Walls and cubicles may have been greatly reduced or completely phased out in today’s offices, but our need for partitioned spaces remains. We still need a barrier between ourselves and the rest of the work environment for meetings, focused tasks, activities that require a degree of acoustic and visual privacy, and to control the noise from office equipment. This barrier just needs to be more versatile and able to be removed or relocated at a moment’s notice.

And one more thing demanded by today’s more democratised and collaborative working environment: it needs to appear friendly.

Japanese office furniture company Kokuyo has addressed these needs with Inframe, a family of screen booths designed to provide a comfortable semi-enclosed space for a variety of uses. Inframe ‘frames’ the activities within while still maintaining a connection with its environment.

Inframe is produced in various configurations. The Chair Screen Booth (in three sizes) is proportioned to accommodate loose furniture. The Sofa Screen Booth comes with a built-in sofa and table, and is available in two sizes. Available in three variants (rectangular with left opening, rectangular with right opening, and hexagonal), the Solo Work Screen Booth provides a comfortable space for one person and comes with a built-in shelf that serves as a work surface.

The panels of these three screen booth types are elevated from the floor to give an impression of lightness and communicate the occupancy of the booth. Similarly, the Utility Screen Booth – offered in four widths with a panel height of 1,415 millimetres – comfortably hides office equipment while still enabling the users to see their surroundings.

The removable screen panels are made with fabric with ribbed stitching, and provide acoustic performance while feeling soft to the touch. Inframe can also be used to strengthen the corporate identity with its wide range of finishes; the frame is available in either black or white, the screen fabric is available in eight colourways, and the tabletop is available in four finishes.