New issue of Works Magazine just for you (and in perfect time for your return to the office)

… unless of course you are one of the lucky ones still away or just about to go. In this issue of Works Magazine: incisive commentary from our experts; a round up of new projects, products and company news; case studies from Zurich and London; a preview of Material Matters; a look at the emerging issue of salutogenic design;  Bronte Turner of HLW takes us to her happy place; a report on the recent round table from Umbrella Furniture; a chat with the guys behind the Workspace Design Show; the welcome return of our Events pages and why being grumpy is OK.

Welcome

We are heading into autumn in an even year and that means it’s Orgatec time once again. The number of times you’ve visited Orgatec is, of course, the official way of determining the age of any self-respecting workplace furniture professional – with veterans recalling those halcyon days before the Euro, when the major German brands would attempt to outdo one another with the size, scale and expenditure of their stands. Sausage, mustard and a beer was about as exotic as the hospitality offering reached, and new office chair launches attracted crowds, intense scrutiny and, later in the day, serious discussion in the bars and pubs of the old town. Furniture people would even demonstrate their new products for you – often after having spent an intense week learning every detail, nut, bolt and movement.

I still find it somewhat bizarre that, thanks largely to this behemoth of a furniture fair, Cologne is the city I have visited more than any other outside the UK.

It was surreal to see TV images of football fans enjoying the hospitality of the Alter Market and those bars we know so well – Papa Joe’s and The Corkonian – during the recent Euros.

Not only did the sight of ‘others’ enjoying ‘our’ favourite watering holes lead to a twinge of envy and plenty of nostalgia, it also alerted us to the fact that, once we’ve got through that week of unbearably hot weather (a lot of people like to refer to this as summer), we’ll be scrambling to gather material for our major Orgatec preview.

Previews are always difficult things to pull together. Many like to keep their powder dry – even going so far as to add an embargo on their press releases. You’re launching a table, not a major medical breakthrough!

So, you Orgatec-bound furniture people, send us your new product launch information, forget your embargos, and let us help you promote your participation at the fair. And, rest assured, no one will decide not to go to Cologne simply because they’ve already seen an image of your new product in the new issue of Works!

Mick Jordan

Editor, Works Magazine

Main image: Aviva London office design by tp bennett. Photography Hufton + Crow