Best of NeoCon Awards 2022

NeoCon was thrilled to unveil the winners of the 32nd edition of the highly coveted Best of NeoCon Awards. Each year, top manufacturers across the commercial design industry compete for recognition for their latest product introductions. Best of NeoCon Awards are judged by a highly qualified jury of leading architects, designers, specifiers, enterprise clients, and facility managers. Click on the link below to see the 2022 winners, entrants and jury members.

Best of NeoCon 2022 Best of Competition Winner

HELM by HALCON! A Gold winner for Conference & Height-Adjustable tables, HELM took home the award for best overall product in the close to 300 product submissions this year. Congratulations HALCON!

Metropolis Sustainability Lab at NeoCon

Metropolis’s Sustainability Lab at NeoCon (suite 380), was an exhibit and destination to help attendees take the next step towards making a positive impact on people and planet. At the Lab, attendees learned about the most innovative products and dove into new initiatives and resources to help advance their work.

NeoCon 2022 Highlights

Danish Design Makers Exhibition - IN UNION

Danish Design Makers, an alliance of designers with different backgrounds, but all with strong ties to the Danish Design culture, debuted the exhibition IN UNION at NeoCon 2022.

NeoCon 2022 Highlights

NeoCon 2022 Highlights

NeoCon 2023 Call for Presentations Now Open

We invite the NeoCon community to submit a presentation for consideration for NeoCon 2023 Programming.

NeoCon 2022 Highlights

Monday Keynote
Nick Cave, internationally renowned Chicago-based artist, and his partner and design collaborator Bob Faust, Principal and Creative Director for art and design studio, Faust, took part in a dynamic conversation on the art of collaboration, hybrid practice, and the design of life, moderated by Cheryl S. Durst, IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO. Watch the recorded video on the Program Library.

NeoCon 2022 Highlights

Tuesday Keynote
Legendary designer, author, educator, and artist Bruce Mau, presented a timely message on life-centered design and offered a clear path towards developing innovative, sustainable, and holistic solutions to complex, interrelated challenges. Watch the recorded video on the Program Library.

NeoCon Highlights

Wednesday Keynote
Multicultural designer, educator, and autho, Shashi Caan delved into the meaningful improvement of quality of life as shaped by design. Drawing on extensive international work experience, she explored the foundational development for the design industry to address current societal challenges. Peter Exley, co-founder of Architecture is Fun and 2021 AIA National President, joined Shashi in the conversation. Watch the recorded video on the Program Library.

NeoCon Highlights

THE MART 2.0: A New Era: Gensler's Todd Heiser and Lily Diego explored THE MART’s evolution as it takes on a new relevance to best serve the design and business communities of Chicago and beyond. Watch the recorded video on the Program Library.

NeoCon 2022 Highlights

Designing for Measurable Impact: ASID Outcome of Design: Interior designers strive to create spaces that elevate the human experience, delivering beneficial outcomes to clients and end users. Have you been curious about measuring these outcomes to better validate and communicate the value of design? A panel of industry experts provided inspiration and empowerment to start incorporating outcome measures to positively impact people, place, and planet. Watch the recorded video on the Program Library.

Designing a Better Chicago - Panel Discussion

Designing a Better Chicago shines a light on our city’s extraordinary design legacy—the local talent, assets, and community that have long supported civic good through design. Watch the recorded video on the Program Library.

DIFFA Art for Life

DIFFA Chicago’s juried in-person art exhibition and auction took place at THE MART in the North Lobby on October 20. Art for Life Chicago Ambassador, artist Sergio Gomez was joined by co-host Jenny Vyas for an evening of art, entertainment, sips, bites, live and silent auction bidding for amazing art!

Interior Design's 30 Under 30

Interior Design celebrated the top 30 under 30 in Chicago design with a roundtable hosted by AJ Paron, EVP + Design Futurist for SANDOW Design Group, followed by cocktails at Marshall’s Landing at THE MART.

Chicago Textile Week

The third annual Chicago Textile Week explored and celebrated all things textiles through textile focused programming at THE MART and throughout the Chicagoland area. THE MART was this year’s hub of CTW, featuring an art exhibition, artists “in-residence” at showrooms, panels, and a community celebration. It was a great opportunity for the NeoCon community to stay connected outside of the event in June.

Guest Blog

The Workplace is Back in Session
As summer came to an end and I prepared my son to head back to school, my thoughts drifted back to a time when my work was focused on designing schools. No matter if the project was for a higher education or grade school client, even decades ago we spoke of the need to create environments that would better serve learners of all types and styles. Hear from Alexis Kim, Principal and Workplace Practice Strategist, SmithGroup

Guest Blog

Agility is Critical in the Hybrid Workplace
"After taking a brief hiatus from attending NeoCon in the wake of the pandemic, I was thrilled to be presented with the opportunity of returning to the show as a first-time Best of NeoCon juror. I’m pleased to say the experience did not disappoint. As I arrived early to the show, I was able to get a sneak peek and in-person look at a plethora of innovative solutions and discover the commercial design industry’s biggest trends." Hear from Chen Hui Spicer, Regional Design Director, Nelson Worldwide

i+s Design Connections

On September 19th and 20th, i+s magazine hosted 30 design professionals at THE MART for their Design Connections event. The Design Connections event series brings designers and manufacturers together through one-on-one meetings, focus groups, accredited educational sessions and networking and social events. Click on the link below to read more about the event. Visit https://www.themart.com/design-at-themart/ to learn more about design events happening at THE MART throughout the year.

Guest Blog

Three ways to optimize office design delivery amidst volatility. Too many thoughtful designs are diluted by the time they’re built. Yours needn’t be.
Visionary design always means taking risks. Traditionally, the riskiest step is handing off the design documents to let the construction team take over. However, by ensuring breakthrough design solutions can stay intact for your clients, you’ll help shape environments and experiences that deliver on the full potential to spark brilliance. Hear from Alex Dupnik, Design Associate, Unispace.

Guest Blog

Let's eat, meet, meat, and everything in between
"At work the other morning, an announcement came over the office P.A.—a vendor was giving a presentation in our library. The world is healing from the Pandemi Moore! I thought. (Because who calls it the Pandemic anyway?) Expecting pastries as we learned about new design products, I rallied a few new co-workers: “Come on! There are usually snacks for these presentations!” We arrived, and…betrayal. No food!" Hear from Miko Mendoza, Associate, STUDIOS Architecture.

NeoCon 2022 Highlight

i+s hosted a vibrant party celebrating Pride month. Lively music rang down the halls of the 10th floor as neighboring showrooms also participated in the celebration. Once again, i+s partnered with IIDA to raise funds for the Design Your World education pathway program. For every visitor scanned in their space, i+s and its generous sponsors will donated $1 to the program.

NeoCon 2022 Highlights

Interior Design's HiP Awards celebrated the most innovative commercial products and design thinkers in the A+D community. Winners and honorees were announced live at an exclusive event held at THE MART on Sunday night

Guest Blog

Designing for Neurodiversity that Advances the Workplace
"What is neurodiversity, and why will we continue to hear more about it in our industry? Judy Singer, Australian sociologist, coined the term Neurodiversity in 1999.1 Neurodiversity describes the different ways our brains are wired, leading to unique skills, needs, and abilities." Hear from Georgia Metz, Interior Project Designer and Associate at Perkins&Will.

Guest Blog

Designing a Circular Future by Rethinking Office FF&E
"As a major launchpad for ideas and introductions that shape the built environment, NeoCon illustrates the tremendous amount of energy that goes into designing, manufacturing, and installing every component of any given space. What happens to these materials when it's time for a renovation?" Hear from Daniel Kietzer, Director, Ecosystem Growth at Rheaply.

Guest Blog

Work Pods Enable All 3 Essential Elements of a Hybrid Office
"No doubt, one of the most valuable understandings we’ve gleaned over the past 2 years is that we do, in fact, need the office. It gives us people and variety. Without enough of either, work suffers, and mental well-being declines. Yet employees across the board want the freedom to work from home roughly 2-3 days a week for good. Hence the broad consensus. Hybrid is the future." Hear from Robert Korpacki, Product Manager, Hushoffice and Mateusz Barczyk, Senior Brand Manager, Hushoffice.

Guest Blog

Purposeful Design Starts with the Materials We Use
"Why do we design? For art and beauty, yes. But also for purpose. A well-designed chair offers comfort and stability, while an imaginatively created rug brings warmth to a home. Good design improves quality of life. However, beyond the functional purpose of design we must also consider the intention behind all of our design choices." Hear from Giulio Bonazzi, Chairman & CEO, Aquafil Group.

Design Nerds Anonymous podcast

Amanda Schneider interviews Byron Morton, Vice President of Sales and Leasing at THE MART, and Avinash Rajagopal, Editor-in-Chief of Metropolisto discuss the key issues influencing change and the current conversations in the commercial interior design industry. Click link below to listen!

Guest Blog

Time As The New Variable In Workplace Design Programming
"Over the pandemic I, like many, dove deep into gardening and garden design. One of the fascinating things I discovered is that landscape architects design two plans: one for the initial planting installation and a second for the ultimate design, at the 5-year mark when the plants have grown to their mature form. They also do four studies to consider how their design morphs over the seasons to ensure there is year-round visual interest. Their process reflects the inherent understanding of the dynamic nature of the craft." Hear from Melissa Hanley, Co-Founder, Principal, and CEO of Blitz.

Guest Blog

Designing the Metaverse - the value of starting before you’re ready
“For the design community, a new creative opportunity is emerging. What does a chair, a room or a building look like when materials, building codes, ergonomics, and even gravity cease to be a consideration? What happens when a new metaverse decides to inherently re-write these rules and create a new set of design challenges? These questions and more are about to take the design world by storm as people begin to explore virtual environments in which they’ll work, play and connect.” Hear from Andrew Lane, NeoCon 2022 speaker and co-founder of digby.

Guest Blog

The Evolution of an Icon: Creating a New Experience at THE MART
“THE MART is a creative center and hub of design, and the changes being implemented represent an amalgam of genres coexisting in a balanced and eclectic landscape." Read the latest From The Community blog by Gensler Chicago's Todd Heiser and Gensler Detroit's Lily Diego, where they give a firsthand look into the expansive renovation of our beloved Merchandise Mart.