ID AID: Products that promise new possibilities

There is no question that almost everyone who uses a computer as their main mode of work has taken a giant step into the future in the past three years. Now it's suddenly no longer just digital nomads trying to escape the rigid structures of an antiquated office age in coworking spaces and cafés. At least one day of home office per week is now the norm rather than the exception. Mobile or teleworking has become part of everyday life. This has become possible because we now have digital tools – as well as the will to use them – to perform tasks for which sitting together was once indispensable.

So far, so clear. But what influence does digitalisation have on the design of the rooms, furniture and accessories that surround us? And who better to answer this than someone who has, to a certain extent, dedicated his work to the subject of the office: Sven v. Boetticher runs the Stuttgart-based industrial design studio ID AID. Not exclusively, but predominantly, von Boetticher and his team design for manufacturers in the office context – for example, Interstuhl, Wilkhahn, Wagner, Häfele and Bachmann.

That a search for new forms of work has been set in motion, Von Boetticher himself feels very directly. One of the challenges of this new reality is to avoid considering the home office or mobile working as a replacement for the office and the face-to-face interaction experienced there, but rather as functioning in parallel with it. At the same time, it is no longer necessary to have a fixed place in the office for everyone at all times, with teams instead using these shared spaces more flexibly now and finding zones for focusing, communicating, relaxing and retreating.

When it comes to the design of products for these new working environments, it means that they should be as simple as possible to use. Together with Wagner, for example, von Boetticher and his team have developed the S1, a chair that combines the strengths and appearance of the classic studio chair with today's ergonomic demands. At the heart of this chair is its three-dimensional Dondola seat joint, which is designed to support and encourage the natural movement of the user. Conventional mechanics are replaced by visible, aesthetically designed technical components that unfold their function from the geometry. The temporary owner need only adjust the height as desired.

The new Mono chair for Interstuhl is something quite different and also celebrating its premiere at Orgatec in Cologne this week. Mono was created to complement the manufacturer's collection as a universal complementary chair. It can be stowed away just as quickly as it is brought in, making the use of space considerably more flexible. As the name suggests, it is an interpretation of the Monobloc, the stackable plastic chair literally made from one piece. The challenge here was to create stability using as little material as possible, but also to find a shape that flatters the polypropylene used in its manufacture in a special way.

‘For a universal chair, this plastic with high haptic qualities is exactly the right material,’ von Boetticher is convinced. This is because manufacturing and purchasing costs as well as the usage cycle, which is common in the contract sector, are in perfect proportion to each other. it was also very helpful throughout the development process that Interstuhl operates its own large development department in addition to the extremely high capacity manufacturing at its Tieringen site. This is the key to creating sustainable and innovative solutions, says the designer, with enormous efforts being made to achieve results that may seem simple and self-evident.

‘Furthermore, in order to offer a design with long-term viability, we have found an archetypal form that we defined early on in the development process,  with cleverly placed transitions from concave to convex surfaces stiffening the chair.’ And should the Mono chair one day become obsolete, Interstuhl can use the recycled material for foot crosses on swivel chairs, for example.

Another product idea was born during the second major lockdown of the Corona pandemic, when from one day to the next it seemed as if half the world had moved into the home office – and for an uncertain period of time, too. A new question was raised: How do you actually meet the guidelines for ergonomic workplaces when only temporary desks or kitchen tables are available? Together with hardware manufacturer Häfele, von Boetticher developed the JobTisch. The compact desk boasts practical features such as electric height adjustment, electrification, a magnetic back panel, a small drawer and even an integrated mounting option for various LED work lamps. Users also have scope for personalising the design thanks to various model sizes, colour combinations and surfaces such as veneer, linoleum or classic finishes.

The only way to work even more flexibly is to no longer be tied to a room and its conditions, and von Boetticher and his team have also developed a product for this. Namely the mobile power supply Bachmann Mov:e with USB and Schuko sockets. With its cylindrical, portable box the size of a champagne cooler, smartphones, laptops, but also presentation screens or projectors can be supplied with power, even if sitting in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't get any more agile than this – provided you have an internet connection, of course.

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