Command Console Furniture About To See Major Shift

Control room furniture isn't an industry that gets lumped in with the tech sector very often. Control room furniture, when taken as a whole, is in fact a stable and conservative sector. But I see this as an argument for rather than against the industry. The backbone of America's dwindling manufacturing is made up of industries such as control room and office furniture that are more resistant to change. For companies like these, there is no need to always be innovating.

But there might soon be an unavoidable shift. A big name in office furniture design is about to unveil an innovative new type of office console that will redefine office consoles. Herman Miller is in the development stages for a new product known as Metaform that will enable office managers and employees to reconfigure consoles as they deem necessary. Rest assured, the pieces can be set into the traditional cubicle form that we are all used to. But the furniture can be shifted effortlessly into a wide open set up, if employees need to interact to a greater degree.

This new technology became a reality thanks to German firm Studio 7.5. Before the product is widely distributed, it is being tested in a number of offices so the makers can learn how end-users interact with the consoles. This

is Herman Miller's next step toward developing their "Living Office" concept. The furniture giant foresees the future of office spaces as being less static in terms of individual employees. As such, the ability to reconfigure workspaces will be a necessity.  

Control room furniture could be negatively impacted by such a redefinition. Control room consoles are typically designed for one space and are meant for that space only. Companies that keep the control room sector afloat, might move toward greater collaboration and therefore could demand less. It's unlikely that certain industries (e.g., Defense/Intelligence) will shift toward greater employee interaction. But taken as a whole, American culture has become increasingly collaboration-focused. One need only look at the Internet trends of the last few years to see how widespread it has actually become.

In light of these considerations, an update of the way we view control room furniture is due. It is doubtful that the industry is doomed or any such thing, but we should realistically expect that user-defined furniture is in the cards. This potential new standard in office furniture could detract from our industry at first, but that is all the more reason to adopt more progressive attitudes going forward. Otherwise, the sector could falter and end up weakening the American backbone.

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