At NeoCon 2021: The Overlooked and Under-Sung
We’ve heard plenty about the plethora of Best of Award winners at NeoCon 2021. What about those equally awe-inspiring products that have flown beneath the radar? They deserve their due too. So here are ten wow-worthy selections for your esteemed consideration.
#10: Aircharge+ Smart Digital Marker
You doubtless know Aircharge as the world’s leading wireless charging system, but did you know they can also turn any surface into a smart table? The Smart Digital Marker requires no power and is programmable to digitalize and integrate mobile services. This means a quick swipe of the phone for easy access to a mobile platform that automatically prompts patrons to order food, book a room, get movie tickets, print documents, and more.
#9: Big Talk
Scandinavian Spaces got some glory with a Best of Award for the Tinnef Table, but it’s this clever, colorful chair from partner brand Blå Station that’s got everybody talking. Big Talk is an ingeniously simple design constructed of a cylinder for the base and a cylinder for the back. Colorbook textile swatches from Kvadrat provide a dynamic contrast to the solid base. Units may be solo or linked together.
#8: Babila XL
We like Pedrali’s Babila XL for its easy manner and unpretentious vibe. The seat and armrests are broad, providing a spacious sit, yet it’s also light and extremely economical. Beneath the removable, cleanable liner is a base of recycled polypropylene. Legs are available in solid Ash or our preference of steel rods in a sled style.
#7: Muse
Textile brand Wolf-Gordon collaborated with Venus Williams and her V Starr brand for a line inspired by feminine forms. The patterns began as hand-drawn art then morphed into designs that reference and celebrate women, named for iconic figures admired by Ms. Williams: Elena, Frida, and Ora, otherwise known as Ms. Kagan, Ms. Kahlo, and Rita. The textiles are soft yet sumptuous, evoking an ineffable blend of power and femininity.
#6: Parallel
Loftwall’s Parallel is the answer to single-use desk screens. Parallel features an acoustic core, magnetized attachment, and tackable surface. Panels attach via a steel bracket that’s coated in a dry-erase finish, so it’s writable too! Who says you can’t have it all?
#5: Animate
OE Electrics’ Animate brings furniture to life. A “complete electrical architecture,” Animate is an integrated system that delivers AC, DC, combination, or battery-charged power to anything you might sit in, lean on, stand near, or pass by. It uses click-and-connect modules to render any office desk, sofa, café table, movie theater, park bench, or even bathroom the savior of your waning device.
#4: Mixu
Arper’s Mixu isn’t just a chair but rather a customizable seating solution that suits flexible working styles and aesthetic whims. It’s an ingenious three-part system of back, seat, and base with interchangeable components for a huge variety of color and texture. Available in low, counter stool, and bar stool heights.
#3: Sticks
George Carlin used to joke that when he was a kid all he had for toys was a good Stick. This partition for Extremis shows Carlin was more prescient than he knew. A great antidote to the profusion of protective screens and dividers, Sticks adds a hip, fun, retro vibe to any locale while performing the architectural function of dividing space and providing privacy. The biophilic divider comes with wooden or rubber bases for outdoor use. Options include different lengths, colors, and even incorporated LED illumination.
#2: TOOaPICNIC
Speaking of relaxing in nature, Arcadia’s TOOaPicnic is a congenial lounge-come table that’s built for collegial interaction but also serves as a single-serve park-like respite. Strategically placed seat pads allow you to sit side-by-side or face forward. Users may fine tune their TOOa experience with low or high back panels. And the integrated table connects seamlessly to the base for a flawless, fluid look: “Perfect for touch-down sessions, one-on-one visits, or as a work pod for focused activities, TOOaPICNIC will help you find your happy place.”
#1: Patkau Cocoon
Drawing on the forms of traditional Canadian warming huts, Nienkämper’s Patkau Cocoon is an aesthetic tour de force that demonstrates just how far the market for workspace shelter structures can can go. Beautifully designed of plywood and wood veneer, Patkau will Cocoon you in a sacred space, evoking an enviable combo of museum-like silence and the woody whisper of a Scandinavian forest.
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