NeoCon 2026: Haworth Blends Craft, Performance, and Human-Centered Design
Every year at NeoCon, manufacturers showcase their latest products, but the strongest presentations tell a larger story. At NeoCon 2026, Haworth’s showroom reflected a clear vision for where workplace design is headed: spaces that feel more human, products that balance beauty with performance, and innovations that make it easier to create environments people genuinely want to use.
Throughout the week, conversations with Haworth Chairman Matthew Haworth, President and CEO Franco Bianchi, and featured designer Stephen Burks revealed a common thread connecting this year’s introductions: great design happens at the intersection of craftsmanship, innovation, and the human experience.
Design That Feels Personal
One of the most talked-about collaborations in the Haworth showroom this year came from designer Stephen Burks, whose multidisciplinary practice spans furniture, lighting, sculpture, textiles, and community-based design initiatives.
Burks explained that Haworth’s outreach began as “a first step towards collaboration,” resulting in a collection that showcases the breadth of his work and design philosophy.
“We’re showing a really cross-section of our practice,” Burks said. “We have an artistic practice working with galleries like Friedman Benda in New York and Volume in Chicago. We also do commercial industrial design.”
Among the featured pieces were Dinamica, a new lighting collection crafted from solid aluminum with rotating bases and heads that allow the fixtures to function as floor, ceiling, and table lights. Also on display was the Birth Lounge Chair, a sculptural seating design formed from molded plywood.
Additional works included Horizon Shelving, Particulaire Wallpaper, Ancestors (Relief) ceramic sculpture, Cozy Spirit House, and the Heritage Builders quilts created through Burks’ collaboration with Gee’s Bend quilters and textile house Dedar.
While each piece represents a different aspect of his studio, Burks pointed to one collaboration in particular as being especially meaningful.
“We also work with communities, so our collaboration with Gee’s Bend quilters and the fabric house Dedar from Milan is probably closest to my heart.”
That emphasis on people and making was evident throughout the collection. When asked about his inspiration, Burks described a process deeply rooted in human connection.
“We are constantly looking at the intersection of craft, community, and industry,” he said. “Hand techniques as a means to innovation, getting as close to the act of making as possible.”
The other communicates identity.
Increasingly, organizations are discovering that employees are not looking for another branded environment. They are looking for meaning.
Balancing Beauty and Performance
For Haworth President and CEO Franco Bianchi, the strength of this year’s showroom wasn’t any single product. Instead, it was the way the entire experience demonstrated the company’s ability to merge design excellence with workplace performance.
“What I love the most is two things,” Bianchi said. “We are innovating the quality of detail and the quality of design.”
Walking through the showroom, visitors encountered a range of environments, from lounges and collaborative settings to product showcases and the Design Lab. Across each space, Bianchi sees a continued elevation in craftsmanship and execution.
“Every year it gets better,” he said. “I think this year is a great testimony of what Haworth is and that design matters.”
At the same time, Haworth continues to address the practical realities organizations face today.
“We speak to CFOs, we have to check the box on norms and codes, we have to create things that are easy to assemble and disassemble and reconfigure,” Bianchi explained.
Yet he believes the industry often overlooks a critical audience: the people who actually use these spaces every day.
“At the end of the day, we know it works for the people, for the users.”
According to Bianchi, NeoCon 2026 demonstrates that organizations no longer have to choose between functionality and experience.
“This is probably the best year we show we can achieve a product with great performance that checks all the boxes, while creating something with user-focused design.”
His vision is simple but powerful.
“The product feels designed for you,” Bianchi said. “Designed to put you at ease.”
Innovation Across Every Layer of the Workplace
Matthew Haworth sees this year’s introductions as extending far beyond furniture alone.
“We’re excited about the resources that we are creating together in terms of service, knowledge, products, and research,” Haworth said. “So that we can partner with the design community and our clients and really deliver spaces that sing for them.”
That commitment is reflected in innovations spanning architectural products, workstations, power systems, seating, and digital tools.
Among the launches generating the most excitement for Haworth is Gallerie, the company’s new workstation platform, along with a newly engineered dual-circuit power system.
“It’s the first new power system since 1986,” Haworth noted.
The system reduces material usage significantly, using approximately half the copper and metal of traditional solutions while also incorporating less plastic.
“It’s more environmentally friendly,” he said, “with a lower profile and a lot of new capabilities.”
Flexibility was another recurring theme throughout the showroom. Haworth highlighted products such as Sorin, a versatile side-chair family, and SOSU, an award-winning collection from Patricia Urquiola featuring sofas, tables, and lounge seating designed to adapt to a variety of applications.
“Whether you tend to like the more fashion, loose-furniture side, or more of the larger-scale architectural side, there’s something for everybody,” Haworth said.
The Future: Human Connections Enhanced by Technology
While products filled the showroom, all three conversations pointed toward something larger than furniture.
For Matthew Haworth, one of the most important trends shaping the future is the convergence of digital and physical experiences.
“Beyond the product and the relationships, there is the commingling of digital and physical presence,” he said.
As technologies like AI continue to evolve, Haworth sees opportunities to simplify processes for dealers, designers, and clients alike.
“If we can simplify those basic needs, then we can spend more time on the higher value-add human elements.”
New visualization tools, AI-powered renderings, and contextual design capabilities are already helping clients better understand spaces before they’re built.
“These new tools allow us to do that,” Haworth said.
Ultimately, NeoCon 2026 reinforced a message that could be felt throughout the Haworth showroom: great workplace design isn’t simply about products. It’s about creating environments that support people, inspire connection, and make work feel better.
As Franco Bianchi summarized, “Design matters.”
And this year, Haworth made a compelling case for why it matters now more than ever.
