#Pedraliworkspaces at Orgatec 2022

The last few years and, most recently, the pandemic has led to the need to rethink the workspaces with new cross, hybrid areas that are far from the static traditional office. The new workspace is no longer just a work area, but a community space within which to foster human relations and sharing. The aim is to create more welcoming environments characterised by higher quality and aesthetic care; spaces that can be quickly and easily reconfigured, with modular partitions between individual workstations and collaborative areas.

Inside, the furniture may be customised and equipped with latest-generation mechanisms that adapt to the user’s needs, not just for comfort, but also to give the users complete control over their workspace, improving their emotional well-being, and stimulating creativity and teamwork.

 

Pedrali proposed its vision of work, starting from the observation that what only yesterday had seemed a forecast for the future, is today the new normal. The workspace is evolving in an increasingly dynamic and multi-faceted manner and furniture is one of the key elements in ensuring its multi-functionality. In recent years, we have seen an acceleration in digitisation, also in the work sphere, which has led to an exponential increase in the amount of time spent at our desks. The trend to meet and travel for quick meetings or for training or conference purposes has been replaced by virtual meetings. Consequently, office furniture is evolving to achieve better performance, with the well-being of people as the primary objective. Furniture must be modular, functional and sustainable, to create work environments that can be easily customised and tailored to the needs of the moment. Meeting rooms can be converted according to need into separate workstations or informal meeting areas.

 

Here, sound absorbing and quality materials play a major role with furnishings acting as niches ensuring acoustic and visual privacy. In executive offices and boardrooms, furnishings say something about the people who live them daily, conveying professionalism, while also creating a cosy, welcoming space characterised by high-quality aesthetics. There is also an increasing demand for breakout areas as catalysts for socialisation; collaborative spaces where you can take a break and relax with colleagues. Such areas create a sense of identity and community which has become fundamental in recent years.

 

Great attention is also paid to company restaurants, which are becoming increasingly attractive and fitted with every comfort. These bright, soundproofed areas are configured according to the actual needs of use, ranging from daily staff meals to occasional catering for guests. But the evolutions in the workspaces are also extending to the home office, where furniture and furnishings need to integrate discreetly and be easily configured. Moreover, furniture solutions also play the important role of supporting flexible work, where people partly work remotely and partly in the office. A new scenario that emerges influencing the design choices in the office plan is the increasing focus on outdoor areas. As a result, we are witnessing a rapid increase in open-air areas in which to work or relax, places where people want to go.

 

In such settings, the furniture needs to be comfortable and weather resistant. Thus, the office remains an indispensable element of the business culture, but in a hybrid balance between city, business space and home office, conveying a sense of belonging, while also fostering continuous collaboration and interaction.

 

Within this ever-changing scenario, covering an area of about 600 sqm, the Pedrali stand brought to life seven settings that reflect the various above mentioned contemporary workspaces. Each setting has an exterior view and a horizon whose shades of colour call to mind different times of day. The first room recreates a multi-station office.