PREVIEW Frame #132 JAN/FEB

THE NEXT SPACE

HOW OFFICES ARE BATTLING BURNOUT

Fighting the footprint of fashion shows Virgil Abloh’s mixed-message collection On set with the designer behind Suspiria Lessons from WeWork’s downfall Valextra’s CEO: rebooting a heritage brand ISSUE 132 JAN — FEB 2020

BP BX €19.95 DE €19.95 IT €24.90 CHF 30 UK £14.95 JP ¥3,570 KR WON 40,000

L AUFE N 1 8 9 2 | SWI T Z ERL A ND

CONTENTS

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Courtesy of Toyota

10 REPORTING FROM Australia and Mexico

BUSINESS OF DESIGN From empathetic cars to the browse 12

and-dine department store

Andrew Meredith

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26 MONTANA Recolouring a classic 28

IN PRACTICE

30 INTRODUCING London duo Isabel + Helen

Courtesy of Valextra

40 THE CLIENT Valextra CEO Sara Ferrero

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46 W HAT I’VE LEARNED Hannah Carter Owers 52 INFLUENCER Film production designer Inbal Weinberg 60 ANDREU WORLD Mediterranean inspiration Frame 132

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65 SPACES A copy-paste ‘chippy’ and a calming Chinese cultural centre 74 LOOK BOOK Going golden again 106 NEW TYPOLOGY The green power plant Weiqi Jin

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116 ROCA Best in show from jumpthegap®

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Rasmus Hjortshoj Courtesy of Marni

122 WORK LAB 124 How workplaces can support mental health 136 What’s next for the wellnessoriented office?

Courtesy of Kvadrat

144 MARKET Highlights from Cersaie and Dutch Design Week 160 IN NUMBERS The Limbic Chair in facts and figures 4

150 Contents

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FRAME is published six times a year by Frame Publishers Luchtvaartstraat 4 NL-1059 CA Amsterdam frameweb.com EDITORIAL For editorial inquiries, please e-mail frame@frameweb.com or call +31 20 4233 717 (ext 921).

Editor in chief Robert Thiemann – RT Head of content Floor Kuitert – FK Editor at large Tracey Ingram – TI Editors Anouk Haegens – AH Lauren Grace Morris – LGM Business editor Peter Maxwell – PM Copy editors InOtherWords (D’Laine Camp) Design director Barbara Iwanicka Graphic designers Zoe Bar-Pereg Shadi Ekman Translation InOtherWords (Maria van Tol) Contributors to this issue John Jervis – JJ George Kafka – GK Kourosh Newman-Zand – KNZ Alexandra Onderwater – AO Rosamund Picton – RP Debika Ray – DR Cover PSLab London

by JamesPlumb (see page 124) Photo Rory Gardiner Lithography Edward de Nijs Printing Grafisch Bedrijf Tuijtel Hardinxveld-Giessendam

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PUBLISHING Director Robert Thiemann

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Colophon

COOL, CALM AND COLLECTIVE Stress in the workplace is on the rise. Now that most of us can work anytime, anywhere thanks to smartphones and laptops, we’re also expected to be up and running constantly, regardless of where we are – and to work faster and more efficiently to boot.

Alarming news about stress dominated the media in the Netherlands while we were making this issue. No less than 17.3 per cent of the Dutch workforce – 1.3 million people – suffers from severe symptoms of burnout, a modern phenomenon that affects those between the ages of 25 and 34 in particular. In 2018 the economic damage to employers amounted to €2.8 billion in the Netherlands alone. On a global scale, the impact is dramatic and the damage incalculable.

Enough reason, we felt, to dedicate this issue’s Lab to the way employers, together with spatial designers, can contribute to the creation of a stress-reducing work climate.

The four strategies we discuss are largely about empowering the workforce. How can you make employees feel that they’re in control, rather than having their lives lived for them? First, offer a range of different spaces in which they can catch their breath.

In these silence rooms or time-out zones, possibly equipped with daybeds, stressed-out employees can meditate, listen to music or even take a nap.

The second strategy is more or less at odds with the first: create spaces in which colleagues can meet. This combats loneliness (mainly a problem

for people who work from home), increases a sense of community and stimulates communication. Such spaces include canteens, coffee corners and wide staircases – so business as usual, really.

Since a lot of stress is apparently caused by the excessive use of smartphones (including IG and news addictions), offering a digital detox programme is clearly the way to go. But for now, the ‘how’ remains problematic: most of these work with apps that point out the detrimental effects of the long-term use of, well . . . apps. Perhaps a smartphone-free day or (happy?) hour would be a better initiative.

Finally, scientists point out the many advantages of bringing nature into the work environment. Trees and plants provide pleasant visual relaxation and also appear to have medicinal properties. Some plants seem to have a calming effect; others encourage activity (perhaps not the right choice if you’re trying to combat stress).

No matter how well-intentioned, it’s clear which pitfall all of these initiatives for the feel-good office face: employees can relax, detox and socialize to their heart’s content – as long as their productivity doesn’t suffer.

There’s no such thing as a free nap.

Robert Thiemann Editor in chief

Editorial

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Stephen Todd is concerned that Australia needs to strengthen its intellectual property laws or risk losing another generation of young designers.

Todd is design editor of the Australian Financial Review newspaper. He previously founded the magazine Numéro and has written about design for titles such as The New York Times, The Guardian, Wallpaper and American Vogue.

SY DN EY 8

At a prestigious award ceremony in Sydney earlier this year, one well-known designer turned up in a dress-shirt emblazoned with the words: ‘Counterfeit Protection Statement.’ Nothing too unusual about that, you might think – most creatives are driven to ensure the integrity of their output. Except that said awards ceremony was held in a showroom sporting knockoffs of his signature lighting. In design terms it was akin to Katharine Hamnett wearing a ‘58% Don’t Want Pershing’ T-shirt to meet Margaret Thatcher during the missile testing controversy in the mid-1980s.

The Australian design industry is under attack from counterfeiters. While intellectual property (IP) laws automatically protect original work in the fields of literature, music and film, copyists can happily fake furniture, lighting and household accessories with impunity. Unlike the arts, industrial design needs to be registered in order to be deemed the IP of its creator. And that’s a complicated, expensive and fallible process – an investment many independent studios are unable to make until convinced of a product’s potential to gain traction. (Even if a product is registered many designers can’t afford litigation in the event of infraction.)

But as soon as a design is made public – on social media, say, or at a trade fair – it’s considered in the public domain and therefore fair game. And so a slew of reality TV shows encourage viewers to ‘get the look’ for less.

Upmarket shelter titles accept advertising from brands peddling replicas. Contractors have been known to substitute authentic design pieces with goods referred to as ‘equal or equivalent to’ the originals. It’s the kind of imitation that is in no way flattering.

Frustrated, some local designers resort to guerrilla tactics to defend their turf. Like a rather famous Sydney designer who – incensed by knockoffs of one of

Reporting From

his sofas populating the lobby of an upmarket hotel – infamously ran in and slashed them.

Curiously, not even IP Australia, the inter-industry watchdog, seems able to explain why the country that produced Marc Newson treats industrially designed 3D objects differently to the artefacts of other creative disciplines. That question is at the heart of the Authentic Design Alliance, an initiative of journalist-cum-lobbyist AnneMaree Sargeant. Last November, as part of Canberra Design Week in the national capital, Sargeant assembled a round table of industry stakeholders and senior policy advisors to begin the process of drawing up a Code of Practice.

‘It’s an effort to counter the increasing problem of even highly awarded and credible architects and interior designers swapping out originals for knockoffs,’ she says, identifying the extent to which counterfeiting has become part of the culture. ‘Or worse, taking clients to showrooms to see originals and then commissioning a local company to make cheap copies of them.’ She calls the phenomenon ‘disposable decorating’ and it’s just as elegant as it sounds.

The precariousness of IP protection for Australian designers is now at a tipping point. The past decade has seen exponential growth in graduates wanting to establish their own studios, and local manufacturers gearing up to make inroads into the home market (which will necessitate displacing import brands). At the same time, a handful of art galleries have segued into the design art market, nurturing a new breed of collector. For those endeavours to succeed, intellectual property will need to be guaranteed.

Otherwise, like Newson before them, Australia’s talent might as well take itself offshore.

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ME XI CO CI TY

Lin is a freelance journalist based in Mexico who covers the social politics of contemporary art, architecture, urban policy and immigration. She writes for publications such as Foreign Policy, The Nation, CityLab, Garage and the Australian Associated Press.

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Annette Lin asks who the Mexican design community’s interest in ‘popular design’ really benefits.

In October, the theme of this year’s Abierto Mexicano de Diseño was ‘Lo popular’ (‘the popular’). Online, the event’s curator, Mario Ballesteros (also the director of the city’s Archivo Design and Architecture Gallery), explored the idea of ‘popular design’. Does it mean accessible design? Or design that rejects the ‘designer’ and instead comes from the street? Or, echoing the sentiment of popular art, is it a ‘complete universe of indigenous production and material culture emanating from the people’?

Right now, the Mexican design community seems concerned with shaking off design’s elitist connotations and proving that it is for everyone. Over the last few years, there have been a slew of businesses, sometimes positioned as social enterprises, working with artisans to reconcile traditional crafts, techniques and forms with a contemporary design aesthetic. Examples include Biyuu, Carla Fernández and Maria Romero Studio on the textile front; Zaavia and Txt. ure respectively with woven hats and bags, and tule furniture; and Utilitario Mexicano selling goods found in a traditional Mexican household, but in contemporary colourways.

On the plus side, this gives market value to vernacular objects and the skills of Mexican artisans.

In Oaxaca, I went to the houses of artists living in Santa María Atzompa and San Bartolo Coyotepec, who told me they produced for sellers in Mexico City, or New York. They showed me how this income had allowed them to experiment with different glazes and firing techniques to create ceramics with Pollockinspired textures. Elsewhere, in the nearby town of Teotitlán del Valle, a booming market for the town’s rugs in the design world has enabled women to gain financial independence. Money isn’t a bad thing.

On the other hand, sometimes it feels like the rich and the poor – and those with light skin and darker skin – in Mexico occupy entirely different countries. I think about this when I’m at Tetetlán, a Luis Barragándesigned stable in Mexico City now turned into a cultural centre that sells kaftans woven from Oaxacan textiles for hundreds of dollars in its boutique that no one except the richest of Mexicans is able to afford, or when I see designers or entrepreneurs – often from wealthy families – taking cringingly clichéd images with

Reporting From

the artisans. Class mobility is theoretically possible in Mexico, but it’s difficult enough that a young man in Teotitlán weaving on a handloom once told me he wanted to join the narcos as a way to make it out of town.

Like gentrification in real estate, gentrifying tradition is not an easy issue. In theory, it would be a win-win for everyone: artisans and designers alike can both maintain the cultural value of tradition, while making it relevant for how we live today. You just hope it doesn’t hit the next stage in the cycle – displacement.

Who is popular design for?

The answer isn’t always going to be everyone, nor should it be. But if the Mexican design community is truly concerned with popular design – that comes from and is for the majority of people – then it’s worth being even more radical. In a country that’s so multicultural and multiracial, and so stratified by class, I wish designers would ask themselves how design can actually challenge the social status quo. That, then, would truly be design for the people.

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HOUSE OF SURFACES

BERLIN LONDON MILAN SÃO PAULO CARRARA www.ariostea.com

Courtesy of Ikea x Virgil Abloh

BU SIN ESS OF

DES IGN 014 Lessons from WeWork’s downfall 018 Vertical farming’s growth in retail and hospitality 020 Ikea x Virgil Abloh’s mixed-message collection 022 Automakers rev up the client-car bond

5 Automakers have long understood the need to create an emotional connection between their products and their customers.

Traditionally, this would be done through exterior styling – anthropomorphism in modern car design is no accident – the viscerality of an engine note or the responsiveness of that all-important ‘driving experience’.

But these factors will dramatically decrease in importance as the auto industry moves towards a future dominated by electric propulsion and automated driving. As riders and renters usurp drivers and owners as the target audience, car brands are instead innovating how interiors relate to their audience in more intimate and emotive ways.

The latest point on this trajectory comes in the form of Toyota’s LQ concept car, which was recently revealed at the Tokyo

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Motor Show. ‘In the past, our love for cars was built on their ability to enable our adventures,’ explains LQ development leader Daisuke Ido. ‘With the LQ, we can deliver a personalized experience, meet each driver’s unique mobility needs, and build an even stronger bond between car and driver.’

This attempt to create a product in which users will be ‘moved and engaged emotionally’ centres on the inbuilt personal assistant Yui. This artificially intelligent system will read occupants’ facial expressions and talk to them in order to understand their needs before taking steps to reduce stress and increase alertness. It does this through a variety of humanmachine interfaces built into the interior, including adjusting in-vehicle illumination, air conditioning, seat lumbar support and even scent and music selection.

Why car brands are developing empathetic interiors

Toyota’s design builds on precedents such as Honda’s 2017 NeuV concept, which featured an AI ‘emotion engine’ that used some of the same sensorial cues to improve driver wellness. In fact, some manufacturers are already implementing limited versions of these technologies in existing products. Last year Mercedes partnered with wearables brand Garmin to help calm users by measuring drivers’ bio-signals and adjusting aspects of the car interior accordingly.

These projects have consequences for the wider spatialdesign industry. Soon consumers will be spending an increasing amount of time in environments that feel like they truly care for their needs through touch, sound, smell, light and form, and do so in an integrated, coordinated and effortless manner. Such experiences will set expectations that

other space providers will have to try and meet.

But can they? Car brands can achieve such responsiveness because they provide a ‘total’ environment with limited intervention from third parties. In comparison, the construction of home or office spaces is a messy amalgam of competing creative intentions and codes. As technology defines how we relate to space in more complex and compelling ways, tomorrow’s developers will need to figure out how to offer such full stack solutions if they’re to prosper. PM toyota.nl

Toyota’s LQ concept car relies on an inbuilt personal assistant to adjust in-vehicle illumination, air conditioning, seat lumbar support and even scent and music selection.

Business of Design

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IN PRA CTI CE

030 Isabel + Helen on the power of storytelling in shop windows 040 Valextra’s Sara Ferrero on rebooting a heritage brand 046 Hannah Carter Owers on finding her post-Universal path 052 Inbal Weinberg on the nuts and bolts of film production design

Andrew Meredith

The cofounders of eponymous studio Isabel + Helen discuss the changing role of shop windows, how Instagram enriches their output, and whether young designers need to specialize or diversify.

Words Tracey Ingram Portrait Andrew Meredith

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In Practice

Helen Chesner and Isabel Gibson often use kinetic elements in their installations to ‘create a performance for the viewer’.

Introducing

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Isabel Gibson and Helen Chesner studied graphic design communication, not spatial or product design, but it’s their quirky and playful installations that have made a splash and shaped the current direction of their London-based practice. After each graduating from Chelsea College of Art with a degree that promises to ‘engage you in the creation and understanding of the rich visual culture that now surrounds us’, they promptly nabbed a project for an institution that – coincidentally? – surrounds us in rich visual culture: London’s V&A. There, the duo developed an interactive installation inspired by the Russian Constructivist design movement: ‘We didn’t want to do a flat piece of work on a wall,’ says Chesner. ‘Even though we hadn’t done much 3D work by that point, it felt like the natural way to go.’ And over the course of the last seven or so years, that performative project has naturally led to the next one – and the one after that.

Francisco Ibanez

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In Practice

Isabel + Helen’s second window series for all UK Hermès stores (SS19) combined hypnotic movements with soft landscapes to create sleepinducing scenes.

Introducing

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Sara Ferrero, CEO of luxury leather goods label Valextra since 2015, explains how to reboot a heritage brand through retail, what it takes to extend the lifespan of pop-ups, and why it’s time for the product to reclaim its role as protagonist.

As told to Floor Kuitert

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In Practice

Courtesy of Valextra

ABOVE After a period of yearly transformations, Valextra’s Via Manzoni has recently received a more permanent overhaul, courtesy of John Pawson. The British architect created a minimal space – a flexible canvas that can host a series of art exhibitions.

RIGHT Since joining Valextra, Sara Ferrero has initiated over 80 design projects with 38 different creatives.

The Client

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In Practice

Following an installation in Milan and store interior in Venice, Martino Gamper designed Valextra’s Chinese flagship in Beijing. Inside, hanging shelves remind visitors of playground swings, while a light-blue terrazzo resin floor references the brand’s Italian roots.

Building a future based on the past

SARA FERRERO: When I joined Valextra my first question was why a luxury company with such a rich history, quality product and tonnes of patents didn’t grow to be the size the likes of Gucci and Chanel are today. Looking for an answer, I tried to define what makes Valextra unique. I found it was its architectural approach towards product development, and decided to highlight that even more in store.

Valextra was much more focused on products – which are obviously super important – than the retail aspect before I arrived. I wanted to give more substance to the brand and show customers what they were buying besides a product. At the time, we were moving away from a one-store and wholesale business. Simultaneously, the luxury sector was starting to focus more on offering full experiences. So how did we grow? We opened new stores, but treated them like houses – all different and specific to their location.

The Client

We don’t have a creative director. Instead we rely on a community of architects and designers and we act as curator.

Chance over strategy

Our Via Manzoni flagship in Milan has gone through many transformations, but contrary to what you might think, not as part of an outlined business plan. Right before Milan Design Week 2015, we decided we wanted to communicate our architectural approach towards designing bags.

But we didn’t believe we’d be credible doing that in a store that looked a little old. So we called good friend Martino Gamper and said: ‘We want an intervention in our store, but we have no time, no money, and we want everything to go back to normal after the Salone.’ He accepted, which reflects the enormous generosity of our community. The result was Magnetico. In this in-store display installation, the walls and windows were lined with magnetic sheets,

»

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Meet the brands, the designers, the cold, the darkness and the warm hospitality.

Experience new, innovative and sustainable furniture and lighting design.

Feb 4–8 2020 We form the world's leading event for Scandinavian design

Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair | stockholmfurniturefair.com Stockholm Design Week | stockholmdesignweek.com

Courtesy of Unknown Works

SPA CES 074 How hotels are reviving the golden age of American travel 096 Fighting the footprint of fashion shows 106 What happens when energy production is out in the open

INNER CALM

When Suppose Design Office and Toshiba teamed up for a Zen-like installation at Milan Design Week in 2010, the idea of providing some serenity within the design-fair storm was radical yet also logical.

Fast-forward a decade and such environments are everywhere and in every form. In Beijing, for example, BANDe Architects decided to give urbanites a rest from the stresses of CBD life with a calming multifunctional cultural space.

BEIJING The release of Japanese organizing

consultant Marie Kondo’s Netflix series was met with both (sparked!) joy and censure.

While hoarders across the globe shared their #konmari makeovers on Instagram, critical articles surfaced online from the likes of The Guardian: ‘Marie Kondo, you know what would spark joy? Buying less crap.’ But setting aside the controversy for just a moment, let’s look at one reason cleaning up is taking off.

As Kondo herself says: ‘Tidying orders and relaxes the mind.’

Mindfulness and mental health are very much on the agenda – topics we detail in this issue’s Lab (see p. 132) – particularly as the majority of the world’s population flocks to bustling urban centres. One such area is Chaoyang, Beijing’s largest and most

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populous district. ‘People are facing immense stress in urban life, especially in a CBD like Wangjing,’ says Kun Zhou, who cofounded BANDe Architects with Lin Xu. The area to which he refers is a subdistrict of Chaoyang and home to GreenMonster Lab, a multifunctional cultural space designed by BANDe. The 4,957-m2 complex includes an exhibition centre, traditional culture hall, bookstore and brand exhibition space, among other areas.

‘We wanted to give people a place where they can relax,’ says Xu. ‘When they are tired, they can come to this space, appreciate the works of art, enjoy the latest exhibitions, taste delicious food – and then sit down and experience a quieter, slower pace of life.’

In part at least, Xu’s description could match that of an outdoor market

»

Spaces

After descending the escalator, visitors to GreenMonster Lab first encounter The Feast, a pavilion designed to display traditional cultural relics from around the world.

Weiqi Jin

Institution

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David Mitchell

ABOVE TWA Terminal Hotel by Beyer Blinder Belle, Stonehill Taylor, Lubrano Ciavarra and INC Architecture & Design in New York City, US. OPPOSITE The Standard hotel King’s Cross by Shawn Hausman, Orms and Archer Humphryes Architects in London, UK.

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Spaces

Tim Charles

Look Book

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Lowres 217%

David Mitchell

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Spaces

Meghan Bob

ABOVE and LEFT The Flat apartment complex by Studio Sucio in Los Angeles, US.

Meghan Bob

OPPOSITE TWA Terminal Hotel

by Beyer Blinder Belle, Stonehill Taylor, Lubrano Ciavarra and INC Architecture & Design in New York City, US.

Look Book

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The design team scanned and recombined ‘overlooked aspects’ of UK chip shops – salt shakers, for example – for the interior of Scotts in Chengdu.

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Spaces

COPY PASTE

Rather than caricature the British archetype for an unexpected market, Unknown Works scanned and remixed existing chip shops to create a critical composite. The resulting faรงade acts as a fascinating discussion on how ideas are appropriated in modern China.

Hospitality

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Based on Unknown Works’ compositions, a specialist contractor produced moulds in which the alabaster-white Glass Reinforced Plastic façade panels could be formed.

THE GREEN POWER PLANT The eco status of sustainable energy production means it need not be hidden away, out of sight. If power plants can be woven into the urban fabric, what does that mean for their design?

Words George Kafka

In the midst of the urgent need for action on global climate crises, architects and designers find themselves in an interesting position. As reported by the World Green Building Council in September 2019, building and construction are responsible for 39 per cent of global carbon emissions, meaning that the parties designing those buildings are coming under increased pressure to acknowledge their professional responsibility in the fight for the future – and to act upon it.

How they might do this is, of course, complex.

The Architect’s Declare campaign in the UK is advocating the use of low-embodied-carbon materials, whole-life carbon modelling, and designing for retrofit and renovation rather than demolition. Yet with signatories such as Foster + Partners continuing to take on large-scale airport projects, it’s difficult to know how seriously to take the campaign.

Elsewhere in the industry, however, there is a promising interest in a flourishing typology: the green power plant.

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The last 12 months have a seen a flurry of expressive and public-facing green energy projects completed, with many more outlandish and ambitious schemes still in the pipeline. CopenHill, for example – a wasteto-energy plant designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, SLA, AKT, Lüchinger+Meyer, MOE and Rambøll on Copenhagen’s industrial waterfront – began producing energy last year and opened to the public in October.

A staple of Ingels’s architectural brand of ‘hedonistic sustainability’, CopenHill is a highly efficient facility that converts 440,000 tonnes of waste into electricity and heating for 150,000 homes annually. Unlike other waste-to-energy plants – indeed unlike most buildings – CopenHill also boasts a 9,000-m2 dry ski slope that runs down one side of its mountainous silhouette.

‘CopenHill is so clean that we have been able to turn its building mass into the bedrock of the social life of the city,’ says Ingels.

Historically, sites of industrial energy production have largely been absent from public life and leisure, owing to their noisy, smelly and generally unsafe conditions. »

Spaces

POWER PLANT Currently in the early testing stages, Marjan van Aubel’s Power Plant is a self-sustaining greenhouse powered by transparent solar panels. The project could bring efficient energy and food production to urban rooftops and terraces, reducing the carbon footprint of agriculture. marjanvanaubel.com

New Typology

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COPENHILL, DENMARK A competition-winning entry by the Bjarke Ingels Group, CopenHill is a facility in Copenhagen that converts 440,000 tonnes of waste into electricity and heating for 150,000 homes annually – and, remarkably, boasts a 9,000-m2 dry ski slope. big.dk

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Spaces

Rasmus Hjortshøj

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New Typology

OUT NOW

HYBRID FOOD RETAIL Rethinking Design for the Experiential Turn Discover emerging trends in the food retail industry – one of the most creative fields for designers, architects and other professionals. This handbook prescribes hybridization – a fusion of gastronomy, co-working, hospitality and performative formats – as a powerful remedy against digital disruption. €29

MOMENT Redefining the Brand Experience

WE BUILD DRAWINGS Mikkel Frost | CEBRA architecture

Tokyo-based design firm MOMENT’s book of the same name highlights a versatile and skillful visual approach, focusing on detail-oriented spatial branding and lighting design for interior solutions that are both functionally and emotionally driven. €39

In an age of computer-generated images, this collection of sketches and watercolours by architect Mikkel Frost puts a spotlight on the power of hand drawing as a lucid communication tool. €29

THE THEATRE OF WORK Clive Wilkinson

FUTURE FOOD TODAY A Cookbook by SPACE10

This book proposes six humanistic principles that will inform a holistic and collaborative workplace design – each demonstrated by the award-winning work of Clive Wilkinson Architects. €39

This book offers a collection of future-proof and delicious recipes, straight from the test kitchen of IKEA’s research and design lab SPACE10. €39

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Michael Sinclair, courtesy of TOG

LAB

WORK Across everything from corporate campuses to co-working spots to small start-ups, the negative physical effects of spending eight-plus hours behind a desk have long been acknowledged. But since our always-on lifestyles are impacting mental wellbeing, too, today’s workspaces reflect a more holistic approach to health. Here’s how.

How can workplaces support mental health?

Burnout is on the rise, and it’s now officially been labelled an ‘occupational phenomenon’. On the upside, mental health is becoming a less taboo topic and employers are recognizing the need for change in the workplace. How can spatial design contribute to the cause?

We explore four specific strategies.

Words Tracey Ingram 124

Frame Lab

Feature

125

Rory Gardiner

HEALTHY MIND, HEALTHY (WORK) BODY

OPPOSITE For its Amsterdam office, CBRE worked with MOSS to incorporate activating plants in productivity areas and calming vegetation in chill-out zones.

The term ‘burnout’ may have been coined in 1974 by GermanAmerican psychologist Herbert Freudenberger, but it’s only recently been included by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the International Classification of Diseases (11th Revision, published mid2019). The announcement – which labelled burnout as an ‘occupational phenomenon’, not a medical condition – coincided with another by the WHO: it is about to embark on the development of evidence-based guidelines on mental wellbeing in the workplace.

The WHO’s actions signal that the mental health of workers deserves much more attention. A recent Gallup study of nearly 7,500 full-time employees found that 23 per cent reported feeling burned out at work very often or always, while an additional 44 per cent reported feeling burned out sometimes.

CNBC notes that ‘job burnout accounts for an estimated $125 billion to $190 billion in health-care spending each year and has been attributed to type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, gastrointestinal issues, high cholesterol and even death for those under the age of 45’. Hardly inconsequential stuff.

Stress isn’t the only factor affecting mental health, of course.

Loneliness has also reached epidemic proportions, and the fact that many employees now work remotely may only exacerbate the issue.

‘Urban living and an always-on lifestyle bring challenges for mental and physical health,’ says Franklin Till’s strategy director Julian Ellerby, who researched work life for Storeys Journal, a collaboration with flooring company Tarkett. Ellerby points to a 2001 study funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency that found most people spend close to 90 per cent of their time indoors.

What does all this mean for the design of workspaces?

Employers are beginning to realize it takes more than an in-office gym or a few free yoga sessions to keep their workforce fully functional. Where one person may want to sweat out their frustrations, another may need a moment of retreat – and the majority needs both at different times. Here we explore four aspects of the modern office that prioritize people over productivity.

PAGE 125 JamesPlumb took a holistic approach to the design of PSLab’s new London home to create ‘an environment that people are happy to spend time in’, says Hannah Plumb.

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Frame Lab

‘Workplaces that respond to our individual needs will become more and more prevalent’ Feature

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MAR KET

Courtesy of Laminam

152 Inflatable, Instagram-inspired and fashionable chairs from Dutch Design Week 156 Our selection of standout surfaces sourced at Cersaie 160 How neuroscience brings physical freedom to furniture

CERSAIE

HIGHLIGHTS FROM BOLOGNA’S CERAMIC TILE AND BATHROOM FURNISHINGS FAIR

FIANDRE BY IRIS CERAMICA GROUP SOLID DRAPERY Milan- and London-based Studio Milo designed the Fiandre Architectural Surfaces stand for Cersaie this year. The concept – Solid Drapery – centred on the idea of showing the less rigid side of porcelain stoneware.

An exhibition route led visitors along large surfaces, furnishing elements and accessories designed and applied to illustrate the flexible ways to use Fiandre’s Maximum tiles and SapienStone slabs. granitifiandre.com studio-milo.com

GRESPANIA VETRO COLLECTION Available in four colourways – Acid, Smoke, Mocha and Sapphire – the Vetro Collection is Grespania’s newest wall tile series, based on the finishes, hues and high-gloss nature of glass. The 31.5 x 100-cm ceramic tiles can be complemented by a variety of decorative pieces to create a customized space. grespania.com

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GLAMORA GLAMFUSION COLLECTION X Responding to today’s need for biophilic design, Italian wallcovering company Glamora updates its waterproof GlamFusion range with Collection X, a line of wallpapers that brings nature’s beauty to bathroom, wellness and hospitality environments. Offered in 27 graphics, the silk-touch Collection X surfaces re-create outdoor scenes, setting up a seamless transition between indoors and out. glamora.it

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