Held in Cologne from October 22 to 25, Orgatec 2024 reaffirmed its leadership role in the office furniture and workspace design sector
Held in Cologne from October 22 to 25, Orgatec 2024 reaffirmed its leadership role in the office furniture and workspace design sector. This year’s edition saw increased participation, with more exhibitors and visitors from around the globe, reflecting the growing interest in innovative solutions for professional and hybrid work environments.
The 2024 edition featured a redesigned pavilion layout with thematic areas focusing on specific trends. It hosted 729 exhibitors from 40 countries and welcomed 50,000 professional visitors from 126 countries, with an international participation rate of 56%.
Orgatec 2024 saw the participation of numerous industry leaders, including providers of innovative solutions for flooring, lighting, office furniture, and acoustics. Sustainability, smart technologies, and space flexibility characterized the new products on display, offering a glimpse into the future of workplace design.
Premiere of the Work Culture Festival
One of the highlights of the fair was the Work Culture Festival Wherever Whenever, organized in collaboration with IBA. The inaugural edition attracted over 100 international speakers from the fields of architecture, design, research, and other related sectors. Renowned experts such as Sascha Lobo, Jette Hopp, and Sabine Marcelis shared their insights on current challenges through various talks and roundtables. Prominent figures including Smudo and Ralf Rangnick also presented their ideas for the future of the industry, offering new perspectives.
Hybrid Interior Design at Orgatec 2024
A major innovation this year was the Hybrid Interior Design format, housed in a hall featuring prominent brands that combine home, hospitality, and office furniture in their collections. These companies, considered top-tier in the industry, had the opportunity to showcase their latest products in an elegant and evocative atmosphere.
DDN Brands Selection
Lapalma
At Orgatec 2024, Lapalma presented a series of innovative solutions demonstrating how corporate spaces, once rigidly hierarchical, are now designed to foster collaboration, well-being, and sustainability. The stand, designed by Raffaella Mangiarotti, showcased the concept of office without borders, a new open, hybrid, and flexible work environment, featuring modular walls and removable, reusable dividers.
WOD, KIPU Clube and LYT
Among the new products introduced at Orgatec 2024 were the WOD screen, KIPU Club pouf, and LYT table. WOD, designed by Raffaella Mangiarotti, consists of modules made of wood or felt, connected by leather hinges, allowing easy configuration changes from linear to curved. This removable divider is perfect for creating private areas in offices, hotels, restaurants, or even homes, thanks to its versatility and a wide range of finishes.
KIPU Club is a pouf that transforms into a lounge chair with a comfortable padded backrest, adding extra comfort to more intimate, private spaces such as company relaxation areas or hotels. Its nest-like shape and generous dimensions make KIPU Club suitable for placement alone, in pairs, or in groups, even in combination with other poufs from the collection.
Finally, LYT, designed by Klaus Nolting, is a versatile table that can be configured in various ways. It can be used as a side-table with an off-center base or as a table with integrated lighting powered by a rechargeable battery, electric cable, or wireless charging. The dimmable variant also allows for light intensity adjustment, making it perfect for common spaces, relaxation areas, waiting rooms, or both collective and private environments, adding a touch of personality and functionality.
Mara
The new products presented by Mara at Orgatec 2024 reflect an increasingly dynamic and multifunctional environment. The company showcased innovative products created in collaboration with international designers like Ferruccio Laviani, Christophe Pillet, Marcello Ziliani, and Michele De Lucchi. The new designs focus on comfort, versatility, and a design that enhances well-being through a thoughtful combination of colors and materials, such as terracotta, blue, green, and blue.
The Mara stand at Orgatec 2024, designed as a circular path with various colors, explored different work contexts, from co-working areas to lounges, home offices to dining areas. The displayed products demonstrated how furniture can adapt to hybrid spaces and the evolving needs of a work environment increasingly shifting between the office and the home.
Among the new items presented this year are new models of the Typo chair and the evolution of the Elle bookcase.
Typo Chair
The Typo chair, born from the collaboration with AMDL Circle and architect Michele De Lucchi, immediately became a contemporary icon due to its distinctive draped structure, created by folding the square-section steel tube along the diagonal. The model presented at the Salone del Mobile.Milano has now evolved with new variants: the padded version, called Typo Soft, the wooden stool, and the upholstered stool. The collection now also includes a wider range of bases, available with laminate, melamine, and metal tops, 100% outdoor. Also on display was the exclusive Typo Limited Edition Arcobaleno, made with Alpi wood designed by Konstantin Grcic.
Elle Bookcase
Among the new arrivals is the Elle bookcase, born from Ferruccio Laviani’s endless creativity. It blends effortlessly into the environment with a light architectural appeal. The modular structure allows for numerous compositions, while the L-shaped element that forms the shelves creates either closed shapes for storage or dividers or open shelves for display. At Orgatec 2024, Mara presented its evolution: Elle Consolle, a lower module that increases its versatility, making it suitable for uses like entryways and passage areas.
Quadrifoglio Group
Quadrifoglio Group brought a large exhibition space to Orgatec 2024, reflecting the company’s values: quality, well-being, and Italian design. The company proposed versatile and functional solutions designed for hybrid and flexible work environments. Among the standout items were the X-Change line, featuring modular acoustic booths that combine privacy and collaboration in ever-evolving workspaces. The version presented at Orgatec 2024 included a soundproofed section furnished with City Lounge Déco armchairs and Montreal tables, along with an open meeting area featuring the X6 table and Bloom sideboard.
Another standout product presented by Quadrifoglio Group at the fair is the Ode chair, featuring an advanced mechanism for height adjustment and position customization, designed to ensure ergonomics and comfort for every user. Designed for operational offices, Ode promotes well-being and daily productivity.
Gaber
Gaber’s flexible solutions offer the possibility to design any type of space, from co-working environments to operational spaces, from executive offices to meeting rooms, and even waiting and relaxation areas. Among the new products presented at Orgatec 2024 were the modular To-Go system, designed by Favaretto & Partners, consisting of three elements: seat, backrest, and armrest. With its monolithic look, the soft shapes allow for easy configurations in waiting areas, public spaces, or lounges.
The Nalì chair, by Dsignio, reinterprets the concept of relaxation with its elongated seat, perfect for using a device or elevating the legs. Available with a sturdy four-leg metal base or a solid oak 4-star base, this lounge chair caters to different aesthetic and functional needs.
Steelbox
One of the novelties presented by Steelbox at Orgatec 2024 is Crossover, an innovative and multifunctional object that transforms into a seat, bookshelf, whiteboard, media center, and sound-absorbing panel, all while serving its primary function: electrifying the workspace.
Thanks to its modular structure, Crossover can be easily reconfigured to adapt to new spaces, reducing costs and eliminating the need for complex new electrical installations. Made of high-quality Italian steel, Crossover is durable, sustainable, and recyclable. With the option of adding wheels, it is perfect for both fixed and mobile spaces. This product represents not only a practical and aesthetically pleasing solution but also a long-term investment for companies seeking sustainable, flexible, and functional solutions.
Slalom
Finally, in our DDN Brands Selection, we could not miss Slalom, which participated in Orgatec 2024 by presenting Bloom, a sound-absorbing panel inspired by herbariums, made from regenerated plastic materials, linen, and selected flower petals that respect biodiversity. Woody, winner of the 2024 Red Dot Design Award, integrates certified FSC regenerated wood and recycled plastic into a lightweight, easy-to-install sound-absorbing wall, thanks to innovative thermoforming technology. Bouclé is a fabric made from SEAQUAL® fibers, derived from recycled ocean plastic, and stands out for its softness and pastel colors evoking the beauty of nature.
The next edition will take place at ORGATEC Tokyo from June 3 to 5, 2025, while the following Orgatec will be held from October 27 to 30, 2026.
