Continuous innovation: Brunner Design News 2024

The fact that the office is changing is of course nothing new to you, dear architecture and interior design professionals. Ever since work related to knowledge, creativity and information has existed, humans have been reflecting on the ideal environment to carry out such work – sometimes more from the employer’s perspective, considering productivity and duty of care, and sometimes from the perspective of employees and their need for individuality.

In the age of remote, location-independent communication, a fundamental reevaluation of the traditional office is imperative. For the majority of the working population, working from home has become the norm – at least one to just under two days per week on average according to a survey conducted by the Munich-based ifo Institute last year, covering 34 countries. What does this mean for the office, the company headquarters, the beating heart of a company and its various locations? Evidently, office spaces are being utilised differently. They are more demand-oriented, flexible and targeted. At the same time, there is a growing realisation that the office is a social place; a space for networking.

This is also reflected in furniture and the way workspaces are designed today. German furniture manufacturer Brunner, for instance, is launching a range of new innovative products this year that reflect an increasing focus on agile working, which you may discover below. 

Let's start with sitting, or more precisely, active sitting. With ray work, Brunner has added a new type of universal swivel chair to the successful ray collection designed by jehs+laub. The notably slim plastic frame, with its gentle contours, has been adopted in a slightly modified form. In addition to an upholstered version, the mesh covering creates an even more minimalist character with an equally high level of comfort. A new development by the seating furniture experts at Brunner is the synchronised mechanism and automatic weight adjustment, which allows the seat and backrest to be subtly tilted depending on weight distribution – without the need to operate inconvenient levers. Therefore, the seat height remains the only component that can be deliberately locked.

On that note, because height adjustability has proven to be an essential requirement, the existing ray conference swivel chairs have now integrated this feature. In every version, either with a low, medium or high backrest, it's possible to adjust to the desired position for meetings at eye level.

In addition, Brunner presents an  aesthetically pleasing and highly flexible innovation with foild. Behind the name lies a clever partitioning solution that the manufacturer developed in collaboration with the Swiss architecture and design studio atelier oï. The room divider can be used to separate areas with either linear or circular elements – practical for dynamic working environments, as well as for public and care settings where private areas need to be created quickly. They can be assembled, set up and stowed away just as quickly. Ingeniously simple, the partitions consist of a delicate aluminium frame, a few vertical fixing rods and a hanging, opaque and acoustically effective textile curtain. The length of each screen can be continuously adjusted, with a height of either 160 or 190 centimetres.

Flexible configurations

Employers have long since internalised the importance of informal meetings between employees, which often take place in lounge areas or other spaces for smaller pitch presentations and gatherings. An already established response from Brunner is boards – mobile shelving and presentation furniture with matching multifunctional stools that was developed in collaboration with osko+deichmann. A new feature is the functional extension of the shelving unit into a wardrobe or multimedia trolley, where screens with up to 65 inches in diagonal can be installed. Also, the stools are now equipped with smart-braking castors so that these don’t roll away when seated. Thanks to the locking function, they are now stable when used as an easel for a new magnetic whiteboard. 

Thanks to optional castors, the new compact armchairs of the pads lounge series, which is also from jehs+laub, can be moved very easily. The design studio has also added a sofa to the collection, as well as the optional addition of a side table to the armchairs. Agile and casual meet functional and comfortable. 

Always on the move

For the new basic row table series from Roland Schmidt Design, quick and effortless handling was again considered a basic requirement. Designed for environments where events and seminars of various kinds take place, the stackable folding table scores points for its lightness and discreet castors on the legs, making it much easier for just one person to position it in the room or stack it on the transport trolley.

The only thing missing for a good work-life balance in everyday office life is physical well-being and contact with the outside world, daylight and nature. Brunner provides solutions for both from the Italian design studio Archirivolto: first, the fully upholstered invite chair for cosy company cafés or coffee corners, and second, the new crona steel outdoor tables, which complete the existing series in a stylish manner.

A new material innovation

Finally, there is an exciting material update: the revolutionary Kvadrat Really table from Danish textile manufacturer Kvadrat is now also available for Brunner’s nate, nate s, boards and break bistro and bar table series, making these even more sustainable. The fully circular panel material is made from textile waste and bio-based, recycled binders and thus serves as a signal for resource-conscious product development and reflects the ongoing sustainability efforts at Brunner. 

The home office may have become a popular alternative place to work. But our generation is only just beginning to realise the potential of offices. 

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