Best of NeoCon 2000 Awards

Sixty-three products were accorded Gold and Silver Awards in The Best of NeoCon Competition during NeoCon 2000 at The Merchandise Mart. Most Innovative Product Awards, a Best of Competition Award, and two Editors’ Choice Awards also were selected.

Best of Competition
HBF / Vanderbyl Seating Collection / Seating: Sofas & Chairs

Editors’ Choices
Brayton / Sidewalk / Alternative Office
Keilhauer / Jet / Seating: Sofas & Chairs

Alternative Office
Gold: Brayton International / Sidewalk
Silver: Turnstone / Crushed Can

Architectural Products & Finishes
Gold: Levolor Home Fashions / Perceptions Soft Vertical Blind
Silver: Skyline Design / The Laurinda Spear Glass Collection
Silver: Surface Protection Industries International / Kinesis by Zolatone

Carpet: Broadloom
Gold: Lees Carpet / Thought Patterns
Silver: Atlas Carpet Mills, Inc. / Atelier Collection
Silver: Lees Carpets / The Espana Collection

Carpet: Modular
Gold: Lees Squared / The Celtic Collection
Silver: Mannington Commercial Carpet / Above the Crowd

Ceilings
Gold: Armstrong World Industries / Optima Vector Ceiling Panels
Silver: Acoustic Ceiling Products / GridMAX

Computer Support Furniture
*Gold: Microsphere, Inc. / Microsphere
Silver: Egan Visual Inc. / PowerPlane

Desks
Gold: Dates Weiser Furniture Corp. / XO
Gold: Teknion, Inc. / Solitar
Silver: Principle Fixture & Millwork / PiQUE by Principle

Fabrics, Leather, Vinyls
Gold: Jhane Barnes Textiles / Spacer
Gold: Maharam / Ready to Wear
Gold: Luna Textiles / Paris Collection
Silver: HBF Textiles / Atmosphere Collection
Silver: Maharam / Textiles of the 20th Century

Files & Storage
Gold: Spacesaver Corp. / Power Pro
Silver: Bisley / BONUS

Flooring
Gold: Mannington Commercial Resilient / Brushwork

Furniture Systems
Gold: Haworth Inc. / if
Silver: Dates Weiser Furniture Corp. / XO
Silver: Teknion, Inc. / Leverage

Furniture Systems: New Components
Gold: Helmut Guenschel Inc / Vista
Silver: Bretford / Sit-to-Stand Work Center

Healthcare Fabrics
Gold: Carnegie / Philosophy Collection

Healthcare Furniture
Gold: Humancare / History Series

Hospitality Furniture
Gold: Cynosure Art, Inc. / Asylum Furniture

Lighting
Gold: Steelcase Inc. / Canopy
Silver: Baldinger / Ricky Wall Sconce

Office Accessories
*Gold: Colebrook Bosson Saunders / Wishbone
*Gold: Virtual Ink / Mimio Active
Silver: Steelcase / Huddleboard Products

Seating: Desk/Workstation Task Chairs
Gold: HÅG, Inc. / HÅG H05
Gold: Stylex / Reverb
Gold: Vecta / Lucy Chair
Gold: Versteel / Chela

Seating: Executive Desk Chairs
Gold: Kane Design Studio / Jacket Chair
Silver: Davis Furniture / LUCID Chair Series

Seating: Sofas & Chairs
Gold: HBF / Vanderbyl Seating Collection
Gold: TZ Designs for Bernhardt / Esperanto
Silver: Davis Furniture / PALETTE Lounge Series
Silver: Harvest Link International / Prima

Seating: Stacking
Gold: KI / Torsion on the Go!

Seating: Task
Gold: Arconas / The Logistics Chair
Gold: Stylex / Breeze

Surfacing Materials & Laminates
Gold: Knoll Textiles / Imago

Tables: Conference & Training
Gold: Vecta / Train
Silver: Novikoff Inc. / Elements Conference Tables

Tables: Electrified
Gold: FCI / Connexions
Silver: Metro / Access

Tables: Occasional
Gold: Brayton International / Diekman Tables
Gold: HBF / Vanderbyl Occasional Table Collection
Silver: KI / Einstein

Wall Treatments
*Gold: Innovations in Wallcoverings / Eco-Alchemy
Silver: Carnegie / Xorel Three

* Awarded Most Innovative

The competition was sponsored by Facilities Design & Management magazine, Contract magazine, Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., IFMA, and IIDA. It differs from other competitions in three major respects. One, the jury is composed of 20 corporate, government, and institutional facilities management executives and business facilities interior designers who are responsible for selecting and buying furniture and furnishings for their specific organizations or their clients’. Two, the five jury teams visited Merchandise Mart showrooms and temporary Market Suites to examine each product in person, rather than judging products based on photo or slide images. Three, each manufacturer had the opportunity to explain and discuss details of the entered product and answer jurors’ questions.

KI can be reached at www.ki.com.

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A report from NeoCon 2000