Steelcase launches B Free Lounge at Royal Society of Arts in London last week

Around 100 guests gathered last week for Steelcase’s Worklife Experience 2006. Held within the auspicious surroundings of the Royal Society of Arts in London, the event combined the launch of Steelcase’s new B Free Lounge range with a conference on global trends affecting workstyles and office design.

Responding to the growing importance of ‘informal’ areas to the modern office, Steelcase introduced B Free Lounge, the first family of furniture to transform traditional office ‘dead’ zones including corridors, receptions, lobbies, cafeterias, breakout areas and hallways into spaces that support chance interactions and encourage creative and strategic decision making.

Guests included representatives from international organisations Accenture, Amex, Citigroup, Ernst and Young, GlaxoSmithKline and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Speaking at the event Mark Spragg, Managing Director, Steelcase UK and the Benelux countries said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for us to get together with key customers and a great showcase for Steelcase.

“We really think that B Free lounge ‘hits the mark’ and we have received very positive feedback from everyone who attended the launch event.”

“Like all Steelcase products, B Free Lounge recognises that work is a social activity. The work zones it creates help foster communication, collaboration and learning, supporting chance meetings to speed up flow of information. “

Joining the speaker panel at the launch were Janet Day-Strehlow, Workplace Resource Design and Construction Manager at Cisco Systems who addressed the impact of technological advances like wireless and teleconferencing on workspaces and Simon Wilkinson, designer of B Free Lounge and partner in Dutch based design and development agency C10.

Speaking about the joint creative venture Simon Wilkinson said, “Escapism is a central concept to the B Free Lounge. We developed the range to provide relaxing, comfortable and inspiring workspaces which support private and group working in the more ‘forgotten’ areas of the office.”

Mark Spragg also used the B Free Lounge launch to re-iterate Steelcase’s commitment to commercial growth in the UK: “Steelcase has a strong product range supported by real knowledge and value. With a number of new products due for launch during the current year we are in a very strong commercial position relative to our competition. It is essential that we continue to build on this advantage in order to deliver to customers products and office solutions that are unmatched elsewhere in the market”

Steelcase places sustainability at the heart of public sector exhibition this week

Steelcase is placing sustainability at the heart of its presentation to the Procurement Solutions for the Public Sector exhibition and conference in London, June 20-21.

The award-winning Think chair forms the centrepiece of the Steelcase stand at Earl’s Court exhibition.

Mark Spragg, said: “Many office furniture manufacturers now claim they are committed to sustainability and eco-friendly design. However, Steelcase has led the field in this area, not just in the last few years but over generations.

“Pioneering the application of life-cycle thinking within our industry, Steelcase has been working with industry and government officials around the world to develop systems of environmental best practice. The Think chair is just one of many Steelcase products which showcase our company’s environmental credentials and it has proved to be an outstanding success.

“When we started developing the Think chair the idea was to keep the parts used in its production to a minimum but we took into account a host of other environmental considerations during its design and production. There are only a handful of components used in Think’s construction and the chair can be dismantled in five minutes at the end of its life. Most importantly it is totally recyclable.”

Steelcase provides a unique Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for the Think chair, and for most of its products. Their EPD’s give detailed information on the environmental impact of the product from its conception to the end of its life.

Spragg continued: “We have a number of successful Office of Government Commerce registered products but we are committed to fortifying and extending our offering to the public sector. We see our track record in sustainability as a clear differentiator in this area. We will also demonstrate how Steelcase’s and our network of dealers’ integrated service packages can better serve the needs of public sector organisations by providing a ‘one stop shop’ for office solutions.”

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