The Highway service wall, System D and F6 have been designed and developed in Scotland by Esk Furniture, founded in 1997 by Tony Walker. The Esk product is significant not only in its original design solution, but in its manufacturing approach. Esk Furniture benefits from manufacturing principles commonly used in Italy, one of the world's great centres of furniture production and the European manufacturing base of many leading multinationals. In contrast to the complex and inflexible multi-process factories which have contributed to the decline of Britain's furniture industry, this approach draws on the individual expertise of specialist engineering and manufacturing concerns to create a flexible product and to sustain a flourishing local economy. In line with accepted practice, Esk Furniture will own and retain the rights to all tooling, thus ensuring the ability to manufacture any component to perpetuity. The Esk range has been designed by Michael Laird Architects, with Brian Watson. Michael Laird Architects has been at the forefront of the Scottish architectural scene for over 40 years, and is known particularly for its expertise in designing for the working environment. Brian Watson is a London-based product designer with a long record of association with leading European furniture manufacturers. Michael Laird Architects One of Scotland's leading architectural practices, offering specialist expertise in the design of the working environment. The firm has designed major buildings for some of Scotland's best-known companies, including Standard Life, Scottish Equitable and The Royal Bank of Scotland. Extensive knowledge and experience of office environments has led the firm into the design of office furniture. The Esk Furniture products build on Michael Laird's understanding of the two complementary components of the office environment: the ever-changing requirements of building users and the unchanging nature of the buildings in which they work. Brian Watson Trained in both engineering and product design and has specialised over the last twelve years in the design of products for working and retail environments. He is based at the Amalgam studios in Central London and works daily alongside architects and designers. Brian is very aware of the ways that the workplace is evolving and how products interact with the built environment. In addition to Highway, System D, and F6 for Esk, recent examples include Plus[e] and the SquareOne multi-purpose stacking chair for Kinnarps, the Mono interior banner system for Praxis, architectural fittings for Alphabank, the Façade washroom cubicles, Clipclad walling system and Multilab laboratory furniture for Grant Westfield.