British furniture manufacturer, Frövi has just released Colony – a workspace solution that can be used to create more creative and flexible office environments.
Frövi’s design aesthetic is inspired by the clean style of Scandinavian design but fabricated with the ethos of British craftsmanship. Working with their in-house design team to develop best in class solutions for today’s more flexible and social work environments the Colony product line is geared to appeal to designers looking for a distinctive new solution for their clients.
Colony is a modular octagonal pod that can be configured into many different designs, creating a space within a space – each with their own atmosphere and community feeling. Colony is a flexible and reconfigurable free-standing structure designed to create informal and formal workspace solutions to meet, socialize and collaborate.
Colony challenges everyday thinking of working practices in open plan workspaces, offering a truly unique solution.
How does the Colony product line work with today’s workplace designs?
This unique design can be configured into many different designs, creating a space within a space – a bold step forward in workplace design.
Does Colony support agile and activity – based workplaces that are becoming so prevalent in new and refurbished facilities? If so, how?
Colony is whatever you want it to be. Each Colony can be themed according to how you use the workspace. Fill with plants for a calming botanical theme, create a relaxed bohemian space, a more corporate space for agile meeting options, or chill out in a library-style arrangement. We wanted to ‘colonize the office,’ taking back space from the open plan and supporting agile and activity-based workspaces.
Can you tell a story or give an example of how this product or service will help our readers design and implement great workplace solutions?
Colony takes a bold step forward in workspace design, challenging the everyday thinking of working practices and open plan environments that we have all become accustomed to. This pioneering piece is unlike any other design by Frövi: it is not just a product but also a vessel for other products both old and new to feature in this creative workspace.
With Colony, a truly unique inspirational space can be created. Explore the possibilities by configurating Colony to your requirements and specification; the options are endless.
We were able to get some great background information from David King – Frövi R&D Manager, based in the Oxfordshire, UK headquarters
What was the inspiration for this design of the Frövi Colony?
I sat down with the team and said ‘right, we need another design concept.’ I didn’t need a fully finished, polished, product but a concept that challenges peoples’ perceptions of the workspace and what you can do with it. We have our creative sessions where the team sits down with no laptops, no phones – just pens and papers. Booths are strong products for us right now so we looked at how we could come up with something similar, but different: a booth which can have eight to ten people in it. We wanted to make it bigger and make it enclosed, but not fully enclosed. We challenged ourselves with a whole heap of questions until we came up with the idea of creating a ‘vessel’ for our products. This ‘vessel’ will hold all our other products, creating areas and zones. Initially we came up with 30-40 different concepts, but the key thing was that everything interlinked.
Multiple configuration concepts were in play for the Colony product
What innovations in use of materials or fabrication are utilized in the manufacture of this product?
We had to make sure we used the right material because of the cantilever design and the sheer scale of the product. As you can remove panels, we needed a strong, solid framework to ensure strength and stability. We were able to redesign and refine the framework into a lightweight structure that can easily be broken down and re-assembled. Colony was refined and refined to get to the one we’re at now, and we’re still refining. Colony uses felt panels made from recycled plastic bottles (PET) and all panels and finishes are completely customizable to suit the space, designer, and client. Every Colony component has been engineered for strength, flexibility and re-configuration.
Where do you think the installation of this product will be most effective?
I’d love to be able to see it in a large open atrium area. I think it would look fantastic at a lower level, looking down and seeing the product as it was intended: linking colonies, dividing and re-defining office space, all with different workspaces and areas hidden inside.
A year from now what would be the most exciting thing you could think of that would find out about how the product has been accepted, specified and installed in projects?
Colony was designed to challenge workspace conventions – the way that we zone space and interact with it. We aspire for Colony to be widely or even globally accepted as a product that changed the face of workplace design, for the better.
When will the Colony be available for specification?
Colony is available now; it launched in North America in early February.
What do you think our readers will love about the product or service?
That it’s completely configurable. You can design your own combination of panel finishes, choosing from felt, metal or fabric. Combine modules to create an atmosphere like no other within a workplace, bringing people together while offering a private retreat. Colony gives you freedom to configure and accessorize your perfect layout.
Are you able to share any cost information about this product?
Frame for a Single Colony (7 panels, 1 opening) starts at $10,666 MSRP. Readers can configure their Colony here – to check out the options for finishes and layouts. The product catalogue can be downloaded from our website.
When and where do you plan to exhibit Colony?
We launched Colony into North America at Toronto’s Interior Design Show (IDS) and we will follow that up by exhibiting for the first time at Neocon in June 2020.
Is there anything else you think our readers should know?
Frövi is a British brand. Inspired by the distinctiveness of Scandinavian design, we had a vision to fuse this design style with Britain’s renowned craftsmanship. This blend remains at the heart of the Frövi brand today. Since 1976, we’ve honed our skills to produce distinctive furniture, created through the best of British craftsmanship.
Every one of our new products is created in-house from the ground up. We’re a team of creative thinkers, trend spotters, pattern makers, metal workers, wood crafters, seam stitchers and comfort testers.
Frövi designs and manufactures innovative furniture for social spaces, crafted to meet the growing demand for a new approach to communal areas within the workplace. Frövi furniture is produced using a variety of materials and techniques, both traditional and innovative, to produce the distinctive Frövi style and quality. The designs boast creative use of colour and the finest of contemporary style.
Whether you are an architect, designer, specifier or furniture dealership you can be confident that every Frövi product will deliver on quality, strength and value, all supported by our 10-year Limited Warranty.
In July 2019, Frövi North America (Frövi NA), a subsidiary of Frövi UK, a family – owned British commercial furniture company, announced its partnership with Canada’s Stance Healthcare (Stance).
The partnership between Stance and Frövi NA enables Frövi to build on their success in the North American market by leveraging the strong relationships and distribution network Stance has built over the past decade within the contract furniture industry. Each company approaches the market independently through their respective independent sales rep groups.
Frövi NA will continue to take advantage of Stance’s supply chain and skilled production team as Stance gradually expands the capabilities of their Kitchener manufacturing facility to include the production of select Frövi NA products and distribution of them throughout Canada and the United States.
Frövi NA has launched an eye-catching binder on MyResourceLibrary, the premier digital library serving the contract market, and is an INDEAL supplier partner, joining an exclusive group of suppliers with industry-leading levels of service and outstanding value propositions.
“With shared core values and a focus on quality crafted furniture, Stance Healthcare is the perfect partner to help us build on the last three years of success in Canada and really do great things in the North American market,” says Ben Dunham, Design Director, Frövi. “By leveraging their knowledge of the market, we look forward to expanding our business and raising the profile of our brand within the North American contract furniture industry.”
“We are excited about the opportunity to help accelerate Frövi’s growth in the North American market,” says Carl Kennedy, President, Stance Healthcare & Sales Director, Frövi North America. “I believe their strong brand and design-forward products, combined with our industry relationships and distribution model, will ensure a successful and sustainable presence for the Frövi brand in North America.”
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Frövi 12 – The latest edition of Frövi’s annual catalog will be launching on 2nd March 2020, featuring new product ranges and additions. Price changes effective from 2nd March 2020.
Look out for more information on www.frovidesign.com where the guide will be available to download.
