When designing a new HQ for Melbourne-based creative agency Today Design, architects Ben Edwards and Nancy Beka of Studio Edwards set a challenge for themselves. They wanted to shape a conceptually innovative space that would elevate the office experience — while producing as little waste as possible. “Today Design were looking for a workplace that didn’t feel sterile,” says Beka. “Rather, one that fosters creativity, feels like a studio and holds sustainability as a core value.” Luckily, they were already in the right place. The setting, a 12-storey tower in the hip Collingwood neighbourhood, is home to a host of B-Corp businesses, meaning that the surrounding community already had an eye toward social impact.

Studio Edwards’ brief included incorporating a reception area, gallery, library, lounge, social kitchen and various types of meeting rooms and individual desk spaces within the 900-square-metre footprint. The intervention took the form of a series of both fixed and movable walls organized diagonally across the L shaped floor plan. “The concept reimagined and re-energized the typical office grid, where columns are spaced apart equally and naturally inform the geometry,” explains Beka. “Here, we introduced angled walls that pin from each column.” In doing so, they created a flexible layout that could easily accommodate both solo working and group collaboration, depending on how the hinged and wheeled wall sections were arranged.

The most radical aspect of the project, however, was the choice of materials. The designers fabricated the walls and doors out of pre-existing products such as translucent corrugated sheeting and standardsize OSB panels without added finishes — each of which was left at its original 2.4-metre height to avoid cutting and thus creating waste. Adaptable working modules are composed of rugged scaffolding elements, and where textiles were needed, they found them recycled. For instance, the privacy screens between modules are made from re-used sail cloth, and upcycled denim was used as upholstery and as acoustic dampening panels.

With the goal of creating a zero-waste workspace, Studio Edwards relied on elements like standard 2.4-metre-high OSB panels. Hinged walls can be easily opened or closed to maximize flexibility.

Reflecting on the project, Beka reveals that designing a zero-waste space wasn’t necessarily the most difficult part of the process. Instead, she says, “the biggest challenge was cultural change” — that is, proving to the construction team that even though they were using things like OSB and the space felt more like a workshop than a workplace, it still required the same attention to detail as more sophisticated materials would. The project also provided valuable research for the firm. “We can always increase our knowledge and experiment further with materials,” Beka adds, “[to learn how] they work and how far you can push them.”

There’s no house style at Holloway Li, the interior architecture studio founded by Alex Holloway and Na Li. Rather, the London practice imbues its blockbuster projects with “set-piece moments.” Much as in theatre design, these architectural components and furnishings make all the difference in driving home a clear, holistic concept. It comes as no surprise, then, that when outfitting British entertainment company Broadwick Live’s massive London HQ, Holloway Li introduced a refined, monolithic aesthetic not dissimilar to the one found at the electronic music and arts promoter’s popular post-industrial clubs, including Printworks and the newly opened Drumsheds in the former Ikea Tottenham.

Applying an all–matte black colour palette, including for the sculptural blackened steel staircase and custom T4 lounge chairs, Holloway Li introduced intrigue through textured plaster and concrete walls.

The most emblematic set-piece objects in the HQ: the sinuous central staircase, sculpted microcement reception desk and custom edition of the popular T4 chair that populates the reception area. “The company wanted to translate their simple and direct monochromatic brand identity into the office. It also wanted the environment to be flexible, able to transition between workspace in the daytime and event space in the evening,” says Holloway. To create a dramatic venue that brilliantly switches purpose from daytime office to nocturnal hub, these star design elements are executed in slate black, Broadwick Live’s signature tone. On the subject of detail (and practicality), the two-level, 657 square-metre space blends aspects of domestic and hospitality design. Answering the demands of the post-COVID-19 landscape, custom communal tables cater to hot desking staff members and host meals later in the day.

Employees can also work from low-lying Ligne Roset Togo sofas and tailor-made banquette seating. Kitchen counters and well-stocked bookshelves help bring in a feeling of home — or of a welcoming hotel lobby. And to complement the high-drama matte black moments, an otherwise varied colour and material palette rounds out the scheme. Exposed silver foil–wrapped ductwork and bright red pipework meander above different spaces, and the concrete and texture-plastered walls take on a similar matted grey or earth tone as the deeply castellated beams. These various components add visual complexity to the mostly open-plan office.

New York–based multimedia artist Jacob Hashimoto has translated his three-dimensional suspended installations into two woven upholstery fabrics for Maharam: Midair (shown) and Beyond. The intricacy of Midair’s 19 patterns references his expansive handmade kite sculptures; 11 tones per individual colourway (six in total) result in a nuanced exploration of opacity, transparency and neutrality.

The complexity of Bertjan Pot’s Rumor for Kvadrat Febrik becomes more pronounced the closer you look. Using both digital photo-editing programs and traditional knitting techniques, Pot created nine energetic colourways — each comprising four different hues stitched together — that are rich and sophisticated. The brand’s first knitted textile made from more than 70 per cent post-consumer recycled polyester, the voluminous material has a dimpled surface and superb elasticity, and can create seamless applications.

A recent two-textile collaboration between Designtex and British studio Wallace Sewell — helmed by Harriet Wallace-Jones and Emma Sewell — includes The Thames, a preppy composition of thick stripes, and River Lea, a thinner striated pinstripe. Inspired by their namesake rivers, both have a finish-free construction and are offered in coordinating colourways (five and six, respectively) that allow for harmonious mixing and matching.

One of six upholstery fabrics in the Organized Complexity collection by Suzanne Tick for Luum Textiles, Limitless Loop (in six colourways) is a tactile quilted material detailed with geometric curves that nod to fractal patterns found in nature. The intensity of the nylon embroidery fades in and out as it traces the three-dimensional contours of the pillowy surface.

“Furniture waste is a significant issue that will only worsen as new modes of working drive shorter-term demands for office equipment,” says Tony Elkington, founder of London-based, sustainably focused industrial design firm Studio Elk. Having observed overconsumption of home office furniture in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, his team ruminated on how to prevent more desks and chairs from entering U.K. landfills. Its solution, still in the concept phase, is a subscription based system that essentially leases out furniture, recovers pieces or parts when they’re damaged or no longer in use, and redistributes or recycles them.

Both the concept and the Studio Elk designed furniture line intended for use with this program are called Koru. The system comprises desks, accessories and chairs that are minimal yet handsome enough to suit both business- and home-office settings. In keeping with the brand’s ethos, the components are mainly made from recycled or recyclable materials — including aluminum frames and accessories in three different finishes, and wool felt for backboards and feet pads — and are detachable and replaceable. While the plywood used for desktops is not easily recycled, the studio’s ambition is to repurpose as much as
possible by, for example, making chair backs from a desktop that has localized damage.

Employers can choose from subscription plans with various customization levels for different team sizes and degrees of participation. For instance, a full-time remote employee may require a bigger desk with storage components,
while hybrid workers might only need the bare minimum per team member. Repairs and replacements are included in the subscription price. Such an option
can be especially attractive to companies that prefer predictable monthly spending over large lump sums up front and unexpected expenses.

Blending functionality with modern lines, the furniture pieces have universal appeal. Desks can be configured to suit many working styles and be kitted out with different accessories, including backboards, laptop stands, shelves and lights. Koru’s modular nature means damaged pieces can be easily removed and returned for restoration or replacement.

“The beauty of the product-as-a-service model is that the program retains ownership of the product,” says Elkington. “When the product is no longer needed by one customer, Koru collects and refurbishes it for re-use by another instead of allowing it to go to waste.” Components are only recycled if they’re beyond repair, and go back into the production of new Koru parts. “Aligning with the principles of a circular economy, recycling is only ever a last resort.”

Italian designer Piergiorgio Cazzaniga created the Sir modular soft seating system for Andreu World as a means to provide an adaptable and agile solution that suits the ever-evolving needs of contract (and domestic) spaces. Curved corners and a rounded backrest run common through the 14 separate modules, which can form compositions that are straight, sinuous and nearly any shape in between.

With bulbous, elongated forms inspired by balloon animals, the Globb modular soft seating series by Madrid-based Stone Designs for Actiu brings a playful energy to contract settings. A streamlined steel-tube base (in powder-coated black or white) anchors and unifies the three differently sized volumes; each seat in the modular system is offered with or without a backrest, and a coordinating coffee table completes the collection. A wide range of upholstery options is available.

Conceived by Norm Architects as a “landscape of small seating islands,” the modular Track soft seating for Artifort combines two distinct yet well-balanced elements: a robust flat-surfaced seat and a gently contoured, almost floating backrest. The collection includes a number of straight and corner modules, optional fixed or loose armrests and small oak side tables with integrated power outlets that can be placed between two seats.

Streamlined oak panels frame the Castor Lobby Sofa System, giving it a handsome expression no matter what angle you approach it from. Designed by Swiss studio BIG-GAME for Japanese brand Karimoku New Standard, Castor features a variety of modules — including tables, optional armrests and alternate-facing seats — that can be built out in endless configurations to fill lobbies, waiting rooms and socializing areas in offices and other commercial spaces. Multiple fabric options are available for the cushions.

Cast in Giuseppe Bavuso’s rigorous minimalist styling, the Trail work table for Lapalma boasts clean lines and an understated elegance. The shapely die-cast aluminum legs (in black, white or pewter) have a vaguely bird-like quality and support three surface formats: round, double and meeting. Tabletop material options include three wood veneer finishes, marble, and black or white 10-millimetre-thick HPL Fenix, the latter of which is suitable for outdoor use.

Stockholm studio Form Us With Love riffs on the traditional partitioned workspace with Cubicle, a combined oak-veneer bench and table structure that includes a protective 1.2-metre-tall screen. Designed for +Halle and intended for distraction-free focus, the unit was inspired by Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund’s built-in benches at his Woodland Chapel (1935) and can be configured as facing, side-by-side or solo “half-rooms.” Power outlets can be incorporated and seats can be bare or upholstered.

For her first collaboration with Davis Furniture, German designer Hanne Willmann produced the Vida family of tables, which combine pure geometric forms and considered details. Variants range from occasional to medium to conference, each featuring a sculptural powder-coated steel base (in one of more than 30 finishes) with curved profiles and varying degrees of openness that add a quiet grace to the hardy material. Tabletops have a reverse bevel edge and are offered in ash, oak and walnut veneers or Fenix in a range of colours.

Teknion’s Kupp Flip-Top work tables offer a hard-working solution for dynamic workspaces. Taking care with the details, the movable tables have precisely angled legs for straight-line nesting, two-sided worksurface finishes to ensure a clean look even when flipped to a vertical position, attachable modesty panels (in felt, laminate or flintwood) and optional power output and under-top bag hooks. A unique linking mechanism can connect multiple tables in different directions and a variety of colourways are available for the legs.

For many people, a dreary doctor’s office waiting room is no source for creative inspiration. But that’s exactly where Winnipeg designer Nicole Marion was when a single element on an otherwise unremarkable chair caught her attention. “It was a little boring, overall, but it did have a nice curved detail,” says Marion of the 1970s tubular chair in question. “I wanted to see if I could emphasize that curve by using a much larger tube diameter.”

This was back in 2018, when Marion had recently founded her own studio and was looking to design something for herself — no client brief, no project specifications. Well versed in residential product design (after earning her master’s degree in architecture from the University of Manitoba, Marion designed furniture and accessories for such renowned Canadian brands as Gus* Modern, EQ3 and Article), she first experimented with the idea of a dining chair nearly a year later, but found the scale of the amped-up tubes to be too extreme in that scenario. After tweaking the proportions, profile and ergonomics somewhat, she landed on what would become the Percy lounge chair.

The Percy lounge chair, designed by Nicole Marion for NaughtOne, plays with a familiar form but goes big with its tubular steel frame, which can be powder-coated in a choice of 16 lively colourways.

Working with a local metal mill shop, Marion produced a prototype with just two components — a continuous 50-millimetre-diameter aluminum-tube frame and a pair of plush upholstered cushions. “I was drawn to the combination of hard metal and soft upholstery,” Marion says of the resultant chair, which boasts strong mid-century modern vibes. “I feel mid-century design is sensitive to the human body and mind. At its best, it’s a considered response to how we move through — and enjoy — the world as humans.”

Percy made its debut at the Toronto edition of IDS in 2020, where it charmed the crowd and was awarded Best Prototype. Energized by the accolades, Marion further refined the design to be more aligned with her vision, and to effectively straddle the aesthetic line between residential and commercial. “After modifications were made for durability and sustainability of materials, it wasn’t a big jump to the commercial markets,” she notes. Marion then reached out to her contacts at Herman Miller (which was about to merge with Knoll), and they were immediate fans. It was placed with British manufacturer NaughtOne (established in 2005, it has been a part of the MillerKnoll collective since 2019), which specializes in well-made and sustainable furniture.

With a playfully informal expression that is vaguely familiar yet rather surprising, Percy was a natural choice for NaughtOne, as the company was looking to add more lounge chairs to its portfolio of laid-back modern designs. Also compatible with the brand was Marion’s fearless appreciation of bold colour — the designer often develops palettes informed by everything from her children’s drawings and nature to architecture and overlooked or seemingly insignificant details.

Percy is now made with a durable recycled and recyclable steel-tube frame at the brand’s factories in North America and the U.K. (to minimize environmental and shipping costs, as well as lead times for both markets). It’s offered in 16 vibrant powder-coated RAL colourways that range from cotton-candy pink, leaf green and stop-sign red to steel blue, jet black and oyster; more than 100 upholstery fabrics allow Percy to be perfectly tailored to suit any environment.

With its compact yet generous scale, the Percy lounge chair easily and comfortably accommodates many different body types and sitting positions, while its robust materiality makes it an ideal addition to flexible workspaces, as well as high-traffic commercial or hospitality settings.