Optimis Workstation
Herman Miller As strong and imaginative as the art form that inspired it. Herman Miller R&D Optimis is an origami-inspired family of contemporary desks and meeting tables made from bent sheet metal. Flexible and environmentally friendly, Optimis is designed for collaboration, and its imaginative accessories help keep work tools and artefacts organised.Design Story
In origami, it’s the folding that renders the slender strong and aesthetically pleasing. Herman Miller used the same approach when designing Optimis. Laser cut from a single sheet of metal, pieces are bent and folded together into a unique—and uniquely strong—desk. The process requires less material and less energy than traditional methods, making Optimis as easy on the environment as it is on the eyes.
Optimis is easier on the environment in another way, as well.
It was designed to live a long and varied life within an organization. A simple base and the same, small group of components can be used to create a variety of desks and tables, from benching to 90-degree applications.
Optimal Options
As Charles Eames once said, details make the design. Optimis’s raised toolbar has a linear, floating form inspired by the Japanese torii, angular gates at the entrance of Shinto shrines. It keeps
the desktop free for work in process and supports accessories like a whiteboard, monitor arm, and Cloud storage box. Folded-paper shelves, trays, box files, and note stands snap onto the toolbar to keep papers, books, and pens out of the way, but close at hand. Whimsical paper birds and trees also fit onto the toolbar, providing variety for the eye and inspiration for the mind.
Thanks to Optimis’s considerable array of options, companies can use the desking and table system not just for their work, but also as a means of self-expression. Optional screens are available in acrylic, wood, fabric, glass or customized corrugated cardboard. Optimis base and frames are available in a variety of colors—bright, for a high-energy aesthetic, or muted, for a more sophisticated one.
Material Minimalism
Optimis does more with less. The design utilizes grooves and cutouts, which minimizes the need for joints and screws. Cutting a desk’s parts and pieces from sheet metal is an efficient process that minimizes waste. Furthermore, molding and angling those pieces uses less energy than welding them or than using extruded or cast metal. The desk is sturdy, but the manufacturing techniques are kinder to the environment.
Finally, Optimis flexes and morphs, making it easy to alter the workspace at no additional cost. Its concise vocabulary of components for the product base can be recombined into 30 different reconfigurations—just one more way that Optimis does more with less.
Power Up
Today’s work requires tech tools, and lots of them—all of which need power. An optional power bar enhances productivity by putting power at the desktop and keeping messy cords off of the work surface.
Built into the desktop for easy access, the power bar recharges laptops, tablets and phones while neatly storing their cords and wires. With the power bar, Optimis becomes a true technology partner at the office.
Optimis is an origami-inspired family of contemporary desks and meeting tables made from bent sheet metal. Flexible and environmentally friendly, Optimis is designed for collaboration, and its imaginative accessories help keep work tools and artefacts organised...
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Lead Time: 12+ Weeks, 4-8 Weeks
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