Italian design brand Arper joins Design at Work New York as a Founding Partner and Furniture Partner for The Manhattan Lounge when the new workplace design event launches at the Javits Center on March 10–11, 2027. 

Work is no longer defined by a desk, a room or even a building. 

As the boundaries between work, home, hospitality and community continue to shift, the spaces around us are being asked to become more adaptable, more intuitive and, above all, more human. 

It’s a conversation that has long been central to Arper. 

Design at Work New York has named the global design brand as a Founding Partner, bringing Arper’s distinctly life-centered approach to design to the Javits Center in March 2027. Arper will also be the Furniture Partner for The Manhattan Lounge, helping create a dedicated environment for conversation, connection and the exchange of ideas between industry leaders throughout the two-day event. 

Founded in 1989 in Monastier di Treviso, Italy, Arper has grown from a family-owned furniture manufacturer into an international design brand, creating furniture and spatial solutions for workplaces, homes, hospitality, education and public environments around the world. 

Designing for a world in flux 

At the heart of Arper’s approach is a simple but increasingly relevant question: how do we want to live? 

The way we live and work is becoming increasingly fluid. Workplaces are places to focus, collaborate, socialize, learn and connect. Hospitality is influencing the office, informal spaces are becoming meeting spaces, and furniture increasingly needs to respond to multiple uses rather than one prescribed function. 

Arper describes its response as the Project of Living — an approach that looks beyond individual products to consider how spaces can support people as their needs and environments change. 

Versatility, modularity and adaptability sit at the heart of that philosophy, alongside an emphasis on comfort, simplicity and emotional experience. It’s a perspective with relevance to the workplace, where organizations are increasingly looking for environments that can evolve alongside their people rather than dictate how work should happen. 

That life-centered thinking also extends to environmental responsibility. Arper established its Environmental Department in 2005 and continues to invest in life-cycle assessment, environmental product declarations, material innovation and circular design. 

Creating space for connection 

At Design at Work New York, that philosophy will take physical form in The Manhattan Lounge. 

As Furniture Partner, Arper will help create a space designed to bring people together — reflecting the increasingly important role that informal and hospitality-inspired environments play within today’s workplace. 

It will provide a dedicated setting for industry leaders to meet, connect and exchange ideas during the event, bringing Arper’s thinking around comfort, adaptability and human experience directly into the Design at Work New York environment. 

A new destination for workplace design 

Launching at the Javits Center in March 2027, Design at Work New York will bring together international and North American brands with architects, interior designers, workplace strategists, dealers, developers and end-user decision-makers for two days of product discovery, CEU-accredited education, industry insight and connection. 

As a Founding Partner and Furniture Partner for The Manhattan Lounge, Arper will be part of Design at Work New York from its launch year, joining a growing community of brands, partners and industry leaders helping shape what’s next for workplace design. 

Design at Work New York takes place March 10–11, 2027 at the Javits Center, New York.