Haworth New Office Furniture System: Conceptual Design and Development of Next Generation Haworth Entry into Systems Furniture Market

28/11/1984

Design Matters, Proposal Brief

9-page document that outlines the conceptual framework proposed to Haworth, Inc. by the Center for Environmental Structure. It describes the process that could generate a furniture system that would become the focus of the market and industry standard for the next two or three decades, as the response to the workplace needs. It describes the steps required to generate a three-dimensional model of its central elements and the expansion potential of this system.

Authors:

John J. Rheinfrank, Richardson/Smith Design, Worthington, OH, U.S.A.

Content of

Project

New System of Office Furniture for Haworth, Inc. 1985 to 1986

Holland, MI, U.S.A.

Office Furniture, Designed , Furniture prototypes built by C.E.S.

Client:

Haworth Manufacturing, Inc. - Tom Hench

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Artemis Anninou, Gary Black, Mark Brinner

Design and construction process:

Theree design principles guided the development of the project: 1) Layout of the personal work space by their users in order to meet their own personal needs; this process is achievable through the use of a computer program developed at C.E.S. which carries a worker through the design process. 2) Use of flexible manufacturing techniques, which allow individualisation of each piece of furniture, without increasing costs; the purpose of this feature is to eliminate the modularity that is part and parcel of current systems. 3) The basis of design is the real human needs and desires, not on the latest trend.

Project stages:

Pattern language for project by C.E.S. Generic rules for office layout process Use of full scale mock-ups Fabrication of full size furniture prototypes by C.E.S. Design Development drawings done after fabrication

The new system of office furniture, intended for mass production, was designed in such a way as to be capable of creating the environment for millions of workers, in an endless variety of specific configurations. The line of furniture provided ...