ICYMI: 14 New Materials From June

Every day we get emails, mail, and phone calls alerting us to new building products. So many new products, in fact, that we can’t work them all into ARCHITECT’s regular coverage. Here’s a rundown of some of our favorite commercial products that caught our eye in June.

Notable this Month: Office Products
The open-plan commercial office is slowly—but, as desk workers are wont to hope, surely—getting an overhaul as manufacturers find creative ways to give occupants more control over their space. Several products at this year’s NeoCon tradeshow, held earlier this month in Chicago, did just that: Herman Miller formally launched the Metaform Portfolio, a lightweight, modular storage solution designed by Berlin-based Studio 7.5 and made of expanded polypropylene, allowing it to be readily reconfigured by end-users.

Peter Pepper Products’ standing-height IBooth can be used as a quiet space away from bench desking or as a short-term hoteling option, with integrated power and a privacy screen.

The casters on Keilhaeur’s Wheels collection of tables, chairs, and storage designed by EOOS lets project teams assemble in the space of their choosing—ideally one away from coworkers trying to work in (relative) silence.

Also notable: Patricia Urquiola. The Spanish designer gave the keynote at NeoCon, and several of her new pieces could be found in showrooms throughout the event. Among her latest designs for Haworth is Poppy, a chair whose composition reflects the trend of bringing a residential aesthetic—think soft edges and wood grains—into commercial spaces.

Urquiola also designed a new line of architectural glazing for Chicago-based Skyline Design that features layered geometric motifs on opaque, translucent, and transparent glass.

Interiors
Office furniture and finishes weren’t the only products debuting this month. Exmore, Va.–based tile maker New Ravenna added Shades of Gray, a series of natural stone mosaics all in gray, to its Studio Line. (You can take a guess at its literary inspiration.)

Móz Designs rolled out Ombré, a palette of tones and textural grains for its Gradients Collection of recycled aluminum surfacing for walls, ceilings, columns, and more.

And Arborite partnered with designers Giona Maiarelli and Marina Sagona to add eight bold patterns to its Ink collection of high-pressure laminates.

Envelope
For oversized commercial window openings, Kolbe’s new Ultra Series XL Sterling double-hung unit comes in dimensions of up to 48” wide by 120” tall, with an interior wood grain and exterior aluminum housing.

McElroy Metal debuted its 138T symmetrical standing seam panel and clip system, which allows installers to apply a standing-seam metal roof directly atop asphalt shingles.

Columbia Forest Products introduced its formaldehyde-free DesignEdge multi-ply hardwood panels. The plies alternate in thickness for a striking reveal at exposed edges.

USP Structural Connectors, a brand of MiTek, designed the FA4 Foundation anchor as a bolt-free sill-plate foundation alternative to typical 5/8”-diameter anchor bolts.

Funky Wildlife
BuzziSpace, a Belgian furniture maker that recently opened its U.S. operations in High Point, N.C., is a purveyor of quirk when it comes to office furniture. The company’s BuzziCactus is no exception. Clad in the company’s recycled felt, the freestanding, cactus-shaped panel absorbs sound and can function as a privacy screen and a bulletin board.

From Italian firm Karman, this ceramic owl luminaire features glowing eyes that embody its name, “Ti Vedo,” which translates from Italian as “I see you.” Debuting at Euroluce in Milan earlier this year, the sconce arrived in our inboxes just this month with the news that it will be available in North America through Global Lighting.