In other words, in principle,

RAIL offers unlimited options?

FLORIAN KALLUS: Precisely. In a home set-

ting you can configure a large table in a

very short space of time. And things are

no different for an office or confe-

rence area. There are also various

high-desk versions with the sa-

me-sized top as a normal table.

This means you can even assemb-

le complete counters.

Put differently, you

bridge the gap

between office and other

applications?

FLORIAN KALLUS:

That is correct.

But it also works the other way around

from a dining table to an office item?

SEBASTIAN SCHNEIDER: Yes, that’s right. The concept includes both. It is

in keeping with current trends to be able to convert a product used in a home

setting to all manner of other areas. After all, an office has long ceased to be

just an office – with melamine-coated white tops and so on.

The system really is very versatile.

What details do you find particularly attractive?

SEBASTIAN SCHNEIDER: We deliberately designed the connection such

that tops can not only be linked at their ends, but can also abut on the sides,

meaning dual workstations can be combined with each other ...

FLORIAN KALLUS: ... given the radii on the edges you automatically get

gaps, which are ideal for accommodating cables in of

fices. ...

Did you ever think of designing

a kind of “Eiermann frame” for additional

and sophisticated needs?

SEBASTIAN SCHNEIDER: What was

clear for us was that we didn’t want

to simply design another highly func-

tional piece of office furniture,

but rather a flexible system with

a homely character. RAIL should

appear simple and casual –

you should be able to easily add

something, shift something, attach

something, move it, or convert it to

a large table.

Is it not a contradiction

wanting to fuse a dining

table and a working table

with one another? Looking at

the furniture I tend to think of a

dining room rather than a studio.

SEBASTIAN SCHNEIDER: That depends a great deal on the respective

version. But the connection between home setting and work is intentional.

FLORIAN KALLUS: Creating a certain homeliness in the office is exactly

what we wanted.

In other words, a home studio that you also work in?

SEBASTIAN SCHNEIDER: Other constellations are also possible. It could

also be a large office. There is a basic trend in the office sector to reintroduce

the feeling of homeliness to the workplace – as regards the materials, too. If

we talk about a studio, what is meant is that the furniture comes across more

casually than usual – more relaxed and playful. Why shouldn’t an employee

who at present only sits at a desk also be able to work standing up, or have a

different colored table top tomorrow?

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