Chicago’s NeoCon is the United States’ answer to Salone del Mobile, showcasing the latest innovations in commercial design from across the world.

In 2016, NeoCon celebrated its 48th year with three days of seminars and showcases, attracting 50,000 design professionals to its events. Haworth were excited to be a part of the annual trade show, taking home a 2016 Best of NeoCon Silver Award, and showcasing more than 20 new products from Haworth and Haworth Collection.

The Haworth showroom again enlisted the design skills of Patricia Urquiola, a frequent collaborator with Haworth, and the designer behind Haworth’s Openest Collection. Filled with vibrant colours and the latest Haworth products, Urquiola focused on a central theme of ‘Culture, Community and Comfort: People Make the Place’.

“Our space centres on the workplace as a human centric environment, which we illustrated by creating a variety of work settings that allow people to work the way they need,” explains Glen Foster, Haworth’s Vice President for Sales and Marketing, “It celebrates bringing people together and creating a sense of community where people can perform at their best, acknowledging the needs of individuals to engage both socially, and for work purposes, to achieve maximum engagement.”

The highlights of the space were three prominent ‘Maker Spaces’, one each for Cappellini, Poltrona Frau, and Cassina in custom jewel boxes in the centre of the floor plate. In each of these showcases, a master craftsman demonstrated the skill in creating their respective brand’s chairs live, from start to finish, emphasising manufacturing values and design quality.

Also on display were several workspace set-ups, emphasising the easy integration of all of Haworth’s products, and a number of new Haworth Collection pieces, including Fern, Poppy, Drum, Immerse, and Compose Connections, with Compose Connections winning a Best of NeoCon Silver Award in the Systems Enhancements category. A bluescape wall of videos showcased the manufacturing process behind Haworth and Haworth Collection products, displaying Haworth’s global manufacturing values and design quality.

Another highlight of the showroom was the Fern display, which Glen Foster describes as, “a holistic museum approach to showcasing the design story and artefacts from the research and development of Fern.” The innovative chairs positioned as ‘the most comfortable task chair’ is displayed with a lush, background of paper ferns and multiple development prototypes for the chair, showcasing the chair’s evolution and superior design technology.

Haworth’s showspace for NeoCon 2016 was a spectacularly designed and highly interactive workspace that showcased the quality and versatility of Haworth’s products. Designed by Patricia Urquiola, and integrating the 2014 acquisitions of premium Italian brands Cassina, Poltrona Frau, and Cappellini, Haworth continues to be at the forefront of workspace design.

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Glen Foster, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Haworth Asia-Pacific together at Neocon with Sandro Rogani, master craftsman from Poltrona Frau from in Tolentino, Italy.