Melbourne, Australia - July 26, 2011
Steelcase, a global office environments manufacturer, announced today that it received a Design Award™ at the Australian International Design Awards for its media:scape with HD videoconferencing, an integrated furniture and technology solution which enhances collaboration. The product received a Good Design award in the Architectural and Interior Products category. With its origins dating back to 1958, the Australian International Design Awards has a proud 50-year legacy of promoting new, innovative and well-designed products in Australia and throughout the world, and is currently run under the aegis of Good Design Australia. From the initial 232 entries, 127 products were chosen as finalists, of which 47 received the accolade of Design Award.
Driven by research insights on how teams collaborate in person and virtually, media:scape was designed to bring together people, space and information to boost collaboration and help teams excel. media:scape augments how teams collaborate by allowing participants to access and share their digital information equally, quickly and seamlessly through connecting their device into a PUCK media-sharing device. On one high-definition screen, participants will see each other; while on the other engage with various photos, drawings, charts and data from their laptop.
Speaking from Steelcase headquarters in Grand Rapids, James Ludwig, Steelcase vice president of global design, said; “We are honored that the Good Design Australia has presented media:scape with HD videoconferencing with this accolade. “We live in an interconnected world where problems are increasingly complex and collaboration is more important than ever but teams are distributed around the globe today, and the reality is they can’t always be together in person. Our approach of pairing media:scape with a broad range of HD videoconferencing systems enables real-time sharing among teams spread across the globe, reducing travel and work cycle times.”
Uli Gwinner, president of Steelcase Asia Pacific added “It is a great honor for us to receive this award. The growing sales and acceptance of media:scape with HD Videoconferencing around the world show that our company’s commitment to innovation is not only being recognized by our design peers, but also spurring new ways of working and efficiencies by major customers throughout the Asia Pacific region, and around the world.”The 2011 Australian International Design Awards program attracted a record 232 industry entries across eight categories: Architectural and Interior Products, Automotive and Transport, Business and Technology, Consumer, Heavy Machinery, Housing and Building, Medical and Scientific and Sport and Leisure.
Eligible entries were assessed by multidisciplinary panels of Australian and international experts in relevant design disciplines. Judges had the opportunity to physically test entries from a usability perspective, and rank the design merits of each product against a common set of criteria including innovation, form, function, quality, safety, sustainability and best in class design.
The Design Award is just the latest accolade for the media:scape with HD videoconferencing, which has previously been recognized by a Bronze award from the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) and a bronze in the Edison Awards.
About Steelcase:
Steelcase helps create great experiences -- wherever work happens. Our brands offer a comprehensive portfolio of workplace furnishings; products and services, inspired by nearly 100 years of insight gained serving the world's leading organizations. We are globally accessible through a network of channels, including over 650 dealers. We design for social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Steelcase is a global, publicly traded company leading our industry with fiscal 2011 revenue of $ 2.4 billion.
For more information: www.steelcase.asia
For media inquiries, please contact:
Cherry Wan
Steelcase Asia Pacific
+ 852 2823 5527
cherry.wan@steelcase.com