Purchase on account for schools, institutions, and businesses: simply place an order “on account” in the shop or request a quote here.
Purchase on account for schools, institutions, and businesses: simply place an order “on account” in the shop or request a quote here.
The development and design team from wp_westermann products is behind the concept of wd3_spatial design. wp_westermann products relies on the Stuttgart design and development office for the entire product development process, from conception and construction to design and product communication. The 758divide, flomo, motu and Xbrick® product series developed for wp_westermann products were presented at Orgatec 2022, the leading trade fair for modern working environments. Under the slogan “in good company”, the new product and space solutions that support agile work processes were presented. Experts, manufacturers and designers met in Cologne, presented product and space solutions and provided impulses for new ways of working. The focus was on the needs and requirements in the work context that have arisen during the pandemic. Solutions for hybrid working methods, furniture for the home office, room divider systems and collaborative areas were to be discovered at Orgatec. From individual workstations to team-oriented creative spaces to communicative and movement-promoting places, wp_westermann products invited visitors to immerse themselves in their adaptive working world.
A minimalist trade show concept was developed in response to the uncertainty surrounding planning due to the pandemic. The concept addressed factors such as uncertainty regarding whether Orgatec would take place, material availability, shipping times, and a limited budget through a streamlined approach. The design language took the form of a resource-efficient and minimalist product and brand universe, which was reflected in the design of the furniture, the trade show booth, and the choice of materials. The language of form and color created a fluid exhibition concept that bridged the brand, the workplace, and the adaptive tools. The space provided room for what seemed particularly important: creativity and communication. Shelves and room dividers on casters, height-adjustable desks, and furniture designed to be slotted together, connected, and built stimulated a sense of play and encouraged visitors to discover the space through their own interaction and to design new environments.
These are the customers at wp_westermann products, the users of the furniture and the products themselves. As a product division of Westermann, wp_westermann products, with the fourth generation of the family business, combines the development and manufacture of adaptive furniture and room systems with over eighty years of experience in carpentry and interior design. The reference to craftsmanship was represented by the “Show-Frame” construction made of wood. Tradition and craftsmanship came to life in serially produced products with a high degree of customizability. The color scheme used analogies to typical design principles and machines from the craft industry. Overall, the young brand exuded a reduced, down-to-earth and relaxed overall image in times of uncertainty.
The wp_westermann products exhibition area was a place for meetings, interaction and exchange, and allowed company presentation and culture to merge into a three-dimensional experience of brand values. The exhibition stand was an interaction area that created an inspiring and changeable working environment with a stimulating atmosphere. As flexible as the products themselves, the 100m² exhibition stand also impressed with plenty of movement, promoted active interaction and stimulated exchange. The central exhibition module was the show frame for the presentation of the 758divide room system and the flomo wall sliding wall system. Resembling the Japanese Torii, an architectural entrance gate, it formed the entrance to the wp_westermann products brand world. The show frame was constructed using squared timber in a reduced wooden design. The squared timber framework formed a stable framework around which the individual workspaces were structured. Based on the six different working styles, places were opened up for meeting, exchanging, concentrating, doing, moving and presenting.
The working environment for wp_westermann products, conceived in the magazine “adaptive workspaces” and the brochure “adaptive tools”, was reflected 1:1 in the exhibition stand. The guiding principle “in good company” could be experienced in three-dimensional form at Orgatec.
The product division wp_westermann products develops furniture series that are compatible with one another, mobile and flexible, and thus allow for simple applications and transformations of the room. From the smallest furniture to room divider systems, wp_westermann products offers solutions for flexible work spaces.
At the front corner of the stand, various seating islands made of colorful Xbrick® invited people to linger and encouraged them to assemble their own furniture. The Xbrick grandstand was used as a seating gallery for presentations. The three different heights of the multifunctional stool demonstrated how different sitting and standing heights can be achieved.
The X-table, which was converted into a table tennis table, provided even more activity and play, encouraging visitors to actively compete.
Everything that is needed at the workplace can be ideally stored in the mobile flomo train organization trolley. The shelf on wheels has several shelves and offers space for work materials, and can be used as an acoustically effective room divider or pinnable presentation wall. With the practical hook-in retaining plates, a flomo board can be attached to either side of the shelf. The mobile room divider flomo train S is another functional and versatile companion in everyday work. Equipped with acoustic felt fillings, it provides visual and acoustic insulation.
The little brother of the train series is the flomo trolley. A compact piece of organization furniture that is also a trolley or practical standing table. With its drawers, it offers plenty of space to store work materials or to keep them ready for workshops and creative sessions.
The mobile secretary on wheels, flomo labcase, provides a micro-workstation where it is needed, shielded and, if desired, acoustically effective. The flomo labcase is the place for concentrated work phases or for the next video conference. The manual crank allows you to switch between sitting and standing desk work, thus ensuring movement in the open space and comfort in the home office. At the end of the day, the table top can be folded up so that the work disappears from view.
The flomo wall turns the flomo series into a room system. With the floor and ceiling frame construction, open spaces are zoned and create different work zones. The two-sided attachment of the flomo board whiteboard creates drawing surfaces, pin boards and presentation boards at eye level. By running sliding walls in parallel, teams have the opportunity to shield themselves, organize themselves or create ideal environments for creative work phases and workshops. Changing teams exchange ideas and can organize themselves in new and different ways again and again. The easy transport of the flomo board enables interdisciplinary teams to hold meetings, brainstorming sessions and presentations both indoors and outdoors.
With the 758divide room system, wp_westermann products creates entire room structures and divides open office landscapes into units. The glass wall system was presented in the show frame and combined with the flomo wall. The show frame demonstrated how open spaces can be zoned and how teams of varying sizes can be accommodated in the office. The 758 divide system was also equipped with acoustically effective broadband compact absorbers, which ensure improved room acoustics.
The product portfolio and toolkit for adaptive working environments from wp_westermann products showed at Orgatec how rooms for work can be subdivided, furnished with flexible products and thus create tools for agile teams that organize themselves independently and develop creatively.
Research into circular design approaches doesn’t stop at Xbrick either. At Orgatec, for example, a prototype of the Xbrick multifunctional stool made from mushroom-based material was presented, demonstrating the extent to which this bio-based material can be used in the furniture industry. In the Materials4Future special exhibition area, the Xbrick grown—made from hemp shavings and mycelium—was featured among forward-looking material research projects and products made from organic composites. The Materials4Future area was curated by Sascha Peters, who heads the future agency HauteInnovation. The future agency publishes news and concepts related to material innovations, sustainable materials, new manufacturing techniques, and smart technologies.
At the stand itself, Xbrick grown made its appearance in the show train. The flomo train, a flexible shelf, was transformed into a mobile exhibition showcase covered with a printed textile banner. Both sides of the show train were filled with future concepts for Xbrick. On one side, Xbrick grown presented itself with various mycelium material samples and surface tests on mushroom-based material samples. The other side showed the COM’MOVE concept, which was developed as part of Dorothee Bitter’s master’s thesis and deals with the future requirements of work culture. The work environments designed for creative processes were visualized with Xbrick and a future image was created that provides an outlook on the future of collaboration.
Der physische Arbeitsort wurde um die digitale Dimension erweitert und fand sich im Konzept flomo labcase studiolo wieder. Das Konzept entstand in Kooperation mit der halbautomaten Kommunikationsdesign GmbH. Studiolo ist ein mobiler multimedialer Mikroarbeitsplatz mit Greenscreen für das Homeoffice, Office und Remote Work. Als technische Set Up Ergänzung zum flomo labcase lässt sich ein hybrider Arbeitsplatz für Videokonferenzen einrichten. Der Greenscreen rückseitig des Sitzplatzes schafft einen digital gebrandeten Raum zur dreidimensionalen Marken- und Produktpräsentation. Damit lassen sich interaktive Produktpräsentationen abhalten sowie Produkte, 3D-Objekte, Videos und Materialien gezeigt werden, ohne selbst hinter diesen zu verschwinden. Die mobile Stromversorgungseinheit Xbrick power sichert die Versorgung von digitalen Endgeräten und ermöglicht das flexible Arbeiten von unterschiedlichen Orten aus.
The booth concept was based on an environmentally responsible approach, emphasizing the mindful handling, use, and application of materials. Even during transportation and setup, care was taken to produce as little waste as possible and to use materials sorted by type. As a result, the display frame, back wall, and booth structure were designed as reusable units. Four-meter-long, single-fabric “Moon” textile panels from Rökona—manufactured using a special knitting process and without chemical finishes—covered the back walls of the booth. The textile panels are reused for brand communication and are transformed into shoulder bags. By choosing not to cover the trade show floor, an urban atmosphere was created. After the trade show, the rough-cut lumber from the Show-Frame was returned to the production process and used in the next interior construction project.