Florabella Lounge Collection Receives Nightingale Award at Healthcare Design.09
November 17, 2009
The Florabella lounge collection by Brandrud / A Herman Miller Company was honored with a Nightingale award at the Healthcare Design.09 conference in Orlando on November 2, 2009. The Nightingale awards are sponsored by Contract Magazine and The Center for Health Design and recognize excellence and innovation in healthcare product design. Each year, a jury of design professionals review products based on their contribution to the healing environment, functionality, quality and durability, aesthetics and style, sustainability and innovation, and pricing.
Florabella was developed by Brandrud and designed by Martin Linder of the San Francisco-based design firm MSL Design to set a new standard for performance in the lounge seating category. It responds to the issues of infection control, durability, and sustainability through the use of several innovative features, including a floating seat, steel framing, and material shifts at areas of high wear.
A desire to reduce the spread of infections in healthcare spaces led to the development of a floating seat to prevent dirt or fluid build-up and associated bacteria growth around the perimeter of the seat—a vexing issue with traditional lounge seating. Consideration for the demands of high-traffic healthcare spaces also led to the selection of durable and cleanable materials, including molded urethane legs and resilient pads in key touch points.
Florabella was designed according to Herman Miller's Design for Environment protocol, which emphasizes recyclability, recycled content and ease of disassembly. It is PVC-free and it includes soy-based foam.
About Brandrud
Founded in 1955, Brandrud is a Pacific Northwest-based furniture design and manufacturing company, with a mission to solve healthcare problems through responsive design. In 2008, Brandrud was acquired by Herman Miller Inc. and today operates as a subsidiary, in partnership with Herman Miller Healthcare.