In Wayland, New York, Gunlocke continues its forward-thinking approach to its casegoods collections with its latest offering, Silea. Developed to provide designers with the freedom to create innovative, appealing private office solutions, it features unique functionality and extensive flexibility of scale. These features, paired with its sleek, minimalist aesthetic and wide range of materials and component choices, translate into a product that easily maintains a project’s design integrity in the face of these ever-changing times.
“Today’s work areas, particularly private offices, continue to evolve, incorporating functional necessities like technology integration and wire management— all in a decidedly smaller footprint, “ said Mitch Bakker, principal at IDa Design and designer of Silea. “With that in mind, Silea is designed to accommodate a variety of office sizes while still providing a wide range of technology support and innovative functionality wrapped in a modern design aesthetic that is lighter in scale.”
Bakker continues, “Overall, Silea’s unique scalability allows a project to stay true to form, no matter what the parameters. Functional integrity and design remains intact, allowing every space to remain efficient and appear custom-fit, even if budgetary or space constraints of the project develop.”
Silea’s features include smart accessories and active storage that deliver higher levels of worker productivity. By incorporating elements such as a PDA holder, ample— yet discrete— wire management and flexible monitor arm mount, among other benefits, Silea provides the ideal solution for today’s private office.
In addition to its innovative technology integration, Silea is designed to be extremely user-centric. Smart, intuitive storage areas have been incorporated that literally keep everything at the user’s fingertips. Streamlined management of daily materials and projects is accomplished through strategically placed sliding doors, overheads and hidden, pivot shelving.
While Silea is a unique casegoods solution that allows the user to uncover how it can work best for each individual, aesthetic diversity and appeal have not been sacrificed in the name of utility. In fact, Silea’s beauty lies not only in its functionality and flexibility of scale, but its simplicity. “Silea’s lightly scaled, uncomplicated form features a strong, horizontal orientation that eliminates visual complexities, providing a clean, minimalistic aesthetic,” Bakker said.
Silea’s modern design is highlighted by the use of a wide range of mixed materials. Fourteen different wood finishes, two paint colors and three back-painted glass colors, combined with anodized aluminum accents, contribute to its clean lines and streamlined appearance. Horizontal veneers further enhance its sleek, contemporary look.
Silea is the first Gunlocke casegood line to utilize the structured Design for the Environment (DfE) framework to incorporate Life Cycle Thinking into the product development/design process. DfE provides a platform for asking questions, assessing information and making choices to effectively incorporate environmental thinking into Gunlocke products. Every major component in Silea was scrutinized through the DfE lens. Silea was designed to help reach environmental goals by utilizing mixed materials that are recyclable and keep the product’s end of life in mind. Silea contains 81 percent pre-consumer and 2.5 percent post-consumer recycled content and mixed materials that are separable and can be re-used or recycled.
As the footprint of offices shrink, Gunlocke is also dedicated to shrinking the environmental footprint left from its products. The modular construction of Silea was chosen to facilitate upgradeability without requiring a complete office replacement. The new Stratawood veneer is created from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified rapidly renewable plantation poplar and has the added benefit of a 70 percent yield from raw materials, which also helps minimize the environmental footprint of Silea. FSC certified products are available with Silea under Gunlocke’s mixed credit system, which provides a substantial contribution to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® (LEED) MR 7. Even the lighting decisions for Silea were looked at with DfE in mind. Silea utilizes ultra-energy efficient LED task lightings with individual controls help contribute to the LEED EA 1.1. Silea also contributes to the earning of LEED points, with IEQ 4.5 compliant finishes standard (excluding paint).
For more information about Silea and Gunlocke, contact 1-800-828-6300 or visit www.gunlocke.com.
The Gunlocke Company is an industry leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of wood contract furniture: casegoods, seating and tables. As it focuses on developing fresh, responsive new solutions for the workplace, the company carries forward a tradition of quality craftsmanship, technical expertise and conscientious customer service. The Gunlocke name is synonymous with design integrity, manufacturing excellence and enduring value. Eight U.S. presidents and leading decision makers in a range of industries have made the company’s products their choice.
Gunlocke has a growing North American presence, with showrooms located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, Santa Monica, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington, D.C., and Muscatine, Iowa.
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