THE
Shining a light on Swire
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A près
The Trendy Edition
FORECAST
P lanet
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Yesterday’s News Tomorrow
Online Everywhere
#Londontrends
By: Wessel Stoltz
This September is going to be a big month.
The Russians are predicting a financial crisis
to hit the US of A, some other doomsayers in
the darker recesses of the web are stocking up
on baked beans and reinforcing their bomb
shelters due to the imminent “arrival of the
Antichrist” and then there is of course the
small matter of England kicking off the World
Cup Rugby against Fiji at Twickenham.
For us, however, it’s going to be a big month
because of London Design Festival. Conceived
by Sir John Sorrell and Ben Evans, this annual
event is the amalgamation of all things
“design” London has to offer. Spread out over
numerous venues and stretching from 19 – 27
September, the who’s who of the design world
will be there to show off their pieces and new
ideas.
While, over the last few weeks, most folk were
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soaking up the sun on some Spanish beach with
an unpronounceable name, the Après team was
hard at work sussing out the latest commercial
furniture trends so we can tell you what to keep
an eye out for when you hit the streets at the
festival:
For years the office has been a formal space where
we go to sit down and get work done. With the
realisation of the benefits collaboration has on
productivity and creativity, however, the homeification of the office is becoming quite trendy.
Companies like BuzziSpace are designing office
furniture that bring the comforts of home to the
office in order to make employees feel, well, more
at home and more relaxed. Expect to find picnic
tables and comfortable couches in breakout
areas and even the odd (but very pretty) rug in
the office!
On a more health-and-safety orientated note,
employers are finally listening to the big hooha
scientists and doctors have been making about
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the adverse effects sitting for prolonged periods of
time has on one’s health. We reckon that the trend
of height-adjustable desks in the office will grow
quite substantially in the next few years and that
there will be some rather interesting
permutations of sit-stand desks on show at the
festival.
Acoustic Office Meeting Pods are also taking off
in a big way. These pods provide employees with
insulated meeting spaces within an open plan
office. This means that you can have a completely
private space where you can have interviews or
phone calls or even keep an eye on the ruggers
without being bothered by noise from the outside
(or of them hearing you cussing the ref…). One
of the best Acoustic Office Meeting Pods that we
have come across is the Spacio range – infinitely
customisable in both looks and shape, it also
boasts 95% speech privacy!
And that, in a nutshell, is what tomorrow’s interior
spaces in the office will be all about!
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