tp bennett designs a fresh new spot for Aviva at EightyFen
A transparent, community-focused office design represents a milestone in the organisation's commitment to creating positive workspaces.
25/07/2024
3 min read
Herman Miller introduce Civic – an eclectic and universal table collection
At Stockholm Furniture and Lighting Fair 2020, Mix Interiors sat down with award-winning designers and long-time Herman Miller collaborators, Kim Colin and Sam Hecht, to discuss their latest projects with the American giant.
11/02/2020
2 min read
We start by discussing the designers’ latest design, the Civic table – created as a reaction to the way tables are usually commissioned, where different table designs are used in each commercial application.
‘We started with a design about 10 years ago that was originally part of our office furniture system, which was (and still is!) very innovative and dealing with a lot of contemporary conditions such as collaborating at a desk,’ says Sam.
‘Within that there was this lovely table that we designed, that had a segmented base. But, it did it in a different way to the Eames’ base, which obviously Herman Miller have a great history with and it’s a fantastic product. It simplifies it radically, as in it’s not an assemblage of parts that stay visible – it has a very graceful feeling about it. The conversation was, is it possible to turn that into its own life as a as a collection, and so we were tasked with imagining what a table is for the contemporary condition using that as groundwork.’
The customisation options for the table are extensive, and the base has been engineered to even support polished marble tops. ‘The things we notice people are interested in now is lots of different materials, because they want to express themselves. We looked at a way to be able to consider marble, linoleum, veneers and laminates, and not have any restrictions – and that means that you need a structure to support different weights.’
The project was created to facilitate harmony in the workplace, balancing the need for furniture to provide a unique identity for the client.
Another consideration was power, with the option for power management that stores the cables neatly down the column of the base. The table bases also has V-shaped feet that fasten to the column and allow for different finish between column and feet as well as allowing for the option of castors or levellers.
‘It’s nice to have congruency across open floor plates – usually the way that tables are specified now is a designer goes to a company for coffee tables, another for conference tables and another for café tables: they all come from different places. Their job is to try to get them all their work together as one identity’, Kim explains. ‘What we did here is create enough variety to get the desired shapes and materials, but the tables can work in all those different environments – so in an open floor plan you have continuity.
