Performance Review

Dramatic economic and societal shifts over the last few years have profoundly changed the way we work. And there’s perhaps no better place to see the latest office trends than at this month’s NeoCon World’s Trade Fair, in Chicago, where architects and designers take stock of the newest solutions to our shrinking and technology-laden work spaces. This year’s buzzword is multipurpose, and companies like Harter, Arcadia, and Dauphin have created versatile, modular furniture that encourages creativity and impromptu collaboration.

And exhibitors don’t have a monopoly on innovation. NeoCon’s host, MMPI, partnering with Designerpages.com, is cutting down on brochures and catalogs by allowing attendees to browse companies’ offerings in advance and to save images as virtual show-floor guides. Next year, MMPI has plans to give visitors the option of snapping photos of products with their mobile phones and automatically uploading them to a self-curated collection. Here are our favorite NeoCon products that take ecofriendly and flexible approaches to furnishing our ever changing offices.