Show Business: Dauphin's new London office

Just as every employee is unique, every workplace is also different, so the design of these spaces must respond to the varying needs of staff and the tasks they have to perform.

Studies have shown that comfortable, flexible and efficiently organised workspaces can yield improvements in staff motivation, satisfaction and retention levels, suggesting that an investment in quality furniture provides significant long-term benefits.

German office furniture giant Dauphin specialises in helping businesses address these issues, and produces a comprehensive range of task chairs and other products that enable working environments to be tailored to the needs of their users.

“All businesses have different functions and use people to support those functions, so having the right furniture is really important,” says Chris Abay, who recently joined the company to head up its UK sales team. “It’s not just about being able to buy 100 chairs or some lounge seats. What’s important is how furniture contributes to the business. Our products are designed to support those business needs.”

Dauphin has been pioneering the design and production of innovative office furniture since 1969, under the stewardship of the Dauphin family. Steady growth, and the acquisition of several other brands specialising in design-led products and systems, have helped to affirm the Dauphin HumanDesign Group’s status as a European design powerhouse with a global reach.

The company’s focus is on providing solutions applications, which are developed specifically for each client using the amalgamated expertise of its various integrated brands. The range of products manufactured by the group means it is able to furnish offices, meeting rooms, lobbies, lounges and learning spaces, allowing it to operate across both the contract and domestic sectors.

Despite its strength in Germany and other international markets, in the UK the company is less well-known than some of its European and American competitors. “Dauphin is a bit of a sleeping giant, but it has the potential to make a massive difference in this city,” asserts Abay, whose team is based at the firm’s new office in Clerkenwell, the heart of London’s design community. He points to signature pieces like the curvaceous Züco Perillo lounge chair, and innovative new designs such as the X-Code task chair, as reasons why Dauphin’s reputation should be more pronounced. “This office is here to give one of Europe’s biggest brands a new presence in London,” adds Abay, who is confident that exposure is the key to growing the brand’s reputation in the UK. “It’s about being seen, so we can become a serious player in the marketplace.”

The new office is arranged over five storeys in the heart of an area containing the highest concentration of architecture and design firms in the world, and Abay is intent on using the space to demonstrate Dauphin’s competencies to interested industry insiders. Products from each of Dauphin HumanDesign Group’s brands are used to furnish functional spaces that simulate different areas found in contemporary workplaces, enabling visitors to interact with the design and materials in a real-life setting.

“Each floor in the new office is dedicated to a different application, so as you walk through the building you experience a different story on each floor,” Abay explains. The different levels are arranged to reflect Dauphin’s primary focus on people and their needs in six key settings: Welcome, Meet, Learn, Work, Lead & Relax. “It’s designed to stimulate an architect or a designer to think about how they can use furniture to support their business, rather than just offering them an array of products in a brochure.”

Providing a welcoming environment and personalised support is a key part of Dauphin’s philosophy, as the company believes a collaborative process is the best way to identify and fulfil each client’s unique requirements. To this end, the new London space offers a first-hand insight into how the firm’s products can be used to generate holistic spatial solutions that are as individual as the people who work in them.

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