Module types, height ratios, acoustic panel integration, and finish decisions. How to take a Zone Divider from concept to a complete, coherent specification.
A Specification Guide
A freestanding divider that defines space, manages sound, stores something. The concept is clear. But Zone Divider is a matrix product — configured at the level of the individual cubby, on each face, with independent decisions across columns, rows, base type, finishes, and acoustic placement. The gap between a concept sketch and a specification document tends to open in those decisions.
This guide covers the four decision points that determine a Zone Divider specification: module planning, height and base selection, acoustic panel integration, and finish. Each section ends where the configurator picks up.
Module Planning
Zone Divider is configured at the level of the individual cubby — each one independently specified for module type and, if the unit is placed in open floor plan, independently on each face. The first planning decision is column count and placement context. A unit placed against a wall is specified for its front face only. A unit placed in open floor plan is specified on both faces, and those faces can be entirely different: open shelving facing the collaboration zone, closed cabinet doors facing the workstation row behind it. Column count runs from a single module to six columns wide.
Within each column, stack height determines how many cubby rows there are — and therefore how many independent module decisions need to be made. Each cubby has four options: open shelf, panel, cabinet door, or locker door. A single column can carry all four in sequence.
The practical implication: a Zone Divider specification is not a single product selection. It is a matrix — columns across, rows down, with a module decision at every intersection, and potentially a different decision on the back face of the same intersection. Start with an empty grid and fill it intentionally. In the configurator, module selection comes after you've set height, width, and base.
Module options per cubby
Open shelf — pass-through in freestanding placement; a display or storage shelf against a wall. The default starting point.
Panel — a structural laminate panel on the front or back face. Creates a true closed cubby or splits a cubby in half. Acoustic material is applied on top of the panel separately.
Cabinet door — closed storage. Specified front or back facing. Mixed configurations within a single cubby are supported.
Locker door — personal secure storage. Same configuration logic as cabinet, with handle-and-lock hardware at the cubby level.
Height + Base
The overall height of a Zone Divider unit is the result of two choices: how many cubby rows are stacked, and which base type sits beneath them. Both choices affect function. Both affect proportion — and proportion is where the divider either reads as furniture or as architecture.
Stack height runs from a single row — counter height, a visual separator rather than a physical one — to five rows, which reaches ceiling-adjacent and reads as an architectural element. For most workplace and collaboration zone programs, two to three rows is the specification range: high enough to create genuine zone definition, low enough to maintain sightlines across the floor.
Below the stack, four base types serve different purposes. The minimal base is structural — appropriate where the divider sits against a wall or where the proportional weight belongs entirely to the upper configuration. The elevated base raises the unit 18 inches off the ground with no added storage, lifting the visual center of gravity and creating a distinct horizontal break. The cabinet base inverts the proportion: roughly half the unit becomes closed cabinetwork, with the open or acoustic cubby section above it. The locker base matches the cabinet base in height but places individual lockable compartments in the lower half — relevant for programs that need personal storage at the divider itself.
Base type as a brief decision
Minimal base — structural only. Best for wall placement or where a lower visual weight is the right call.
Elevated base — lifts the unit 18" with no added storage. Raises the visual center of gravity; creates a clean horizontal break.
Cabinet base — roughly half the unit is closed cabinetwork. The cubby stack reads as a cap above it.
Locker base — individual lockable compartments in the lower half. Zone definition and personal storage in a single spec line.
The question before the palette
Acoustic Integration
listen first.Acoustic panels in Zone Divider are not an optional upgrade. They are a module type, specified at the cubby level in the same decision matrix as every other module. The distinction matters: it means acoustic performance is designed in, not added later.
An acoustic panel occupies a cubby position on one or both faces of a column. Because each cubby is independently specified, panels can be placed selectively — covering the face that requires attenuation while the opposite face carries open shelving or cabinet doors. Two adjacent columns can have entirely different acoustic configurations. The unit works across zones without requiring a dedicated acoustic screen alongside it.
The panel face is also a design surface. Eleven colors run from warm whites and neutrals through botanically-named greens, earthy siennas, and a range of blues — from Latte and Nordic Knit through Sage, Juniper, and Bondi Blue. Four surface patterns apply globally across the unit: plain, circular emboss, horizontal rib, and a subtle egg-shaped form. Color assignments are per panel; pattern is a single specification for the unit.
The specification implication: acoustic panel placement should be mapped to the acoustic analysis of the space, not determined by visual preference alone. Distributing panels evenly across a unit for visual rhythm when the brief calls for concentration on one face is a common mistake. The configurator allows per-panel color and global pattern, but placement judgment belongs to the specifier.
Finishes
In the configurator, you select a single finish for all columns and a single finish for the base. That's the standard specification — and it's the right starting point. Choose a column finish and a base finish. Confirm they work together. Move on.
The FENIX ultra-matte palette runs twelve colors: from near-white Bianco Alaska through warm greys, sage-adjacent greens, terracottas, a range of blues, to near-black Nero Ingo. Wilsonart woodgrain options run from pale White Oak Wheaton through Cherry Sienna and into the deeper Walnut Ember and Monteverdi registers. Case finish and door finish are specified independently — a woodgrain door on a FENIX case is a standard configuration, not a custom request.
Base finish follows the same logic: one selection applies across the full base. Where the base and the column section carry different finishes — a common and intentional choice — the horizontal break between them becomes a design line in the room. Specify that transition deliberately.
The finish question isn't which colors are available. It's which combination holds up across the full width of the run, in the light conditions of the actual space, adjacent to the other furniture in the room. The configurator gives you a real-time preview. Use it before the specification is submitted, not after.
From Concept to Configurator
configure early.The Zone Divider configurator generates a specification-ready output: the full module matrix, base type, finish selections, acoustic panel placement, and hardware color. It works best when it enters the process early — as a way of testing spatial and finish assumptions before they're committed to the broader room specification, not as a final-step confirmation.
What the configurator doesn't capture is the spatial context behind the decisions. Column count and orientation relative to the floor plan. Placement context: wall or open floor plan. Adjacency to other furniture and casework. Acoustic intent — which face carries the performance load, and why. Those notes belong in the specification document alongside the configurator output.
No login required. A shared link preserves configuration state for client review and dealer submission.
Before you submit the specification
Ten decisions that should be resolved before a Zone Divider configuration leaves the design team.
Placement context confirmedWall or open floor plan. Both-face configuration required if freestanding in open plan.
Column count and orientation documentedRelative to the floor plan, with adjacency notes for casework and furniture.
Stack height and base type specified intentionallyAs a proportional decision, not a default. Which base reads correctly for this program?
Module matrix completeEvery column, every row, every face. No gaps left to assumption or dealer interpretation.
Acoustic panel placement mapped to acoustic analysisNot distributed for visual rhythm. Concentrated where the brief requires performance.
Acoustic color and pattern specifiedColor per panel if mixed. Pattern is a single global selection — confirm it reads correctly across the whole unit.
Finish transitions documented in spatial termsNot matrix only. Which finish applies to which zone, and why — for the contractor's benefit.
Hardware finish confirmed against adjacent caseworkBlack, pewter, or stainless steel. Confirm consistency across the broader furniture specification.
Depth confirmed and clearance verifiedSingle or double depth. Circulation clearance on both sides checked against the floor plan.
Configurator link included in the submission packagePreserves configuration state for dealer reference and client review without ambiguity.
ready when you are.
Choose storage types, base, finishes, and acoustic panels. Generate a specification-ready output in minutes. No login required.
