Configurable in no less than 72 possible combinations, Wilkhahn’s Occo chair presents a strong design language with the flexibility of a tailored identity.
Now that we’ve been freed from the shackles of our workstations by technology, workplace designers have tried all sorts of strategies for making the office an attractive and distinct place to be. Often, suggests Burkhard Remmers, Wilkhahn’s Director of International Communication and Public Relations, this can lead to ‘collaged’ settings and the gamification of the office – aspects of workplace design that are increasingly coming under fire.
What is needed, he suggests, is a sense of identity for the workplace that doesn’t wind up infantilising workers.
One of Wilkhahn’s newest releases, the Occo chair and table range designed by jehs+laub, targets the problem of identity in the workplace with a distinct design language that simultaneously offers a broad spectrum of different looks. Occo combines enormous versatility and a vast choice of design options with a clear and immediately identifiable design language that can be used to give a consistent character to an interior environment.
The Occo chair paints a distinct figure with the cut-out plastic shell that forms its seat and backrest. The shell can be read as an ‘O’ from the front or back, and as a ‘C’ from the side, hence the name. The cut-out shape was developed from the desire to minimise the chair’s weight and to enable stacking.
While experimenting with the cut-out during the design development stage, designers Markus Jehs and Jürgen Laub found that the plastic shell gained a high degree of flexibility in the backrest. They varied the thickness of the shell to give it the desired comfort, stability and flexibility. “So then we had two functions: the flex and the stackability,” says Jehs. “These made the sculptural shape of the shell. It was pure functionalism,” he adds.
Occo was developed with a suite of options – four options for the legs, six for shell colours and three for cushioning – which altogether produce no less than 72 possible variations that can respond to all functional and design requirements.
A matching table range – with its top available in a variety of materials and shapes – further complements the collection. “We think Occo is a good answer to the identity problem,” says Remmers confidently.
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Living Edge definitely has the edge when it comes to supplying furniture for the education sector. With a plethora of brands and collections at their fingertips, Living Edge provides the perfect solution for any learning environment.
Join us behind the scenes with V-ZUG’s in-house design team, and discover how this Swiss boutique kitchen manufacturer balances art, science and history to create its pioneering Excellence line.
Natural forms meet technological sophistication to produce GH Commercial’s Pattern Perfect® Native Collection of carpets. Step inside the factory to see how local flavours inform the design.
Bidding farewell to mundane and uninspired office spaces, colour has transformed our workplaces into layered and engaging environments. So we sit down with Karina Simpson, Hot Black’s Workplace Lead, to talk about the influence colour has on the workspace landscape through the prism of Herman Miller’s progressive colour philosophy.
The idea that the only way is forward isn’t new but it feels particularly current when it comes to the evolution of the commercial workplace. Here, Bradhly Le takes stock of the significant transformation this typography has been going through – and points to adaptable design as one of the essential vehicles for this dynamic shift.
Wilkhahn’s innovative seating and furniture solutions turn conference settings and executive offices into compelling spaces centred on the people who use them.
How does Domenic Alvaro oversee a project from start to finish? Timothy Alouani-Roby met with the Woods Bagot director and global design leader to find out why editors make the best architects and architects the best editors.
With a concept that is at once strikingly new and yet familiar, Lifesize Plans offers a different angle on design. Whether it’s in the process or finished product, projecting plans at real-life scale for people to walk through is an idea with potentially far-reaching consequences.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Missed the entry window for the INDE.Awards? Fear not! Entries extended until April 6.
A diverse team of designers developed V-ZUG’s ground-breaking Excellence line, and looked beyond their appliance peers to the automotive, lifestyle and fashion industries to achieve a new standard in individualisation.
With the launch of the new Bachli showroom in Melbourne, there is another destination for lovers of fine design where the curated offering of furniture, lighting and accessories raises the bar on beauty, form and function.
The best residential interior incorporates all manner of elements. From materials, colour and products through to imaginative aesthetics and creative innovations and The Interior Space at the 2023 INDE.Awards is the perfect showcase for homes that shine with outstanding design.