The 35th annual Best of NeoCon Awards kicked off NeoCon 2025 this morning with a high-energy ceremony at THE MART in Chicago, spotlighting the most forward-thinking products transforming the future of commercial interiors. A cornerstone of the commercial interiors show since 1990, the iconic Best of NeoCon program celebrates exceptional solutions spanning workplace, healthcare, education, retail and hospitality. This year, 96 awards were given to exhibitors for products across more than 40 categories, with honors awarded for Gold, Silver, Innovation, Sustainability and Business Impact.

The program’s top distinction, Best of Competition, was awarded to HALCON for its ASTORIA collection (shown here) of conference and mobile communal tables. The ASTORIA collection is tailored for the modern workplace and crafted to create elevated spaces for connection, conversation and community. Jurors praised its exceptional design and everyday usability, highlighting its sculptural bases, refined materials, thoughtfully concealed rolling casters and integrated technology options. Best of Competition finalists included Davis Furniture’s JeLa Guest, Extremis’s Panigiri, Isomi’s Knit One, and Keilhauer’s Unifi.

Manufacturers such as Safco and Shaw Contract earned Innovation Awards for bringing bold new ideas to market through breakthrough technologies, novel features or reimagined approaches. Companies such as Patcraft and The Good Plastic Company won Sustainability Awards for their commitment to environmental responsibility through the use of recyclable or biodegradable components, eco-conscious manufacturing and alignment with industry certifications. Business Impact Awards recognized solutions from Kwalu, Safco/Onsemble and others driving organizational performance through smarter workflows, cost savings, space optimization and other strategic outcomes. Other highlights include category awards for KI, Stinson and many more.

*Vote for People’s Choice Awards through June 10 at 5:00 p.m. CDT.* Read more . . .

Armstrong Flooring® TimberTones® Densified Hardwood is a groundbreaking innovation in commercial flooring. Made from 100% real hardwood, TimberTones is exclusively available through AHF Products. Using a patented process that applies heat and pressure — without acrylic fillers or chemicals — this technology densifies the wood by closing the open cells, densifying the veneer not the core, resulting in a floor that’s not only truly hardwood but also six times more dent-resistant and four times more scratch-resistant than traditional wood.

Any wood, from oak and hickory to soft woods like walnut and pine, is now a viable design option. For example, hickory, the second hardest wood species grown in the U.S., measures 1820 on the Janka Hardness Scale, once densified skyrockets to 3500 — quite the leap! Manufactured domestically in Somerset, Kentucky, TimberTones is built to withstand the demands of high-traffic commercial environments. Beyond its impressive durability, it’s also waterproof, offering 8 hours of top-down protection, and features antimicrobial technology to inhibit the growth of bacteria on the surface, ensuring a cleaner, low-maintenance solution. With TimberTones, designers get a stunning, 100% natural hardwood floor that combines beauty, strength and easy upkeep, perfect for modern commercial spaces.

Visit AHF Products at NeoCon, Booth #7-5068.

Uptime Institute recently announced the release of its 7th Annual Outage Analysis 2025 keynote report. The prevention of data center outages continues to be a strategic priority for data center owners and operators. Infrastructure equipment has improved, but the complexity of modern architectures and evolving external threats present new risks that operators must actively manage.

For the fourth consecutive year, Uptime Intelligence Research suggests that overall outage frequency and the general level of reported severity continue to decline. However, cybersecurity incidents are on the rise and often have severe, lasting impacts.

Key findings include:

• Outages are becoming less frequent and less severe relative to the rapid growth of digital infrastructure.
• Power remains the leading cause of impactful outages.
• Software-based and distributed resiliency tools are expanding.
• The pace of industry transformation is accelerating.

Read more . . .

WiggleRoom Super Structure offers the ultimate freedom to create flexible spaces where people can concentrate, collaborate, or congregate without limits. This freestanding post-and-beam system installs directly on the floor and integrates seamlessly with your environment. With options like LED lighting, ventilation fans, integrated power and louvered ceilings, it installs in just days — without disrupting your building’s existing HVAC, lighting, electrical or acoustical systems. Design enclosed offices, conference rooms or open lounges using endlessly customizable combinations of glass and solid walls. Whether used as standalone rooms or linked beneath a single post-and-beam framework, WiggleRoom Super Structure is an architectural solution that optimizes both layout and budget.

Accredited as a Certified Autism Resource by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards, WiggleRoom Super Structure also offers a calming escape from sensory overload — giving students and professionals a quiet place to relax, learn or connect. For enhanced acoustic comfort, solid wall panels can be clad in PET felt for additional sound absorption.

Discover the possibilities with WiggleRoom Super Structure at NeoCon 2025 in Chicago, June 9–11. Visit KI Wall in THE MART showroom #1181.

FreeAxez created Gridd, the premier low-profile raised flooring and cable management system, to empower facilities to keep pace with today’s dynamic environments. Whether you're adapting to new technology, expanding your workspace, or simply planning for the future, Gridd gives you the freedom to reconfigure infinitely without disruption — all while minimizing waste and maximizing ROI.

Gridd is a modular system available in 1.6 inches (40 mm) or 2.75 inches (70 mm). Gridd provides accessible cabling infrastructure, allowing facility teams to work smarter, faster and more sustainably. With the addition of Gridd Power, an integrated 50-amp modular bus system and Gridd Mobile, an Augmented Reality (AR) app for real time access to everything FMs need to know about the building’s power and data cabling right on their smart devices, FreeAxez gives facility teams complete control over their building’s infrastructure today — and tomorrow.

Visit FreeAxez during NeoCon 2025 at Booth 7-5038.

The fully open plan office, once hailed as the future of collaborative work, is no longer fit for purpose in the hybrid, post-pandemic workplace, according to a new report from Crown Workspace, which surveyed 1,250 office workers and facilities decision-makers across the UK, U.S., Singapore, India, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

Office attendance: preference vs reality

According to the report, Is It Time to Kill the Open Office, for Good? (PDF), a staggering 91% of employees say they would return to the office more often if the space better supported their needs, highlighting a clear opportunity for businesses to reimagine their work environments. Yet there’s a noticeable disconnect between attendance and employee preferences: while 59% currently work in the office full-time, only 41% say they actually prefer to. Nearly half (47%) favor a hybrid model, reflecting the growing demand for greater flexibility. Despite this shift, the office still holds value. A full 45% of employees report feeling more productive in the office compared to just 25% at home. Read more . . .

From commercial real estate to schools and manufacturing plants, the innovative approach from ABM is setting a new standard for clean, efficient and inspiring environments. This article focuses on ABM’s efforts to equip thousands of facilities to meet their occupants’ evolving needs. While other companies may see janitorial services as just a “must-have,” ABM offers a way forward that links essential maintenance to ongoing performance that’s smart and sustainable.

For over 100 years, ABM has helped facilities welcome their guests and tenants to world-class facilities that blend the benefits of scale with attention to detail. Read more . . .

Wooster Products is the industry leader in anti-slip stair treads and walkway products. They have been manufacturing anti-slip products for new construction, renovation and OEM applications since 1921 from their Wooster, Ohio, facility. Long respected for quality and innovation, their products include cast iron (Ferrogrit), cast aluminum (Alumogrit), extruded aluminum (Spectra, Supergrit, Stairmaster, and Flexmaster), pressure-sensitive adhesive tape (Flex-Tred), and coatings (WP-70, Walk-A-Sured, and Safe-Stride), as well as photoluminescent nosings and treads (NITEGLOW).

Their work is featured in commercial, industrial, and residential settings worldwide. Wooster Products can provide anti-slip solutions for any project; stadiums, office buildings, apartments, restaurants, sidewalks, transit stations, trucks, trailers, boats, planes, and more. Contact Wooster Products today to “Make Every Step a Safe One.”

The Architecture section of FMLink Books offers a wide range of handbooks and professional references for architects and designers. Costbooks, architectural graphic standards and design integration guides provide accurate square-foot costs, reference drawings and constructible architectural details as well as design integration for most of the building disciplines: Architectural, Interior Design, Structural, Mechanical, Plumbing and Electrical. These must-have reference guides at FMLink Books enable facility professionals, building owners, architects, engineers and designers to comply with requirements for an incredible variety of actual building projects.

This collection of peer-reviewed books has been curated by the editorial team at FMLink to provide facilities, engineering and A&D professionals with access to publications relating to the Architecture topic.

See all the Architecture titles for sale at FMLink Books.