Herman Miller Inc.

04/15/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/15/2021 12:03

Herman Miller Launches Post-Pandemic Office Collection

A collection of essential pieces that spans mobile tables, movable walls, height-adjustable workstations, storage trolleys, and more, OE1 directly responds to how and where people want to work, encouraging a reexamination of traditional workplace design while allowing employees to build, test, and recreate their spaces. By enabling people to experiment with space, employees will gain confidence as they can not only discover solutions needed in the now, but also adjust rapidly if needed. OE1 mitigates the risk of an uncertain future for organizations yet empowers employees to create optimal spaces to suit their work.

OE1 puts the power of workplace reconfiguration in the employees' hands,' says Malisa Byrant, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Global Workplace at Herman Miller. 'This is a huge benefit for both the organization and the employees. For the organization, it provides a high degree of assurance that their workspaces will remain productive, relevant, and desirable over the life of the building without spending vast sums on facility reconfigurations. For the employee, it signals that the space is in service to them - that it exists to facilitate their desired work processes so that they can have greater control and achieve their goals. Real estate is highly static, but work can change quickly. OE1 was designed to bridge the difference in clock speed between work and the workplace to help organizations succeed in a new era of work.'

OE1 was created in partnership with designers Sam Hecht and Kim Colin of Industrial Facility. With a goal of understanding the physical and cultural changes that had started to take shape surrounding the future of work, the team made visits around the world to understand the entire industry ecosystem. Identifying these signals of the future, Sam and Kim carefully crafted the suite of products available in the OE1 Workspace Collection.

'One thing we noticed is that day one, the furniture is installed-and day two, things need to be changed. When you zoom out to a macro view, you become aware of the magnitude and pace of ongoing change. So OE1 is more like an un-system - it's playing by different rules that address these scalar changes,' says Sam Hecht.

'OE1 offers choice, is flexible, and can adapt so that individuals (not just organizations) get to experience these qualities directly,' says Kim Colin. 'Our challenge was to invent something completely new while also making it recognizably useful. OE1 is designed so that everything is having a conversation with each other, and the conversation is healthy.'

Used as individual pieces or the entire collection, OE1 seamlessly integrates into existing spaces, or can be used to create entirely new ones, enabling organizations to create new facilities or strategically improve existing ones for post-pandemic working. Companies of any size will find that OE1 offers greater agility and better workplace experiences. From the organization as a whole all the way down to a team or individual, OE1 creates flexible, fluid environments that can easily adapt to shifting goals and personal preference. With tables that can easily be pushed together or broken apart, flexible walls that divide space and create boundary, and a myriad of other adaptable OE1 products, each one was created with key details specially designed to help spaces meet any number of needs without permanence or rigidity. Above all, OE1 aims to give peace of mind that whatever comes (expected or unexpected) investments have been made in solutions that can quickly shift and adapt with minimal interruption.

For a full look at the OE1 collection, please visit our website.

Press Contacts:
Herman Miller
Ericka Humbert
[email protected]
616-654-5977

About Herman Miller 
Herman Miller is a globally recognized leader in design. Since its inception in 1905, the company's innovative, problem-solving designs and furnishings have inspired the best in people wherever they live, work, learn, heal, and play. In 2018, Herman Miller created Herman Miller Group, a purposefully selected, complementary family of brands that includes Colebrook Bosson Saunders, Design Within Reach, Geiger, HAY, Maars Living Walls, Maharam, and naughtone. Guided by a shared purpose-design for the good of humankind-Herman Miller Group shapes places that matter for customers while contributing to a more equitable and sustainable future for all. For more information visit www.hermanmiller.com/about-us.