Held every June at The Mart, a sprawling art deco building in Chicago, since 1969, NeoCon is the largest design and office furniture fair in the world. The show is celebrating its 51st edition on June 10-12 this year. Every year it hosts over 500 firms and 50,000 design professionals. Both the big industry players as well as emerging companies show thousands of new products and services in categories that include furniture, textiles, interiors and technology. Among them, Haworth stands out, one of the largest companies in the world in commercial furniture, with several brands under its name. For several years now, Patricia Urquiola has been responsible for the creative direction and interior design of the company’s space in Chicago.
In this 51st edition, Haworth wanted to highlight what they call ‘Social Spaces”: “inspiring spaces where people can meet, connect and relax, both indoors and outdoors,” as defined by Haworth’s public relations and communications manager, Julie Smith. These “Social Spaces” are an alternative to the homogeneous and sterile workplace of the past, a redefinition of today’s workplace, something in which GAN has also been working for years.
All GAN collections for Haworth Collection have been designed by Patricia Urquiola and created to adapt to today’s workspaces, which increasingly demand more flexibility and versatility. What at a given moment can be a place of refuge and rest must also become a space for teamwork and collaboration. Among the collections that will be shown at NeoCon are Mangas Original, Mangas Space, Bandas, Hand Knotted Degradé, Mangas Natural and Diagonales.
Mangas Original is the emblematic first collection that Urquiola designed for GAN. Its design offers volume, organic forms and a tribute to craftsmanship, which brings warmth and turns any space into a cozy one.
Mangas Space goes a step further: it is a puzzle-like collection that offers different formats and colors that can be combined together, creating modular compositions for both contract and residential spaces.
Bandas takes modularity to the limit: rugs and seating modules of different sizes, colors and patterns that are joined together with Velcro, so that each user can build their own space to suit their own needs.
Hand Knotted Degradé – available in wool and viscose – uses the hand-knotting technique to challenge our perception. In Hand Knotted Degradé the colors melt without the eye being able to capture where one tone ends and the other begins. These rugs immediately convey a sense of elegance and comfort, ideal for private offices or waiting areas.
Mangas Natural translates the earth and gray tones of nature into pure wool, in a rug of neutral softness that combines tones with a lot of subtlety. Mangas Natural is ideal to add a warm touch to shared spaces or collaboration areas.
Specialist in tempting our gaze, the Diagonales collection alternates neutral colors with saturated tones, tracing a fine diagonal grid. These are pieces that animate any space, while visually anchoring it to the ground. Thanks to their composition, they can be used both indoors and outdoors.
All of Patricia Urquiola‘s collections for GAN are manufactured using artisanal techniques and materials -mostly wool- of the highest quality.
We cannot wait to see you at Haworth’s Showroom, at 312 Merchandise Mart in Chicago, next June 10-12!
