gridded panels + illuminated tiles make up this booth for herman miller’s collection

alberto caiola designed a striking booth for herman miller’s retailer van collection exhibited in design shanghai 2021, china’s leading showcase for international design brands, architects, and interior designers. the dazzling stand drew inspiration from the herman miller brand heritage, echoed through an insightful saying from the firm’s first design director, gilbert rhode, boldly printed across the booth’s back wall: ‘the most important thing in the room is not the furniture – it’s the people.’

images by dirk weiblen

in alberto caiola’s design, the quote became a catalyst for exploration around ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has not just transformed and expanded the roles of home, but also flipped our lives upside-down. by playing on perspective and light, the booth frames herman miller furniture as smart solutions for flexible living. in a radical departure from standard booth design, caiola’s design overturns lighting rules.

contrary to how products are typically spotlighted from above, displayed furniture in this booth was lit entirely from below by way of illuminated tiles. the effect not only reinforced a key theme of inviting visitors to think about the home in quite literally a different and new light, but it also echoed the stand’s centerpiece quote by highlighting not the furniture, but people. the underfoot lighting lent the booth a sensory, otherworldly quality, making for an extraordinary visitor experience.

because of the light source’s position, people cast no shadows as they moved throughout the space. the cinematic, almost kafkaesque effect was a nod to how many experienced the pandemic: without shadows, marking time’s passage becomes all but impossible. during periods of lockdown, too, a strange combination of listlessness and urgency affected our perception of time.

the booth comprises four distinct areas or ‘rooms,’ separated by gridded partitions. these areas consist of a living area, gaming space, home office, and dining room, and their imagined function is indicated by a curated selection of freestanding furniture. the gridded walls have the dual effect of opening up and obscuring the layout due to partitions’ depth. visitors’ views into adjacent rooms are dependent on where they stand and how they look.

positioned behind one of these fiber-reinforced paneled walls, the booth’s backdrop quote is similarly only visible when viewed from a particular perspective. the gridded walls are also recalling an upshot of the COVID-19 pandemic that will be familiar to many. that is, the catching and sharing of glimpses into newly hybridized work-life spaces through computer screens, thanks to endless video calls brought about by home office conditions. comprising freestanding pieces within a fully modular set-up, the stand has been deliberately designed for reuse. both illuminated floor tiles, as well as the partition walls, can be reconfigured according to future furniture fairs’ booth dimensions, building in important layers of flexibility and sustainability.

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: yasmina karam | designboom