Commonly referred to as “The Super Bowl of Office Furniture”, Neocon 2014 certainly lived up to the hype. Over 40,000 design and architecture professionals filed into Chicago’s famed Merchandise Mart to see the latest creations from industry giants like “Herman Miller”, “Steelcase”, “Haworth”, “Kimball Office” , “Paoli” & “HON” just to name a few. Now that everything has settled down a bit, here are the highlights from Neocon 2014, the largest tradeshow of its kind.

Featured Industries and Standout Solutions

Commercial interior solutions for the hospitality, healthcare, education, government, environmental and retail were on display at Neocon 2014. While there were an abundance of exhibitors present, there were many standouts that are worthy of being pointed out.

Ardea Light by Herman Miller
Working for extended periods of time is almost always made more efficient with task lighting. While task lighting is intended to improve focus on the work at hand, the new Ardea Light by Herman Miller may be more of a distraction at first. Inspired by the long, flexible necks of majestic great herons, this task lamp features the sleek lines and environmentally-friendly materials required of a modern office.

Openest by Haworth
Haworth, Inc. had an impressive showing at the 2014 NeoCon furniture fair. For the second consecutive year, the Holland-based company was awarded with NeoCon’s highest honor, the Best in Competition Award (Openest). Openest, is an ensemble of products for collaborative spaces created by Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola, captivated at the annual show and went on to win the Best of Competition Award. The collection is a favorite among industry leaders and visitors as it also received a Gold Award in the Collaborative Collections category. Openest consists of Feather sofas, Chick pouf-seating, Sprig tables and Plume space-dividing screens that offer design flexibility.

The Growing Trend of Health in the Workplace

Over the past few years, an increased emphasis has been placed on health in the workplace. Pair scientific research that shows how sitting for long periods of time is bad for so many aspects of our health with the fact that work takes up so much of the day that there is rarely any time left to workout, and it becomes clear that something needs to be done.
Some commercial interior designers and furniture makers took to the challenge and what resulted was nothing short of innovative.
The Cubii, for example, created by the cutting-edge furniture company Fitness Cubed is an exercise device that fits neatly underneath your desk and combines the motion of an exercise bike and an elliptical trainer.
Smaller than most desk exercise equipment, the Cubii can be adjusted in a variety of ways so that your knees never hit the underside of your desk and the smooth glide system ensures that keeping your legs in motion while sitting at the desk is as effortless as possible.
In keeping in line with all things modern, the Cubii comes with a mobile app that wirelessly connects to the machine and can track progress via calories, revolutions, distance and more. Results can be shared with others to encourage a little friendly competition and ultimately lead to a healthier workplace as moreco-workers get involved.
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Commercial interior design is serious business and the new and innovative designs presented at Neocon 2014 will have your business ahead of the curve and trending up as having one of the best designed office spaces in the area.