PRESS RELEASES

October 1998

WorkPlace �99, the way we work

WorkPlace '99, the biennial event in the UK for office furniture and technology, takes place from 16-18 November 1999 at the Grand Hall, Olympia, London W14.

Launched in 1995, WorkPlace is the European platform for new work patterns, office furniture and technology. Held in alternate years to Orgatec, the event features 150 + exhibitors and attracts more than 6,500 workplace buyers and specifiers.

WorkPlace presents the very latest design and management thinking on work and support space with furniture and technology solutions to match.

New for 1999, WorkPlace has adopted four powerful exhibitor themes. These have been carefully chosen to both shape the event and reflect key developments in the industry - furniture flexibility, work technology, work styles and work space.

WorkPlace will also feature a number of innovative features and events.

The Hub, designed by Lorenzo Apicella of Pentagram Design, is the intellectual heart of the show. This is an opportunity for visitors to hear leading experts discuss the latest thinking in organisational and workplace management and how these practices are profoundly affecting working life.

�In 1997 the Hub defined a �place�,� says Apicella. �In 1999 we�re framing this place more architecturally, giving greater enclosure to its activities with structure and form. It will reach out and draw in the space around it to be the main focus for all the show�s events�.

The lighting, generously supplied by Concord, is a major part of Apicella�s design, and will be used to tune the atmosphere of the Hub according to what is going on at any moment. Amat's new chair, Splash, designed by renowned international furniture designer Jorge Pensi, will be used in the FX Café Bar in the Hub.

Concept Offices, developed and built by leading office design specialists, present exciting examples of future work environments. Workplace design consultants BDG McColl were responsible for the highly successful Caf� Society Concept Office at WorkPlace '97, and will be creating an 'office of the future' for the 1999 event.

BDG McColl Workplace�s innovative design of the Café Society Concept Office from 1997 addressed the changing needs of workers, which are having to respond so fast to the continually increasing sophistication and accessibility of technology, and the growing number of home working opportunities. Video conferencing, internet access, laptops and a cappuccino maker all featured on the stand, but the overall message was the need for the office to be an environment that stimulates creativity and promotes teamwork, even for remote workers.