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The June issue is out now. OnOffice editor Elisaveta Marinova has a word:
Not too long ago, “work” and “family” would not have been found in the same sentence – at least not without a shade of negativity. But over the past few years, perspectives have shifted, influencing the workplace industry. Today, work-life balance has reached buzzword status, and much like its relatives “wellbeing” and “agile working”, the trend has – thank goodness – transcended the marketing fluff and entered the realm of the functional.
So how do we design for balance at work? Founders of London’s latest co-working space with on-site creche Cuckooz Nest, Charlie Rosier and Fabienne O’Neill, believe it starts with flexible and affordable childcare. With its malleable business model, design-led approach, and central location, Cuckooz Nest may well be a first in London, and seeing the members list already exceeds 100, could it be a case of “build it and they will come”?
In line with our Family issue, we further explore the blurring boundaries between home and office design, seen throughout our OnSite section with the likes of two deluxe, home- infused offices: Tom Dixon’s new HQ in Coal Drops Yard (p76) and 412 West 15th Street in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. Read new to OnOffice and New York-based writer Hillary Richard’s impressions inside.
Elsewhere, another first for writer and journalist Iain Aitch who delves into the dynamics of husband and wife team Rab and Denise Bennetts from Bennetts Associates – the power couple behind Saatchi & Saatchi’s new headquarters at 40 Chancery Lane . Speaking of family, in OnOff, Ayla Angelos lets us in on her Scandi visit to fifth-generation furniture company Brdr. Krüger, whose wood- turning DNA can be beheld in their workshop-cum-showroom outside Copenhagen, as well as the new two-Michelin star restaurant Noma in the city, where the company collaborated with Studio David Thulstrup.
This seems like a good segue to the magazine’s brand new OffStage section, kicking off with our first Behind The Scenes column, where Danish-infused Studiomama and Cornwall-based MARK product share the story of their Loops collection. Be it the making-of or design process, Behind The Scenes will endeavour to shed more light on what happens between the concept and completion of the most exciting workplace products today.
Incidentally, our June issue wouldn’t be complete without a review of Salone and, looking forward, an exciting preview of Clerkenwell Design Week. With the rising amalgamation of residential and commercial design, look out for these work-home crossovers, in furniture specification as much as spatial design and office culture in its broadest sense. Who knows, perhaps Bring Your Child To Work Day will soon become an everyday matter?
Special mention
Our cover shoot was done on a quiet afternoon at Cuckooz Nest, and we’d like to thank above-mentioned founders plus director of operations Petra Hall for accommodating our team so generously. Clearly, when the space allows it, children and adults can indeed coexist.
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OnOffice June: the family issue. As co-working spaces with childcare facilities spring up around London we take a look at healthy work/life balance
