Welcome to our Autumn issue.
Achieving a sense of wellbeing can be elusive in our personal lives, so it’s hardly surprising that it should also be a professional challenge.
Apart from anything else, wellbeing is subjective – one person’s comfort zone is another’s stressful environment. This is well demonstrated at the offices of Finnish law firm Dottir (page 90), whose brief for design studio KOKO3 was: “If you have to choose between cosy and bleak, go for bleak.” The resulting workspace is humorous yet incredibly welcoming – without a hushed corridor, mahogany desk or leather-bound volume in sight.
For some, wellbeing is linked to certain key principles. As architect Catrina Stewart of Office S&M says, “We have a manual for designing around wellbeing, from using natural materials to ventilation, lighting and colour palettes.”
This was certainly true for PR agency The Academy (page 140), whose offices provide a variety of bright, lively workspaces.
Developing a design language in direct response to a building and its environment is yet another way to create a sense of wellbeing. Francisco Méndez’s “emotional architecture” for the HQ of Grupo Ortiz (page 132) in Mexico and Studio Crearq’s “fresh vision of what it truly means to be Latin” at Barra La Estrella (page 164) in Panama both show just how well this can work.
For Savo, whose office chairs have been covetable sources of comfort for 80 years (page 78), hard work behind the scenes is the basis for success. Continually reviewing and acting on feedback, testing new materials and redesigning elements for versatility, adaptability and ease of use, the company consistently creates office chairs that people can’t wait to sit in.
Keen to continue the design conversation? Join us for Design at Work by OnOffice, from 16 to 18 September, as part of Design London Shoreditch, a new multi-venue event taking place during the London Design Festival. There will be curated pop-up exhibitions, topical talks, immersive installations, brand activations and a chance to meet a mix of established and emerging design brands. Hope to see you there.
Read the new issue of OnOffice 172, Autumn 2025, here.
