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Culture may be one of the most layered, far-reaching concepts ever to exist. Spanning a range of traditions, values, norms and ideas, it has long rubbed shoulders with architecture and design, and even adopted its plethora of prefixes; multi, inter, cross – culture has different meanings for different perspectives.
In light of all this, we thought it timely to explore what happens to design in a country of many cultures, and how a nation’s design language varies from one to the next.To shed some light on the matter, we spoke to Uruguayan-born, London-based designer and maker Matteo Fogale, whose current exhibition Hilos Invisibiles – a multicultural exercise brimming with ambition – has put Uruguay’s little-known architect Julio Vilamajó on the British map. Having experienced several design languages first-hand, Fogale is also well placed to identify the nuances that set each country apart.
Further into this issue, you will find culture under different guises, in Dollar Shave Club’s Los Angelos HQ which reflects a more modern ideal of masculinity (and comes with a barber shop), and Amsterdam’s A’DAM tower – an ever-growing hub of the city’s musical culture and home to Sony Music Entertainment’s offices .
Speaking of music, read about Stanton Williams’ redesigned Royal Opera House, with its new grand staircase from which visitors will be able to catch glimpses of ROH staff at work.
As London’s first Borough of Culture 2019, our slightly unusual Region this month calls our attention to Waltham Forest, where the creative industries are “the engine house of its growing economy”.
And to round it off, our thorough preview of this year’s Orgatec fair, set under the banner of ‘culture@work’, should get you excited for a trip to Cologne. We hope to see many of you there, and remember – OnOffice and CMD are throwing a party, and it’s a go-to.
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Inside the latest issue of OnOffice: the Dollar Shave Club’s sharp new California HQ, Stanton William’s new Royal Opera House, plus Uruguayan designer Matteo Fogale shines in London
