This week at NeoCon 2023, Steelcase and its community of brands featured new ways to create diverse, vibrant and sustainable workplaces. Visitors experienced innovative and award-winning solutions designed to help make work better – both in and out of the office.

“While headlines about who is doing hybrid and how often continue to dominate in the media, it’s time to move the conversation beyond hybrid,” said Terrence Lenhardt, vice president of product marketing for Steelcase. “Hybrid work is more complicated than merely making decisions about whether people work from home or the office. Work has fundamentally changed and worker expectations, behaviors and beliefs about work have evolved – so the places people work need to evolve and change accordingly. Steelcase deeply understands these changes and is working with organizations as they address this transformation of work.”

But many leaders remain unsure where to start. The Steelcase showroom provides visitors with new ideas and inspiration for how to design workplaces that address the main reasons people go to the office: to both collaborate and do focus work, access tools and technology and feel a sense of belonging. Designed like a vibrant neighborhood with a diverse range of private and public spaces that are accessible to everyone, the showroom features a range of solutions for collaboration, focus work, social interactions and learning, as well as innovative technology for enhanced virtual interactions.

Here’s a look at some of the solutions designed to make work better turning heads in Chicago:

Solutions for Collaboration

Ocular – Ocular won Best of NeoCon Gold in the Collections for Collaboration category. Ocular addresses the inherent challenges with traditional meeting spaces and connecting on video and is designed to make hybrid collaboration better. Ocular’s unique table shapes position people to see each other in the room easily while optimizing the camera view for those who are remote.

HALCON OPTIC – OPTIC won a Best of NeoCon Gold award in the Conference Room Furniture category and two Silver awards in the Furniture Storage and Integrated Technology categories. It also won an Interior Design HiP (Honoring Industry People & Product) Award in the Workplace Desking category – a recognition program honoring industry people and innovative products. OPTIC is an expansive collection of tables and storage designed with beautiful aesthetics and technical excellence, creating an unparalleled hybrid meeting experience. Distinctive and graceful table shapes facilitate immersive meetings, promoting eye-to-eye contact to foster more meaningful interactions between in-person and remote participants. Connectivity has been seamlessly integrated to support the effortless use of technology. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, storage solutions offer opportunities to enhance room acoustics and can be tailored to accommodate every need.

Flex Single Table – Part of Steelcase’s Flex Collection, Flex Single Table is a lightweight, easy to move, fixed height and height-adjustable table that makes room for a laptop and more, and allows individual team members to arrange their work area to support a variety of tasks. With Flex Single Table, people can gather for a group session, get away for focus, or stake out a prime spot for a video call or collaborate in person.

AMQ Bixby Lite Work – Bixby Lite Work delivers a unique perspective on collaborative seating that puts innovation, design and user options at the forefront. Support collaboration wherever it happens, from a quick touchdown to an all-day training session. Lightweight and versatile, Bixby Lite Work accommodates dynamic spaces that demand flexibility and ease without compromising comfort or performance.

Solutions for Focus

Steelcase Karman – an all-mesh task chair, naturally responds to a body’s movement, delivers industry-leading comfort, and allows people to stay focused and in flow while working. Using sustainable materials and the least number of components necessary, Steelcase Karman weighs only 29 pounds — one of the lightest work chairs in the industry.

Solutions for Social Spaces

Viccarbe Funda Bold – An oversized lounge chair with a matching ottoman, Funda Bold is a captivating piece designed for lounging and supports relaxed postures in offices, homes and intermediate spaces.

Viccarbe Foro – Dominated by a clear minimalist aesthetic, Foro is a collection of collaborative tables crafted from solid oak to transmit warmth, dimension and durability to any environment. Foro is a versatile table intended to encourage meetings, conversation, idea exchange and celebration.

Viccarbe Zoco – A snug chair with rounded shapes, Zoco is where work meetings, friendly encounters and the exchange of ideas revolve. Its lightness and comfort encourage wellbeing and its practical optional casters help to carry it easily from one point to another, transforming spaces according to the needs of the moment.

WorkValet – More unassigned desks means people need a place to start their day and store their things. This convenient and secure locker solution is easy to use as people transition between meetings.

West Elm Willow Work Lounge – West Elm Work Willow is a fresh take on the classic club chair. Sporting either a smooth upholstered interior for a clean and versatile look, or soft upholstery that’s casual and elevated, Willow can blend in or stand out.

Solutions for Learning

Smith System Flowform Learn Lounge^® – Students love lounge furniture, but it can have ergonomic drawbacks and make it difficult for students to stay-on-task. Flowform Learn Lounge offers provides casual, collaborative furniture pieces that work in unison to ergonomically support students – and promote better, healthier learning in common spaces.

Commitment to Sustainability

Steelcase Series^® 1 with CarbonNeutral^® product certification was introduced last year and was the company’s first entry in its carbon neutral portfolio, giving companies more options to reduce their carbon footprint. As of July 2023, all seven of Steelcase’s high-performance chairs (Steelcase Karman, Gesture, Leap, Think, Amia, Steelcase Series 2 and Steelcase Series 1) will be available with a CarbonNeutral product certification option. These chairs offer great ergonomics and are built to last so they can be recommissioned at end of use. And now they can mitigate the impact on the planet and help organizations achieve their sustainability goals.

For more ideas and insights on how to design spaces for how people are working today, read the most recent issue of Work Better magazine which shares 99 insights people need to know now about how work is changing and how to make it better. steelcase.com/insights-research.