Furnishings for Introverts Revealed at Neocon 2013

by Matt Bushey

At NeoCon 2013 in Chicago last week, the contract furniture industry rolled out their latest products, and I noticed one major recurring theme: furnishings that create private spaces for individuals and small group meetings, free from the distractions of the open office:

These plush booths by the contemporary Swiss furniture company Vitra are perfect for a cozy meeting with colleagues when a little more privacy is called for.  Named the Alcove Cabin, this high-backed booth creates a room of its own that wraps around you on all sides.  This is one line in what Vitra refers to as "Meet and Retreat" spaces in the modern office.

In the Business section of today's Burlington Free Press, I talk about the need to design workspaces like this that are appropriate for both extroverts and introverts.  And based on what I saw in Chicago, many of the furniture manufacturers are getting the message.

Read on for the full story, with more examples of furniture for introverts and extroverts at the end of the article:


Space for Introverts and Extroverts
Workspaces increasingly strive to provide a balance between collaboration and concentration 

Every company is comprised of individuals, each with their own personalities, work styles, and preferences. So how do we craft one space that meets the needs of such a diverse group?

At the recent Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility spring conference, I led a workshop on designing workspaces to provide a balance between collaboration and concentration, and one of the most compelling questions we heard was how to provide space that is effective for both introverts and extroverts.

True extroverts are gregarious, social, and assertive. Extroverts are outgoing and comfortable expressing themselves, and they tend to be good at multitasking and handling large amounts of information at once.

However, an estimated 30- 50% of the people we work with are introverts. In general, introverts prefer one-on-one conversations to group activities, tend to think before they speak, and work best focused on a single task with few interruptions.

In business, as in life, we need both types of people: those who speak freely and those who think deeply. Studies have shown that the most productive teams are those that combine both introverts and extroverts, and the most effective leaders are those who can bring out the talents of all.

The modern office has become more open and fluid to promote teamwork and collaboration but this has introduced challenges for meeting individual’s needs since introverts and extroverts exhibit different work styles and react differently to their physical surroundings.

How do these differences manifest themselves in the workplace? One theory is that extroverts excel in the open plan because they thrive from the multiple interactions within one space. They draw creative energy from chance encounters and group collaboration. Introverts, on the other hand, prefer to retreat to a secluded space where they can focus on individual tasks without distraction.

An opposing theory claims the exact opposite: that introverts actually work better in an open plan because they have an innate ability to block out noise and distractions. They can shut out their surroundings and look into themselves to accomplish their work. According to this theory, extroverts are at a disadvantage because they are more easily distracted by all of the activity surrounding them.

Whichever may be the case, I am increasingly recommending "flexible", open plans with a mix of spaces to support different tasks and personalities. This concept was evident last week in Chicago at NeoCon World Trade Fair, North America's largest design expo for commercial interiors. Here, more than 700 manufacturers release their new products each year, much of it based on research related to ergonomics, human psychology, and work styles.

In past years, the emphasis was on ‘benching’, long open tables where rows of workers sit side-by-side with no separation. This year, however, the focus was on furnishings and systems that provide greater individual privacy, such as 4-person booths with tall panels that wrap around three sides, and chairs with felt-lined canopies that can muffle a private phone call.

Some of these solutions are practical and some are playful, but they all aim to create peaceful spaces that offer visual and acoustical privacy within a louder open plan. This is a clear acknowledgement that workers have varying space needs as they perform different tasks throughout the day, and people perform better in different environments depending on their personality type: introvert, extrovert, or something in between.



Coalesse, a division of Steelcase, released the Massaud Lounge chair at NeoCon this year.  This "privacy pod" features a flip-down hood that masks your vision and voice.  Inside, an iPad mounts to the felted canopy for some private facetime or Skype sessions.

Another example of space-making for introverts: This high-backed booth by Bretford, where 4 people can meet in relative privacy.  The furniture is embedded with power and USB ports for charging your mobile devices.

Solar Decathlon Review, day 2: Products and Process

There are a wide range of projects at the Solar Decathlon, where schools from 13 U.S. States and 5 countries are each building their own version of the ideal net-zero energy solar powered home.

The houses are built for different climates, cultures, and user groups, depending on the location and type of school competing.  But one thing is common for all the teams:  they have spent a lot of their own energy researching the best products and developing new design strategies for solar powered buildings.  I go to the Solar Decathlon to discover what the future holds, and I found plenty of new green products and design features.  Here are my Top Ten:

1.   Bi-facial solar panels:   These solar panels collect energy from both sides, collecting direct sunlight from above as well as reflected light from below.  It is one of the newest types of solar panels to hit the market, generating up to 30% more power.

The Solar Homestead by Appalachian State University made the most of this technology, with a huge outdoor space covered with a canopy of bi-facial solar panels set within a beautiful wood structure.  Every team distributed “take-aways” or brochures to those people waiting in line to tour the houses, and Appalachian State had a real clever way of tying their marketing materials into the design of the solar array.  Their brochure folded up into an origami hat, with a reflective silver exterior.  As crowds of people walked beneath the bi-facial solar canopy, light was reflected off their silver heads back up to the panels above, generating more energy, potentially pushing Appalachian State over the finish line.

 

2.   Smart home controls:  It became apparent pretty quickly what really set this competition apart from previous years: the iPad.  Home automation systems were all the rage this year, with iPads, smart phones, HDTVs, and even a hacked Xbox Kinect providing a greater level of control of all the home’s systems.  Many of the teams wrote their own apps, controlling everything from the lights to the heating and cooling systems.  The SciArc/CalTech team developed a system that provided real-time energy use and controlled the shades.  The University of Illinois had a very impressive high-density display that even told you which windows were open.

3.   ERVs:  When you live in a very tight super-insulated home, mechanical ventilation becomes necessary to provide enough fresh air to all the habitable spaces.  Energy Recovery Ventilators take the heat energy from the exhaust air (in the winter) and transfers it to the incoming fresh air. (or the reverse in summer)  Most homes in the Solar Decathlon utilized an ERV, instead of the alternative: an HRV, or Heat Recovery Ventilator.  An HRV also exchanges heat energy between incoming and outgoing air streams, but an ERV has the added benefit of transferring moisture in the air.  By reducing the humidity level of the incoming air on this hot and humid September week in Washington, less demand was placed on the air conditioning systems, saving more energy. 

4.    Liquid dessicant dehumidification:  A couple of the houses sported decorative indoor water fountains that were more than just pretty pieces of art.  The University of Maryland developed an innovative Liquid Dessicant Waterfall system (patent pending) that uses a high-saline solution to absorb humidity from the air, reducing the load on the mini-split air conditioners.  The transfer of moisture happens vertically within this glass box and is displayed prominently as a design feature in the room.

5.   Home-grown food:  Many of the schools explored the true meaning of sustainability by providing a way for their occupants to grow and harvest their own food.  Normally this wouldn’t play into the energy-focused categories of the Solar Decathlon, but this year’s competition included a Home Entertainment category, in which each team had to throw 2 dinner parties for their neighbors.  This was a chance for the teams to show off their home-grown foods.

The New York team oriented its kitchen directly opposite large glass doors that open onto the outdoor roof garden, for easy picking at mealtime. The garden produces about 190 pounds of vegetables, about half of the resident’s annual consumption.

The Middlebury College house features a green wall in the kitchen and outdoor planters for growing vegetables and herbs.  In lieu of a brochure, visitors to the house received a packet of seeds.

The University of Maryland used composted waste as nutrients for food production in their vegetable and vertical gardens.

6.  Phase change materials:  In order to minimize unwanted solar gain, phase change materials [PCMs] are used to store heat energy and slowly release it at night. At the Solar Homestead by Appalachian State University, a modern Trombe wall consists of a plant oil mixture contained in a series of vertical fins.  In the evening, energy stored in these PCMs is released as the wax resolidifies and transfers its heat to the house.

In the mechanical room, phase change materials are also used to capture and store energy from a solar thermal skylight.  The hot water-glycol mix from the solar thermal system runs through tanks of paraffin wax, which stores about 50,000 BTUs of energy.  This setup replaces a traditional water heater.

7.   Adaptable furniture:  By the nature of the competition, smaller houses have an advantage because they contain less cubic space to heat and cool.  But each house has to include the required spaces and amenities.  As a result, the students tend to come up with some clever space-saving solutions. We saw sliding walls, pivoting panels, and adaptable furniture.

SciArc and CalTech designed a family of upholstered lounge seating that nests like a puzzle into the wall when not in use.  The University of Tennessee house featured a retractable bed that disappeared up into the living room wall cabinet.  And the University of Maryland house had a dining table that folded open into a bed.

8.   Micro-inverters:  With a solar PV array, an inverter is needed to convert the DC-current that is produced by the solar panels into the standard AC-current that is used in the home. Typically, a single inverter is used with a whole array of panels, but if one of the panels is shaded or dirty, its limited output will be reflected in the whole system.  Micro inverters are used so that each panel can operate at its maximum capacity.  Many of the schools used micro inverters, with one connected to every individual panel.  In this setup, each panel operates at its own peak level.

9.  Water Reuse:  The collection, treatment, and reuse of rainwater and greywater is an important aspect of many of the houses.

The outdoor planters of the SciArc / CalTech house are connected to the greywater system and are automatically watered based on weather forecast data.  WaterShed by the University of Maryland is designed with two sloping roofs that direct rainwater to a constructed wetland, where it is stored and filtered for reuse for irrigation.

10. PV solar shading:  Rather than being content to apply their solar panels to their roof, some of the teams elected to hold them off the house, creating secondary structures.  The University of Tennessee and Team Massachusetts  both created solar canopies in front of their buildings, which provided a shaded area outside, and cut down on direct solar gain hitting the windows of the front façade.  By removing the PV panels from direct contact with the roof, this also allows for ventilation on all sides.  This keeps the panels cooler and lets them operate more efficiently.

The best houses in the Solar Decathlon incorporated many of these products and features, and did so with consistency, harmony, and beauty.

There are only 2 days left until the final winner is announced.  To learn more about all the teams and follow the current rankings, go to solardecathlon.gov.

Tomorrow I’ll wrap up my review of the Solar Decathlon with a shorter list of my overall favorites.

The Best LED Bulb

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy opened a competition for the best LED replacement light bulb.  It had to be super-efficient, using less than 10 watts, last for over 25,000 hours (that’s 17 years of using it 4 hours a day) and produce a warm, high quality light that is comparable to incandescent sources (less than 3000K and greater than 90 CRI, for those of you keeping score.)

The winner walks away with a $10 million cash prize.

The competition is known as the L-Prize, and its intent is to encourage the lighting industry to develop high-quality, low-energy LED bulbs to replace the common incandescent, scheduled to be phased-out starting next year.  For the past 18 months, the DOE has been conducting vigorous product testing (on its sole applicant), and last week they announced the big winner: Philips Lighting.

The winning bulb has a very cool form factor.  Dark yellow when off, the bulb glows a bright white when turned on.  The metal grooves along the shaft serve as a heat sink, keeping this cool-looking bulb running cool as well.

A year ago, we named the Philips EnduraLED light bulb as one of our top five green products.  At the time, the EnduraLED used 7 watts and was a replacement for a 25 watt incandescent, with a CRI of 80.  Now, a year later, the L-prize winner is better and brighter, providing enough light to replace a standard 60 watt incandescent while using only 9.7 watts of electricity.  Best of all, the quality of light is much improved, with a Color Rendering Index (CRI) value of 93.  That means it will look and feel like the standard incandescent bulb we all know and love.

The new Philips LED is expected to be on store shelves in early 2012.   Start saving your pennies, because the price is reportedly going to be $39.95.

Bent plywood and QR codes

When we were at the NeoCon trade show earlier this month in Chicago, we noticed a number of recurring themes emerging at many of the furniture showrooms.

Furniture designs were geared more toward casual interactions and ad-hoc group collaboration.  Fabrics were especially plush, with a lot of felt used for seating and upholstery.  There was an emphasis on efficiency of materials, with a broad use of bent plywood and thin structural frames.  And new and innovative forms were being developed in seating for both aesthetics and ergonomics.

The most notable example of many of these themes – the piece that best seemed to have its finger on the pulse of furniture design today - was the Ginkgo chair by Davis Furniture.

The designers of the Ginkgo sought to create an iconic chair with an instantly recognizable form.  It is influenced by the classic Series 7 Chair by Arne Jacobsen.  (You may remember this video we shared with you in February that tells the story of its graceful construction.)  But the Gingko provides a very new form, with a provocative silhouette that differentiates it from other plywood shell chairs.

Another recurring theme in the product presentations this year was the use of technology.  From free iPad offers to customized smartphone apps, everyone seemed to be trotting out the latest hi-tech gadgets.  And of all these technology trends, the biggest one by far was the use of QR codes, those little bar codes that you now see with more and more frequency in magazine ads, on real estate signs, and even on bags of potato chips.  NeoCon verified for me that the ubiquitous little bar code has now found its place into the world of Interior Design as well.

For those who still need a little tutoring, one showroom offered this primer on what these codes are and how to use them:

When any piece of new technology rises so rapidly, it’s almost inevitable that it makes its way into some very unrelated facets of our cultural life.  Here, for example, is some QR-code "art" that found a prominent place on the wall of one showroom:

Look closely: in the bottom-right corner of each piece of QR-code-art is: a QR code.  You can presumably scan the artwork for more information.

The QR code was evident throughout NeoCon on much of the tradeshow literature, painted onto the sides of the furniture delivery trucks parked out front, and integrated into the furniture itself.  This brings us back to the bent plywood:  one company, FurnitureLab, was showcasing these chairs with a large QR code imprinted right onto the back.

The idea is that customers can scan their seat before taking their seat to get valuable info from their school or hotel.  Here’s the card that explains the concept:

But what happens when the technology changes – as it will surely do – and is replaced with the next big thing?  Then I suppose you will be left with a room full of chairs adorned with yesterday’s brand. 

You can always call it art.