The second round-up for 2022 is a rally of the best office furniture we’ve had the pleasure of reviewing this year. With commercial interior design being a huge component of the industry, it’s no surprise how much attention and importance office furniture gets. Good furniture can make or break or space, especially one that demands you be productive and collaborative. The design changes we’ve seen in office furniture has been interesting to say the least.
We knew this round-up would be hard because we’ve done quite a few stellar ones this year. But here goes nothing..
Reviewers: Firas Alsahin, Co-founder, 4space Design; Rakan Jandali, Associate, KCA International
Organic shapes was predicted to be a top trend by several industries for 2022. Keeping in line with that trend, the StudioTK review came at just the right time. Designed in collaboration with the legendary Dutch studio Artifort, StudioTK designed the Beso collection to be a complete and comprehensive range of seating solutions for new, more social work landscapes.
The design typology is meant to be as simple as possible with strong features that aren’t overly expressive. With five types of chairs and multiple base styles and finishes, one can create a number of combinations with the leg bases, finishes, and fabrics, offering designers a variety of choices. Whether it’s a pink bar stool and a blue leg or something more conventional, it’s most likely available here. Studio TK allows for that experimentation and customisation.
Reviewers for Monto: Pooja Premkumar, Senior Interior Designer, SBID; Swati Rokade, Associate, GAJ
Reviewers for Ollin: Maja Fiszer, Associate, HOK; Peter Mishreky, Design Department Manager, Al Tayer Stocks
CBS never fails to impress us. This year, we reviewed Monto – an innovative accessory that makes sit-stand possible anywhere and anytime. It’s a simple yet highly effective and portable accessory that can be retrofitted to existing work surfaces to enable sit-stand modes. It’s also designed to work in conjunction with a CBS dynamic monitor arm or laptop support, effortlessly transforming any fixed desk into a height-adjustable workstation.
Monto was created to overcome the limitation of traditional sit-stand desks used today, which are bulky and too big for a single person. With Monto, the goal was to design a light and portable solution that offered excellent ergonomics, flexibility and stability. It’s sleek, simple, easy to use, and far more affordable than an entire desk while achieving the same goal.
Recently, we als reviewed the Ollin Laptop and Tablet Mount that encourages good posture and improves your workstation ergonomics. The Mount can be used in conjunction with your other accessories; a separate mouse and keyboard that you prefer. It reduces eye, neck and back strain and improves comfort during long periods of work. Along with these superior ergonomics, the Ollin Laptop and Tablet Mount’s design profile is clean, stylish, and sophisticated. It features a powder-coated, elegant steel base with curved edges and a premium finish. Its integrated cable management channels elevate desk appearance even more by helping keep it neat and tidy.
Reviewers: David Lessard, Design Director, H+A; Hilda Impey, Founder & Creative Partner, Hilda Impey Design Studio
Iconic furniture brand Vitra launched the Soft-Work Seating system recently, through a collaboration with Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby. They wanted to combine the best of home and office design, offering a comfortable new furniture solution to work on. It incorporates the best of the furniture components that are familiar to us, and consolidates them into a sleek and comfortable new design in the form of a sofa.
With this collection, they achieved this ideal blend of a product that was meant for a private space, but perfectly suited to a more public setting, such as a lobby or lounge. Soft Work’s design is focused on blending ergonomics, functionality, and wellness without having to trade off any of those aspects. Configurations and options are aplenty, and the craftsmanship is exceptional, as is to be expected from Vitra. Furthermore, the materials are sustainably sourced, and the product can be upcycled or recycled at the end of its life.
Reviewers: Jamie Sandy, Designer, BSBG; Tia Lindqvist, Designer, GAJ Architects
This collection is impressively consistent and uniform in its design. Inspired by the rounded rocks found in the Finnish archipelago, the forms form the base of its design, and it ended up becoming the main design language. MyFlow has a fairly comprehensive set of products that should fit nearly any modern office need. From chairs and desks to storage and soft seating, MyFlow has it all.
The curved profiles offer a welcoming feeling to users in any setting. A defining feature of the collection is a sleek polished metal component that you will find in the chairs and stools, one which the ISKU reps refer to as the ‘jewellery’. The products are finished with a piece of this jewellery, that connects the seat to the backrest, and this component is available in brass, copper, painted black or white.
Reviewers: Bruno Gomes, Senior Design Architect, Dewan Architects; Tamara Taamneh, Architect, Roar
Perhaps on our most interesting reviews this year, Colonnade was designed by KI to be a systemised, cost-effective and sustainable solution for better user-controlled, flexible workspaces. The product came about as a result of creative evolution that happened organically from customers using KI’s existing storage solutions to repurpose their spaces. On an ongoing basis the KI team added a gantry and other elements to make the final system truly flexible and lightweight.
The Colonnade gantry assembles as a simple connected aluminum system that makes installation and configuration easy. The system is inherently cost effective and offers a high ROI simply because its basic elements are simply rods and shelves. Colonnade’s design allows end users to configure and set up the system in a way that delivers strong visual cues about the nature of the space. It also enables the organization to easily set up zones in the spur of the moment, and also offers visual privacy user control. The true versatility of the product can be experienced when you see all of the accessories that are available. Combined with furniture from the KI range, this opens a whole new world of design possibility.
