The younger sister to NeoCon World’s Trade Fair in Chicago, NeoCon East swept through the City of Brotherly Love last week. This marked the first time the event was held in Philadelphia (previously, the show was hosted in Baltimore), but that didn’t deter architects and designers from stopping in to see the latest in contract furnishings and finishes. On the contrary, early numbers indicate that attendance this year was up by 15 percent from a total of nearly 7,500 attendees in 2014. If you didn’t make it to NeoCon East 2015, take a look at our picks of the show standouts that belong in your library.
Unika Vaev
Unika Vaev: Waterfall
The company expanded its Ecoustic sound-absorbing products line with new styles and solutions just in time for NeoCon East. One of the stunning additions, the Waterfall design is a prefabricated kit that combines previous wall panel and screen components to create a vertical pattern with an undulating appearance. It provides a minimum NRC rating of .50.
Tarkett
Tarkett: Arcade Tonal
Perfect for healthcare facilities and education settings, this rubber sheet flooring addition to the Arcade line offers a palette of 40 tone-on-tone combinations with large-scale, gradual patterning. It is FloorScore-certified and can be repurposed after its use through Tarkett’s ReStart Recycling and Reclamation program.
Global
Global: River
Ideal for office receptions, hotel lobbies, and university lounges, River is a modular upholstered seating series that includes both curvilinear and rectilinear units with or without backs in two different heights, allowing for a myriad of configurations. Options include integrated power outlets and coordinating tables and ottomans.
Shaw Contract Group
Shaw Contract Group: The Park
Taking cues from the multifaceted nature of parks — from contemplative to active and gathering spaces — The Park is a carpet tile collection with patterns and colors reminiscent of those encountered in outdoor amenities. The designs come in different plank formats (nine by 36 inches; 18 by 36 inches for Reflect style only) and are composed of solution-dyed nylon.
Allsteel
Allsteel: Altitude
Sit-to-stand desks are still a trend in the workplace, and, thankfully, manufacturers like Allsteel are producing versions like Altitude that are slimmer and well-suited to modern office settings. The desk is offered with two different leg styles, while the tabletop comes in rectangular (48- to 72-inch widths) or corner-cove (four sizes for both left and right extended) shapes. An optional control box allows for three memory settings to accommodate different users.
Nathan Allan Glass Studios
Nathan Allan Glass Studios: Willow
This kiln-formed glass reads like a work of art with its dimensional organic pattern. It is also, reportedly, the industry’s first textureless patterned glass. Willow is available tempered or laminated, clear or low-iron, in three additional colors and two additional tints and 3/8- or ½-inch thickness, and is suitable for applications ranging from walls and screens to doors.
Forbo Flooring
Forbo Flooring: Marmoleum Modular
This resilient modular flooring series offers square and rectangular shapes in three different styles and a wide range of colors affording designers and architects the opportunity to create a truly unique floor composition. Marmoleum is also green, to boot: it is 100-percent bio-based, naturally antimicrobial and antistatic, and boasts a sustainable water-based finish.
Herman Miller
Herman Miller: Exclave
This suite includes wall-mounted rails and coordinating white boards and tack boards that attach to them, maximizing vertical surfaces to easily and swiftly transform underutilized workspaces into team rooms. The rails can also be outfitted with media panels that support monitors and storage elements. Mobile carts and multipurpose tables round out the series.
CARVART
CARVART: C1 Collection
Consisting of 12 etched designs that range from herringbone patterns to geometric prisms, C1 is a line of architectural glass that can be customized in just about every aspect — from pattern scale and glass color to transparency and reflection levels.
Bentley
Bentley: Soundtrack
The carpet manufacturer launched a new design that plays on monochromatic color and gradient effect: evoking the grooves of a vinyl record, Soundtrack sports bands that shift from dark to light and back to dark.
Haworth
Haworth: Openest Sprig
Part of Openest, a collection designed by Patricia Urquiola, the Sprig table looks equally at home in a residence or office. The tops come in solid plank white oak or walnut, with optional painted finish, while the legs are painted aluminum. Models include a 16-inch-diameter or 24-inch-diameter round occasional table or 53-by-20-inch rectangular coffee table.
Arborite
Arborite: Twill
This playful, abstract take on twill fabric is rendered in high-pressure laminate and both neutral and punchy colors: Organic, Silver, Cinnamon, Marigold, Indigo, Cloudy, and Olive. The product is Greenguard Indoor Air Quality Certified, and sheet sizes range from by 30 inches by 12 feet to as large as five feet by 12 feet.