June 22, 2026 — Anyone in facility management (FM), ranging from corporate office space planning to healthcare to education, has experienced the failure of workplace furnishings and the need to replace or update. A facility manager might reach out to the furniture dealer, interior design firm, or take a look at the drawings and wonder if it is time to update furniture, furnishings, flooring, technology integration or lighting.
Whether it’s been years since your company or institution’s last renovation, or you just want to be current as workplace environments change, then NeoCon, the annual gathering for the commercial interiors industry, remains the one place where it all comes together. Earlier in June, NeoCon 2026 attracted 55,000 design, facility and industry professionals representing a 9% increase in traffic from 2025.
Across nearly one million square feet of exhibition space, attendees encountered 450 brands with design-forward solutions spanning workplace, healthcare, hospitality, education, public space, materials, technology, lighting, acoustics and furnishings. This landscape — from permanent showrooms on floors 1, 3, 6, 10, 11, and 14 to the 7th Floor Exhibit Hall and its specialty areas — showcased introductions designed to address the changing needs of commercial environments and the people who use them.
“NeoCon has always been a reflection of where the commercial design industry is headed, and this year there was a real sense of momentum that was felt across every floor,” says Byron Morton, vice president and co-head of leasing at The Mart. “It was evident in the conversations taking place between exhibitors and specifiers, in the investments brands are making in their presence at The Mart, and in the enthusiasm around new ideas and introductions.”
Best of NeoCon winners offer new solutions
From workplace solutions and sustainable materials to breakthrough lighting innovations and integrated technologies, the winners of the 36th annual Best of NeoCon Awards reflect a commitment to intentional, human-centered design. Revealed at The Mart as part of NeoCon 2026, the commercial interiors event, the awards recognize products that exemplify excellence in design, performance, innovation and user experience within the built environment.
Since 1990, the Best of NeoCon Awards program has served as a definitive benchmark for commercial design excellence, commending solutions that advance how people work, learn, heal, connect and experience space. This year’s edition received 274 entries from 97 NeoCon exhibitors. A total of 71 products earned awards across 42 categories, including expanded lighting classifications introduced in conjunction with the debut of Illuminate at NeoCon. Honors were awarded for Gold, Silver, Innovation, Sustainability, and Business Impact, with the competition’s highest distinction — Best of Competition — presented to KI for Cognetic Technology.
A multidisciplinary jury of approximately 45 leading architects, designers, facility managers, end-users, and industry decision-makers — including leaders from CannonDesign, Gensler, HDR, HKS, HOK, Marmon Mok, Northwestern Mutual, Shepley Bulfinch, State Farm, and Walgreens — convened on-site at The Mart the previous weekend to evaluate submissions throughout the NeoCon show floors. An additional panel of business journalists and facility management (FM) professionals determined the Business Impact Awards. See the full jury list here.
Eileen McMorrow, Director of Best of NeoCon, remarked:
The breadth of this year’s nominees demonstrates how dynamically NeoCon exhibitors are designing for the human experience and responding to real-world challenges with solutions that thoughtfully balance aesthetics and performance. From meaningful advancements in workplace, healthcare, hospitality, education and lighting, the ingenuity and innovation celebrated by the competition are always exciting to see. Collectively, the winners represent a commitment to creating more responsive, resilient, well-being-driven, and people-first spaces.
Best of Competition
The Best of Competition-winning Cognetic Technology by KI (shown above) stood out for its intuitive, human-centered design. The patented seating innovation was developed to fundamentally rethink how the body interacts with seating. The gravity-powered, multi-axis motion system continuously responds to subtle natural body movement, supporting posture variability, fluid movement, and effortless balance without requiring constant conscious adjustment. Unlike conventional seating systems built around levers, tilt mechanisms and static positioning, Cognetic Technology creates an intuitive, frictionless, more responsive seated experience.
Jurors praised the solution for its ability to encourage natural movement and adapt seamlessly to the user, noting that it “moves with your body and how you want to move,” and is “intuitive and effortless to use,” creating a more dynamic and comfortable sitting experience. Other jurors noted that the technology “effectively encourages movement in the workplace,” providing an “added feature of calm as it functions a lot like a rocking chair,” and pointed out the neurodiversity features and health benefits, noting that “hip flexibility helps those with a plethora of health issues and back problems.” One juror remarked that the unique technology “will be a game changer in the market,” concluding, “We loved sitting in this chair and didn’t want to get up. We are very excited to see this technology get specified on projects.”
Additional Best of Competition finalists included HALCON Furniture’s VESPER, Impact Acoustic’s Truchet, Model No.’s Onda, Mohawk Group’s Hero Rubber made with Nike Grind (see left), Andreu World’s Fusion Conference Table, and WVH’s ALMA Collection.
Innovation Awards
Pushing the boundaries of technical execution, manufacturers including Armstrong World Industries, Bernhardt Design, BIOS Lighting, Boss Design, DARRAN, HALCON Furniture, Haskell Education, KI, Levitask and Prostoria USA earned Innovation Awards (filter by award) for products introducing breakthrough technologies, novel applications, and inventive approaches to contemporary design challenges.
Sustainability Awards
Spotlighting achievements in circular design, responsible material sourcing, manufacturing innovation and environmental stewardship, Sustainability Awards (filter by award) were presented to products from Andreu World, Boss Design, CF Stinson, Davis Furniture, Flora Materials, Impact Acoustic, Mohawk Group, Model No., Okamura, and RESEAT.
Business Impact Awards
Now in its fourth year, the Business Impact Awards (filter by award) recognized solutions that drive measurable organizational outcomes — from workflow efficiency and space optimization to user experience, wellness, and cost savings. Judged by a panel of business journalists from The Chicago Sun-Times; Crain’s Chicago Business; Forbes, Inc.; The New York Times and Wirecutter, alongside facility management professionals from Northwestern Mutual and State Farm, the products were reviewed through the lens of real-world performance and the bottom line, long-term business value. This year, 26 finalists were selected, with 10 products ultimately earning Business Impact Awards.
The 2026 recipients were AIS’ Reshape; Armstrong World Industries’ Templok Energy Saving Ceilings; BIOS Lighting’s BIOS SkyView Tile; BuzziSpace’s BuzziTent Light; Cisco’s AI Powered Plug-n-Play Rooms, Cisco Spaces, and Workspace Designer; DARRAN’s Limousine; Haskell Education’s Pathmaker Table Series; Haworth’s Haworth Gallerie; Momentum’s Mirage with SpinFix; and Silen’s Silen Space Gen 2.
Most-awarded companies
Competition-wide, the most-awarded companies were KI (7), Andreu World (6), Davis Furniture (6), HALCON Furniture (4), Haworth (5), and Keilhauer (4), each earning recognition in multiple categories.
Additional winners of note include:
- Mirage with SpinFix by Momentum: Gold and Business Impact Award in the Acoustic Solutions category
- Assembled Threads by Mohawk Group: Silver in Carpeting
- Within Walls by Patcraft: Gold in Carpeting
- Hero Rubber made with Nike Grind by Mohawk: Gold in Healthcare Hard-Surface Flooring
- Wanderwood by Patcraft: Silver in Healthcare Hard-Surface Flooring
- Muro by B+N Industries – A Momentum Company: Silver in Architectural Products
- Bloomscape by CF Stinson: Silver and Sustainability in Healthcare Textiles
- Michael Ford x Momentum Textile Collection by Momentum: Gold in Upholstery
View the full list of Best of NeoCon 2026 winners and images at Best of NeoCon.
