Today at NeoCon, the world’s leading platform event of the year for the commercial design industry, Keilhauer unveils three new product lines: Melete, Forsi, and the GSD collection. Forsi and GSD are the latest designs from long-time Keilhauer collaborators  EOOS, and the Melete seating collection is a new partnership with Swedish-based design firm  Afteroom. All three of Keilhauer’s latest launches act as sophisticated, functional solutions for  the ever-changing modern workplace, and the evolving needs of those who occupy them.   “We look forward to NeoCon every year, but we are especially excited to unveil our 2022  product launches and share them with the commercial design community,” says Mike Keilhauer,  President. “These new collections feature clean, modern lines, sophisticated design, and  provide consumers with innovative, forward-thinking functionality. We look forward to showing everyone what we have been working on.”

Designed for Keilhauer by Afteroom, Melete is a modern, multi-purpose chair that is grounded in timeless Swedish and Japanese design sensibilities. With the versatility of several  unique configurations, it has the ability to elevate almost any environment, providing elegance and a unique beauty to the design space. The soft curves of Melete outline the balance between functionality and aesthetics, which are combined with a functional structure that ensures comfort and durability. 

“The original goal with Melete was to design a modular seat that could match different backs and legs according to the customer’s needs, thereby creating a single chair that could be  extended into a complete series,” say Hung  Ming Chen and Chen-Yen Wei, co-designers and co-founders of Afteroom. “Melete is a beautiful, durable chair that is all about its sculptural look and feel,” adds Mike  Keilhauer. “Whether with arms or armless; café height, bar height or conference height, Melete  is a flexible design solution for the office and even the home.” 

Forsi is a conference furniture collection that is built to meet the needs of the modern meeting. A play-on-words derived from the ideal size of a productive, efficient meeting – four to six people – Forsi creates an environment that isn’t too formal, nor too relaxed. The Forsi chair comes in an innovative working lounge height that is ideal for promoting creative thinking, and the Forsi table is offered in either the same working lounge height, or the traditional conference height. This is Keilhauer’s first product line to feature this unique height option – it sits in the sweet spot between conference room formality and lounge area relaxation. Forsi was designed to encourage and elevate the way people think, create, and collaborate in the office.

“When designing Forsi, we asked ourselves, ‘What would a perfect meeting look like?’” says  Gernot Bohmann, EOOS designer. “We came to realize that ‘the perfect meeting’ is the solution  between conference and lounge. We wanted to find a new typology, a new height and a new,  undiscovered place – this is where Forsi exists.” 

“The Forsi chair is a combination of a conference chair and a lounge chair, with a soft, luxurious  feel,” adds Mike Keilhauer. “With its matching lounge height, the Forsi table complements the  chairs beautifully, but the Forsi pieces were also designed to stand on their own if desired.”

The GSD collection, another collaboration with EOOS, is a multi-piece, configurable collection that provides workplace solutions and supports teams in whatever way they connect and collaborate. With hybrid work being here to stay, the ways that employees interact with office work is changing. Workplaces need to adapt to their hybrid workforce, and products need to work harder to efficiently accommodate the varying needs of their users. This innovative collection includes a side chair, a benching system and a table system. The benching and table systems include built-in power sources to accommodate laptops, tablets and other devices.  

The GSD collection’s range of products provides teams with a plethora of options for various  collaboration scenarios, including meeting casually at a standing table, having a formal board  meeting to hash out a deal, or pulling up some extra chairs for a quick brainstorming session.  

“A new kind of work culture has developed during the last few years, and many people are still working a decent amount from their homes,” says Gernot Bohmann, EOOS. “Now, people who  regularly work from home only go to the office to meet people face-to-face. They do not go there  to wait, to relax – they go there because they want to get stuff done . These products help them  accomplish that.” 

As with all Keilhauer furniture, Melete, Forsi and the GSD collection are built from the highest  quality materials, are designed and manufactured to last for many years, and are supported by  Keilhauer’s standard 10-year warranty. All three product lines are expected to carry BIFMA  Level® 2 and SCS Global Services certification for Indoor Air Quality at the Indoor Advantage™  Gold level. They are manufactured in facilities that produce zero waste to landfill and offset  100% of electricity use with renewable energy credits.

Afteroom is a Stockholm-based design studio. Founded and directed by Hung-Ming Chen and  Chen-Yen Wei, their mission is simply to create beautiful products that will add value over time  – design to grow old with. The inspiration derives from an intriguing interest in forms, senses,  proportions, materials, and cultures. Their philosophy pivots around simplicity and honesty. 

Afteroom believes that sophisticated thinking determines the balance between functionality and  aesthetics, thereby bringing multilevel value to design. Taking rational creativity as the  fundamental mindset, they have been working together with brands and jointly creating  thoughtful designs that meet the market demands.

EOOS is Gernot Bohmann, Martin Bergmann, and Harald Gründl, who studied design together  at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna. In 1990, they started their first collaboration and  founded EOOS in 1995. They live in Vienna and work in the fields of product, furniture and  architectural design. EOOS is named after one of the four sun horses of Greek mythology and  stands for their programmatic approach to the field of design.

Founded in 1981, Keilhauer is a privately owned, design-focused contract furniture  manufacturer. Keilhauer manufactures seating and tables that makes work more comfortable for  all. Keilhauer products are thoughtfully made to support communication and engagement in  spaces such as meeting rooms, collaboration areas, lobbies and lunchrooms. Working with  world-renowned furniture designers, Keilhauer is internationally recognized for award-winning  design, built with extreme craftsmanship, to the highest environmental standards. The company  is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.

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