[WLD26]

Key Dates

29 May 2025 -Launch Deadline
28 Aug 2025 -Standard
19 Dec 2025 -Extended Deadline
26 Dec 2025 -Judging
19 Jan -Winners Announced
24 Mar -presentation
Monday, 05 January 2026 01:26 local time

Evo

Allsteel | Product Design - Office

 
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Project Overview

Evo, an Allsteel office essential, has been transformed into a seating solution with sustainability at its core, designed for everyone, everywhere. Evo upholds Allsteel’s commitment to sustainability with its zero-waste knit-to-fit back, featuring sustainable yarns, simplified recycling and a fully carbon-neutral option complemented by offsets.

Evo is built around utilizing upcycled inputs, eliminating waste during production and making recycling at end-of-life easier. Evo’s Quilted Knit Back is constructed with SEAQUAL® yarn, made of upcycled marine litter, knitted directly into the back with knit-to-fit technology. The Evo Quilted Knit Back production creates zero waste, and the chair back is adhesive-free, ensuring straightforward, proper recycling. In addition to its environmentally friendly attributes, the Quilted Knit delivers ergonomic comfort through its supportive structure and breathable design.

Evo is now offered with a carbon-neutral option in which offsets fund the stewardship and management of U.S.-based forests. These projects preserve biodiversity and improve air quality while sequestering carbon.

Organisation

Allsteel

Team

Project Brief

Evo’s new enhancements allow the chair to meet the ever-changing demands of modern workspaces while pushing the boundaries of versatility, sustainability, and human-centered design. Now offering options for an eco-friendly Quilted Knit Back made from SEAQUAL® upcycled marine litter as well as carbon-neutral models, the upgraded Evo collection not only enhances the overall chair’s design but adds a layer of sustainability that aligns with Allsteel’s core principles.

Evo’s materiality and colorways seamlessly integrate into any workspace, complementing the built environment without overshadowing. Up close, Evo reveals a richness in detail—accent stitching, premium back materials, and carefully coordinated base and frame colors—all reflecting the craftsmanship embedded in every piece. Evo’s aluminum arms and base options have also been upgraded, now offered in 40 painted aluminum options of varying hues; these are available for Evo Conference, Evo Work, and Evo Stool.

Project Innovation/Need

The star of the updated Evo collection is its new, Quilted Knit Back, created in partnership with Camira Fabrics, combining the sleek, breathable aesthetic of mesh with the plush, supportive feel of an upholstered cushion. Engineered for flexibility, the Quilted Knit Back adapts seamlessly to the user's movements while maintaining support and comfort. Meticulously fashioned with recycled materials and SEAQUAL® yarn – made from upcycled marine litter – the knit is woven through a zero-waste manufacturing process directly to size, eliminating scrap, glue, and sewing. This knit features a quilted infill structure with pillow-like channels that contour to the user’s natural back shape. A loose, responsive yarn moves freely within each channel, allowing the surface to flex, expand, and shift in real time with every movement. The result is a back design that is visually and tactilely soft, bringing human motion and material harmony together. Inspired by the hand-crafted nature of upholstery and the sleek performance of mesh, the Quilted Knit Back introduces a new material category that offers tactile comfort with sculpted performance. Evo’s elevated aesthetics, intricate textures, dynamic patterns, and refined pillow-like design create a visually striking appearance. Its intentional design also features a minimalist ‘T’ patterned backing, highlighting Evo’s inherent lumbar support, which provides ergonomic comfort without added poly components, and adds visual interest. The adhesive-free back, knitted directly into the back with knit-to-fit technology, also allows for easy disassembly and recycling at the end of its lifecycle, demonstrating Allsteel’s commitment to sustainable design.

Design Challenge

While Evo, in its original iteration, remained a market leader among other contract task chair options, Allsteel is constantly challenging itself to not only create new innovative products, but also to ensure existing solutions are upholding the highest and ever-evolving industry standards; Evo was no exception. With this collection update, Allsteel wanted to enhance the Evo collection according to growing market needs, providing its users with increased comfort, elevated customizability, and environmentally focused options.

With comfort in mind, Allsteel envisioned Evo as a seating option that provided its users with choice and flexibility. Instead of making users choose between the soft comfort of upholstery and the sleek performance of mesh, they worked to create a seat backing that perfectly balanced the two for enhanced comfort.

Prioritizing optionality meant sourcing premium materials and offering thoughtful customization options that are currently sought within the market to solve for expressive applications and broaden brand appeal​.

As sustainability remains a top priority in all aspects of interior design, Allsteel strived to transform Evo into a solution that allowed designers and businesses to further integrate sustainability within office environments.

Supportive of Allsteel’s principles, Evo was also created for everyone, everywhere, which tasked designers with making a seating solution that could fit the varying needs of individuals, working styles, and the workplace – from private offices and individual workspaces to collaboration areas and conference rooms.

Sustainability

In collaboration with Camira Fabrics and their precision-crafted knits, Evo’s Quilted Knit Back is produced with a zero-waste manufacturing process, fusing comfort with environmental consciousness. Crafted from SEAQUAL® yarn, made of upcycled marine litter, the engineered knit is made directly to size, eliminating scrap, glue, and sewing. Evo is also adhesive-free in its construction, allowing for improved end-of-life recovery and separation into appropriate recyclability streams.

Beyond the sustainability embedded in Evo’s Quilted Knit Back, the collection’s sustainability efforts continue with Evo Carbon Neutral. The expansion offers Carbon Neutral models for select styles– the Evo Task Chair, Evo Task Stool and Evo Conference Chair. Allsteel offsets each chair’s carbon footprint using third-party Verified Carbon Standard Credits (VCS carbon offsets), which support the stewardship and management of U.S.-based reforestation projects. The Evo collection also holds SCS Indoor Advantage™ Gold and BIFMA LEVEL® 3 certifications, reflecting Allsteel’s broader commitment to responsible material choices, low emissions, and sustainable manufacturing. Evo’s Carbon Neutral expansion reflects Allsteel’s “Designed to Do Better” commitment by merging sustainability, innovation, and ergonomic comfort.


Product Design - Office

This award celebrates creative and innovative design for either a component or overall product. Consideration given to aspects that relate to human usage, aesthetics, selection of components and materials, and the resolution of assembly, manufacturing and the overall function.
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