News + Research

Therapeutic Applications
 for NunoErin Interactive Solid-Surface Furniture

Posted on by
Posted in Research + White Papers



Since the company’s founding in 2007, architects and interior designers worldwide have selected NunoErin products for contract installations at venues including hospitals, airports, commercial lobbies and major restaurant and hospitality chains.

As people interact with NunoErin’s solid-surface furniture objects, it responds to energy within the body through a wide variety of sensory light behaviors. The playful form of engagement featured in this collection has widespread appeal that transcends ages and demographics, while connecting people with each other and their environment in new and uplifting ways. 

The uniqueness of these products in terms of promoting touch and play and their appeal across all age groups inspired company founders, Nuno Ferreira and Erin Hayne, to explore their potential application as therapeutic equipment for use within the speech, occupational and physical therapy trades. Working in collaboration with Beyond Therapy, a month-long equipment utilization research study was conducted to determine the value of NunoErin products in helping therapists provide therapeutic and educational services to children with special needs.

In September 2012, NunoErin installed a Thermosensitive Stool and Touch Panels and an Interactive Light “Sparkle” Bench in Beyond Therapy’s “Snoezelen Sensory Room,” where physical, occupational and speech therapy services are administered. During the month of October, Beyond Therapy therapists incorporated the use of this equipment into their routine training and education with patients. Sessions lasted one hour on average, and instruction included “fine motor” (use of smaller muscles in hands, handwriting, depth perception, problem solving, cause/effect, etc.); “gross motor” (use of larger muscles to sit-up, roll-over, crawl, walk, etc.) and speech and language training. More than 50 patients ranging in age from 18 months to 7 years participated. Participating therapists maintained a journal in the room and made routine entries as patients responded (positively or negatively) during their sessions.

Patient/Therapist Response

The response from participating patients and therapists alike was overwhelmingly favorable. The newness and attraction of the technology piqued their curiosity, captured their attention and served as a major motivational tool.

The NunoErin equipment enabled children to ‘visualize’ therapist instruction and desired outcomes, and provided real-time visual rewarding feedback – thus increasing their ability and desire to learn. For example, children learning to walk heel-to-toe could correlate their movement to the sequence of ‘advancing’ as the Bench lights changed color with every step.

The equipment enhanced the in-session ‘play’ experience, making it more fun and enjoyable for the child and more productive for the therapist. Patients remembered their experiences with the equipment and were eager to return for their next session.

Vitra Introduces New Products and Concepts at Orgatec 2012

Posted on by
Posted in New Product Introductions, Video Features



Vitra presented new products and concepts in open-plan office landscapes at the Orgatec office furniture fair held in Cologne, Germany.

Here is an overview of what is new…

Physix – Alberto Meda


The construction of Physix is based on the idea of creating a continuous seat shell by stretching fabric across two side beams. The chair is therefore the latest in a long line of iconic chairs and, with its design, takes this particular typology to yet another level. Using cutting-edge materials and production technology, Alberto Meda combines three elements to create an entirely new dynamic sitting experience. These are a flexible frame construction, an elastic weave cover and a stabilising mechanism.

Workbays – Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec

With Workbays, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have developed an organisational cycle that redefines the working environment and breaks with the typical rigid planning structure of offices. But Workbays are more than just multifunctional furniture systems. They are systems that offer employees the freedom to select the work environment that suits their respective current tasks. Workbays can spontaneously be used as telephone booths, as video conference rooms, as reading corners, as coffee corners or as meeting rooms – without having to banish participants to a closed room.

Alcove Cabin – Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec

Alcove Cabin is a fully-fledged work room. It is closed on all sides, has an entrance, two padded seating areas facing each other, a table, an electrical connection and lighting. It provides visual and acoustic privacy for four to six people.

Alcove Meet – Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec

Alcove Meet is a conference table for up to four persons featuring two padded Alcove panels at the sides. By connecting several tables in a row, you can create an entire conference zone without having to install any fixed components.

ID Air – Antonio Citterio

Antonio Citterio and Vitra have pooled 25 years of experience in developing office chairs to create the ID Chair range of office swivel chairs. The different models, which can be configured according to the modular concept, lend a subtle elegance and colourful variety to the office. They offer a wider range of different options, allowing the users to adapt the chairs’ functionality, comfort and aesthetics to suit their individual requirements. ID Air’s plastic backrest supports the back, is flexible and is perforated for air circulation. It is also a cost-effective solution.

ID Trim Cap – Antonio Citterio

The ID Chair Concept consists of the basic types ID Mesh, ID Soft, ID Trim and ID Air, each with different backrests. ID Trim Cap gives a clear signal: Please do not disturb! Because its cap is sound-proof, ID Trim Cap is highly suitable for use in micro-concentration zones in open-plan offices.

Knoll Research White Paper: Adaptable by Design

Posted on by
Posted in Research + White Papers

Organizations which offer employees a customizable “shaping” capability attain greater success than those that do not.

A broad base of research shows that spaces and furnishings that let people “shape” their workspace, and work experience, offer health and productivity benefits to workers. “Shaping” occurs when organizations, groups, or individuals manipulate elements of their physical environment, or choose their work location or type of space. This paper offers an overview of the “shaping” concept, and planning and furnishing guidelines to implement this capability in office spaces.

Download Knoll Research White Paper – Adaptable by Design>>

The Knoll Toboggan Chair by Antenna Design

Posted on by
Posted in New Product Introductions, Video Features


 

Antenna’s Toboggan is a hybrid chair-desk, allowing you to use it as a conventional chair or as an impromptu workstation.

Via FastCo.Design: In the 21st century workplace, we covet expensive ergonomic workstations. But one can’t easily collaborate with others from the isolation of our cubicles, and most office furniture doesn’t support the casual exchanges that can lead to big ideas. Enter the Toboggan: a sled-base table and chair that encourages both work and conversation, without looking like a student desk.

Designed by Masamichi Udagawa and Sigi Moeslinger, of New York–based Antenna, the Toboggan is a facet of the couple’s line of office furniture for Knoll that balances the individual concentration and collaborative teamwork. Says Moeslinger, “The office plan has shifted so that more and more space is dedicated not just to straightforward personal workstations but to providing shared space.” But, says Udagawa, “There’s nothing specifically developed for such a space.” Toboggan fills that void. One can use it either as a lightweight, movable chair; turn around, and the backrest becomes a surface for a tablet, small laptop, or sketchbook.

The minimalist form—borrowing from the Modernist vocabulary of bent steel tubes and molded plywood—communicates the chair’s hybrid nature without being prescriptive. “There isn’t such a directionality as when you sit together at a conference table, where the arrangement of the chairs is quite predictable,” Moeslinger says. “There’s no front or back.”

Creating such a lithe profile wasn’t easy in the context of the contract furniture market, which adheres to stringent standards for safety and weight loads. That meant enlarging the diameter of the steel tube and adjusting the chair’s proportions accordingly. “The nice thing about these structural requirements is that they lead you down a path to a certain change that you wouldn’t have thought of before,” Moeslinger says, “then it turns out even better than it was at first.

Knoll Research White Paper: Activity Spaces

Posted on by
Posted in Research + White Papers

Read about a variety of spaces for a variety of work.

The relationship between collaboration and innovation is leading to a radical rethinking of the workplace plan.  Activity spaces are “go to” spaces that include several types accessible to everyone as needed, for focused, shared or team tasks, assembly spaces for larger group meetings or training, and community spaces for socializing or casual work.

Download Knoll Research White Paper – Activity Spaces>>

Our thoughts are with those affected by Sandy.

Posted on by
Posted in Arenson News

We hope that you and your loved ones are safe.

Given that there are people still trying to recover, we are providing a list of links and organizations that would benefit from assistance to help those in need:

NYC Service

NYC Service has links to official ways via the City to volunteer and donate money or goods to those in need. Click here to find out how to give, donate, or volunteer.
http://www.nycservice.org/

The Red Cross

The Red Cross has a list of ways to get involved.
http://www.nyredcross.org/

New York Observer

The New York Observer also has a long list of ways to help out. Click here for more information.
http://observer.com/2012/10/superstorm-sandy-aftermath-how-to-help/

Department of Parks and Recreation

The Department of Parks and Recreation has information on ways to help aid in the clean up and recovery at parks and playgrounds throughout the city. Click here to find information by borough.
http://www.nycgovparks.org/stormupdate/storm-details

New York City Office of Emergency Management

The New York City Office of Emergency Management is in need of volunteers with emergency training or certification and skilled in managing a shelter, running an interagency taskforce (ITF) or working in the emergency operations center (EOC). If you would like to volunteer, please contact Nick Matthews at the NYC OEM by email,  nmatthews@oem.nyc.com

For information by Borough and general organizations you can visit
http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2012/oct/30/how-help-hurricane-sandy/

Knoll Research White Paper: The Metrics of Distributed Work

Posted on by
Posted in Research + White Papers


A new workplace model saves money and improves performance.

This paper compares the “Distributed work” facility model with the conventional office space model, and provides a variety of facility metrics on individual and collaborative space types, sizes, utilization rates.

Download Knoll Research White Paper – Metrics of Distributed Work>>

Team Arenson Vanquishes Architecture, Design and Construction Titans

Posted on by
Posted in Arenson News

The Center for Architecture Foundation (CFAF) hosted its first annual Guess-A-Sketch Tournament on 22-May, 2012 at the Center for Architecture, home to the American Institute of Architects NY. It was a fundraiser for CFAF’s program to advance public awareness and a broader appreciation of the built environment through education programs for kids and adults at the Center for Architecture and in schools around New York City.

Nine sponsor teams competed against one another to guess the identities of architecturally significant buildings depicted in the very impromptu charcoal drawings created by four designer superstars: Hugh Hardy, founding partner of H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture; Charles Renfro, a partner at Diller Scofidio and Renfro; Ronnette Riley, founding principal of Ronnette Riley Architect; and Robert M. Rogers, founding partner of Rogers Marvel Architects. CFAF tapped the recently retired Vice Chairman Emeritus of Gensler Walter A. Hunt as Master of Ceremonies.

The sponsor teams, each composed of 5 team members, included Arenson Office Furnishings, Knoll, Studios Architecture, Sciame, Turner Construction, Gensler, Perkins Eastman, Robert Silman Associates, and Cerami Associates. The victor was Team Arenson, made up by Carl Milianta, President, Leo Alessi, Director, Adrian Parra, Marketing Director, Christa Adymy and Gary Wilkin, both Account Executives.

In the first round, Arenson vanquished Gensler and Perkins Eastman by correctly guessing drawings of Notre Dame Cathedral and the Flatiron Building. Having advanced to the second round, the Arenson Team correctly guessed drawings of the British Museum and Mont Saint-Michel, thereby eliminating Sciame and Cerami Associates.
A collective gasp was heard when everyone at the Center came to the realization that a mere furniture dealership had beaten architectural, engineering and construction titans. Christa Adymy summed up her surprise at winning when she said, “The furniture mutts take the gold! Who would have known?”

Keilhauer Talk, designed by EOOS wins Best of NeoCon Silver Award

Posted on by
Posted in New Product Introductions



Talk, designed by EOOS, is Keilhauer’s new seating system of benches with backs, chairs, and tables, created to accommodate and optimize face-to-face meetings.

This collaborative furniture line recently took the Best of NeoCon Silver award.

“We believe that technology has an important role to play in our methods of communicating,” says Mike Keilhauer, president, Keilhauer, “but we also believe that nothing can replace face-to-face interaction for effective communication. That was our starting point, and from that premise we began to create Talk, a seating system whose components have the perfect planes and angles for natural, comfortable, face-to-face meetings.”

Unlike traditional lounge chairs and sofas, Talk consists of single- and two-seat benches with backrests that are high enough to double as privacy screens and sound barriers. At the heart of the system is the two-seat bench with its slight V-shaped seat.

“When two people sit on a sofa to talk, they immediately position their bodies at angles to face each other,” explains Gernot Bohmann, principal, EOOS. “At those angles, however, on a traditional straight-line bench, they cannot use the backrest for comfort and support. With Talk, they can. The seats and backs angle slightly at the centre to create the perfect configuration for talking, without losing touch with the backrest.”

The product vocabulary of Talk is simple yet produces many different configurations:

  •     2 seat widths – single and double
  •     2 seat heights – work height and lounge height
  •     2 backrest heights – low back and high back
  •     4 lounge-height tables
  •     1 desk-height table
  •     1 small end table

“In open plan offices, there are few places where people can meet when closed-door privacy is not required, but some sound and visual privacy is important,” continues Mike Keilhauer. “With Talk benches and tables, a meeting place can be created in any space. The table’s hexagonal shape appears to be cut out of the space created when two benches are positioned opposite one another. This shape not only maximizes the use of the space between the seats, it creates a natural plane on which to present papers and other materials used in meetings.”

The aesthetics of Talk are strategic and, as with all EOOS creations, are both functional and beautiful. The large expanses of the backrests are punctuated with perfectly placed relief seams that define the contours of the pieces, while presenting a visual display not unlike drawings on a wall. Visual depth and structure are made tangible by these details. Additionally, the amount of foam used in the upholstery is ample for comfort and acoustical privacy, while maintaining a sleek, smooth look.

Attention to those details is what sets EOOS, and Keilhauer, apart from other furniture designers and manufacturers. The bases of the benches reflect this – they are deceptively simple steel tubes, but in that simplicity lie their strength and beauty. Bent to reflect the angle of the benches, Talk bases elegantly lift the seats off the floor to give space and light to the larger pieces. The design incorporates one visual statement and one ergonomic statement, across the entire product line, so that all the components integrate with each other.

“I am delighted that we can offer this unique solution to a very real issue in the workplace,” Mike Keilhauer continues. “Talk more, text less! That’s my new mantra!”

Jackie Maze, vice president, Sales & Marketing, Keilhauer, concurs. “Nothing can replace good old-fashioned, face-to-face communication,” she says. “Just look at how we try to compensate for missing essential cues such as body language, facial expressions, tone of voice – we insert emoticons into our texts and emails, we capitalize all the letters in words to create emphasis, we use too many exclamation points!!! We even have to tell someone we’re laughing by putting codes like ‘lol’ into typed messages.”

No matter how many technological advances we make, people haven’t changed. We still prefer to get information face-to-face. Talk is what we need to do more, and Talk is where we can do it.

Talk seating is available upholstered in any of Keilhauer’s textiles and leathers, as well as COM and COL, and is covered by Keilhauer’s standard ten-year warranty. Environmentally speaking, the product line is exemplary. Both seating and tables are certified level 2 under BIFMA’s level® program. The table tops are made of PaperStone®, which is 100% post-consumer recycled paper, stained with natural pigments.

About Keilhauer

Founded in 1981, Keilhauer is a private, family-owned company that designs, engineers, and manufactures office seating, including task and executive chairs, lounge seating and complementary tables, side chairs, and stacking chairs, as well as health care seating solutions. For pricing information, contact Arenson at 212.633.2400.

About EOOS

EOOS are Martin Bergmann, Harald Gründl and Gernot Bohmann who studied design together at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna. In 1990, they started their first collaboration and founded EOOS in 1995. They live in Vienna and work in the fields of product, furniture and architectural design. EOOS is named after one of the four sun horses of Greek mythology and stands for their programmatic approach to the field of design.

Bernhardt Design Introduces the new CP Chair Collection by Design Luminary Charles Pollack

Posted on by
Posted in New Product Introductions, Video Features

Bernhardt CP Chair Arenson Office Furnishings

Via FastCo.Design:

He’s responsible for Nelson’s 1958 Swag Leg collection (Nelson later gave him credit) and created the 1963 Pollock Executive for Knoll (the chair became one of the most popular office chairs of all time). Both designs are undisputed classics and remain in production. And yet, apart from a design for Olivetti in the 1980s that never saw the light of day, it seemed that Pollock had fallen off the map. Even design aficionados assuming he was dead.

Turns out, he was just living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, having turned his attention away from design to painting and sculpture. That’s where Bernhardt Design’s president, Jerry Helling, eventually found him in 2010, after narrowing down a list of Charles Pollocks in the New York area and visiting one or two every time he came to town. “When I started my search to find Charles, I simply wanted to meet him and hear his story,” Helling says per his company’s press release. “I didn’t dream at the time that he would be willing and excited to design a new product after all these years.”

Bernhardt has introduced the 82-year-old designer’s CP lounge chair, Pollock’s first product for an American manufacturer in 47 years. Unlike the Pollock Executive, which took five years and much prototyping to refine, CP was developed from Pollock’s sketches over the course of a year.

Still, the designer no less proud of his younger creation: an armless leather lounger, with a back formed from an unbroken line. Where Pollock had previously used metal to trace the exterior shape of his chairs, he turned to distinctive sewing techniques in the CP. “The large loop stitch, made of the same material as the chair, is more subtle and adds a new dimension,” Pollock says. “It also brings a higher level of craftsmanship to the chair. It is a lot like an old Jaguar, the profile of frame makes it look racy and fast, but you look inside and you see hand-sewn leather and burl. The chair has speed and craft.”