Designing Space for Everyone 

The annual Chicago design fairs NeoCon and Fulton Market Design Days elevated the importance of designing for inclusivity, stress-relief, flexibility, and sustainability.

The design community descended on the city of Chicago earlier this month for the annual NeoCon and Design Days fairs. The shows routinely set the stage for the next calendar year of design, and this year proved no different. 

Top decision makers from companies like Bank of America, Delta, Fidelity, Google, Hyatt, and Salesforce made the rounds to premier showrooms, where leading manufacturers like OFS, Steelcase and MillerKnoll unveiled a series of new products and designers discussed inclusivity in design and stress reduction.

Here’s what we learned from the shows on the importance of designing for inclusivity, flexibility, and embracing sustainability.  

Designing for Everybody

Inclusivity was a hot topic during the week, as designers discussed the importance of going beyond surface-level changes to having deeper understanding, empathy and dialogue with diverse communities. Designers are prioritizing spaces that bring people together, looking closely at sensory experiences and creating spaces for both high- and low-stimulation. This also means getting feedback from individuals during the design process.

Neurodiversity and inclusivity are big trends in the design world, and many showroom spaces featured products that were therapeutic, more accessible and comfortable, and that address wellbeing and healing. Designers are thinking more holistically about designing for everyone, designing more emotionally intelligent products, and comfort is key.

Think: soft and rounded furniture, warm, calming colors, and acoustics that offer a sense of peace in a space. Some spaces had special lighting for de-stressing, while others offered different temperature adjustments. Some of the showrooms were designed with a lack of audio input so that you felt an immediate shift in your brain to feel calmer. 

“It’s about creating spaces that allows everyone to be their best selves,” HOK Director of Interiors Tom Polucci told the audience during a panel discussion.

NeoCon keynote speaker Annie Jean Baptiste, Google’s head of products, says that design, when well done, can allow people to thrive in a way they choose. And when you design for marginalized groups, you create better experiences for everyone.  

Innovation, she says, comes from bringing diverse perspectives into the design process and asking who else needs to be involved. “We all want to feel seen, validated, uplifted and thought of, no matter what kind of work we do or where we are in the world.”

Designing for Calm

Wellbeing was also front and center, and the subdued and warm color palettes presented this year reflect that intention to promote calm, happiness and joy. 

A number of new design products tout scientific research to show how they impact wellbeing. Take, for instance, Momentum Textiles & Wallcoverings. The Irvine, California company has a biophilic wallcovering called Renaturation that applies the science of natural fractals, or intricate, self-repeating patterns that have been shown to impact brain health and healing, improve wellbeing and boost cognitive function. The company collaborated with University of Oregon physics and psychology professor Richard Taylor to implement the fractal-based design into wallcoverings.

Designing for Flexibility

Designers are also leaning into flexibility, focusing on multi-functionality spaces and modular products that can flex and change with different needs—even shifting spaces within a day. 

OFS, the parent company of ROOM, won the International Interior Design Association’s (IIDA) Best Showroom in Fulton Market, which honors the originality of design and visual impact across NeoCon and Design Days in Fulton Market. OFS is one of the latest manufacturing heavyweights to make the leap from The Merchandise Mart to Fulton Market. In addition to unveiling its brand-new showroom, the company unveiled a number of new product launches, including new private office offerings and modular furniture.

“We aren’t just creating spaces. We’re crafting connection, purpose, and possibility,” says Molly Prior, SVP of sales at OFS. 

Back at The Mart, Swedish brand Mizetto unveiled its Cargo collection, which uses modular geometric cubes that can be pushed together in various configurations to create sofa seating, ottomans, and flexible surfaces. The name Cargo is inspired by space-saving cargo packages used in logistics, secured with tension straps, reflected in both the design and functionality of the pieces. A small integrated tray table can be pressed down between the cushions to securely lock them into place. 

Designing for Sustainability

Sustainability and circular design continued to be a big talking point among designers, but it’s no longer a trend. It’s table stakes.  

“Sustainability has become the norm,” says Joey Shimoda, co-founder, Shimoda Design Group in Los Angeles. “The idea of circularity has really taken on its own life, and people are responding to it.”

Steelcase, which has a showroom at Fulton Market, highlighted its “path to net zero,” which is a plan to cut more than 90% of carbon emissions by 2050. The company is the first in the industry to publish such a plan, and Steelcase CEO Sara Armbruster encourages others to join the effort.

“We’re at a moment of transformation for our business and the world we share,” says. “The moment is a call to action. A net zero future needs us all.”

A number of innovative products are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.  A Ukrainian brand called the Good Plastics Company created fully-recycled plastic surfacing materials. International furniture designer Heller created the first biodegradable vinyl, Hyphen, and reissued its Arco Bellini Chair with “Worry Free Plastic” that breaks down at the end of life. 

Shimoda says he was captivated by the innovation for flooring. Shaw Flooring, for instance, introduced a fully-recyclable and PVC-free flooring called EcoWorx Resilient, which focuses on circular economy and reducing waste in the landfill. The company has recycled nearly 1 billion pounds of carpet since 2006. 

Mohawk Flooring’s SolidTech R flooring is made from recycled plastic and natural stone. Each square foot contains the equivalent of 20 recycled water bottles, while its PureTech floors contain zero PVC and 80% renewable organic cores and 70% recycled content.  

The flurry of activity from the week in Chicago made it clear that design is continuing to innovate with people and the planet in mind. The result? A new era of flexible, sustainable and inclusive workspaces that stand the test of time.