After a month-long London Festival of Architecture which has focussed on the very timely theme of ‘Work in Progress’, we feel very inspired to think about more innovative ways of working in our cities. Some of the questions that have been addressed during the festival are:
– How do cities respond to the reality that it’s increasingly possible to work anywhere, not just in traditional company offices?
– How can policy and design encourage creative workplaces to thrive in the city?
– What are the most exciting leading trends in workspace design?
TREExOffice, for example, is a new tree office appeared at the beginning of June in Hoxton Square where you can book your slot to experience an experimental working environment.
We would like to hear your thoughts and ideas on the future of work – tweet @futurecityblog using the #growingmycity and #working hashtags, and we’ll feature the best ideas in our end-of-show roundup.
To get inspired, you might like to listen to the ‘Working in the future city’ panel discussion hosted by the Urban Research Unit (a research partnership between Grimshaw and Futurecity). Or you can have a look at the postcards contributed by the public left in the Gallery at Foyles, responding to our question about the future of work:
“More Flexibility: Why must we work 9 – 5? Wi-fi: outside and breath fresh air all day! Reduce the commute.”
“People don’t talk to each other anymore. I’d ban mobile devices on public transport.”
“We should be more open to flexible ways of working.”
“Incorporate meeting spaces away from the office”
“Opportunities to work from home/opportunities for working mothers”
Image: The Hub Islington, co-working space in London, UK on 24th October 2012 (CC) The Hub Islington