee Weitzman, Scott Wilson walking the showrooms and to meet Gioncario Peretti and Gioncario's son.

The Chicago Design Engine office is decked out with Steelcase Leap Chairs by the way.

- Bart Brejcha, Design Engine


Bernhardt Jang Won Yoon - Review Table (Notice the legs) Art Center completion winner	Bernhardt Shelly Shelly - Loft chair w/ the Chase Wills, Link center stand Art Center completion


Steelcase Cobi Chair	Herman Miller - Teneo Storage furniturehttp://www2.hermanmiller.com/teneoexperience/


Steelcase	Steelcase


KI Strive Chair Design engine's favorite since we had a hand in modeling the chair in Pro/E	KI - The details behind the Gioncario Peretti KI Strive chair


Steelcase	ICF group http://www.icfgroup.com the cantilever chair by Konstantin Crcic


Knoll	The classic Knoll 3d laser cut MDF Wall


Knoll	Charles and Ray Emes


Bernhardt - Notice the chamfer on this SMC chair	Izzi - Set in our classic Chicago home setting.


Izzy - Notice the chamfer detail on the seat cushions.	Haworth


Paoli chandelier	Paoli http://www.paoli.com

This is a KI display that is one of design engines favorites.

As far as forms at Neocon, I noticed the use of large straight edge chamfer on seating from more than one manufacture. Is this a common detail or trend?

I asked some of the design engine staff what was their favorite or memorable from Neocon this year. This is some of what I got.

"My favorite at NeoCon 2008 this year was a Brit-Bench-Metallicstainless steel bench system from Leland International that was connected at 120 degrees and it won a silver award". - Ray Doeksen, Design Engine

"My favorite experience was sitting in the new Steelcase chair while listening to the IDEO industrial designers talk about their process to design the chair". - Frank, Design Engine

Pearson Lloyd worked with Steelcase UK in designing the company’s new flagship ‘WorkLife’ Centre, in Farringdon Road, London, which opened late last year. The design partnership has also been working with Steelcase Inc in the United States, designing the new Cobi chair in conjunction with Steelcase Design Studio.

All these and more of the 2008 Neocon images presented here and photographs are free to the public domain. Hi resolution Chicago 2008 Neocon photographs and images are also available free for the asking.

KI ki.com Design engine's favorite since we had a hand in modeling the chair in Pro/ENGINEER