Sustainable, flexible work and the iF Design Award 2021

The future of New Work would appear to be in excellent shape – at least if the iF Design Award winners from the 'Product Design' category find a place in the designs for the modern working landscape. The award-winning pieces from the 'Office' category combine aesthetics with functionality and sustainability to meet the hybrid, agile requirements of the traditional office or the home-based variant.

Today, more employers are looking for solutions that bring offices up to contemporary, modern standards, in terms of everything from design to ventilation, while employees are increasingly considering how to integrate a working space into their home environments without sacrificing its comfortable, homely atmosphere. The award-winning designs provide answers, using recycled materials and upcycling strategies.

A good example of such environmentally friendly options is the FD Desk by Fern. To find the right materials, Barcelona-based Deardesign Studio travelled all over Europe. Legs of French oak that originated from old railway wagons merge with a solid surface material that contains 30 per cent recycled content. Super-stylish, the FD Desk boasts unusual lines and a space-saving design.

The easily accessible connection box enables desk sharing or work with mobile devices. The desk has also passed NF EN 527 safety and durability tests meaning that nothing stands in the way of its use in more conscientious, environmentally friendly workspaces.

Uncomplicated, contemporary seating culture finds embodiment in Punto by Valencia's Sentat Design. The bright, clear, colourful cushions bring comfort wherever they are laid down and are truly versatile – whether as additional seating in canteens, on terraces, on stairs or as a comfortable base attached to benches and chairs.

Wherever people come together, Punto is at the ready, both indoors and out, whatever the weather. The cushions are made of high-density, cold-formed polyurethane foam that resists moisture as well as UV radiation. Punto is also fireproof, easy to clean and easy to store. With its radiant selection of colours, the design is, on the one hand, certainly eye-catching, but it can also blend discreetly into existing concepts and colour schemes.

The Nodum modular furniture system – which can be reconfigured at any time to meet individual requirements – also stands for greater flexibility: Consisting of a reduced basic module that in combination with back panels, drawers and rods, offers the perfect shelving system for every room, Nodum can be easily extended and reduced in size as necessary.

The basis for the design by Ovicuo Design from Barcelona was a study that analysed usage behaviours and needs in modern offices. The system is supplied by the manufacturer JG Open Systems with a practical configurator that helps to find the most suitable solution for each individual room situation.

Last but not least, iF Gold Award winner Royole turns the office world on it head with RoWrite2, while turning sketches, notes or manually created designs into workable digital files. The combination of a stylish retro look and trend-setting technology offers a particular charm which appeals to users of all generations.

Thanks to the app, RoWrite2 is compatible with the common operating systems and results can be converted into PDF, TXT, mp4 or JPG. Writing or drawing is achieved with the use of a special pen on normal paper. Progress has never looked so simple.

The Industry Forum Design Award has been presented annually since 1954. In 2021, the iF Design Award was presented in nine disciplines with the help of a 98-member jury of experts. From a total of 9,500 submissions, 1,744 products, projects and concepts received awards, with just 75 receiving the iF Gold Award 2021. The responsible body for the organisation, iF International Forum Design GmbH, has been the non-profit iF Design Foundation since 2018.

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