Challenge

Ho-hum office cubbies of the past were dying out and dynamic new workspaces were emerging. The work environment was now driven by technology, new work processes, and forward social norms. The office was morphing into collaborative work environments, soft-work lounge spaces, and telecommuting areas. Herman Miller was leading the way in exploring these advances in the ways people work and how furniture could make a difference. They asked BOLTGROUP to join in the exploration—both to envision what’s next and to design solutions to current challenges.

Solution

Through a multi-year relationship, we worked with various Herman Miller divisions. We created advanced concepts based on Herman Miller’s research into the future of work, developed medical carts for the hospital products group, and designed the innovative Ribbonwall Call Center system for the tailored solutions group—introduced at NEOCON, the annual industry trade show.

In the 1990s Herman Miller predicted that flat panel computers and wireless data transmission would one day be ubiquitous. This “office of the future” would create a windfall of available space in cubicles compared to the giant 90s era CRT computers cabinets all wired together. That prediction, combined with the new realization that collaboration is important for creative innovation, drove the move from private cubicles to open landscape offices. BOLTGROUP worked with Herman Miller’s advanced projects group to envision and design “collaborative environments”—moving away from the separated cubicles. We were on a mission, and the result has enhanced collaboration in many companies. But 20 years later the pendulum has swung too far. Many offices became too open, and open landscapes are not for everyone. So now companies like Herman Miller offer solutions that recognize the need for both private concentration, and group collaboration.

Result

A partnership was forged with Herman Miller that produced breakthrough ideas in office space solutions and ongoing success for Herman Miller.