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We’re enchanted with Studio Job's oversized bronze-gilded key for their Lensvelt office collection. : There’s just something about keys that speak of magic and mystery, transforming a humble corporate cabinet into a potential treasure trove. It is this type of creativity that inspires the VISI team to come to work! -
Take a peek : The interactive cover invites readers to peep through the keyhole to see inside the office of the future. There are over 20 inspiring 9-to-5 spaces in the magazine, as well as 36 reasons to love work. -
Inside The Foschini Group's new design centre -
A Mexican treasure trove, Hadeda is both a shop and a home -
Clarke's has relocated, but has it changed? Nope, says Lin Sampson -
Concrete modernism comes to life in Pretoria -
How about living in a gallery in Ghana? -
Matt Allison has built a playtime office for his youngin -
26'10 South architects have combined their Brixton studio and home -
Louis Vuitton's office collection for urban nomads -
Can you believe these are the offices of an "investment company"? -
Annemarie Meintjes reports back on Jean Nouvel's exhibition at the Milan Furniture Fair -
Graffiti comes in off the street - could you actually get any work done here? -
Yummy recipes for convenient desk lunches.
Our newest issue, The Office, has hit the shelves with an in-depth study of how workspaces are changing. Here’s what deputy editor Annemarie Meintjes and content director Sumien Brink have to say about VISI 66.
Annemarie Meintjes
Every year, since I joined VISI in 2001, I have made the ultimate design pilgrimage to Milan.
Salone 2013, the 52nd International Milan Furniture Fair, was hard work this year. There were some 2 500 official exhibitors, plus capsule expos, installations and events spread out over the entire city, as far as the metro could take you – and beyond!
It is nearly impossible to see everything, so the editing starts even before reaching Milan, and the Fear Of Missing Out (my daughter calls it Fomo) sets in on arrival at Linate Airport. You should probably arrive the day before to do a recce of the newcomers and new spaces. Of course, I didn’t, so the Fomo never left me!
Rho Fiera, the official exhibition area, revolved around Jean Nouvel’s project, Office for Living, with its theme of dual-purpose home/work designs popping up everywhere. The Euroluce biennale went the LED route, and the well-established brands exuded an air of nostalgia, with a significant increase in revivals of past masters and masterpieces of Italian design. Re-editions of classic designs, re-edited by younger designers in subtle new shades and different materials, were also prevalent.
Echoing what VISI has been reporting for a while, there was also a clear move towards all things handmade, with a special nod to artisans, their craft and traditional materials. There is a desire for escapism, and the adage that “form follows function” does not seduce buyers anymore. The most astonishing example of this were the beds designed by the Campana Brothers for Edra.
Although Zona Tortona has lost its buzz, and the young designers and visitors now gather at Ventura Lambrate, the exhibitions at the Museum of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Triennale Design Museum never cease to excite me. And, the place to be and be seen at is undoubtedly Spazio Rossanna Orlandi.
Sumien Brink
I have never visited Salone but keep dreaming that next year will be my turn. Every year the whole world gets inspired by what is on offer in Milan and this year the VISI team had a lot of fun devoting a whole issue to the way the workplace has changed.
After so many years of static, sterile offices, there has been a massive shift in what our workspaces look like and what we expect of them – yes, even here in South Africa! After all, we spend most of our time at work so why shouldn’t they be challenging, inspiring and comforting, while blending effortlessly with our living spaces? I could take my handbag today and move into the one-room living-work space that Jean Nouvel designed for Salone 2013!
May you enjoy blurring the boundaries between working and living this winter.
