Inspiration office: Coalesse Ensemble lounge furniture begin

Identifying that the best ideas are often stumbled upon outside of boardrooms, the Coalesse Design Group set out to examine where people want to be when doing social, informal work. Be inspired with Inspiration Office.

Acknowledging that gathering is one of the great reasons to be at work, the team asked: How well do gathering places actually work for the people who use them? And what kind of modern lounge design innovations would help make the experience of working together feel better — more natural, more delightful?

It is with this question in mind that designers Markus Marschall and Florian Schulz created the Coalesse Ensemble Lounge System – a novel seating landscape that brings serious performance together with the emotive draw of beautiful, well-crafted furniture.

Markus Marschall and Florian Schulz

Here, the duo shares more about the design process of the new gathering place.

How did the design process for Coalesse Ensemble lounge furniture begin? Was there a key insight that set you on a path?

Markus Marschall (MM): We received Steelcase research that told us what people wanted of their time in the office, which included meeting friends, socializing, doing some creative work…to gathering. That got us thinking about this particular behavior and how spaces for meetings had changed. What would make it easier to enjoy that experience with comfort and high performance at the same time?

Florian Schulz (FS): At Coalesse we start with the research. But then we bring people in. And that’s what I like about the company. We always put the needs of people at the center of everything. Design decisions are often emotional – what will make you love a piece – but at the same time, we ground our work in data, in research. And we put that all together into a physical design language.

MM: So we asked, what new behaviors happen when you take a meeting room or a standing-height café setting down to a lounge level? You’d get the feeling of conversations happening in your own home. But this seat has to be a bit more supportive, a bit higher than a casual sofa. And also, a bit firmer. That allows you to be in a lounge position for several hours of working, without slouching or sinking.

How do the design details deliver on this idea of gathering that works?

MM: It all starts with posture. We wanted to perfect a performance back that isn’t limited to one or two positions. It’s a continuous and seamless movement, like in a car. We made the pull super intuitive to locate and use, with a very simple strap, nothing hard or mechanical.

How did nature further inspire the design?

FS: At Coalesse, we always consider biophilia and wondered if a lounge setting could be like a river winding through a space or rolling hills. That led to rounded shapes that can meander, both in length and height. From the beginning, this was about removing sharp edges and angles and creating a natural escape or oasis with the furniture. So, this is the logic behind the whole system. This notion of landscape gave us the scenery of a 360-degree view front and back, high and low, which helps create the rhythms of a more informal space. Softer geography replaces stiff geometry. And then we applied that as well to every detail and proportion of how the furniture fits bodies.

How does Coalesse Ensemble come together in different kinds of spaces?

FS: First, it’s so incredibly modular. There’s no standard configuration. It works in small spaces, and it scales to large spaces. Designers and companies can add components over time because everything fits universally. You can build a winding lounge but just as easily a booth or a nest and rebuild with any of the elements, as needs change.

Ensemble means together. What does that imply for you?

MM: It isn’t just the way the pieces work together. It’s about how these pieces naturally create places where we love to drop in and be together, that also really work for us. It’s how we think about giving designers a system that works – and allows them to have fun and create something original.

FS: Coalesse Ensemble is about building relationships, and that’s what we’re here to do.

The Coalesse Ensemble Lounge System is locally available at Inspiration Office. 

Founded in 2005, Inspiration Office was established to provide the South African market with bespoke workstation solutions, offering smart furniture and accessory solutions from leading international brands such as Steelcase, Orangebox and PolyVision.

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