Haworth assembly
Every other system here stands on the floor. This one locks into your ceiling.
Haworth is explicit that the ceiling connection ties the panel system to the building grid or finished ceiling. That one detail moves the job out of furniture and into work that has to agree with the building it is standing in.
A wall that behaves like construction and moves like furniture
Haworth’s architectural range, Enclose, Enclose Frameless Glass and Trivati, is not a taller cubicle. These are demountable floor-to-ceiling walls intended to do the job of drywall while remaining movable. Haworth describes the look, feel and acoustic performance as comparable to conventional construction, with sound transmission class ratings up to 45, and offer them in glass, metal, laminate, wood and wall coverings with integrated power and data.
The consequence for installation is that the building becomes part of the specification. The ceiling connection locks the system to the ceiling grid or the finished ceiling. The floor track is adjustable and comes with either a non-marring carpet gripper or a non-marring smooth shoe depending on what you are standing on. And because the wall has to read as architecture rather than furniture, it has to finish cleanly floor to ceiling and column to column, which is why Haworth supply a kit of parts specifically to handle building conditions including bulkheads and HVAC.
None of that is difficult in itself. What it means is that the survey matters more than on any other system in this category. Ceiling type, ceiling height, floor covering, where the columns fall, where the ducting runs and whether the ceiling grid is square are all inputs to the order, not details to work around on the day.
What it actually takes
Timelines depend far more on the building than on the wall. Survey first, always.
| Model | Time | People |
|---|---|---|
| Site survey and dimension checkCeiling type, height, floor covering, columns, HVAC. | before ordering | 1 to 2 |
| Setting floor track and ceiling connectionEverything above depends on this being true. | the critical stage | 2 to 3 |
| Standing frames and panelsKit of parts with consistent connections. | faster than it looks | 2 to 3 |
| Glass panels and doorsFrameless glass needs handling gear and care. | slower, and heavier | 3+ |
| Electrical connectionQuick-connect wiring, but the supply is theirs. | licensed trade | electrician |
| Reconfiguring laterThe reason the system exists. | a fraction of demolition | 2 to 3 |
Compared with framing, boarding, taping and painting, the install is quick. Compared with a cubicle, it is a different discipline.
What to get right, specifically
Survey the ceiling before you specify anything
The ceiling connection locks the wall to the building ceiling grid or finished ceiling, which means the ceiling is structural to this job in a way it never is for cubicles. What kind of ceiling it is, how high it sits, whether it is level across the run, and whether the grid is square all shape the order. So does everything the wall has to pass or meet, which is why Haworth supply a kit of parts for building conditions including bulkheads and HVAC. Getting a proper survey before the order is placed is the single highest-value hour on the project.
The floor covering chooses the track
The adjustable floor track comes with either a non-marring carpet gripper or a non-marring smooth shoe for hard floor applications. That is a specification decision made off the floor you actually have, and it changes if the flooring is being replaced as part of the same project. Sequence matters here: a wall installed before new carpet, or a track specified for carpet and then laid on polished concrete, are both avoidable and both annoying. Confirm what the finished floor will be, not what it is today.
Non-progressive tiling is the feature that pays later
Haworth calls out non-progressive tiling as a built-in efficiency, and it is worth understanding what it buys. On a progressive system, reaching a tile in the middle of a run means working in from one end. Non-progressive means any tile comes out where it is. In practice that is the difference between swapping a damaged panel or changing a finish in an afternoon and taking down a wall to get at it. If you are comparing wall systems, this is a more useful question than the finish options.
Use the integrated slot rather than the tile face
Haworth includes an integrated slot standard specifically so furniture and accessories mount without impacting the surface of the tile. Use it. The temptation on any wall is to fix a monitor arm, a shelf or a whiteboard wherever it suits, and on a demountable system that turns a reusable tile into a damaged one and undermines the whole reason for buying it. It also matters at reconfiguration, when tiles get shuffled and a face full of holes limits where a tile can go.
Quick-connect wiring still ends at a licensed connection
Enclose integrates power and data with quick-connect electrical wiring, which speeds the install and makes later changes straightforward. It does not change who makes the connection to the building supply. As with every powered system in this category, that is a licensed electrician’s work, and it needs coordinating with the wall install rather than scheduled afterward. Data cabling wants the same treatment: run it while the wall is open.
Trivati is a different proposition to Enclose
Worth knowing if you are choosing between them. Haworth manufacture the floor and ceiling rails for Trivati and the walls are site-assembled with insert panels that can be locally sourced, with a tri-channel rail that takes up to three layers of vertical inserts. That offers real flexibility over aesthetics, acoustics and budget room by room, and it also means more of the finished result depends on what is sourced and fitted locally. Enclose and Enclose Frameless Glass are more of a closed kit. Neither is better; they answer different questions.
Ask your accountant how these are treated before you buy
Demountable walls sit in an interesting place between furniture and building improvement, and how they are treated for depreciation can differ from conventional construction. That treatment depends on your jurisdiction and the specific facts of the installation, so it is genuinely a question for your accountant rather than something to take from a brochure or from us. It is worth raising early though, because for some organizations it is a meaningful part of the case for choosing movable walls over drywall in the first place.
Before you order
Survey the ceiling type, height and levelness, and confirm whether the grid is square across the run.
Confirm what the finished floor covering will be, since it determines the floor track.
Map columns, bulkheads and HVAC that the wall has to meet or pass, and order the relevant kit of parts.
Book the electrician for the supply connection and the data technician for cabling, coordinated with the wall install.
Decide between Enclose, Frameless Glass and Trivati on how closed or locally sourced you want the kit to be.
Check whether any local permit or inspection applies to demountable partitions in your building.
Raise the depreciation question with your accountant while the decision is still open.
Who this is really for
Organizations that want private offices and meeting rooms without committing to drywall. Haworth makes the cost argument directly, saying that once all the costs of conventional construction are added up Enclose is equivalently priced and better with upgrades, and that the savings accumulate with each reconfiguration. That is their claim rather than an independent finding, but the underlying logic is sound: the second change is where movable walls win.
It suits tenants especially. A wall you can take down cleanly, move to another floor, or take with you at the end of a lease is a different asset from one you built and will abandon.
The case for a specialist installer is stronger here than anywhere else in this category, because the wall has to agree with the building. Ceiling grids, floor levels, columns and ducting are all things a crew who fits these regularly reads correctly at survey stage, and getting them wrong is expensive in components rather than just in time.
What an installer does
- Surveys ceiling type, height, levelness and grid alignment, plus floor covering, columns, bulkheads and HVAC, before the order.
- Specifies the correct floor track for the finished floor covering rather than the current one.
- Sets floor track and ceiling connection true, since everything above depends on it.
- Stands frames, panels and glass with the right handling gear, and sets reveals consistently.
- Fits the kit of parts for building conditions so the wall finishes cleanly floor to ceiling and column to column.
- Coordinates the licensed electrical connection and the data cabling with the build rather than after it.
- Reconfigures walls later, taking advantage of non-progressive tiling rather than dismantling runs.
Get it built by someone who has built one before.
Tell us your ZIP and what you bought. Installers near you will quote you directly, and you deal with them, not with us.
Questions people ask
How is an architectural wall different from a cubicle panel?
It attaches to the building. Haworth states that the ceiling connection locks the panel system to the building ceiling grid or finished ceiling, and the wall runs in an adjustable floor track. It also has to finish floor to ceiling and column to column and meet things like bulkheads and HVAC, which is why a proper survey comes before the order.
Does the floor covering matter?
Yes, it selects the track. The adjustable floor track comes with either a non-marring carpet gripper or a non-marring smooth shoe for hard floors. Specify against the finished floor you will have, not the one that is down today, particularly if flooring is being replaced in the same project.
What does non-progressive tiling mean?
That any tile can be removed where it is, rather than working in from the end of a run to reach it. Haworth lists it as a built-in efficiency, and it is the practical difference between swapping a damaged or dated panel in an afternoon and taking a wall apart to get at it.
How good is the acoustic performance?
Haworth quotes sound transmission class ratings up to 45 and describes the look, feel and acoustic performance as comparable to conventional construction. Actual performance in a given room depends on the specification chosen and on how the wall meets the ceiling and floor, which is another reason the survey and the install detail matter.
Can I hang things on it?
Yes, and there is a right way. An integrated slot standard lets furniture and accessories mount without impacting the surface of the tile, which keeps tiles reusable for future reconfiguration. Fixing directly through tile faces defeats a large part of the reason for choosing a demountable system.
Are movable walls treated differently for tax?
Possibly, and it is worth asking. Demountable walls sit between furniture and building improvement, and treatment depends on your jurisdiction and the specifics of the installation. That is a question for your accountant rather than for a supplier or for us, but it is worth raising early because it can form part of the case for choosing movable walls over drywall.
Installers.org is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Haworth. Haworth, Enclose, Trivati and Integrated Palette are trademarks of their owner, referred to here only to describe the installation services that independent installers on this directory provide. Nothing here is tax, legal or engineering advice; check permit requirements and depreciation treatment with the appropriate professional.