About a year back we took a good long look at the PARCS series of modular office furniture by Pearson Lloyd and Bene. This contract grouping is an auspicious collection geared towards the modern workspace—a venue that calls for increasingly versatile configurations for the increasingly mobile nature of today’s workforce. PARCS consists of four elements: “Causeway,” “Library,” “Idea Wall,” and “Wing–each of which have their place in contemporary workplace layouts–but today calls for an expanded look at the expansive incarnations of the latter, for “Wing” is not just a typical high-backed chair, but an entirely new approach to office dialoging and creative collaboration.

Wing Chair. Desigend by Pearson Lloyd for Bene.

The Multiple Forms of the Modern Office

Wing responds to the often competing exigencies of private and public space within the office by offering versatile arrangements that fill the needs of both. The Wing Chair is modeled after the traditional wing back seat, an historically comfy repose that offered a certain degree of desirable isolation. Bene’s Wing replicates the comfort factor while tweaking the privacy element. The chair’s signature feature is a pair of over-sized ear-high headrests that envelop the user on 270 degrees, thus providing a certain degree of privacy and acoustic dampening while facilitating one-on-one interchange with the colleague across the way.

The Wing Sofa is a loveseat-sized version of the chair, offering the same convenient, laterally-oriented privacy while directing conversation straight ahead. A pair of Wing Sofas set across from one another thus creates an excellent and focused impromptu meeting space for up to four without having to resort to the oppressive ambiance of a glass-walled, sound-proof room.

Lastly, American Diner plays with the iconic symbology of the burger-and-fries joint to create a virtually silent enclave for intensive work in small groups. The arrangement is easily achieved by linking a pair of Wing Sofas around one of the PARCS multi-use work tables, thus creating an appealing multi-functional space which—though it might suggest the casual rapport of Seinfeld’s halcyon days—is meant for enhanced productivity. The good news is that—according to Bene and Pearson Lloyd—a bit of spiritual repose can be a helpful agent in this regard: “PARCS. An inspiring working environment for meetings, spontaneous exchange, and relaxation.”