On 1 and 2 August 2013, Herman Miller welcomed visitors to experience its culture, products and thought leadership in a mega exhibition space spanning 3,000sqm at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands.

Entry into REACH

Visitors started the journey at a long entryway decorated with inspirational quotes by leaders from Herman Miller and its collaborators before arriving at the exhibition space proper – a pop-up office called “The Spontaneous City”.

And what a city. The space was divided into 10 main ’districts’, with products in each demonstrating different innovative solutions for design in the workplace, and beyond.

Living Office – featuring the award-winning Arras Spine, a flexible design that facilitates collaborative work

At REACH, visitors are invited to experience the products up close 

Highlights included the Living Office, a showcase of the evolving office landscape and Herman Miller’s vision of the future of how we work. The new Metaform system by Studio 7.5 in particular (see our story here), caught the eye of many visitors for its provocative proposal of a workspace made out of lightweight, self-configurable modules, and no drawers.

Metaform by Studio 7.5

The new Mirra 2 by Studio 7.5

Large areas were also dedicated to some of Herman Miller’s new star products, including the Mirra 2 ergonomic task chair by Studio 7.5, which comes 10 years after the best-selling original first burst onto the scene; and the furniture system Layout Studio, which is able to adapt to different activities and working styles and offer solutions for offices of any size. Also on show were new furnishings from the Herman Miller collection such as the Wireframe Sofa Group by Sam Hecht, the Eames Moulded Fibreglass Chair, and collectable objects like the Black and White Hang-It-All.

The ’epicentre’ of REACH, where lectures were held

Mary Stevens, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at Herman Miller, giving a lecture

And all throughout the day, at the centre of the exhibition hall, visitors were be able to catch lectures by some of the world’s thought leaders in design, such as Mary Stevens (Herman Miller’s Senior Vice President of Global Marketing) on the topic of “Living Office”; Gert Urhahn (partner of The Spontaneous City International) on “The Spontaneous City”; and Luc Kamperman (partner at Veldhoen + Company) on “Activity Based Working”.

A captivated audience listening in on a lecture

Eames Demetrios, Director of the Eames Office, was also there to talk about the new Eames Moulded Wood Chair, and take visitors on a special curator’s tour of the Essential Eames exhibition at the nearby ArtScience Museum – undoubtedly one of the most memorable highlights of the day.

Essential Eames exhibition at the ArtScience Museum

To celebrate the close of an engaging exhibition on Day 1, Herman Miller also announced the winners of its inaugural Liveable Office Award. And drum roll… the award went to GPT, Australia by Woods Bagot (commercial business category) and Herald and Weekly Times, Australia by Geyer (small business category). Honourable mentions were also given out to Ergon Energy Brisbane by BVN Donovan Hill, and One of the Office by Signal Design Japan.

Liveable Office Award 2013 winner: GPT, Australia by Woods Bagot (commercial business category)

Liveable Office Award 2013 winner: Herald and Weekly Times, Australia by Geyer (small business category)

While Australia appeared to have swept away most of the wins, several noted projects from Asia did make the shortlist such as HBO+EMTB’s SAP project in Singapore and DSP Design’s Microsoft India project. Check in for more updates on the awards on our Facebook page.

Visitors having a go at the Spun chair

The very first REACH in Singapore certainly hit the mark when it came to offering a variety of ways for the visitor to experience and enjoy the world of Herman Miller. Whether it was to touch, feel and discover both new and iconic products and design innovations, or to hear the views of industry leaders, or simply to rub shoulders with fellow designers and make new friends in a festive design environment, the exhibition appeared to have them all.

Herman Miller REACH
hermanmillerreach.com

Also check out Cubes Indesign’s story on Herman Miller, in the latest issue out on newsstands now.