Communication and identity are key themes of our new working worlds and provide the motto for this year’s Walter Knoll presence at the Orgatec 2014. The design of the exhibition stand supports the market presence and brand identity of Walter Knoll in the high-quality office segment. At the same time the stand is designed as a response to our changing ways of working. The classic workstation is becoming less and less the locus of communication and creativity. The spatial design of the stand thus mirrors the commingling of living and working environments.

The new ‘Seating Stones’ collection by Ben van Berkel consists of organic, freely positionable seating and provides the prelude to the exhibition stand. The organic language of the furniture is presented against a wild backdrop of jungle plants. This striking image illustrates how new work environments are liberating themselves from the traditional context. A circumferential, black carbon-fibre curtain, specially developed for Walter Knoll, breaks the space into different zones while ceding tantalising glimpses of the stand’s interior.

From the main entrance, a central axis that is further emphasised by fins attached to the ceiling, runs through to the cafeteria at the far end of the stand. The stand interior itself is calm and contained. Four different spatial scenarios are grouped around the central axis. Short texts on the walls provide impulses to consider the significance of future and present work environments.

Large-format, suspended images, which are also contained within a carbon curtain, help zone the space and provide a narrative context. Image motifs and accessories relate to the theme of nature and enliven the product presentations. They invest the clear geometry of the stand with a domestic dimension, while allowing a concentrated focus on product presentation.

The middle zone displays how versatile the Walter Knoll collection can be. Work worlds need not be considered as closed systems, but can be freely composed thanks to the infinite combinability of the products. The rear area of the stand focusses on communication and the increasing importance of the cafeteria within a company setting. A completely mirrored café with different interaction possibilities serves as communication nexus: for a short chat at the long bar, coffee and snacks at the counter or in-depth discussions at the small tables or on comfortable lounge sofas. The exterior skin of the trade stand is illustrated with a graphic translation of the free flow of integrated communication – while allowing the eye to catch glimpses of the stand’s interior.