Highlights
- Nemschoff references its residential archives for new collection of institutional furnishings
- Classics from Nemschoff marry mid-century modern aesthetic with high performance
- Nemschoff introductions include seating and tables in an updated selection of solid hardwoods
When Nemschoff was founded in 1950, the company started with a focus on furniture for the home, but quickly expanded into public arenas, specifically education and healthcare. Today, Nemschoff is recognized as a forward-thinking leader in high performance institutional furniture, yet in the 1950s the company was also a leader in the residential market, breaking away from traditional forms and ornate details to introduce furniture with the clean lines and slim profiles that are now recognized as mid-century modern. At NeoCon 2016, Nemschoff is expanding its Nemschoff Classics with a series of pieces that connect the company’s heritage in residential furniture with its expertise in high performance furnishings designed for use in public spaces.
An identifiable trend in institutional furnishings is a shift toward the warmth, comfort, and character typical of residential furniture. Architects, designers, and facilities professionals are looking for less clinical aesthetics in today’s healthcare facilities; they seek signature pieces that create a unique experience within a space. To address these changing needs, Nemschoff delved into its archives and identified mid-century residential lines with timeless character that could be updated in a meaningful way for use in public spaces today. The original designs were all part of the Peabody Collection, Nemschoff’s late 1950s collaboration with Richardson Bros. and designer Lawrence Peabody, targeted toward residential applications. While inspired by archival pieces, the new introductions are designed to be suitable for institutional use, with modern materials, construction methods, and manufacturing techniques. The resulting pieces highlight Nemschoff’s strength in crafting wood-framed, fine-upholstered furnishings engineered for public use.
The Nemschoff Classics lines include Aspen, Sophora, Tamarack, Hemlock, and Iris. Aspen is a timeless seating option, in an armchair or settee with a lightly scaled wood frame supporting an upholstered seat and back that balances sophistication, casualness, and comfort. A coordinating ottoman brings a unique posture to public spaces. Featuring a distinctive floating strut, Sophora references a mid-century barrel chair, retooled significantly for performance in public settings with structural integrity, cleanability, a new seat height and a change in scale. The versatile Tamarack is an occasional table that transforms, partially or fully, into a bench with the addition of various sized upholstered cushions. Another residentially-inspired occasional table, Hemlock, can be used in any room, with turned solid wood legs and a variety of sizes and heights. Reintroduced in a choice of solid hardwoods, Iris is a comfortable, supportive lounge chair or settee featuring a high back and sloped sides with either upholstered arm panels or open wood arms.
With the expansion of the Classics collection, Nemschoff is updating its material offering to align with Herman Miller’s family of brands. Though they reference archival designs, the new pieces will be available in a choice of solid hardwoods—maple, white oak, or walnut—selected specifically to meet the aesthetic and technical demands of the modern institutional market.
From its inception, Nemschoff set out to create furnishings that elevate everyday moments, with designs that are thoughtful, intuitive, and familiar. With these new additions to the Classics collection, Nemschoff brings its residential past to serving institutions in the present, with pieces that universally speak to the modern lifestyle, while also attending to the unique requirements of public use.
Premiering at NeoCon in Chicago, the expanded Nemschoff Classics collection will be available for order from Nemschoff and Herman Miller dealers in October 2016.
About Nemschoff
Nemschoff, a Herman Miller company, provides innovative furnishings for healthcare and other high-use environments. With equal emphasis on style and performance, Nemschoff solutions combine high-quality materials and construction, thoughtful features, and unparalleled comfort, into a unique form of design that has become the preferred choice for equipping healthcare environments. Founded in 1950, with headquarters in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Nemschoff believes that people make a difference, things should be built to last, and design can improve the way we work, heal, and live.
About Herman Miller, Inc.
Herman Miller is a globally recognized provider of furnishings and related technologies and services. Headquartered in West Michigan, the global company has relied on innovative design for over 100 years to solve problems for people wherever they work, live, learn, and heal. Herman Miller’s designs are part of museum collections worldwide, and the company is a past recipient of the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper Hewitt National Design Award. Known and respected for its leadership in corporate social responsibility, Herman Miller has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the past 12 years, and has earned the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s top rating in its Corporate Equality Index for the past eight years. In fiscal 2015, the company generated $2.14 billion in revenue and employed over 7,000 people worldwide. Herman Miller trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol MLHR.