Some of the biggest names in office furniture and design will bring a host of new-to-region products and award-winning designs to an upcoming office furniture and design event in Dubai, organisers said.

The Office Exhibition 2011, the Middle East’s premier trade event for office fit-outs, will take place from May 17 to 19 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

The 2011 edition of the event will feature its largest contingent of exhibitors from North America with some 30 brands to be represented at the US campus, including Bernhardt Design, KI, Allsteel and Paoli.

Bernhardt Design will be exhibiting in the Middle East for the first time. Its creative team includes Ross Lovegrove (London), Arik Levy (Paris) and Yves Béhar (San Francisco).
KI, one of the largest exporters of furniture to the Middle East, will unveil a wide range of new products, innovative ideas and workplace solutions that create a harmonious blend of furniture and design across multiple sectors and applications.

From its Unite System - comprising seating, movable walls, and desking - to its Lyra Lounge Collection and elegant Strive range of “flex-back” seating, attendees will see a host of furniture solutions that work together to create sophisticated, flexible and functional spaces.

Allsteel’s “Seek”, designed in collaboration with Marcus Curtis Design, the ergonomic chair offers a flexible back and pressure distribution to promote a healthier sitting experience in a design that offers convenient nested storage.

Paoli, a leading US wood furniture company, will be showcasing its latest range of seating and casegoods. Among them is Svelte, a swivel seating with a light and lean architectural form, and the 4 Square series, a lounge seating range with a soft contemporary look.

Mingle is the company’s newest collection of freestanding and modular casegoods furniture designed for active environments such as executive offices and multi-person workstations, while Paoli’s Entrata series invites  aesthetic appeal, multi-task functionality and privacy into reception areas and administrative workstations.

Leading Italian supplier Moving SRL will launch its Business Center range of seating and tables, suited to waiting room areas.  The firm will also showcase its acclaimed Crono office chair which earlier this month won the “Comfort Seating" award from Italy’s official ergonomics certification body.

Spain’s Ofita will display its new Iroha office chair designed by the world famous designer Isao Hosoe, incorporating intelligent automatic ergonomics.

This outstanding feature applies know-how, patented by IHD, based on the constant distance between the elbow and lower back. In Iroha the arms and lumbar support are united in such a way that when the user adjusts the arm height, the lumbar support is automatically adjusted to the perfect position.

German manufacturer Sedus will introduce its temptation twin workstation range, which offers the convenience of individual height adjustment for each desktop.

Korean firm Fursys will introduce its award-winning range of customisable workstations based on minimalist design concepts, which includes the recent red dot winner M10 from Sidiz, Fursys’ specialised range of seating products.

“We are really excited to bring to the Middle East such stellar brands in office furniture and design,” said David Wilson, event director of The Office Exhibition.

“This year’s show promises to be one of our most exciting yet, with an incredible showcase of new products and some fantastic opportunities for knowledge exchange and networking. The Office Exhibition 2011 really is at the forefront of office design. It is an opportunity that architects, designers and business decision makers cannot afford to miss,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service