Product development following the needs and functions of today’s work place
The workplaces of today are getting more and more activity based and the static meeting room is no longer given. We see activity based areas, with open spaces where you integrate many different settings; the more quiet and enclosed zone, the active and open space for quick meetings, soft seating for a relaxed break – many ways of meeting in one and the same area. New technique also allows the architect to leave the traditional meeting room. These environments have new demands on the design and how a product should function in a room. In my latest product development for Lammhults, we have taken into account these thoughts, and studied which type of product could meet the new needs.
In our first study, we found that there was a need for a more active seating. Today, we want to be active when meeting, we want to stand up, sit down and be able to move easily from a sitting to a standing position. We want to get up quickly and move around. This made us start working on a ”stand-and-sit” stool. By adding a natural incline, the seat allows an ideal ergonomic position. You get better circulation, more oxygen to your brain and hence, better concentration. In order to find the right incline, we worked with a number of frames in different angles. We found out that you need different inclines for different heights. The aesthetic expression is characterized by a timeless, graphic line. The open shape communicates the function of the stool.
The second study revolved around a storage system for the activity based workplace. The challenge was to find a system that could include several functions, such as storage of clothes, etc. The result was a graphic, timeless frame, immersed in a footplate in casted iron, fixed or on a swivel base. The clothes storage includes both a rail for hangers and hooks in plastic. The clothes themselves add beauty to the room but will also work as a sound-absorber. For the magazine rack, we have produced three boxes in performated metal sheet allowing a transparency and a light expression, as well as adding a function in order to display the front page of a magazine, for example. Pretty soon, we found the function of having a solid box as well. This became the perfect place for flower pots in order to create a plant wall. With one frame, I was now able to add a number of functions and boxes, and got a complete system in one and the same room. Linked units create an exciting room divider. Add accessories allow easy storage of everything from clothes to magazines and bottles etc, and create, at the same time, a visual expression in the room. Add can function as a room divider where the clothes, brochures, bottles or flowers provide a beautiful, living background. The plant wall will, in addition, improve the flow of oxygen in the room.
Designer Anya Sebton