AbakEnvironments

Workspaces designed for the world

With a clean, crisp look and purposeful visual elegance, AbakEnvironments has been supporting businesses in world-class working environments since 2004. Allowing the architecture of a space to take precedence, AbakEnvironments looks as smart as it works. The slender profile and translucent and reflective materials allow a consistently elegant and contemporary look throughout global facilities.

An AbakEnvironments rectangular desk, viewed from below the surface to show the twin-beam understructure.

A variety of AbakEnvironments surfaces, surrounded by Caper Stacking Chairs with casters.

Designed from an international perspective

When Tim Wallace was 11 years old, he and his family moved from England to Pennsylvania.“The three years we spent living in Pennsylvania had a huge impact on me”, Wallace recalls. “It really broadened my horizons. I came to the US as a naive little English kid and left with my eyes opened to how big and diverse the world is.”

Living abroad was the catalyst for Wallace’s love of exploring, which has served him well as a furniture designer. “I like to gather information and learn about all the issues from as many places as possible when working on projects”, he says. “I do a lot of research before I actually start to design.”

Close view of a knob beneath the surface of an AbakEnvironments height-adjustable desk.

AbakEnvironments storage elements anchor a video conferencing setup that includes a peninsula surface and Setu office chairs.

Designing for an international market has its own set of challenges. Although working on AbakEnvironments crossed many cultural lines, “We came up with a set of core components that can be put together in different ways to shift the emphasis, depending on particular needs”, says Wallace. “It was a fascinating project to work on, and what we achieved was enormously satisfying.”

Wallace says that he’s part of a small group of UK designers who are trying hard to influence the industry overall. “My goal when designing furniture is to make it relevant for the way we live. It shouldn’t be exclusive or impenetrable. It needs to be accessible to everyone.”