Interior design show features health care innovations

Photo courtesy of Mermet GreenScreen Evolve shade fabrics.

NeoCon, North America's largest textile and interior design show, is now underway, and Chicago's Merchandise Mart is humming with vendors and designers showcasing their latest innovations. A NeoCon spokesperson says the three-day event attracts nearly 50,000 designs professionals and more than 700 companies, 100 of whom are NeoCon newbies.

Nearly every industry is represented here and health care has not gotten lost in the shuffle. Many companies at this year's show count health care as an important part of their overall portfolio, and are presenting a plethora of new and updated products for health care interiors.

Photo courtesy of HON Soothe health care furniture collection.

Among those showcasing at NeoCon:

• HON's Soothe collection is a full line of patient seating, guest seating, benches and tables for health care settings.
• Tarkett is introducing its new Arcade Tonal Rubber Sheet Flooring patterns.
• Stance Healthcare is featuring its Liberty Behavioral Health Collection.
• Two of Mermet's newest products address daylighting trends important to health facilities.

Photo courtesy of Tarkett Arcade Tonal Rubber Sheet Flooring.

Other booths Health Facilities Management editors will be visiting include Shaw Floors, DIRTT Environmental Solutions, Lonseal Flooring, Herman Miller, Amtico, J+J Flooring, Sherwin Williams, Interface, Acrovyn, KI and many more. 

In addition to learning about new products, attendees can also discover trends and best practices in health care interior design. A few seminars at NeoCon are:

• Designing for Tomorrow's Constants could be beneficial for health care architects who are continuously trying to address tomorrow's needs today. This seminar focuses on the basic human needs that will always be necessary in any built environment no matter how much the world outside changes.
• This is Your Body on Architecture: The Space Wellness Connection will explore the impact design has on physical and mental fatigue, awareness, memory cognition, depression, cardiovascular health and musculoskeletal health.
• Applying the ADA Standards for Accessible Design to Interior Environments will highlight universal design, its advantages and specific applications. It also will inform attendees how ADA standards should influence product selection choices.
• Out is In: Proven Principles for Designing and Furnishing Outpatient Care Settings is about using the design research process to coordinate furnishings interiors and architecture to support patient-centered care. The seminar will look at findings from three outpatient units in which design had a positive impact on patient-centered care.

For more information, visit www.neocon.com.