Shimoda Design Group

STEELCASE WORK LIFE CENTER, CHICAGO

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 12/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

Nineteenth-century French scientist Etienne-Jules Marey's pioneering chronophotographs—single images that record multiple positions of a moving subject—were the inspiration behind this 45,000-square-foot Steelcase showroom, which also had to provide distinct spaces for the subsidiary Turnstone, Nurture, and Details brands. "The goal was to unify and celebrate the diversity in each company but still allow the emergence of a holistic physical appearance," says principal Joey Shimoda, who collaborated on the Merchandise Mart space with Steelcase global director of design James Ludwig. Integrating elements include a shared wall of sinuous glass, a dozen columns of glass fiber–reinforced cast gypsum, and the "Body," a glass fiber–reinforced cast sculpture of interconnected diamond shapes.

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