pedrali designs a gentle habitat where workplace demands and hospitality make peace at orgatec
returning to orgatec for its ninth time, pedrali stages #pedraligentlehabitat across a fluid sequence of spaces, reflecting the growing overlap between office and hospitality design.
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PEDRALI MAKES ROOM FOR RELATIONSHIPS AT ORGATEC
Pedrali returns to Orgatec in Cologne for the ninth time, twenty-two years after its debut in 2004, setting up #PedraliGentleHabitat. The Italian manufacturer addresses the reality that rigid desk rows rarely spark great ideas, bringing the comfort of hospitality directly onto the office floor. Answering the fair’s theme, ‘From rooms to relationships: designing spaces in an ever-changing world,’ the setup proves office furniture can be as inviting as it is functional, with interconnected and welcoming environments designed to reflect contemporary lifestyles and evolving professional needs.
TRADING CORPORATE RIGIDITY FOR GENTLER, CIRCULAR HABITAT
Designed by Milan practice DWA Design Studio, the 700 square meter stand takes shape as a warm architectural landscape framed by exposed poplar wood and rippling canvas surfaces that play with light and shadow. Rethinking the temporary nature of trade show architecture, the company designed the entire pavilion to be completely dismantled, packed up, and reused. In fact, major structural components are already enjoying a second life after first appearing at Salone del Mobile 2026.
This circular focus extends straight to the tabletop through Unico, an experimental project developed alongside DWA Design Studio. Instead of discarding the leftover industrial plastic flushed out during color transitions on chair molding lines, the designers press this factory waste into turned plates and bowls that mirror carved stone or primitive clay. The collaboration also scales down the pavilion’s fluid forms with Ondine, a collection of fire-resistant, thermoformed polyester acoustic panels. Taking cues from the stand’s undulating canvas walls, the modular system functions as wall mounts, hanging dividers, or desk screens to keep open-office chatter firmly in check.
MODULAR FORMS SHAPE THE EVOLVING WORKPLACE
Pedrali translates modern work dynamics into focused, tactile environments, starting with an executive meeting setup centered around Robin Rizzini’s architectural Frank table. The structure is paired with Patrick Jouin’s soft, organic Opale chairs featuring solid ash or walnut legs, Sebastian Herkner’s Blume Sideboard, and the Kawara lighting by Yusuke Kawai, whose forms nod to traditional Japanese roof tiles. For active collaboration, Rizzini’s modular Rizz Workstation benches accommodate teams alongside Jorge Pensi Design Studio’s ergonomic Polar task chairs, newly introduced in terracotta and sage green breathable mesh.
Shared social zones do away with fixed seating in favor of fluid interaction, anchored by one of the latest additions unveiled at Orgatec, Busetti Garuti Redaelli’s new Buddy Oasi Serpentine system. The modular setup curves into winding, upholstered islands paired with Patrick Jouin’s cocooning Ila armchairs and the newly introduced castor-mounted Buddy poufs, inviting casual catch-ups. When open-plan chatter inevitably calls for retreat, the new mobile Buddyhub Desks and Sideboards wheel in on castors to carve out instant, acoustic-wrapped focus niches. Workstations transition to the Arki-Table Desk, spotlighting a newly developed integrated lighting system engineered for the collection, while Ondine Desk screens can also be mounted directly onto Arki-Table Desk to ensure acoustic continuity across different workstation families.
The sequence wraps up by dissolving the sharp boundary between indoor offices and the outdoors. Nearby, the Ikon Twist table anchors open-air settings, balanced by Formafantasma’s Estratto coffee tables extruded from single-material aluminum. Weaving acoustic quiet, clean geometry, and raw tactile materials into a single cohesive landscape, Pedrali proves that a well-designed office is not just somewhere you clock in, but an inviting habitat that feels good to spend the day in.
