PROTO COLLECTION

From Hightower / +Halle

Born from +Halle’s Annual Briefing on “Dwelling,” Proto began with designer Nick Ross exploring a fundamental human instinct: the desire to find shelter within the spaces we share. His interpretation transformed that idea of refuge into a collection of sculptural lounge seating and tables that creates space for both retreat and connection.

Through our partnership with +Halle, Proto has become a meaningful part of the Hightower collection — reflecting +Halle’s human-centered approach to design and our shared belief that the spaces around us should work better for the people within them.

Meet the Proto Family

Proto brings together high- and low-back lounge chairs, benches, and sculptural occasional tables in a collection designed to work individually or together. Different scales and levels of enclosure support a range of uses, from individual moments of privacy to more open settings for conversation and connection.

A consistent language of soft curves and thoughtful proportions ties each piece together, making it easy to mix seating and tables across a space. Explore the models that make up the Proto Collection below.

Find Your Way to Settle In

Proto isn’t prescriptive about how people should sit — and that’s the point. Seating options with inward- and outward-curving forms create different relationships with the space around them, offering a more embracing sense of retreat or a more open invitation to connect. Different back heights and configurations add another layer of choice, while an optional 360° swivel lets users shift between privacy and participation without moving the chair itself.

That adaptability was apparent even during development, when Ross observed people instinctively repositioning the pieces to create settings of their own. Across workplaces, learning environments, hospitality, and beyond, Proto makes room for people to dwell their own way.

Beyond the Lounge

Not every moment calls for retreat. Proto’s bench, ottomans, and occasional tables bring the collection’s sculptural language into more open settings, creating approachable places to land, work, wait, or gather. Paired together or mixed with lounge seating, they help build a varied landscape that moves naturally between individual and shared experiences.

Dwelling, in Practice

From the Turf showroom at NeoCon 2026 (pictured above) to workplaces, hospitality settings, and shared spaces, Proto adapts its original idea of dwelling to each environment. Its range of forms, scales, and configurations gives designers the freedom to create quiet retreats, inviting gathering points, and everything in between. Browse the spaces below to see Proto in the wild — taking on a new expression in each setting while staying true to its original purpose.