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The magazine of workplace research, insight, and trends Issue 59 360steelcase.com June 2010 Harder Working Spaces The workplace just got smarter. Trends360 17 Sustainability Spotlight 19 NeoCon 2010 Special Edition 20 Atoms & Bits 56 Q&A with Roger Martin 14 Finding the Holy Grail in business today: innovation

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Harder Working Spaces The workplace just got smarter.

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Page 1: Steelcase 360 - NeoCon 2010

The magazine of workplace research, insight, and trends Issue 59360steelcase.com June 2010

Harder Working SpacesThe workplace just got smarter.

Trends360 17 Sustainability Spotlight 19 NeoCon 2010 Special Edition 20

Atoms & Bits 56

Q&A with Roger Martin 14

Finding the Holy Grail in business today: innovation

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ABOUT THIS ISSUE: The workplace has never had to work so hard. On the cover, our mind map (a brainstorming technique used by our colleagues at IDEO to support design thinking) illustrates how the workplace has to maximize use of real estate, attract and engage workers, communicate company brand and culture, and foster collaboration and innovation. To help make this idea a reality, we offer insights from designers, architects, and Steelcase research-ers on how to plan these harder working spaces, and show companies that have pulled it off. Next, noted business author Roger Martin discusses design thinking and how it can help foster innovation. In our special NeoCon 2010 section, we feature the Steelcase family of showrooms and new products that can help create harder working spaces. Working harder just got easier.

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Threesixty is published bimonthly by Steelcase Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright 2010. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form unless you really want to help people love how they work — just ask us first, okay? Contact us at [email protected].

FEATuRE

2 Harder Working Spaces People are working harder than ever. So should their space. See how leading companies are reducing real estate, building brand, fostering collaboration, and engaging employees.

DEpARTMENTS

14 Q&A Roger Martin, one of the most insightful business thinkers and writers around, answers questions about innovation and how companies can get better at it.

19 Sustainability Spotlight David Berger has a brilliant idea for bringing light to off-the-grid parts of the world.

56 Atoms & Bits Things to check out in person or online.

17 Trends360 Insightful signposts we’re seeing about business, work, and the workplace.

NEOCON 2010 SpECiAl SECTiON

20 Come See us A guide to all the good stuff happening in the Steelcase family of brands this year.

22 Steelcase Showroom Map

36 Turnstone Showroom Map

37 Details Showroom Map

38 Nurture Showroom Map

39 Coalesse Showroom Map

40 New at NeoCon The showrooms are packed with insightful new products and thoughtful enhancements from Steelcase companies. A quick look starts here.

21 Don’t Miss This From inspiring speakers to great parties, there’s a lot to see and do while you’re in Chicago.

NeoCon 2010

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Workers at Accenture’s Houston offices use media:scape to collaborate using extensive digital information.

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As companies work their way out of the recession, they often feel a tug-of-war between two seemingly contradictory goals: the need to stay lean and efficient yet, at the same time, become more flexible and creative. Businesses are more efficient now, having cut their biggest expenses – real estate and people. Companies need every part of the operation, especially the workplace, to work harder than ever. not just individual workspaces, but the entire office. every. Square. Foot. “We don’t have a client who isn’t asking for their real estate and workplace solutions to work harder, to do more,” says Lauri Lampson, principal with Houston-based planning Design Research (pDR), expressing the experiences of designers and architects everywhere.

In a world of 24/7 competition, project teams stretch from Midtown to Mumbai, and business moves at race pace. Companies are looking to create harder working spaces that:

• maximize real estate utilization

• foster and support collaboration

• help attract and engage talent

• reinforce the culture and build the brand of the organization.

Can space really work that hard? Is it possible to compress real estate and shrink individual footprints while helping people collaborate and create more effectively? To inspire workers and help them feel more connected to company culture and brand? How can you simultaneously combine lean, innovative, and effective?

Several leading companies show how it can be done. Consulting giant Accenture developed a work environment strategy called Workplace 2.0 that it piloted in its newly relocated Houston office. “When most organizations pull a workplace strategy together, it really has a real estate focus. We aligned our overall business strategy, our human capital, real estate, and technology strategies very closely and pulled all of those together into a comprehensive strategy,” says Dan johnson, Accenture’s global director, workplace. The results are impressive in terms of real estate compression alone: Their office went from three floors and 66,000 square feet down to one floor of 25,000 square feet, while still supporting more than 800 people.

A leader in alternative work strategies such as hotelling, Accenture prides itself on its efficient use of real estate. But what sets the company apart is how it considers the workplace holistically. Instead of simply using smaller workstation footprints and similar approaches to increase density, the workplace is both smaller and harder working, using a combination of business strategies in ways that work best for the organization. The company also insists its workplace meet high standards for what it terms “The Four e’s” of “efficiency, effectiveness, engagement, and environ-ment,” with collaboration as a baseline. Like a lot of companies, Accenture found that many workstations were empty for long periods of time because workers were collaborating in team spaces, project rooms,

is it possible to compress real estate and shrink individual footprints while at the same time helping people to collaborate and create more effectively? Yes.

The workplace just got smarter.

Harder Working Spaces

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or offsite. “The briefcase, the PC, and the coat had one of the best views in town,” says Bill Mearse, Houston location managing director. The company realized that its staff was working differently, so its workplace had to reflect and support those new ways of working. The integrated work strategies and the Four e’s strategy address these changes.

Mobile telecom leader Vodafone also applied an integrated strategy for the company’s new netherlands headquarters in Amsterdam. The company was not only moving its office from another city, but also consolidating staff from three different sites at the new location. “We needed to make a big step forward in our workspace to break out from traditional offices to something fresh, new, even heretical,” says jens Schulte-Bockum, CeO of Vodafone netherlands. To support mobile and collaborative knowledge work, and to demonstrate the company brand, Vodafone’s workplace has a very open layout with no assigned workspaces combined with a wide variety of meeting and project spaces.

every Vodafone staffer – from leadership to the newest worker – operates from the same workspaces. Much like Accenture’s office, Vodafone’s workplace is colorful, welcoming, and energetic, and uses less real estate than their previous offices.

Benching is a go-to strategy for gaining more efficiency in real estate footprints, and, while it’s been used in europe for many years, it’s a growing phenomenon in north America. Benching is an application approach for supporting workers with parallel work surfaces along a spine. Typically there are no space-defining panels and little or no dedicated storage and privacy. It’s definitely an efficient approach: Research conducted by Steelcase WorkSpace Futures in europe and north America shows space savings of 22-26% in benching applications verses individual workstations, and an initial cost savings of 10-15%. But there’s a risk as well: cramming more desks into less space to save money can affect the performance of the workplace and staff. Benching should be tailored to the work being done. For example, project team members might use a bench for individual work or as a place for collabora-

tion; the former use calls for some small privacy screens and space for portable tools, while the latter needs more work surface, space for more people and no screens at all. Real estate savings realized through benching should be leveraged for the benefit of all workers – for cafés, lounge areas, team rooms, and other shared spaces.

Accenture and Vodafone made sure their benching workspaces were augmented by shared spaces, a move that pays real dividends. “There’s a lot more informal communication going on in the office,” says Vodafone’s Bockum. “People are closer to one another, it’s easier to have a quick chat about issues. People are communicating more than in previous environments and I think that adds to productivity. Mission-critical information is passed between people more easily and people have the feeling that there’s more information sharing going on, that they’re on the inside rather than struggling to keep up with what’s going on.”

The flow of information and ideas is critical to collaboration, the de facto protocol for knowledge work today. It’s also the standard embraced in the new offices of the Housing,

Smaller and smarter. Accenture’s Houston office didn’t just get smaller, it got smarter, more open, and more collaborative to better support its 800 workers. FROM: TO:

• 3 floors • 1 floor• 66,000 sq. ft. • 25,000 sq. ft.• private offices • unassigned & dedicated workspaces & workstations collaboration spaces

Vodafone’s new netherlands headquarters (top photos) in Amsterdam and Accenture’s new Houston offices (bottom photos) share much in common: unassigned workspaces, benching applications, and plenty of room for collaborative work in both open and closed spaces. Both companies reduced real estate substantially with these new workplace strategies.

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A benching workspace at the new Accenture Houston office. Workers move from bench areas for focused work to a variety of group work spaces, cafés, and lounge areas.

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Dining, and Hospitality (HDH) department at the university of California, San Diego, opened earlier this year. Workers from 11 different locations were brought together in a workplace designed to break down internal silos and improve communication and information sharing. Down came the panels, in came impromptu meeting and team spaces along with technology for easier sharing of information – all to encourage the ongoing conversations vital to collaboration.

“It’s been just three months and information flows faster now, and that’s a huge benefit. We’ve brought people together and given them an environment they can work in more effectively. We had no idea it could work this well, but it seems so apparent now. It’s amazing the way you can construct a community with a building and furniture,” says Mark P. Cunningham, executive director of HDH.

GREATER ExpECTATiONS

Building a new organizational culture was the main goal for a space designed for the newly formed supply chain logistics team, Coca-Cola Supply, an LLC of Coca-Cola Enterprises, and the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta. Deirdre O’Sullivan, designer and principal at idea|span, says the combined group “wanted to let go of the entrenched ways of doing things and figure out how they could work together better,” and they used their workplace to help define the new era. Since many of the workers typically are

working in the field and are not in the office every day, 40% of the workspaces are unas-signed. The essential nature of the space is open and collegial. O’Sullivan planned different types of collaboration spaces - large and small, open and enclosed - and all offer plenty of technology support for displaying and sharing information. One space, dubbed the data-presence room, features four large monitors in a group and media:scape® technology that allows four people to display what’s on their laptops in real time, side by side.

Alongside shared workspaces and collabora-tive work areas stands a traditional office icon: the private office. At Coca-Cola Supply, Accenture, uC San Diego, and countless other companies, private offices endure – with good reason. They offer the highest level of privacy, they’re ideal for concentrative work, and they’re part of the organizational culture of many companies. In the past, organizations often allocated private offices based on hierarchy. now many organizations are making those decisions based on job function and worker needs. The private office isn’t going away; it’s being re-imagined and redesigned to support the type of work being done, which often requires quick shifts between focused individual work and collaboration.

Footprints for all spaces are getting smaller, so every private office surface needs to perform at higher levels. Walls support visual

display and flexible storage. Storage doubles as guest seating and work surface, and even offers embedded technology that helps people share information on monitors with another person or a group. Forget struggling to see a computer screen tucked back on the credenza.

The notion of “private” itself is being redefined. An enclosed office remains a private refuge, but it also must support the increasingly collaborative nature of work, even for those who occupy private spaces. The office must be able to make a quick transition from supporting focused individual work to group collaboration. Designers are planning these new private offices in work zones: one for conversation by the entry, another zone for collaboration farther inside, and one for concentrated work farthest from the door. The collaboration zone should include a work surface for use by one person or a small group, mobile seating, the means to display work in progress, and technology support that is simple and ubiquitous.

Hotelling works in the open plan, so why not in the private office? At some companies, an employee may be assigned a private office that is made available to others when that person is away for some time. The private office worker simply isolates confidential materials in a file or other storage, and just that easily the office becomes available as a meeting room, huddle space. In some companies, two people share a private

The Coca-Cola Supply workplace encourages and supports information sharing, teamwork, and collaboration in a variety of workspaces.

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office full-time, often by workers who regularly work together, such as financial auditors and legal associates.

Rethinking the workplace takes planning, vision, and a commitment from leadership and staff. At Coca-Cola Supply, “the president formed a leadership steering committee of corporate real estate, team leaders from both organizations, and other workers to help define this new workplace,” says O’Sullivan. This multigenerational team participated in a day-long education process about new trends in the workplace and realized the opportunity they had to embrace new ideas for increasing collaboration. Stepping away from the paradigm of each person owning their own space, the team recognized that by allowing some workers to shift to a free address system, it would open up space that could be reallocated for collaboration areas.

Figuring out how to attract and engage the multigenerational workforce is a sticky problem for many organizations. experts often suggest the needs of different genera-tions are diametrically opposed, but in fact their diverse needs are more aligned than dissimilar, according to primary research conducted by Steelcase. A nine-month study of u.S. companies shows that Gen Y’s new behaviors and work styles are driving eight dramatic shifts in knowledge work and the workplace. Moreover, these workplace shifts are being embraced rapidly by workers of all generations. “Gen Y workers are transforming the rules of engagement between employers and employees,” says Sudhakar Lahade, senior design researcher with Steelcase’s WorkSpace Futures group, which conducted the research. “Younger knowledge workers’ attitudes and behaviors

are being adopted by their older Gen X and Boomer colleagues, creating a whole new set of requirements for any company that wants to compete for talent.”

Creating a space that attracts all generations and helps to engage them in their work is no longer optional. The vast majority of workers say having an office that helps attract and retain knowledge workers is important, according to the Steelcase Workplace Satisfaction Survey, an ongoing global survey of attitudes on work issues that has engaged nearly 23,000 respondents at 133 companies. It’s the single biggest issue not being met – and it’s been that way every year since the survey began in 2004.

ENGAGiNG WORkERS

To better engage all workers regardless of generation, high-performing spaces effec-tively support the four modes of knowledge work (as described by nonaka and Takeuchi in the seminal book, The Knowledge Creating Company) common to all knowledge workers: focused work, collaboration, learning, and socializing. All knowledge workers – whether consultant or scientist, product manager or

project leader – build and share knowledge that in turn drives creativity and innovation, using these four modes:

• Focusing – every worker needs some time that’s uninterrupted to concentrate and attend to specific tasks such as thinking, studying, contemplating, strategizing, processing, and other “heads-down” work.

• Collaborating – Fundamentally, collaboration is about working with one or more people to achieve a goal, such as collectively creating content or brainstorming. Ideally, all perspectives are equally respected, brought together to leverage the group’s shared mind.

• Learning – Learning is about building knowledge. Whether in a classroom or a conversation with peers, learning happens best by building on each other’s knowledge. When thinking is made visible and shared with others, learning is accelerated.

• Socializing – Knowledge becomes ingrained in the organization through socialization. As people socialize and work with others in formal and informal ways, learning and trust are nurtured. And those are necessary ingredients for innovation.

Across the four work modes, workers create and use two types of knowledge: explicit and tacit. explicit knowledge is the formal, systematic information typically found in documents, procedures, and manuals. In contrast, tacit knowledge is deeply personal, harder to formalize, and learned by experience. It’s communicated indirectly through metaphor, analogy, mentoring, and working side by side. It’s how knowledge gets shared, ideas are explored and tested, and the value of experience is passed from

knowledge workers’ biggest beef: not having a workplace that helps attract and retain good talent.Steelcase Workplace Satisfaction Survey

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No cubes, no silos, no worries. new offices for the Housing, Dining and Hospitality department at the university of California, San Diego were meant to improve communication and nurture collaboration, so the number of private offices was cut in half, workstations were placed adjacent to group meeting spots, and technology tools were added to help people share information. In an organization where “it was considered better to have a broom closet than an open workspace,” the new space has changed everything, says Mark P. Cunningham, the department’s executive director. “The interaction now is amazing, at all levels. We have no issues with noise or privacy, yet people are talking and sharing more. The office has become a destination.”

worker to worker. Both explicit and tacit knowledge are essential to the process of building knowledge and fueling creativity and innovation, a process that requires collaboration.

But not just any kind of collaboration. The simple coordination of tasks (“here’s some info for you...”) or communication (“wanted to let you know...”) is important to running

a company. But genuine collaboration, the kind that leads to breakthrough ideas, comes from people working together specifically to gain new insights. As Accenture’s johnson says, “We wanted to make sure that (coming to the office) was a very engaging experi-ence, and people learned something by being here that they wouldn’t by not being here. It made the office a destination. People are actually coming into the office now more for face-to-face collaboration and interaction with people, and much less for individual work.”

In the past, most work was individually focused, but today the reverse has become true: 82% of white-collar workers feel they need to partner with others throughout their day to get work done. Knowledge work has become fundamentally a social activity,

where workers build on each other’s ideas and together create something new. “That’s really what a lot of companies are looking to achieve,” says Mark Adams, principal, of Phoenix-based architecture and design firm, SmithGroup. “It’s all about helping people work together more effectively by creating visual connectivity, interaction, and a sense of community.”

Organizations whose offices exemplify their culture and brand, attract and engage workers, provide a highly collaborative atmosphere, and do it all in less space are getting their spaces to work harder than ever. They also tend to be among today’s leaders in business. “They let people be as absolutely productive and as strong as they can be, providing them a support backbone that allows them to do their job better than anywhere else, and allows them to be creative, collaborative thinkers. When you really, truly look at the ones that do these things and have this philosophy, they tend to be off-the-charts successful,” says Adams.

it’s all about visual connectivity, interaction, and a sense of community.

Organizations can mistake low-intensity interactions, such as coordination of tasks (“tossing it over to you”) or communication (“keeping you up to speed”) for true collaboration, which is about people working together for a common purpose and gaining new insights.

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NExT GENERATiON WORkSpACES FOR iNNOVATiON

Space that’s harder working supports a company that wants to be lean, effective, and, especially important today, more innovative. Companies are seeing signs that the economy is turning around. Business confidence is returning and the focus is shifting to growth, which according to most experts depends on what Harvard Business Review calls the “secret sauce” of business success: innovation. The ingredients include the right organizational culture, collaboration, and space.

Author and innovation expert john Seely Brown says all innovation requires an accom-modating company culture and workplace. “The cultures that constantly produce innovation have visionary leadership, an organizational commitment to breakthrough thinking, and a place that supports the work of innovation.”

There are two types of innovation: sustaining and disruptive. The former is an improvement to an existing thing – say, release 2.0 of a software program. Disruptive innovation is a true breakthrough, often creating a new product category or market – think iPod. Sustaining innovation satisfies customer needs, sells for higher margins, and may offer a competitive edge. Disruptive in-novation ensures competitive advantage, often for a longer period of time, and builds momentum inside the organization and in the marketplace. Companies need both kinds of innovation.

“Innovation cannot be isolated from col-laboration,” notes Steelcase’s Lahade, who recently led a team studying innovation and space. “While all collaborative work is not necessarily geared toward innovation, all innovations require some level of collabora-tion.” And effective collaboration requires the right space.

Consider Google. The global search engine giant has worked to build a culture of innovation at every level of the company. They operate as a marketplace for ideas, heavily cross-pollinating internally through a tightly integrated culture where contribu-tions from everyone on staff are encouraged. It’s a natural approach for many companies to look to their internal staff, not just R&D, for innovations. An iBM study found that the most common source of innovative ideas for companies is its employees, relied on by 41% of CeOs with only 17% relying on R&D.

jan-Peter Kastelein, a partner at YNNO consultants in utrecht, the netherlands, worked with Google on their new R&D center in Zurich. He notes that “Google workers have to be innovative every day, whether it’s through new solutions, new ways of doing things, or innovative products. The space enables people to be innovative.” To generate novel solutions for information retrieval, user interfaces, and new search features, this Google space, like the offices of Accenture and Vodafone, includes wide open workspaces, communal cafes, and plenty of ways to share information. At its core, the space reflects an organizational attitude of “obsessive communication and information-

sharing between and among employees,” as one writer dubbed it, to help keep Google acting like a creative start-up organization.

Mayo Clinic is another serial innovator. Their SPARC Innovation Program, a first-of-its-kind operation for designing and developing health care innovations that opened in 2004, leverages the organization’s deep expertise in health care, and makes the innovation process and facility an integral part of the larger culture. In its first year alone, SPARC generated more new ideas than the program could handle, while the new approach proved its ability to take a wealth of ideas, conceptualize them, and demonstrate their value to patient care.

Innovation can't be mandated. A culture that reveres and pursues creative ideas must be carefully nurtured. In fact, the quantitative skills that most companies develop for analysis, production, processing, etc., are often anathema to a culture of innovation, according to Roger Martin, author and dean of the university of Toronto Rotman School of Management. “Most companies are utterly ill-equipped to innovate. Leaders have to be willing to accept an argument that says, ‘We can’t be certain, because this is something new. But here are the reasons we think it might work.’ Many executives would say ‘That doesn’t seem like a strong case. It looks different, it feels different, it doesn’t make me as confident. Why can’t you prove this? Come back when you have proof.’ Another year or two goes by, some competitor does it and you’re behind the leader. You’re not an innovator.”

To innovate, collaborate. The Mayo Clinic workspace reflects key principles of innovation: space for collaboration and displaying work in progress, and furniture that groups can move around and reconfigure to the needs of the project.

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HElp iNNOVATiON FlOuRiSH

Space is a key element that nurtures the process of innovation. Martin says “Innovation-oriented organizations are inherently going to be more project-based: most creative things in life are projects. Teams have to be able to work together and collaborate, so spaces that are reconfigurable and more about the team than about long-term stability reinforce a culture of innovation.”

YnnO’s Kastelein says “Place is incredibly important, especially for collaboration, knowledge sharing and learning. People have to have awareness of what colleagues are doing, they have to have access to each other, and that’s why you’re seeing more open planning in europe, for example, and people have to engage with others in conversation. Space can help you with all of those.”

“Space provides places for people to get together, interact, and that’s so important when it comes to innovating around big challenges,” says Ryan Armbruster, former director of the Mayo Clinic SPARC program, and vice president of innovation for unitedHealth Group, a managed health

care company. Technology can support collaboration – cell phones and video-conferencing help separated co-workers communicate – but there’s no substitute for rubbing shoulders. “The analogy we use is: no one’s ever built a start-up business over a telephone line,” says Armbruster. “It’s usually a bunch of people getting together, working nonstop, right? It’s intense collabo-ration, because you have to talk and work things out and solve problems on the fly.”

Teams collaborate differently and for different purposes. Furniture, tools, technology, and space will vary by innovation model, company culture or other factors. “Collabora-tion has been a big topic for the last 10 or 15 years, but people are realizing the different types of collaboration we need to support. More emphasis on more informal, casual spaces for informal get-togethers and cross fertilization, and less about planned, formal meetings,” says Lauri Lampson of PDR.

“As organizations struggle to remain relevant and meaningful, we are rethinking how space can support, inspire, and enable innovation business practices. We’re continuing to work on how the design and use of innovation spaces can reinforce the other organizational components that contribute to a company’s

ability to innovate,” says Lahade. After all, rethinking how space can help innovation flourish is one of the best ways to make space work harder than ever.

A full report on Steelcase’s innovation research will run in the December issue of Threesixty Magazine.

White papers on innovation and benching are available now at steelcase.com.

No one’s ever built a start-up business over a telephone line.Ryan Armbruster, unitedHealth Group

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iNTEGRATE STRATEGiES TO CREATE HARDER WORkiNG SpACE

Maximize real estate performance by considering its relationship with and impact on work processes (col-laboration), HR (attracting and retaining talent), technology (information sharing), and organizational brand and culture (communication, socialization). A workplace strategy must consider all of these factors.

MAkE EVERY SQuARE FOOT COuNT

“Every seat must be a good seat,” says Lauri Lampson of Planning Design Research (PDR). “You don’t want any ‘low-rent districts.’ Access to natural light, separation from traffic, creating neighborhoods, different spaces with different functions and features.” Every square foot of real estate must perform.

FOR MORE iNTERACTiON, THiNk DENSiTY

New research finds that people in work-stations along main circulation routes have almost 60% more face-to-face communication with team members than those in low-visibility spots. (Harvard Business Review, March, 2010, citing work by James Stryker, Saint Mary’s College of California) High-density workstation applications produced 84% more team-member communica-tions than low-density layouts. It’s a huge upside to higher density. More interactions lead to more collaboration, knowledge sharing, and idea generation – the horsepower that drives innovation.

MAkE SpACES TECH-SAVVY

The busiest group spaces in any workplace are well equipped. Don’t plan a project team or working group space without tools for accessing, sharing, and showing information.

uSE SpACE TO NuRTuRE SOCiAl CApiTAl AND TRuST

Formal and informal social interaction is key, so encourage ad-hoc conversations with casual places for thinking and brain-storming. Benching applications help span boundaries that keep communica-tion and collaboration free and easy. And never underestimate the power of food and beverage to attract people and get them talking. PDR’s Lampson recalls a scientist at an energy company explain-ing why galley-like mini-kitchens in the corridor were so important. “She said, ‘That’s where we run into each other and where science talks happen. The best ideas come out of those science talks.’”

CREATE A DESTiNATiON

Knowledge professionals can work practically anywhere, but the right space makes the organization work. Genuine collaboration relies on face-to-face interaction. Insights and experience are shared among colleagues in intimate, supportive surroundings. Innovation needs places where people can share knowledge and build on each other’s ideas. And company culture is nurtured in the office, not at the coffee shop. Build a workplace that’s a destination where all of this important work can happen.

REViTAlizE pRiVATE OFFiCES

They usually house a company’s highest-paid workers; how effectively those workers are supported is an important business issue. Maximize private office real estate, provide flexible tech support, and make the office collaboration-ready: a zone for conversation by the door, collaboration farther inside, and concen-trated work farthest from the door.

uSE SpACE TO FOSTER CHANGE

Ryan Armbruster, vice president of innovation for UnitedHealth Group, says “space can help push the organization into change. There’s a line that you have to brush up against, where you’re changing enough that it’s making people a little uncomfortable, yet not so uncom-fortable that they completely disengage or work against what you’re trying to accomplish.” Space where people can try new ideas, make a mess, and fail safely behind the scenes nurtures the process of innovation and lets workers know that risk taking is encouraged.

YOu CAN’T ENCOuRAGE COllABORATiON ENOuGH

It’s not only the way more knowledge work gets done, it’s the fuel for innova-tion. Space saved by creating smaller individual workspaces can be used for spaces everyone will use: impromptu meeting areas, project rooms, huddle rooms. Tools for information sharing, work surfaces where groups can spread out the work, and vertical surfaces for making work visible are essential to collaboration. Hot coffee and cold drinks are drawing cards, and they support learning, socializing, and collaborating.

ideas for creating harder working spaces:

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The health care industry is highly regulated, subject to strict laws, and circumscribed by carefully developed standards of practice. Yet even health care space needs to work harder. A recent study by Nurture, Steelcase’s health care division, and the Mayo Clinic sought to understand the extent to which a consultation room designed to support present-day clinical encounters could affect the quality of the consultation between patients and clinicians.

Sixty-three pairs of patients and doctors took part in the study. The pairs were assigned by chance to either a conventional consultation room (in the left photo) or to an experimental one (right). The experimental space placed the patient, care partner, and the clinician side by side, facing the computer screen while seated at a semicircular desk.

In post-visit follow-up surveys, researchers found that patient and clinician satisfaction with the conventional room was very high. In the experimental room, however, clinicians could share more information with patients while both viewed the screen. Patients felt they had more and better access to information, including their own records, test results, images, and education materials.

“This study supports the notion that the space in which people meet can influence how they work together,” says Victor Montori, M.D., the lead Mayo researcher. The consultation room design improved the quality of a patient visit, although Dr. Montori says more studies in other health care systems are needed to confirm the findings. This study grew out of Steelcase WorkSpace

Futures (WSF) observations in 2005 that traditional exam/consultation rooms allowed the provider primary access to information on the computer, while patients and family members struggled to see the information from seats at the side. Sometimes physi-cians would give up their seats to allow the patient and family to better see the screen. This prompted nurture to redesign the space to better support the behaviors they observed. The design included a half-round table that put the information in the center on a movable arm with an accompanying wireless keyboard and mouse. “It’s a more egalitarian setting for the consultation and better supports new, best practices in clinical communication,” says WSF health care researcher Caroline Kelly.

A harder working health care space

After

Before

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with Roger MartinOn innovation, and why companies struggle with it.

Roger Martin leads a busy life. He’s dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, a professor at the school, and a successful author. His most recent book, The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking Is the Next Competitive Advantage (Harvard Business Press, 2009) is a best-seller among business books at Amazon. He serves on several corporate boards, consults with corporations, writes extensively on design, and is a regular writer for BusinessWeek.com, The Washington Post’s On Leadership blog, and The Financial Times. Dubbed an “Innovation Guru” by Business Week, Martin has a multifaceted perspective on business and innovation. The following is an excerpt from a 90-minute conversation during a recent visit Martin made to Steelcase Global Headquarters in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Photo by jeff Dykehouse

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So, how do you become more innovative?

Company culture is critical. If someone tries something brand new and it doesn’t work, and the next day her career’s lying on the floor with a bullet hole in it, word gets around fast that risk taking should be avoided. Management has to make sure that things like that don’t happen. What did she bet on that turned out to not be the case? As long as she’s learning, that behavior should be encour-aged and rewarded.

How can space help?

Corporations could take on some of the personalities of design shops. If you go into IDEO or Frog Design or Design Continuum, they’ve got movable walls and reconfigurable work-spaces – places that are flexible and support experimentation. Collaboration is another thing. Project teams have to be able to feel like they can work together and collaborate. Another need is transparency. When A. G. Lafley became CEO of Procter & Gamble, he had the executive space ripped back to the girders. He converted half of it into a corporate learning center, and the rest is open plan for the executives. He was sending a big signal: “We are going to

change. We are going to be more collaborative, more creative.” When you go into that space now, it’s a beehive of activity. People are wandering around, they can work together, stop by one another’s offices. There’s a lot of stuff happening. That all represents the transformation of P&G, and you’ve seen the results they’ve posted over the past decade.

What other things do innovative companies do?

They have a lot of ideas, and they don’t converge on one very quickly. They look for real variety up front. Everybody’s asked to contribute. That’s something that I see all innovative companies do. The front end of the funnel is a really wide one and they’re willing to consider very disparate ideas, versus us business types who try to converge on what’s the best idea quickly so we can push it the farthest and fastest. Real innovators just don’t do that.

Why are you getting designers coming to business school?

One of the reasons is to learn the vocabulary. Many non-financial business people want to learn marketing and finance terminol-ogy, so that they can go to talk to

the CFO and not feel that they are hearing incomprehen-sible bafflegab – for example financial ratios they don’t understand. They come to learn a language system that enables them to communicate with business people.

You’re an advocate for more broad-based education.

I just don’t think that we’re being sensible about the level of specialization that people are seeking these days. There is a dogma out there that the most important thing to do is to get good at one thing. “Don’t be a jack of all trades and master of none,” and all that. I despair at how specialized so many of our students are. Instead, you should, for example, take history as an undergrad and design at a master’s level, so you can pull from those two bodies of knowledge. It makes sense to have a certain level of specialization, but you have to have cross-cutting knowledge and skills.

Why do so many companies fail at being innovators?

They’ve gotten really good at what I call reliability functions: production processing, cost cutting, efficiency, etc., which is the business of exploiting the ideas of the past. Innovation is about exploring new ideas that haven’t been proven and can’t yet be measured. Some companies are dreaming in Technicolor that they’re going to be turned on a dime just because they want innovation. To succeed at innovation, you have to be willing to accept an idea even though you really can’t be certain it will work.

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What’s your next book about?

I’m doing two books. One is kind of an antidote to books on execution that say business strategy doesn’t really matter, that performance is all about execution. I think those books are wrong. They have an implicit premise that, if you’ve got a good strategy, then you just have to focus on execution. But they don’t ask the question: What if you don’t have a good strategy, will execution get you anywhere? You could execute the wrong thing. So this book is about how Procter & Gamble got turned around through strategy.

And the other?

How capitalism is being made ineffective by a crazy over-emphasis on maximizing shareholder value. About 30 years ago there was a movement to get managers to focus on shareholder value, with little regard for other stakeholders such as customers, employees, suppliers, society at large, and

so forth. The theory was that shareholder maximization should be the clear goal of companies. And to make sure that’s the case, companies gave senior management stock-based compensation, options, and the like to align their interests with shareholders. I argue that you cannot maximize shareholder value perpetually, because shareholder value is about expectations of the future, and you cannot keep on beating expectations.

What’s the alternative?

I mapped out the 30 years before 1976, before we had this theory. How did shareholders do versus 30 years after? The answer is shareholders did better when we weren’t trying to maximize shareholder value. My position is you should seek to earn the shareholders a fair return, and you do that by putting customers number one, employees number two, and the communities in which you work number three. We need

to change the entire doctrine by which you are supposed to assure Wall Street that: “Yes, shareholders, you are absolutely number one. You’re all we care about, that’s what we live for.” But really, how motivational is that? Who goes to work in the morning to increase shareholder value? But would you go to work to try and make a better-suited environment so people could be more comfortable, more healthy, more productive, to help grow this economy?

“ If someone tries something new and it doesn’t work, and the next day her career’s lying on the floor with a bullet hole in it, word gets around fast that risk taking should be avoided.”

THE NExT COMpETiTiVE ADVANTAGE: DESiGN THiNkiNG

Martin says businesses can’t succeed solely on the basis of either analysis (quantitative thinking) or intuition (qualita-tive thinking). Both are needed in a dynamic balance he calls design thinking. It’s a form of thought that, once mastered, gives businesses a “nearly inexhaustible, long-term advantage.”

Design thinking enables the organization to move along the knowledge funnel. Mysteries are business challenges: A scientist might explore how to cure a disease; a salesman might wonder what food products people on the go want to buy. A heuristic is a rule of thumb that helps narrow the inquiry down to manageable size. The disease may have certain genetic properties, for example. Or the salesman notes that customers like quick service and easy access. It’s a way of thinking about the mystery that helps simplify it and allows more focus on the issue. As an organization puts a heuristic into operation, it converts it from a rule of thumb to a fixed formula, or algorithm. Thus, a rule of thumb that customers want a quick, convenient, simple meal might be converted to a fixed formula for the fast food restaurant with a 24/7 drive-through.

From The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage

Roger Martin will discuss concepts from his latest book, The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking Is the Next Competitive Advantage, at neoCon on Monday, june 14, 3-4 PM, in the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza Sauganash Ballroom, 14th Floor. Sponsored in part by Steelcase, the program is free for neoCon attendees.

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SMART COMpANiES ARE iNVESTiNG AGAiN iN THEiR REAl ESTATE

Good news on the real estate horizon: Organizations are using their real estate to rebrand, reinvent and reposition themselves, according to a recent study by Jones Lang LaSalle. “It appears that the global economy and real estate market fundamentals are past their worst,” says the study. Whew. In 2010, Jones Lang LaSalle expects to see a 30 – 40% increase in commercial real estate investment globally, with North and South America at a faster 50 – 60%. Asia Pacific will expand by 30 – 50% and Europe at 20 – 30%. Where’s the real estate money flowing fastest? In the U.S, it’s the federal government, health care, energy, and clean technology.

MEETiNGS WiTHOuT MEETiNG

With airplane ticket prices sky high, more companies are opting instead for online meetings, webinars, and video-conferences, according to Workplace Management. As the costs and hassles of travel escalate, the ease and speed of technology just keeps getting better, so why not? As just one recent indicator, 42% of 610 respondents to a survey from Business Traveler magazine gave a thumbs-up to videoconferencing instead of packing a bag.

R&D VS. RECESSiON, AND THE WiNNER iS…

Capital investment: down. Payroll: down. Marketing: down. Research and develop-ment spending: up. According to findings of an annual survey conducted by Booz & Co. released in early May, 70% of companies planned to hold or increase their R&D outlays in 2009. “Innovation is a fundamental strategy for these companies to hold onto their markets and gain an edge on their competitors,” says Barry Jaruzelski, a Booz partner.

DESiGN THiNkiNG, ESpECiAllY NOW

The essence of design thinking — trying to experience a product or service from the perspective of the user — has reached movement status within business today.

Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO and author of Change by Design, says the imperative for design thinking is even greater in a sluggish economy. “The opportunity to capture more market share is greater because many of your competitors have taken their eye off the ball,” he says. It’s all about creating an optimistic, experimental culture throughout the whole organization.

lEFT BRAiN, MEET THE RiGHT BRAiN

Bringing together interdisciplinary teams in one space is like putting seedlings in a hothouse: You’ll get results faster. For example, Procter & Gamble built an “Innovation Gym” as a resource for longer-term thinking by people from different parts of the organization.

It’s here that Swiffer was born, along with other breakthrough products that make up P&G’s billion-dollar brands. At GlaxoSmithKline, “Innovation Hubs” co-locate work teams around brands in a flexible, non-hierarchical workplace. It’s proven so successful that eight GSK Hubs have been constructed since 2005 in the U.S., the U.K., and Germany.

DOllARS TO DEuTSCHE MARkS – THE u.S. OuTSpENDS ON R&D

Overall, the U.S. spends more on research and development than any other country, according to a new report from the National Science Foundation. And private industry has been spending more on it than the government since 1982.

CROWDSOuRCiNG TRANSFORMS iNNOVATiON

Big corporate R&D labs used to hold innovation close to their massive chests. Today a more open model — a.k.a. “crowdsourcing” — is taking hold in large companies. Crowdsourcing leverages the work of people outside the organization — at universities and start-ups, with business partners and government labs. By opening itself to the outside world, the corporation becomes the coordinator and integrator. IBM, for example, is now a major underwriter of research at universities. At the same time, as a connoisseur of innovation it consistently collects more patents than any other company.

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David Berger is intent on lighting up the world.

if a breeder in remote Africa can’t find his goats that have wandered off at night, is it a design problem?

David Berger, a 2009 Cooper union graduate turned social entrepreneur, says it absolutely is.

Millions of people around the world stand to benefit from well-designed solutions to basic, fundamental problems, he contends, and smart design is integral to the effort. Berger is now part of a small group that’s turning a 2006 freshman-year engineering project into a sustainable business venture.

The goal? To light up the world for the 1.8 billion poor people living in off-the-grid parts of the world.

Their innovation, SociaLite, is an inexpensive and durable self-assembled solar-powered lantern. It provides interior lighting and can also be used as a portable lantern. The initial target market is Ghana, Rwanda, and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, eventually remote areas of Asia and South America, too.

“While the sheer scale of responsibility may be over-whelming, we have no choice

but to embrace it and enthusias-tically address it,” says Berger. “It is our work as designers that will affect the lives of people today, and future genera-tions. Given that responsibility, we have no choice but to design smart.”

SociaLite replaces kerosene-based lighting that’s known to pollute and cause respira-tory problems. In addition, the SociaLite venture is designed to inspire local entrepreneurship by providing simple kits and training so that enterprising villagers can easily assemble, sell, maintain, and repair the lanterns for neighbors.

The design consists of a solar panel connected to an integrated circuit and a car battery, which becomes a shared, central charging station that can power up to 80 lanterns. The housings are recycled local materials, including ceramic

jars, tin cans, old plastic bottles – even gourds.

Developed in cooperation with team members from Wa Polytechnic in Ghana and universite nationale du Rwanda, the project has already attracted interest from 26 countries and been featured by media outlets including Discovery Channel, The Washington Times, Voice of America, Business Week, and The New Times of Rwanda. Berger won one of three Greener by Design Steelcase Scholarship awards offered in partnership with net Impact.

SociaLite kits are sold just above cost to ensure that the venture can be sustained. A website is launching soon. More info is immediately available at the blog http://solarlightingmicroenter-prise.wordpress.com, including how to make tax-deductable donations.

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Welcome to NeoCon

2010COME SEE uS

Make sure to visit the Steelcase showrooms while you’re at neoCon.

When: june 14-16, 9–5 p.m.

Where: Steelcase, Suite 300

Turnstone, Suite 3-100

nurture, Suite 3-101

Details, Suite 3-107

Coalesse, Suite 1032

Designtex, Suite 1032A

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THE DESiGN OF BuSiNESS: WHY DESiGN THiNkiNG iS THE NExT COMpETiTiVE ADVANTAGE

Roger Martin is everywhere these days: Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Business Week and Threesixty Magazine. Renowned author and dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, Martin will speak at NeoCon about his new book exploring questions like: If so many companies want to innovate, why are we so poor at it? Why is breakthrough innovation so inconsistently achieved and hard to replicate? How can we get better at bringing innovation into the heart of our organizations? In answering the questions, Roger suggests how to move knowledge forward, connect theory to business reality, and prescribes a solution to the innovation dilemma: design thinking.

When: Monday, June 14, 3–4 p.m.Where: Holiday Inn Mart Plaza,

Sauganash Ballroom, 14th Floor

You can also meet Roger and talk with him about design thinking, innovation, shareholder value and other topics before his presentation:

When: Monday, June 14, 1–2 p.m.Where: Steelcase Showroom, Suite 300

ECOCRADlE™ SuSTAiNABlE pACkAGiNG BY ECOVATiVEDESiGN llC

Eben Bayer is co-founder and CEO of Ecovative Design, a Green Island, N.Y., biomaterials company; and co-inventor of MycoBond, a patent-pending technology that uses a growing organism to transform agricultural waste products into strong composite materials. These materials can be home composted and require a 10th of the energy to create compared to environmentally-damaging synthetics, like foam. Eben will be in the Steelcase showroom for informal conversations about this innovative approach to packaging and some exciting new projects he is working on with Steelcase.

When: Monday, June 14, 2–3 p.m.Where: Steelcase Showroom, Suite 300

HARDER WORkiNG COCkTAilS

After a long day at NeoCon you deserve a Harder Working Cocktail! Join us in the showroom for beverages and conversation with friends.

When: Monday, June 14, 4–5 p.m.Where: Steelcase Showroom, Suite 300

ENJOY THE CAMpFiRE

When it’s time wind down after a busy day, join us for a beverage around the Campfire.

When: Monday, June 14, 4–6 p.m.Where: Turnstone Showroom, Suite 3-100

CREATiNG 21ST CENTuRY liBRARiES

Come see the most recent Steelcase research on education libraries identifying a shift from information-centered libraries to social-centered ones. This new research will be shared by Elise Valoe, a human-centered design researcher for Steelcase, and Tod Stevens, principal designer for SHW Group. In this session, learn about the key issues driving how libraries are being designed and what activities must be supported in the 21st century. They will also share their experiences on developing and using human-centered design methods to develop solutions. neocon.com/register/

When: Monday, June 14, 4–5 p.m.Where: Check Registration or NeoCon

Directory for room location

DASH BEFORE YOu DiNE

Before hitting the Chicago dining scene, stop by and relax with a dash cocktail. We’re celebrating the introduction of dash™, the sleek new LED task light by Details co-developed with London-based Foster + Partners.

When: Tuesday, June 15, 4–5 p.m.Where: Steelcase Showroom, Suite 300

Don’t Miss ThisThere’s so much to see and do at NeoCon it’s tough to fit it all in. Make sure to save some time for these events you won’t want to miss:

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Welcome to our showroomThis year at neoCon the Steelcase showroom is all about spaces that work harder by working smarter. This map and the application drawings on the following pages are designed to inspire ideas for spaces supporting a broad range of work – whether it’s for “heads-down” concentration or boisterous collaboration sessions, our aim is to help you explore ways your space can work harder.

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2 3

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567

8 9 10

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1415161718

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NeoCon 2010: a Harder Working Space

There’s a new reality today: Organizations are working harder than ever. They need to balance demands to be both lean and creative. To innovate. Be agile.

That means workplaces have to work harder too. Spaces have to be smart about the way real estate is used. They need to foster collaboration. Attract the best and brightest talent and help keep those employees engaged. And help build the organization’s brand and culture.

Organizations know they must support the different ways people really work. Research shows four individual and collective states of work* help employees realize their full innovative and creative potential:

Focusing Concentrating and attending to a specific task; thinking, close study, contemplation, reflection, analysis, and other “heads-down” work best performed without interruption.

Collaborating Working with one or more people to achieve a goal, listening, discussing, presenting information and ideas, brainstorming, etc. Ideally, it’s a democratic process, with all perspectives shared equally to maximize the group’s collective experience and knowledge.

learning Building knowledge through education or experience. Learning happens best by doing, building on what’s already known. When people make their thinking visible to each another, learning is accelerated and becomes an integrated part of an organization’s culture.

Socializing Talking, interacting, networking, mentoring, celebrating, sharing connections that lead to common bonds and building trust. More work is accomplished through these informal social networks than through organizational hierarchies and form a true competitive advantage because of their ability to produce new ideas and innovation.

Harder working spaces are also sustainable, promoting environmental health and the health and productivity of the people who work and live in it. That’s why all of the products you’ll see on the following pages has been designed, produced, and delivered with lifecycle thinking, materials chemistry, and recyclability in mind.

Welcome to the Steelcase NeoCon 2010 showroom!

* The Knowledge-Creating Company, by Ikujiro nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi.

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it’s about: nomadsHighly-mobile nomads need a place to set up camp for a few hours, focus, catch-up on work and with colleagues. They need quick and easy access to technology, so they can plug in fast and get to work. Screens provide moderate visual privacy, but still allow workers to see and be seen so they can network and learn from others. Simple storage elements help people on the move pack and unpack quickly.

1

it’s about: functional groups every day they work together, shifting between individual work and collaboration. They need visual access to each other, their information and even remote teammates. This space fosters spontaneous interactions among the team, promotes side-by-side collaboration. Convenient storage areas allow easy access to materials, provide piling surfaces and become casual seating for collaboration.

2

solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

products featured

• frameone• amia• soto II worktools

products featured

• frameone• soto II worktools

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it’s about: casual collaborationThis spot helps small groups touch base, provide updates or share ideas. It’s open and relaxed, but equipped with technology that gives everyone equal access to information. Collaborative seating lets people move and change positions so it’s easier to stay engaged and connected with the team. Café tables allow people to prepare before joining the meeting, or make notes afterward. Workers of all generations will migrate to this spot for casual collaboration.

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solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

products featured

• media:scape lounge and hd videoconferencing

• i2i• montage• ee6• post and beam with duo

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it’s about: access for allevery element in this space works harder, allowing groups to seam-lessly share information with people in the room and across the globe. The HD videoconferencing enabled media:scape combined with eno interactive whiteboard lets you share content on the board and over the video call by touching a PuCK™. Annotate using the eno board, and everyone can see the notes whether they’re in the room or on videoconference. Seating is agile, so people move around the space easily to make notes or sketch ideas.

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it’s about: being lean and creativeWorkspaces actually can be smaller and smarter at the same time. This 6x8 workstation is a great alternative to the 8x8 cube, providing workers plenty of privacy and storage, while opening up areas for easy collaboration. The spacious desk lets workers manage multiple projects, and layered storage serves double-duty, keeping materials handy and providing privacy. Guests can pull up a stool and use the mid-storage surface for impromptu meetings, and get creative juices flowing.

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solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

products featured

• media:scape task and hd videoconferencing

• cobi• montage• eno• post and beam

products featured

• c:scape• think

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it’s about: resident workersPeople who work at their desk doing standardized, process-driven activities need a space where they can maintain privacy and focus, and be shielded from distractions. This space supports employees who do individual work and occasionally need access to co-workers. Storage elements offer seated-height privacy to help them to stay on task, but visual access allows them to exchange information with co-workers. It’s an efficient space that offers people control of their immediate area and supports their well-being.

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it’s about: continuous connectionThese workers need to stay connected to each other throughout the day, shifting rapidly between their own projects work and communicating with the team. They need to see what others are working on, have quick conversations, and return to individual work. Storage above the desk provides a secondary work surface to share work easily, but also a place to keep materials tucked out of site.

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solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

products featured

• answer• c:scape• think

products featured

• c:scape• think

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it’s about: staying in flowThis workstation provides increased privacy for resident workers to stay focused on their work, yet is open enough for visual connection to team members. The large work surface allows them to spread out and get productive. An adjacent touch-down space provides mobile workers a place to hunker down for a while, get work done and can also function as spot for quick sharing of ideas with co-workers.

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it’s about: keeping in touchWorkers in high-stress jobs (i.e. everyone in today’s economy) need to take a break, swap stories and network with colleagues. Casual collaboration areas located in close proximity to individual work areas promote workers shifting between focused and collaborative work, allow them to learn from others and keep in touch with what’s happening in the organization.

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solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

products featured

• answer• airtouch• universal• leap

products featured

• montage• c:scape• campfire• i2i

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it’s about: “heads-down” workDesigned for specialized work, this area provides just enough privacy to limit distractions and allow people to focus and concentrate. Convenient storage above and below the work surface not only keeps work close at hand, but provides boundaries and visual separation from colleagues. When they need to connect and brainstorm, whiteboards and casual seating let them collaborate quickly and then get back to the task at hand.

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it’s about: project workinnovation work is often project-based. Teams need space to come together, communicate, coordinate and co-create new ideas while staying in flow. This bench application supports project teams who are highly collaborative, very mobile and always multi-tasking. They can work individually with team mates nearby for quick conversations, or shift into meeting mode. Teams can display work, store it for the project duration and access it easily.

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solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

products featured

• montage• ee6• leap• alright

products featured

• flexframe workwall• frameone• ee6• leap

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it’s about: professional servicesIt feels spacious and warm, but every aspect of this space works harder for professionals who need to manage multiple projects and keep information close at hand. Storage is layered above and below the desk with both open and closed options to make it easier to quickly find necessary files and piles, while keeping the space organized and efficient. easy access to power allows workers to plug in multiple mobile devices and stay connected to their colleagues and clients.

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it’s about: intense collaborationThis media:scape TeamTheater™ lets small groups assemble around their information in an open area where everyone can easily share their ideas and stay engaged. Workers simply plug in their laptops or iPads, touch the PuCK and their information is instantly displayed. Another touch of the PuCK allows team mates to toggle quickly between participants’ content, so meetings shift from a presentation focus to collaboration. even an iTouch can be easily connected so teams can share the latest podcast or video. Privacy canopies surround team members and allow them to brainstorm freely, without disrupting others.

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solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

products featured

• ee6• siento

products featured

• media:scape teamtheater

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it’s about: comfort and traditionThis updated version of a traditional private office provides a great space for confidential conversations and concentration. Ample open storage allows visual access to important files and provides a place to reflect identity with personal objects. This functional and flexible space can serve as a place to focus on work and meet with clients.

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it’s about: shared private spacesToday’s private offices are transitioning into places for project work, where team makes can collaborate in a secure environment. Workers shift between different modes of work throughout their day and this shared private office makes it easy to transition from individual work to collaboration. Storage is both open and closed, providing easy access, while keeping work organized. The clean aesthetics balance form and function.

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solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

products featured

• garland• leap

products featured

• ee6• siento

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it’s about: defined zonesThis modern private office is designed in zones to support different modes of work. Open storage and layered work surfaces provide piling spaces for anticipated work. A cushion-top storage unit provides informal seating to encourage collaborating with colleagues (our research found that sitting at 90-degree angle is more comfortable than directly across the desk). Glass doors function as a place to take notes and make ideas visible.

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it’s about: easy accessThis efficient space helps workers sort, pile and file information with ease. Designed for focused individual work, this private office features vertical storage shelves that allow workers to keep all of their information in sight and at their fingertips.

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solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

products featured

• ee6• siento

products featured

• flexframe workwall• ee6• leap lounge

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it’s about: the new power office“Power office” takes on a whole new meaning in this space, designed for quick shifts between individual work and collaboration, without wasting time or space. piling centers in the FlexFrame™ workwall keep project files in plain sight and easy reach (who has time to file anymore?). When it’s time to collaborate, media:scape technology is integrated right in the wall and furniture components, so digitally sharing information with guests and colleagues is easy. even the work surface is cantilevered, so no more bruised knees when gathering with the team.

18

it’s about: walk up and connectCollaboration is a dynamic process that happens throughout a worker’s busy day. This stool-height media:scape setting allows people to simply walk up, connect their laptops, and start sharing information. It becomes a collaborative destination where meetings are inclusive, everyone participates and people build on each other’s ideas in real-time. Information is displayed for everyone to see, share and learn.

19

solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

products featured

• flexframe workwall• siento

products featured

• media:scape stool height• cobi stool• c:scape

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it’s about: mobile workersThese workers are in and out of the office, moving between off-site meetings, internal work sessions and catching up on individual work. They need touch-down areas that allow them to shift rapidly from one work mode to the next, connecting with co-workers for a minute and then getting focused on the work at hand. This efficient footprint allows reallocating underused workspaces into more collaborative areas.

20

it’s about: supporting distance collaborationToday’s workplace is both physical and virtual, with collaboration across distances and time zones. This media:scape TeamTheater™ with HD videoconferencing creates an immersive new collaborative experience. users in the front row can easily share digital information with team members in the room and those working remotely. Ledges accommodate a second row of tiered seating enabling others to easily join the meeting, participate, and leave when desired. It’s ok to be inclusive – this formation allows up to 12 people to be viewed during a videoconference.

21

solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

solution supports

lOW HiGH

focusing collaborating

learning socializing

products featured

• answer• duo• universal• leap

products featured

• media:scape teamtheater• hd videoconferencing

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n e O C O n 2 0 10 TURNSTONe

At Turnstone we believe that what works in your life should also live at work. We all have our favorite places in our life and, thanks to the campfire collection, you can now work the way you live. Our showroom is inspired by how small emerging companies think and live – actually it is designed like a small company using Campfire and Tour. This year’s focus is on their favorite work moods: to meet, mingle and escape. These are fundamental traits of entrepreneurial companies – to hang out informally, connect, and be seen – totally approachable but focused enough to get inspired.

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Details is showcasing their sophisticated, iconic new LeD task light, dash™ throughout the front of the showroom. The result of a co-development effort with London-based Foster and Partners, dash provides a comforting soft pool of light where workers need it most.

The rest of the showroom connects the dots between the workplace and workers’ physical, social and cognitive needs – critical to ensuring workers are empowered, happy, and healthy in and out of the workplace. Details leads the industry in this holistic approach to workers’ well-being.

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n e O C O n 2 0 10 NURTURe

At nurture, we’re committed to fulfilling better experiences and better outcomes for patients, caregivers, and partners in care wherever care happens with research-based, insight-led design. This year, enjoy nurture’s largest product launch effort to date ranging from sophisti-cated seating lines to technology support. All this featured in a completely remodeled, health care-realistic, design-forward showroom. Come see the shape of things to come at nurture.

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The Coalesse showroom is focused on applications and environments that foster social connections through inspirational and inviting settings, all focused on supporting the knowledge creation process.

new Intros: SW_1; a comprehensive new conferencing collection for the creative class. Designed by Scott Wilson and MInIMAL, it is a clear alternative to the generic conference room. It’s designed to enhance social connectivity, help foster collaboration, and provide participants the freedom to change postures and positions while remaining entirely engaged in their meetings.

enea Lottus is a new café collection designed by Lievore Altherr Molina for eneA of Spain.

enhancements to the emu indoor/outdoor collection, highlighting our new indoor cushions are emu Ivy additions, and emu Shade, our new outdoor umbrella.

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Whether it’s a brand new solution or an enhancement to a current product, this year’s offerings at NeoCon by the Steelcase family of companies will have something for everyone. Education. Health care. The corporate world. Check it out.

What’s New at NeoCon

pg. 41

pg. 53

pg. 52

pg. 55

pg. 54

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In 2008, we introduced media:scape and demonstrated how through the integration of furniture and technology we could reshape the way people collaborate. This year media:scape allows you to connect people and their information not only face-to-face but also across distance through the integration of High Definition Videoconferencing systems. The integration of these products makes both media:scape and HDVC systems more powerful tools that can boost collaboration and help teams excel.

Pairing media:scape with HD videoconferencing (HDVC) and an eno interactive whiteboard helps teams share information in real-time around the globe. using eno to display, control, and annotate computer content – paired with media:scape and HDVC – enables teams to interact with documents, spreadsheets, and web sites instantaneously from anywhere. now, teams can quickly connect with their information and each other from across the table to across the world.

media:scape + RoomWizard™

media:scape combined with the new RoomWizard allows teams to schedule collaborative sessions in workspaces – helping people manage their space and time. This thoughtful integration enables teams to schedule a media:scape setting conveniently from a computer, mobile phone, or from the new RoomWizard’s 7" interactive touch screen. As a result, media:scape collaborative work settings can be managed quickly and space utilization can be measured simply, eliminating scheduling conflicts and saving valuable time.

The new RoomWizard is completely redesigned with a focus on usability and universal design. 

Steelcase is also introducing its first mobile app, SnapTag™, which connects whiteboard captures with metadata tags provided by the RoomWizard.  

even the installation has been simplified with new features such as P.O.e. (Power over ethernet), and versatile mounting options that thoughtfully integrate RoomWizard with architectural and furniture products.

media:scape®

A

B

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n e O C O n 2 0 10 STeelCaSe eDUCaTION SOlUTIONS

Introducing node. For the many modes of learning.

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WE WENT BACk TO SCHOOl

When it came to designing furniture for today’s classroom, we didn’t go back to the drawing board. We went back to school. And guess what we found? Classrooms stuck in another era. We found rooms designed for passive, one-way learning, tight rows of desks and chairs that inhibit movement and interaction, and instructors confined to the front of the room, where there are few opportunities to connect with students. All in all, we found cramped, static spaces that have little in common with today’s students.

In order to keep pace, the classroom has to change. Research points to the fact that learning is enhanced when it is social and active. The traditional, lecture-based “sage on the stage” model has its place. However, a single approach to teaching is no longer enough. educators are now turning to multiple pedagogies to support multiple learning styles. Students expect their surroundings to support co-learning, co-creation, and open

discussion. not only does the research indicate this, but it’s what you find when you observe young people inside (and outside) the classroom. They’re hands on, tackling a variety of tasks at once, leading to the demand for flexible classrooms.

The node chair is the first product from Steelcase education Solutions, a dedicated group within Steelcase partnering with educational institutions to design products that meet the needs of today’s students and educators. The node classroom chair supports a variety of student learning styles by allowing quick and seamless transitions from one mode to the next, creating flexible and barrier-free classrooms. The node chair makes it possible to move from lecture mode to team-based learning, and back, without interruption, which according to research, enables deeper learning.

Move. The node chair is highly mobile—a quality that translates directly into classroom performance. After all, a lesson plan can be carried out more effectively when seating is arranged and rearranged effortlessly. Traditional classroom seating has limited mobility, putting the burden on educators to adapt. The node chair, however, accommodates any teaching style.

The swivel seat is another design advantage. It gives students the freedom to shift focus throughout the room. And, because the personal work surface swivels in tandem, books, laptops, and other information remain at their fingertips. It’s subtle, but clear sightlines to the instructor, fellow students, and whiteboards can dramatically enhance interaction.

Store. There’s been very little thought given to where, or how, students are to stow their backpacks and other personal items until now. The base of the node chair provides a unique storage solution, removing clutter from classroom aisles, allowing easier

transitions between teaching modes. even the arms on node serve a storage purpose. Aside from being a place to rest your elbows, they are designed to hold a backpack or bag, keeping personal items safe, secure, and close at hand.

Fit. no two students are alike. With that in mind, the node chair has been designed with an adjustable work surface, providing a perfect fit for students of all shapes and sizes. The node chair’s work surface accommodates both left- and right-handed students. And, unlike traditional classroom seating, node work surface has room for laptops, mobile devices, textbooks, water bottles, whatever students bring to class.

node will begin to ship in july and is available in 12 colors and can be ordered with and without a personal work surface. Steelcase education Solutions is actively partnering with high schools and major universities, including university of Michigan, to test the new node chair in classrooms.

Read how node, along with other products from Steelcase education Solutions, is reinventing the classroom experience in this month’s issue of Metropolis Magazine. metropolismag.com

node™

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Maximize space efficiency with the FrameOne bench, a simple product line consisting of bench sections that can be linked together to create a variety of applications. The functional rail lifts worktools off the surface and power is integrated into the system, easily supporting the technology needs of both mobile and resident workers. As teams shrink and grow, FrameOne’s recessed legs provide workers with the flexibility they need for both compression and collaboration.

FrameOne™

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Want your space to work harder for you? Integrate FlexFrame workwalls in private offices, team spaces or project rooms to create a range of applications, including high-tech media spaces, high-density storage walls and visual display areas.

By seamlessly integrating technology, FlexFrame Workwall enhances collaboration. Smart-storage solutions help to improve workflow. used alone or integrated with other products, FlexFrame workwalls are easily reconfigurable to adapt to changing needs.

A combination of good design, comfort and affordability, Reply is a global family of seating that includes task, sled and four-leg chairs. Its approachable european design is perfectly scaled for harder working spaces and offers a range of innovative designs,

both mesh and upholstered, to allow individuals and organizations to customize their workspace.

Whatever you ask of your chair, Steelcase has a Reply.

FlexFrame™ Workwall

Reply™

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As the office moves to a more sustainable environment, lighting can have an immediate impact in the reduction of its carbon footprint. This low energy consuming LeD luminaire offers best in class light output to the work surface where optimal light is necessary for daily tasks. The light features a continuous light array that eliminates multiple shadows frequently found in LeD fixtures. Infinite dimming allows the user to adjust the amount of light to their own personal preference. This elegant light is also versatile: mounting to c:scape, FrameOne, ee6, and SOTO rail.

The LeD Shelf Light is an energy-saving light source alternative to fluorescent lighting and does not require harmful heavy metals to produce illlumination. Infinite dimming allows the user to adjust the amount of light to their own personal preference. The light casts a warm, pleasing light onto the work surface, but also onto the back panel eliminating unwanted shadows. The light features a continuous light array that eliminates multiple shadows frequently found in LeD fixtures delivering superior light output.

new solutions for elective elements 6 were developed to address the technology demands of today’s office. They include:

• new service modules and open hutches that can be used to create private or collaborative spaces.

• slip-fit supports to accommodate variations in architecture and to create wall-to-wall fit in a private office.

• new right-sized components: 18"D storage and supports to maximize real estate efficiency, and new storage heights to create workstations at 38"H, 45"H and 55"H.

• new lower-storage components provide an integrated channel to route and distribute power; fully-wired open plan workstations can now be created without panels to accommodate technology.

Elective Elements® 6

lED personal Task light lED Shelf light

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With even more options for storage and privacy, c:scape can now accommodate a wider range of workers and work styles, all while enabling connections in the workplace – a perfect collaborative solution designed to support people and the businesses they work for.

new storage options include the Tower and High Ped (A), designed to integrate seamlessly while continuing to maintain the product’s light, open aesthetic. Both sit 3" off the floor and feature identical glides, integral pulls and multi-paint and veneer front options.

More privacy/boundary options: for users who require a little more privacy, the c:scape beam can now attach to an Answer or Montage panel (B) to create a boundary along high traffic areas. A new 24" screen will offer more privacy between users and adjacent spaces.

Still like the comfort of a panel, but love c:scape’s desking and storage? You can now integrate the two environments into one great solution by using freestanding c:scape components within a panel wrapped environment using Montage and Answer panels.

The Move chair will soon be available with a non-upholstered seat and 12 color options for the seat and back. The five existing color options will remain and seven new colors will be added. This fun-loving chair is even more fun with mix-and-match colors on seats and backs to create multiple (well, 144, to be exact) color combinations.

even award-winning designs can get better. The new premium finishes, upholstered outer back and upholstered leather arm caps provide options for upscale and executive environments. With clean and simple lines at a mid-level price point. Amia features Steelcase’s Alive seating™ technology, enabling dynamic movement, user control and a strategic approach to sustainability.

The Amia enhancements will be available Fall 2010.

A B

c:scape®

The Move™ Chair Amia®

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A knife-edge profile is now available on universal Work Surfaces, creating a thinner and lighter looking surface. universal Knife-edge Work Surfaces feature a thin profile front edge with 3mm banding. Available in shapes for panel mounted and freestanding applications. Front edge, sides and back are finished with PVC-free banding when any Steelcase solid color is selected or with a choice of seven wood grains.

Qt PRO, a direct-field, software enabled, sound masking, music, and paging system, helps address rising noise levels in the office by adding background sound to an environment in order to make existing sounds and speech less intelligible. Designed and built by acoustics innovator Cambridge Sound Management, Qt PRO™ Sound Masking reduces noise levels. Recent studies show that noise is among workers’ top complaints, and that workers feel that their productivity would improve if their office was less noisy.

Steelcase has expanded the universal storage line with the addition of the 1.5-High Lateral and Sliding Door Bin:

universal 1.5-High Lateral (A): available in a variety of open and closed configurations, provides the user with multi-zone storage allowing for binder, hanging folder and piling surfaces at a height which allows for comfortable guest seating in collaborative environments. It’s a perfect solution for smaller spaces and users who no longer have the need for intense archival storage within their workstation.

universal Sliding Door Bin (B): the smooth gliding, lockable door allows for both open and closed storage and allows designers to provide users with storage when working with lower panel heights; bin supports piling zones, room for display, and binder storage; locking doors ensures sensitive information stays secure.

A B

universal knife-edge Work Surface

universal Storage & Sliding Door Bin

Qt pRO™ Soundmasking, paging and Music

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Answer supports the creation of workstations that encourage and support collaboration while still balancing the need for privacy and control. new enhancements to Answer System panels address these needs as well as provide a fresh, clean aesthetic that has more of a residential look.

enhancements include:

Frameless Glass Screens (A) and Spanning Windows (B) that can span one or more panels to encourage communication and provide access to natural light.

Skins to the Floor (C), Spanning Top Caps (D) and Plain Base Trims provide a unified and architectural look.

A

B

C

D

Answer®

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enhancements to the Steelcase surface materials offering allow for a broader range of choice across pattern, texture, price and color – all while being thoughtful to people and the environment.

STEElCASE SuRFACES - VERTiCAl SuRFACE FABRiC ADDiTiONS AND ENHANCEMENTS:

pRiCE GROup 1

Charm (A) – made using 100% recycled polyester, offers a finely textured, solid pattern in a light, neutral palette.

Tinsel (B) – uses a bright yarn to showcase its subtle linear pattern and is made using 100% recycled polyester.

Optic (C) – made from 100% recycled polyester, provides a subtle, linear pattern. Textural elements are added to enhance the pattern’s visual.

Rhythm (D) – made using 100% recycled polyester. The pattern offers a textured, multi-colored option.

Alloy (E) – made using 100% polyester (antimony-free yarn*), is a refined solid pattern designed to match many of our paint colors.

*Yarn used in making this material contains less than 100 parts per million of antimony.

pRiCE GROup 2

Flip (F) – Three new colors have been added to three of our Flip patterns (Orbit, Plain jane and TexHex)—Kona is a classic black option, Briquette a neutral beige and Blizzard is a clean, crisp white.

STEElCASE SuRFACES – SEATiNG FABRiC ADDiTiONS AND ENHANCEMENTS:

Buzz2 (G) – this popular Price Group 1 Seating fabric, is now available as a multi-use textile. The offering has been re-colored to allow for new architectural options and several new seating colors as well. Additionally, the content has been converted to a more sustainable alternative – 100% polyester, using antimony-free yarn.

Bo peep (H) (coming soon) – a new Steelcase Surfaces seating fabric made using 100% wool. The pattern provides a rich aesthetic that transfers to sophisticated, solid color options at a very reasonable price grade.

SElECT SuRFACES – NEW pROGRAM AND SEATiNG FABRiC ADDiTiONS:

Steelcase has also partnered with “best-in-class” companies to use their products on our furniture. Product testing, yardage calculations and pricing have all been done for you. They include:

Designtex (i) – new to Select Surfaces are 14 seating fabrics developed using the Designtex extreme Performance and environmental Design principles. Many other Designtex fabrics previously offered as a graded in program have also been incorporated into Select Surfaces.

pollack (J) – A new offering under Select Surfaces is a collection of seating textiles from Pollack. Included is a selection of fabrics from the alphaPOLLACK collection. These fabrics are a result of a unique relationship between Pollack and Alpha Workshops - a not-for-profit design studio located in new York City that trains and employs people living with HIV/AIDS in the decorative arts.

Surface Materials

A

F

B

G

C

H

D

i

E

J

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We’re continuing our commitment to deliver products that contribute to a sustainable future for the planet and its people. As we consider the impact of our products throughout their lifecycle, we continue to uncover ways to innovate and make things better.

pVC-FREE EDGE BANDiNG (A) & pVC-FREE pOWER SOluTiONS (B)

As part of our continued commitment to be PVC-free, Steelcase is now shipping all 17 active solid colors and 7 wood grain 3mm and 1mm edge bands as standard on 12 product lines. This expands the offering announced last year from c:scape, media:scape, elective elements 6 to include universal Work surfaces, Details AdjusTables, Kick, Currency, Groupwork and more. Steelcase is using a proprietary polyolefin blend material to replace PVC in its work surface edge banding. This material has been approved by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) for use in Cradle to Cradle CertifiedCM products.

Most power solutions now offer a PVC-free option.

BASAlT pAiNT (C)

Watching paint dry can be fun when you’re in a Steelcase plant.

We collect over-spray material (materials not used during the coating process) and combine it with resin, texturing agents,

and pigments. The result: Basalt, a virtually VOC-free powder coat paint that substantially increases paint usage efficiency and virtually eliminates waste powder.

Basalt, a very soft, very dark grey, can be used wherever we use paint today, and is offered as a textured finish. The result is a viable alternative that utilizes 85% recycled scrap material.

ECOVATiVE ECOCRADlE™ pACkAGiNG (D)

As part of our strategic packaging initiative, starting in june we are using a new material, known as ecoCradle™ packaging. Grown and made with renewable resources such as cotton seed hulls and mushroom roots.

It requires very little energy to produce yet provides the cushioning and strength of traditional synthetic material — without the hydrofluorocarbon/non-biodegradable downside. When no longer needed, the packaging can be composted and adds nutrients to the soil. In some cases it becomes part of the earth again in as little as 45 days.

A

C

B

D

Staying the course for human and environmental health

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n e O C O n 2 0 10 TURNSTONe

Inspiration comes from experiences and sensations in everyday life. And life isn’t restricted to desks and chairs so work shouldn’t be either. Sometimes the best way to get things done is to curl up on the couch with a laptop or to meet friends at the café. Inspired by favorite indoor and outdoor places, Campfire creates a familiar place for people to gather and collaborate, comfortably and informally.

This is Turnstone at its core - smart and simple solutions that bring out the best in entrepreneurial teams and companies.

Whatever the day brings, you can be assured there will always be favorite places to help make the most of it. Places to escape and focus, to mingle and mind-meld, to meet and make it happen. And enough options to have a favorite place for every day of the week.

Campfire™

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The new dash personal task light from Details lets users easily position light to where it’s needed. Its double arm design gives users up to 32" of horizontal reach and 21" of vertical reach

and 360-degree rotating head gives users the ability to select between direct or indirect light. dash also includes a dimming option that allows users to adjust light intensity.

dash™ personal light

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n e O C O n 2 0 10 NURTURe

Pocket is nurture’s new family of mobile workstations, designed to support the active work of health care professionals by accommo-dating both the demands of the task at hand as well as supportive technology. Pocket encompasses three key design principles:

Less is more Accommodate changing technology People do things differently… so let them.

Pocket has a small footprint, is virtually noiseless and easily handles a wide variety of technology – laptops, tablets, monitors, CPus, all-in-one – even pen & paper. Moveable magnetic acces-sories along with non-prescribed surfaces and light storage are readily transformed to the work process of the user.

nurture’s Tava offers a smart, beautiful collection of seating and more, with a statement of line that includes: guest chairs, lounge seating, benches, tables, and complementary casegood products designed for health care environments. Tava addresses the need for beautiful design with appropriate function, promoting soothing atmospheres and bringing hospitality elements into health care spaces to help reduce stress.

With a high level of fit and finish, Tava features an expressed use of mitered ash wood, carefully designed from all sides and angles. The entire collection meets the functional rigors of today’s 24/7 health care environment with a refined, transitional style, which features clean lines with a comfortable and robust construction.

pocket™

Tava™

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enhancements to the indoor-outdoor emu collection include indoor cushions, a new conference table and new side chairs for emu Ivy.

The new emu indoor cushions help bring the outdoors indoor to invigorate social settings in unconventional ways and add a high degree of comfort to the entire emu collection.

The new emy Ivy enhancements extend the product to support outdoor and indoor meetings and dining. The table is supported with stacking side chairs to create a unified aesthetic.

enea Lottus, a family of chairs and tables for both public and private areas, addresses the increased trend for standing-height meeting areas and touch-down points, as well as the need for more social settings that support the knowledge-creation process.

SW_1 is a comprehensive new conferencing collection for the creative class. Designed by Scott Wilson and MInIMAL, it is a clear alternative to the generic conference room. It’s designed to

enhance social connectivity, help foster collaboration, and provide participants the freedom to change postures and positions while remaining entirely engaged in their meetings.

SW_1™

Emu Enea lottus café collection

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j u n e 2 0 10

COOpER-HEWiTT FEATuRES COBi

The triennial “Why Design now?” exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, national Design Museum in new York celebrates “the most innovative designs at the center of contemporary culture.” Steelcase’s Cobi chair (opposite page), which introduced the new category of collaborative seating in 2008, is featured in the show, which runs until january 9. http://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/Why-Design-now/

ROGER THAT

If you enjoyed the Q&A with Roger Martin, dean of the university of Toronto Rotman School of Management, check out his discussion last fall at The School of Design Strategics at Parsons The new School for Design in new York on design thinking online at youtube.com/watch?v=vKrC1nhwC5u.

DESiGN READiNG

The design blog by The Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt, national Design Museum, online at http://blog.cooperhewitt.org/, is among several worth reading. Besides links to a dozen other design blogs, it includes a story on Cooper-Hewitt Design Watch members visiting Steelcase to learn how media:scape® is changing the notion of workspaces as collaboration destinations.

ONliNE WiND pOWER

As a follow up to our recent focus on sustainability, you can see a live data feed of the Wege Wind energy Farm, provided by Steelcase, at work from Panhandle, Texas. Through May, the farm had generated enough power for over a thousand homes. steelcase.com/en/company/sustainability/pages/wege-wind-farm.aspx.

ROAD WARRiORS NEED SpACE, TOO

A recent Steelcase study of the hospitality industry found some real needs for harder working road warrior spaces:

• better business workspaces can dramatically improve the biz guest experience• guests working in small groups of twos or threes need support for collaborative work• business meetings in hotels can be much better facilitated• settings with a range of privacy can greatly enhance guest productivity and comfort

Learn more on the findings, and design concepts for improving space for business travelers, at steelcase.com

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cobi® chair by Steelcase

featured in the National Design Triennial: Why Design Now?

The Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design MuseumMay 14, 2010 – January 9, 2011

New York, New York

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The magazine of workplace research, insight, and trends

360steelcase.com