At the risk of overusing the phrase "a concept that grows on us the more XXXX adds to it" and so reducing a genuine sign of respect to irrelevant dribble: Stefan Diez's New Order system for HAY is a concept that grows on us the more Stefan Diez adds to it.
What began life as relatively simple contemporary shelving system is being presented at Orgatec 2014 as a fully fledged office system. We've always liked New Order, but the more it grows, the more it appeals.
Apart from the systems modularity and simple aesthetic what has always attracted us to New Order is the fact that the basic unit comes without doors or walls, these can be added and changed as required. The installation being a tool-less job which any fool can undertake. In addition the option of using deep trays as modular elements for the top layer of the system means that it is possible to include somewhere safe to store all those loose things that one accumulates in the course of an afternoon.
The existing New Order shelving system has now been extended, literally, by a table top and perfectly complimented by accessories including a roll container for under the desk.
As such New Order can now be employed as a self-contained, and infinitely extendible and reconfigurable office system.
What particularly appeals is the way the shelving units can be integrated into desk islands. In modern offices we don't always need 2m x 1m desks, a smaller, narrower space is often adequate, and with the option to create a "desk" from two-thirds work surface and one-third shelving the New Order system allows for this while retaining the "standard" desk width. A genuinely most appealing innovation.
Having briefly spoken to Stefan Diez about the New Order system on a couple of occasions in the past we are well aware of the novel engineering that underlies much of the systems simplicity, how long it took, for example, to get the hinges and clips on the folding doors just right; and with the simple yet highly adaptable leg mounting system it looks very much as if Stefan Diez Office and their engineering partners have been busy again.
We're absolutely certain HAY did have other new products in Cologne. We however only had eyes for New Order.
Sorry!
