Two words which are not, I recently learned, wholly discrete:

Office

&

Luxury

Our collective imagination (for far too long) has held those two words apart at significant distance. Now, as our workplaces continue to diversify at break-neck speed – from ABW, to remote working, mobile working, and even virtual working – the landscape of ‘the office’ has looked more different.

It also, as it turns out, has never felt more different. Suddenly out of nowhere luxuriant textures, forms and palettes have infiltrated the world of the office and brought the commercial sphere into a conversation with high-end contemporary design.

While many global brands have begun to enjoy this sudden demand for luxury design in the commercial sector (in particular, the traditional office), few Australian companies have quite cracked the complexity of the contemporary working world and celebrated its eccentric – often-confusing – ways.

Stepping beyond mere price tags and the magnetism of stalwart names, one of Australia’s largest suppliers of commercial furniture products to the corporate, government, architectural and design markets – Diami – have suddenly reinterpreted the role that luxury should play in our working lives. Moving past the exhibitionism of material objects, the brand’s ethos is steeped in the belief that ‘luxury’ is now completely inseparable from ‘motivation’.

According to Michael Antunes, co-founder and CEO of Diami, ‘we believe that a person’s work environment influences the way they feel, so we have made it our mission to ensure that our furniture inspires, motivates and stimulates while offering complete user comfort, performance and good health’.

Recently, I was able to see this new definition of luxury in the flesh. Last month the team from Diami hosted an end of year soiree at Gravity – a high-end co-working office in Sydney – to showcase their latest designs in association with Global Fursys Group.

To a select group of industry influencers including architects, specifiers, media personnel and government officials, the team at Fursys and Diami introduced several innovative seating models to the Australian market including the T50 AIR series and the CH0022 model of Claudio Bellini fame (all pictured below).

The T50 AIR series – including the T51 and TN50 – which boasts a soft microfibre nylon and tilt mechanism for incomparable ergonomy coupled with an open frame form were displayed throughout in a gallery-style installation. As onlookers inspected each model in minute detail, it became clear that each chair represented a dramatic meditation on line and spatiality.

Steve Song, Fursys Group’s International Sales Director, explained Fursys’ dynamic approach to research and development initiatives which stood at the very core of these recent innovations in design-thinking. ‘The open frame models and stool of the same collection’, according to Mr. Song, ‘are the first to be introduced to the Australian market, and we are excited to work exclusively with Diami Australia to expand product categories locally’.

The sentiment of excitement and innovation is equally echoed by Michael Antunes who said ‘Diami is a modern, active company and we are proud of [both] our products and role in society’.

What comes to the very forefront of the launch is that we are currently in the throes of a revolution taking the commercial design sector by storm. Same-same portfolios and offerings simply just will not cut it any more. The workforce is ageing at a rapid rate and there’s a new generation on the brink of becoming the professional world’s major demographic. For this new generation – the tomorrow of the professional world – technology is required to be integrated so far in our design solutions that the products themselves become tools to fit the body. Bodies will no longer be made to fit the tools.

IndesignLive wishes to congratulate the teams at Diami and Fursys Group. This new suite of designs collectively represents capital-L Luxury as a refinement of experience.

But here, too, is the enrichment of performance. It’s going to be a bright future.