Choreography isn’t necessarily a metaphor you’d imagine applied to the contemporary office, but Swiss manufacturer Vitra has unveiled a new concept, inspired by free movement and dance,
Stephan Hürlemann’s concept for the Dancing Office is made up of a mix of fixed, static office areas and free, undefined zones – or as Hürlemann calls them, ‘dance floors’. These spaces can be used with modular, mobile furniture to offer a moveable office space that meets the needs of the office, even if they change day by day, working to create flexibility with moving elements that can be wielded by any member of staff.
At the core of the Dancing Office concept is the Dancing Wall, a mobile partition that ostensibly means you can divide the office space whenever and however you like – to zone areas, separate general work space from meeting and break out zones, and create visually and acoustically private spaces for employees that require them.
However, the Dancing Wall also doubles up to offer vertical workspace too. The modular system, which each use a wooden base on wheels, can offer storage, presentation space and even small desking solutions. Vitra also has a design for a vegetation wall, bringing a biophilic element that also can be used as a soft divide in a broken-plan office space.
‘Dancing Wall is the product of a new interior design philosophy. Instead of trying to achieve a single perfect office layout, it celebrates change. With this system, we give employees the ability to easily and quickly adapt the work environment to their present needs — so that they become part of a choreography,’ Hürlemann says
Originally developing the concept in 2017, Hürlemann has worked with Vitra to create the range to meet the demanding compliances across countless standards and regulations.
The concept can now also be found in his own workplace, Studio Hürlemann, which has recently re-opened in the aftermath of the pandemic. In this context, the Dancing Walls are employed alongside acoustic curtains, creating an opportunity to divide this large open-plan space successfully, but also using the concept in an arrangement which helps employees remain at a safe distance from each other.
Discover more about the Dancing Office concept on the Vitra website.
