DESIGN FORWARD AT NEOCON 2026

June 8, 2026 - At NeoCon 2026, Haworth is focusing on design as more than furniture or aesthetics: it's a language of innovation that emerges from meaningful collaboration. In the Haworth showroom, concepts and new products challenge convention and push what's possible. In the lobby, Haworth DesignLab x Paved States is part gallery, part exhibition and part retail space showcasing curated contemporary design.

Showroom Prototypes

In THE MART third-floor showroom, Haworth introduces Stephen Burks Man Made as part of a design forward approach where new thinking and collaboration are a way to learn together. Burks' installation includes: Birth lounge chair, Horizon shelving and Dinámica lighting. An American designer and a professor of architecture at Columbia University, Burks is known for collaborations with artisans, as well as incorporating craft and weaving into product design. He is the first African American to win the National Design Award for product design.

Haworth DesignLab x Paved States

THE MART is hosting Haworth's DesignLab and Paved States from Chris Force for a beautifully curated landscape of contemporary design. This immersive experience brings together a dynamic mix of objects, ideas and perspectives.

Curated by Patricia Urquiola, the 2026 installation transforms the lobby of THE MART into an immersive landscape for dialogue and discovery. Featuring 13 North American designers, the exhibition explores new ways of living through a sequence of spatial settings dedicated to working, meeting, reading and unwinding. The journey culminates in an atmospheric listening space - an intimate environment shaped by sculptural lighting, acoustic surfaces and deep tonal contrasts, where installation, interior and performance converge.

Haworth DesignLab launched in 2023 and is an initiative established to celebrate new perspectives and artistic visions in the world of design. This collective of designers explores and experiments with different approaches - looking beyond the office furniture industry to create unexpected, emotive and immersive experiences.

Haworth DesignLab alumni Bradley Bowers and Justin Beitzel and Fernando Ramirez from Common Object Studio have moved beyond experimentation with Haworth. As part of the first two years of Haworth DesignLab, these designers have launched products with the Haworth Group:

• Cassina's Brolic Collection vases, designed by Bradley L. Bowers, are based on alternating positive and negative spaces, reproducing the effect of breath on the human body or the perpetual motion of sea on shore.
• BuzziSpace and Common Object Studio collaborated to produce BuzziChicle. This light and planter turn a familiar form (chewing gum) into radiant design features. The pillowy shape makes a bold, bubbly statement that is playful yet refined, adding happiness to any interior.

Photo captions:
(L) Brolic Collection vases
(R ) Buzzichicle
Haworth DesignLab x Paved States designer and product
photography available on request

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Haworth believes great spaces empower people to thrive and work their best. As a leading global furniture maker, the company partners with customers, dealers and influencers to create spaces that result in effective people and efficient real estate. Haworth's customer-first approach comes from an entrepreneurial spirit, design-forward thinking and multicultural perspectives. With a heritage in the workplace, Haworth is the founding brand of Haworth Group. The Haworth Group designs at the intersection of people and environments with brands like Haworth, AIS, BuzziSpace, Cappellini, Cassina, Ceccotti Collezioni, Heller, Hushoffice, Interni, JANUS et Cie, Karakter, Luminaire, Luxury Living Group, Poltrona Frau, Tayco, Tuohy and Zanotta.

Founded in 1948, Haworth Group is a privately-owned company operating in more than 150 countries through a global network of 400 dealers and 8,000 employees. Headquartered in Holland, Michigan, U.S.A., the company has sales of $2.7 billion USD.