Belgian brand BuzziSpace bagged six awards at NeoCon 2017 in Chicago, and also presented some fun new products for the workplace – and elsewhere.

Six awards in three days – it’s not bad going by any account. BuzziSpace won big at the recent NeoCon trade show in Chicago, taking home awards for ‘Manufacturer of the Year’, ‘Best Small Showroom’ and ‘Best Overall Showroom’ courtesy of the International Interior Design Association and Contract Magazine, as well as three HiP Awards (‘Winner’ for BuzziPleat and ‘Honoree’ for BuzziTrihex and BuzziBounce).

Brand new product BuzziPleat was designed by 13&9 as a two-in-one solution for light and sound control. Large scale, sculptural and lightweight, the BuzziPleat series uses sewing techniques such as smocking and pleating to fold sound-absorbing BuzziFelt (made with recycled material) into a striking form with a huge surface area.

BuzziPleat has no internal support structure; it relies on the tension of its own form. “Pleating brings movement to still objects, animating them from within,” says Martin Lesjak, lead architect and designer at 13&9. The base unit is an acoustic pendant, and a light source can be added. Two designs and two sizes are available.

BuzziMirage turned heads by creating a visual illusion. This arch-shaped mirror is offset from its curved frame, creating the impression of depth where there is none. “It’s a discussion between materials, reality and virtuality. But above all, BuzziMirage is about creating a little world of its own,” says its designer Alain Gilles.

The mirror is available is two sizes – as a large floor mirror that creates the illusion of a doorway, and as a small wall-hung mirror that gives the impression of a window. The wall-hung version has a small tray at its base.

BuzziBaffle is a scalable acoustic-control system designed in-house by BuzziSpace Studio. It can be hung, for example, in a small area above a conference table, or across an entire ceiling. The panels are available in two styles: BuzziBaffle Straight and BuzziBaffle Wave with an articulated ripple edge.

BuzziBalance High expands the BuzziBalance collection by 13&9, which was released last year. The new model has a taller seat and has been designed to pull up beside a workstation. This rocking pouf is a dynamic seat similar to a stability ball, helping the sitter to improve their balance and posture.

In Australia, BuzziSpace is carried by Zenith Interiors.