NeoCon 2015: Vitra adaptable furniture folds easily for storage

by Brianna Crandall — July 20, 2015—Switzerland-based furniture manufacturer Vitra introduced several innovative products at the recent NeoCon 2015 contract furnishings show in Chicago, including a balanced micro-architectural office workspace system, a foldable height-adjustable table, a fully functional office chair with an air of casual familiarity, and event table that can be folded single-handedly, all highlighted below.

Workbays

To help balance the natural but contradictory needs for concentration and communication, designers Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec created Workbays, breaking with the typical rigid planning structure of offices. The simple, multifunctional micro-architectural system offers employees the freedom to seek out the optimal surroundings for the task at hand.

Joining Workbays Focus, Workbays Meet and Workbays Space, the new Workbays 90 products supplement this range with workspaces that combine the requirements of a functional office system with an inviting, relaxed atmosphere, lending structure to create a “home” within the office for individuals as well as teams.

Workbays 90 Team Houses create a clearly defined team area within the open office space, providing everything required for collaborative work: open desk space, shelving that provides storage capacity and can also serve as a standing-height work surface or meeting spot, project tables, presentation surfaces, and an area for short conversations. Workbays 90 Studios provide an effective sheltered workstation for one or two people, equipped with desk and storage space and lateral standing-height work surfaces.

Hack

The Hack table system can be folded up into a practical, flat “box” in just a few simple steps, making it easy to dismantle and transport, and saving storage space.

Designed by Konstantin Grcic, Hack is a table system that anticipates the requirements of companies and employees—a “provocative” solution the company calls a “hack” of the office environment, like a computer hack that is quickly executed and often inelegant, but highly effective.

To attract young university graduates, companies must offer an appealing, practical and creative work environment while also being able to respond to dynamic changes in their office structures. With its raw wooden panels, Hack presents an unfinished aesthetic, like an experimental project. The system reflects the sensibilities of today’s high-tech companies that similarly define themselves in terms of constant change.

Each Hack unit forms an autonomous element whose adaptability allows it to satisfy various needs. Interestingly, Hack can be folded up into a practical, flat “box” in just a few simple steps, making it easy to dismantle and transport, and saving storage space. Hack provides an expansive work surface and an individually adaptable private sphere. The height adjustment feature offers standing, sitting and lounge options, defining distinct niches for work, meetings and relaxation.

Thanks to its manually operated mechanism, the production and utilization of Hack are ecologically sustainable, and the tables are manufactured on site in an energy-efficient manner. Simply constructed, the solid hinges connecting the three wooden panels are precisely tooled metal parts that facilitate the folding function of Hack and ensure its stability. The continuously variable height adjustment is manually operated with a recessed grip or a crank, adjusting within seconds from 200 to 1250 mm. In the lowest position, Hack can be outfitted with cushions for use as a sofa.

The Allstar office chair’s unexpected shapes and colors offer casual appeal, yet it comes fully equipped with an adjustable synchronized mechanism, seat depth and height adjustment, and an adjustable back rest.

Allstar

Konstantin Grcic also developed this office chair characterized by unexpected shapes and colors, whose casual appeal and sense of familiarity make an office worker feel at home, and make the chair equally well suited for the home office.

Yet Allstar contains all the functions of a fully equipped office chair: an adjustable synchronized mechanism with lockable positioning, seat depth and height adjustment, and an adjustable back rest. A stout loop frame made of robust plastic simultaneously performs the function of armrests, backrest support and extended arm of the mechanical unit, enabling the separate movement of seat and backrest. The organically shaped cushions of the seat and back work together with the technical functions to ensure a high level of comfort.

This makes Allstar suited for a wide variety of settings — including places where high-tech seating performance is desired but a classic office chair would not be appropriate for aesthetic reasons. The base and seat cushion come in black, while the armrests and backrest are available in various color combinations.

The versatile Super Fold Table can be single-handedly folded flat, easily transported and compactly stored in limited storage space.

Super Fold Table

A table that can be single-handedly folded flat, easily transported and compactly stored: the Super Fold Table by Jasper Morrison combines all of these features, says Vitra.

Museums, galleries, restaurants and similar institutions often require versatile tables that can be used in a variety of settings. Since such facilities tend to have limited storage space, a table type is needed that can be quickly and compactly stowed away and just as easily set up again. The table can be an ideal choice for all meeting, event and food service locations where flexibility is key and furnishings are frequently rearranged in different layouts.

The Super Fold Table folds up completely with a single movement of the hand. The mechanism tilts the table top into a vertical position and simultaneously rotates and aligns the legs of the four-star base so that the whole table is reduced to a single plane just a few centimeters deep. The folding mechanism is activated by a recessed grip marked for easy identification by touch. Once folded, the recessed grip serves as a carrying handle, allowing transportation with one hand. Stacking trolleys are available with various load capacities to facilitate storage.