FEATURED STORY
Personal storage
Alexander Russ: Mr. Beerli, what is the concept behind LO Guard?
Hansruedi Beerli: LO Guard is about the topic of "personal storage space" and the question of what that means exactly. We have found that the definition and the needs associated with it are very different. It all ranges from storage space in public places like airports, train stations or shopping malls to the office.
LO Guard can be used as a locker, lock box or wardrobe. How does the design implement this multifunctional approach?
Hansruedi Beerli: Lista Office LO already had various lockers and wardrobes in its range before LO Guard. These were individual solutions. Therefore, the goal was to combine the different types of furniture through a uniform design. We also wanted to play with the height so that we could respond to different requirements.
Are these different heights only for functional reasons or also for design reasons?
Hansruedi Beerli: Both. For example, you can use the furniture as a separating element in the office – and since employees may sometimes come together there to discuss something, we offer a standing height of 1094 millimeters in order to have eye contact. We also have a height of 1442 millimeters in our range, which is ideal for schools – especially in the lower school sector, where the children are still smaller. Then there is our standard height of 1790 millimeters. All three heights are based on a common grid and can be easily linked together. This then results in new design possibilities, such as a skyline-like arrangement of the individual elements.
There is also a product configurator for LO Guard. How does that work exactly?
Hansruedi Beerli: The product configurator was created for defining the individual combinations of the range. There you can choose whether to start with a locker, a lock box or a wardrobe. This means that a wide range of combinations is then possible. For the lock boxes and the wardrobe, for example, the height and height division of the doors can be changed. However, the flaps for the lockers always have the same height, as it is derived from the standard height of file folders.
LO Guard is based on a modular system. How difficult was it to ensure that all the components fit together?
Hansruedi Beerli: One challenge was to always have just one side wall – no matter how I combine the individual pieces of furniture and no matter how many I string together. That's why we partly build ready-made housings for the furniture and connect them with so-called linking modules. In this way, double side walls can be prevented. The individual housings are not welded, but plugged together without tools. All steel parts are manufactured directly by us – from the raw steel plate to the surface treatment. We have the associated plastic parts and closures manufactured externally.
LO Guard has six different locking systems. What is that all about?
Hansruedi Beerli: Every customer has an individual need for how they want to lock their furniture. That's why we offer six different locking systems within our characteristic handle shape. A classic, for example, is the handle with a cylinder lock. However, since key management in larger companies always involves a lot of effort, we also offer combination lock, Bluetooth lock, Bluetooth with fingerprint, Bluetooth with keypad code or RFID locks. The combination lock is a mechanical combination lock such as a suitcase. However, there is an increasing demand for electronic locks – for example RFID locks. This locking system is particularly suitable if a company has already implemented an access system. With RFID, LO Guard can be easily integrated into the existing system by programming the lock accordingly. All locking systems can also be integrated into the LO Guard handle shape. This means that they can be easily exchanged and replaced with a new one.
What accessories and design options are available for LO Guard?
Hansruedi Beerli: We have a standard color palette with about 30 colors that can be combined with each other. This results in many design possibilities. For larger quantities, customer-specific colors are also possible, for example to reflect a company's corporate identity. The interior of LO Guard is designed to meet specific needs. For example, there are boxes for small storage, a mirror or a coat hook that can be attached to the doors in a height-adjustable manner. Further, clothes rails with coat hooks and a shoe rack to optimize the wardrobes. There is also the possibility of electrifying the individual compartments with sockets. This allows you to create a completely individual furniture.
