Eleven innovative collections from Chicago Design Week
An office chair by Foster + Partners made with reused fishing nets and lightweight aluminium benches designed by Naoto Fukasawa were among the objects displayed at this year's Chicago Design Week.
This year's Chicago Design Week, which takes part between the city's sprawling Merchandise Mart (the Mart) and a neighbourhood away in Fulton Market for the Design Days fair, saw a thread of spirited innovation across materials, design and technologies.
Designers such as Yabu Pushelberg and Mark Grattan and architecture studios such as Foster + Partners and Fogarty Finger worked with contract furniture manufacturers across the world to debut collections of office seating, lounge furniture and more during the week.
Many of the pieces explored the intersection of residential comfort with the rigid needs of an office environment as the world still grapples with a population returning to the workplace six years after the Covid-19 pandemic.
And still other exhibitions were a complete outlier, such as the return of the Paved States exhibition, which showcased North American collectible designs from establishing voices such as Kiki Goti and Larry Tchogninou, and the Less Than a Truckload exhibition, which also displayed work by younger studios and students.
Read on for eleven picks from Dezeen US editor Ben Dreith and US reporter Ellen Eberhardt from this year's fair.
The Limousine sofa by Brad Ascalon for Darran
New York designer Brad Ascalon created the Limousine sofa for furniture manufacturer Darran, which is wrapped in a backrest that mechanically rises up to create a divider.
The raised position "provides instant acoustic and visual privacy, signalling a polite 'do not disturb' cue to the surrounding environment", while the sofa itself features a minimal, clean profile.
ZaZa by Naoto Fukasawa for Emeco
Furniture company Emeco debuted peices with British designer Jasper Morrison and Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa at it's showroom in the Mart.
Fukasawa's ZaZa benches were crafted by hand from recycled aluminium at the company's Pennsylvania factory and are a single "streamlined entity without any hardware or fasteners".
Aster by Thom Fougere Studio for Three H
Canadian designer Thom Fougere presented a collection of office furniture with Three H informed by the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia.
The collection includes large, circular metal planters, and as well as a small, rolling cart, a moveable coat rack and an office butler.
Etta by Yabu Pushelberg for Keilhauer
Contract furniture company Keilhauer debuted a newly expanded showroom at the Mart, and centred the space around the company's collection with creative studio Yabu Pushelberg, which was also newly debuted during NeoCon 2026.
The Etta collection includes 26 total peices, ranging from seating to tables that are designed for "the moments between focused work and the end of the day", according to co-founder George Yabu.
Post Table by Paul Crofts for Isomi
British furniture company Ismoi returned for its third year at NeoCon with a collection of furniture designed by Paul Crofts. The pieces focused on the use of sustainable materials and modularity, including the Post Table with timber legs and cork dividers.
"For us, sustainability isn't a layer added afterwards, it has to shape the structure, materials and lifespan of the product from the beginning," said Crofts.
Kiaura Collection by Aaron DeJule for KI
Wisconsin furniture company KI debuted the Kiaura seating collection designed by Aaron DeJule, which is integrated with the company's Cognetic Technology that allows for ease of movement and comfort.
The technology, which creates subtle, continuous motion, was informed by DeJule's own frustrations after a serious car accident made sitting for extended periods of time painful and difficult.
Flourish by Chris Adamick for Allsteel
Debuted at Allsteel's showroom during Fulton Market Design Days, the Flourish chair by designer Chris Adamick comes in an expansive range of textiles and bases.
The petal-like design can be customised and adapted for a client's needs and "was designed for the way we work now, across an ecosystem of shared, shifting spaces", according to Adamick.
Stephen Burke Man Made at Haworth
Haworth presented an assortment of prototypes by the design studio Stephen Burke Man Made at its Mart showroom, including two large, brightly colored lights.
The presentation marks a new partnership between the pair, which was announced during the design week.
Cosme by Mark Grattan for HBF
New York-based designer Mark Grattan worked with HBF to create the Cosme seating collection, which features chunky column legs of wood or stone and solid, rectangular cushions.
It was informed by one of Grattan's residential projects, according to the team, although in this iteration, the seating was created for larger social spaces, such as lobbies, lounges, executive suites and private clubs.
Muku Task Chair by Foster + Partners for Okamura
Architecture studio Foster + Partners and furniture company Okamura debuted the Muku Task Chair at the brand's showroom in the Mart.
The chair backrest is made from Okamura's Re:net material, a knitted mesh fabric made from repurposed fishing nets, while the base contains recycled aluminium in its structural components.
Vesper by Fogarty Finger for Halcon
US architecture studio Fogarty Finger designed an office suite collection with Minnesota company Halcon, which is the studio's first foray into contract furniture design.
The collection centres around a height-adjustable desk clad in a stone countertop with metallic legs, which silently moves up and down via a covert button.
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