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Design for Equity, Must-Read, Must-Reads, sustainability, Urbanism

15 Essential Architecture and Design Reads for 2023

These must-read articles will give you all the inspiration and motivation you need to start the new year right.

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three people sitting at an outdoor table by a pond
Outdoor power outlets, USB ports, dimmable LEDs, a monitor holder, and height-adjustable legs make this modular steel-and-aluminum table innovative. A wind-resistant shade and an optional kitchen module can extend its functionality. Available in white, black, and brown. EXTREMIS extremis.com

September 15, 2021

11 New Product Launches for Work-Life Balance

Through modular, flexible design, these product launches suit today’s changing work conditions.

By: Kelly Beamon

Lately, the most innovative office furnishings could suit both domestic and commercial spaces, with features that expand or contract to fit the gig, client, or conditions of the job. A sampling of debuts planned for NeoCon 2021 (once again being held in person) supports the idea that a fluid design language is the new normal. Among them, few launches illustrate the trend more than AMAi, an extendable, modular, powered indoor/outdoor table. It can be instantly assembled into a collaborative workspace anywhere. For more of what the latest workplace products can do, see the rest of Metropolis’s NeoCon preview.

The latest workplace products on display at NeoCon are designed for flexibility.

An overhead photo depicts couches with integrated side tables and workstations, a coffee table, and chairs.

VETTORE

Studio TK designed this lounge system to ease the post-COVID transition back to work. A base offered in 16 colors allows ample configurations of seats, while laminate or veneer work surfaces anticipate workers’ increasing “desire for flexibility.” STUDIO TK studiotk.com

Three black chairs

ON & ON

Part of a new seating collection, this Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby–designed café chair contains 70 percent recycled plastic. Available in six colors and with a plywood or an upholstered seat, On & On is circular in concept and shape. EMECO emeco.net

a conference table sits in front of a wall with a large monitor and visible webcam.

WALL
Innovant’s answer to remote-office collaborations (ones that include both virtual and in-person meetings) is WALL, a system that includes desking, storage, acoustics, power, and technology, all plugged into one structural lattice and offered in four material palettes. INNOVANT innovant.com

a smartphone sits on a table above a wireless charging surface

NEATCHARGE
An easy-to-install, nonintrusive wireless charging port is the design innovation of NeatCharge. Users can mount the device under worktop surfaces with a slim charging sticker above for delivery of up to ten watts of power. HUMANSCALE humanscale.com

A storage unit, desk unit, and couch unit are all part of the Free Address system.

FREE ADDRESS 2.0
Named after the idea of working anywhere, this system was developed to incorporate mobile storage, planters, power, and Stylex’s GREENGUARDcertified furnishings into a kit of parts suited to any hybrid work area.
STYLEX stylexseating.com

A sound proof privacy booth for phone calls

FRAMERY ONE
Phone booth–style privacy pods are getting a color makeunder. Framery says its new palette (White, Gray, Black, Powder Blue, Winter Moss, Sand, Blush, and Navy) is calming. FRAMERY frameryacoustics.com

A cabana with couches and slatted walls and ceilings.

EQUINOX CABANA
TUUCI, a maker of cabanas and pergolas, is aiming its latest version at outdoor workspaces. Automated louvers filter sunlight to provide shading and discreetly shed rainwater. TUUCI tuuci.com

fabric swatches

WANDER
Created as an extension of the Tekloom line, Wander features the soft pattern of a woven fabric, but performs like a durable coated textile. It’s tested to withstand more than a million double rubs. CONCERTEX concertex.com

A brush sits in front of a fabric wallcovering.

RAMPART RESOLVE
Wolf-Gordon is rolling out an affordable, easier-to-install, PVC-free updateof its impact-resistant wallcovering introduced five years ago. It can also be installed for 80 linear feet without a seam. WOLF-GORDON wolfgordon.com

A black tv sideboard.

TEAK GRAPHIC TV CUPBOARD
Ethnicraft adapted the design of one of its popular sideboards to create a new audio/video cabinet with residential style. It’s available in two sizes. ETHNICRAFT ethnicraft.com

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