Knoll Hosts Kontor Tech by Design in Chicago for Discussion on Theater and Play in the Workplace

William Hanley, Kontor, speaking with Benjamin Pardo, Knoll, Barry Richards, Rockwell Group, and Tracy Wymer, Knoll.

Kontor, the workplace design network, held the fourth Tech by Design panel in the Knoll NeoCon showroom on Tuesday, June 13, during NeoCon 2016 in Chicago. William Hanley, editorial director at Kontor, led an intimate conversation in the Rockwell Unscripted Amphitheater section of the showroom. The panel included Barry Richards, principal and studio leader at Rockwell Group; Benjamin Pardo, executive vice president and director of design, Knoll; and Tracy Wymer, vice president of workplace strategy, Knoll.

The conversation centered around the design thinking and workplace research that led to Rockwell Unscripted, the collection of interactive workplace elements designed by Rockwell Group for Knoll and inspired by the design firm's work in hospitality, theater and playground design. Knoll introduced the expansive collection at NeoCon 2016. 

"It was an amazing opportunity to explore something we're not as familiar with, similar to when we began designing playgrounds," said Barry Richards, Rockwell Group. "We borrowed from that experience for the collection."

The panel discussed the collaboration between Knoll and Rockwell Group, the result of years of research (both together and independently) on the changing nature of work. Today's workplace increasingly must support workstyles that are interpretive, shifting, social, and untethered. 

"In the workplace you create things and then you present them. That has a close relationship to performance," said Tracy Wymer. Knoll and Rockwell Group have used 'workplace as stageset' as a guiding analogy for Rockwell Unscripted.

Benjamin Pardo told the group, "This collection is about varied, changing environments that people can morph and personalize to play the many roles they have each day."

Kontor shared a recap of the Tech by Design panel on its newly launched editorial site.

 

Read an interview with David Rockwell on KONTOR.

View the Knoll NeoCon Showroom on Kontor.

 

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