2026 On-site report
Working spaces need more than furniture
The expressive power of booth design grows year after year
One of the booths that left the strongest impression this year was OKAMURA with its “YAA, YAA, YAA” concept. Visitors slowly walked along a spiral ramp, experiencing the spatial changes created by new partitions and furniture. The way sightlines opened up, the reassuring sense of being partially screened from view, and the feeling of human presence that never vanished completely… it was a new kind of experience where visitors did not just look at products but rather felt the nature of boundaries as they moved through the space.
Traditionally, partitions have been used to divide spaces, block sightlines and separate functions. This showcase, however, seemed designed not to isolate people from one another, but to allow them to mix gently, connect and generate spontaneous conversations. The keyword “Blending Furniture” was also introduced. If the office is once again to have meaning as a place where people gather, then the design of these “soft boundaries” is likely to become increasingly important in the years ahead. The OKAMURA booth received both the Grand Prize and the Best Stand Design Award: Chosen by Exhibitors.
Following on from last year, KOKUYO’s exhibit focused on providing a comprehensive experience of its mesh ergonomic chairs. Rather than displaying a large number of products, the company focused visitors’ attention on chairs with a lot of thought and development work behind them, communicating their value concretely through the experience of sitting in them. That intention came across very clearly. Long queues formed at the booth as visitors tried out the sitting experience.
A chair cannot be fully understood through photographs alone. How the back is supported, how the chair receives the body the moment one sits down, and how naturally the chair follows movement… Allowing visitors to experience these subtle sensations in peace made the exhibit quite convincing.
Also memorable was Framery, the Finnish brand represented by KOKUYO in Japan. Its key theme was “acoustic privacy”. With places for work and meetings continuing to expand both within offices and beyond them, the question becomes how to protect the privacy of conversations. Soundproof booths and dedicated meeting spaces were presented as a solution directly addressing this challenge.
Rather than simply blocking sound, the aim was to create an acoustic environment appropriate to the importance of a conversation and the situation in which it takes place. Whether concentrating on individual work, speaking with external contacts, or holding highly confidential discussions, privacy in the workplace is influenced not only by the presence or absence of walls, but also by how sound is managed. The design is sophisticated, demonstrating that work booths are no longer merely facilities placed in a corner of the office, but are beginning to be treated as furniture that enhances the quality of the space itself.
