Friant Novo · Panel system
Friant Novo: Monolithic or Segmented?
One panel system, two ways to build it. Here’s how to choose — and what you get either way.
Friant describes Novo as “a panel based system with clean lines and sharp angles” that combines “the flexibility of multiple finishes with the ease of installation of a monolithic system.” For most buyers, the first real decision isn’t the finish — it’s whether to build Novo in monolithic or segmented panels. Here’s the honest difference.
What Novo is
Novo is a panel-based workstation system: privacy panels carry the worksurfaces, storage, and power, so it suits everything from a row of focused workstations to private offices. Friant offers it in both classic monolithic and versatile segmented panels, and it’s built to install quickly — magnetic bases and cantilever worksurface supports, with a slim base and updated storage in the current design.
Monolithic vs. segmented
Same system, two construction styles:
| Monolithic | Segmented | |
|---|---|---|
| Panel face | One continuous surface | Stacked segments in one pre-assembled panel |
| Finish options | Hard-surface laminate or fabric | Mix & match fabric, markerboard, perforated metal, and glass |
| Best when | You want a clean, uniform, budget-conscious wall | You want acoustics, writability, daylight, and visual variety in one panel |
Friant’s segmented panel lets you “mix and match fabric, markerboard, perforated metal and glass in a pre-assembled panel” — so a single workstation can have a tackable fabric base, a markerboard at working height, and a glass segment up top for borrowed light. Monolithic keeps it simple and continuous. Glass is offered partial-glazed/frameless.
Power and data, built into the panel
Novo carries its electrical inside the base. Friant specs a pre-installed 8-wire, four 20-amp circuit system with easy connections and floor or ceiling connectivity. The 5″ × 2.5″ base is built for cable lay-in — up to about 20 Cat 5/6 cables in a powered base and up to 75 in a non-powered base. You can spec panels powered or non-powered where you need them.
It doesn’t stop at the panel
Novo is designed to work with the rest of the Friant catalog — including My-Hite height-adjustable tables and Dash storage — so you can add sit-stand surfaces or pedestals and credenzas without leaving the system. That’s the practical advantage of standardizing on one manufacturer: the pieces are made to connect.
The long-view details
Friant rates Novo at up to 45% recycled content (30% pre-consumer plus 15% post-consumer) in a typical configuration and up to 75% recyclable at end of life, and notes it may contribute to LEED points. It carries Friant’s Limited Lifetime Warranty to the original owner. For a system you’ll keep and reconfigure for years, those aren’t footnotes.
So which should you spec?
If the floor is uniform workstations and the budget is tight, monolithic is clean and efficient. If teams need a mix of privacy, writable surface, and daylight — or you just want the space to look less like a panel farm — segmented earns its place. Most real floors we plan end up mixing the two. Send us the plan and we’ll show you where each one belongs.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between monolithic and segmented Friant Novo panels?
Monolithic Novo panels have one continuous face in hard-surface laminate or fabric. Segmented panels combine multiple stacked segments — fabric, markerboard, perforated metal, and glass — in a single pre-assembled panel, so one workstation can mix privacy, a writable surface, and borrowed light.
Does Friant Novo have built-in power and data?
Yes. Novo uses a pre-installed 8-wire, four 20-amp circuit system with floor or ceiling connectivity, and its 5″ × 2.5″ base is designed for cable lay-in — up to about 20 Cat 5/6 cables in a powered base and up to 75 in a non-powered base. Panels can be specified powered or non-powered.
Is Friant Novo compatible with sit-stand desks?
Yes. Friant designs Novo to integrate with its My-Hite height-adjustable tables and Dash storage, so sit-stand surfaces and matching pedestals or credenzas can be added within the same system.
Does Friant Novo come with a warranty?
Friant covers Novo with a Limited Lifetime Warranty to the original owner. It is also rated at up to 45% recycled content and up to 75% recyclable, and may contribute to LEED points.
Let’s plan it.
Send us your floor plan and we’ll scope the Friant workstations — finishes, power, storage, and the seating that goes with them — for your San Diego or Southern California office. Authorized Friant dealer, serving San Diego & Southern California since 2005.
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