Whether it’s a home office or a coworking space, workplaces in general are undergoing major changes. From 5th-14th September 2019, Paris Design Week echoes MAISON&OBJET’s chosen theme with a special WORK! promenade in Paris.

After the open-plan office craze, employees now want more privacy. If they have the opportunity to work from home, many of them are actually entrenching themselves in their houses or apartments – and realising that working on the sofa in the lounge leaves a lot to be desired. In addition, companies have realised that when it’s full-on at work, a working environment conducive to well-being also increases efficiency. Times are changing and places are keeping pace. In this context, Paris Design Week’s theme “Hybrid” is highly pertinent because the new culture of work is a hybridization of functionality and conviviality. Offices are opting to abide by domestic architectural conventions and functions are becoming mixed as more and more people no longer have their own desk and change places depending on the work that needs to be done. At home, interior design has taken this need for versatile modular solutions on board.

The WORK! promenade during Paris Design Week highlights the latest innovations in the field. Make your way to Rue des Saints-Pères, where you will discover a wonderful illustration of how practices are evolving at UniFor (Molteni Group), which specialises in innovative office furniture. The Italian company is celebrating its 50th anniversary and will be presenting a multimedia installation directed by Ron Gilad that looks back over its history. Exceptionally, Vitra will be opening its professional showroom in the 9th arrondissement to the general public and will reveal its latest workplace solutions. French furniture distributor RBC invites you to come along to Rue Violet to take part in a reflection on the joint roles of the property developer, the architect and the distributor in the elaboration of these new spaces. They are setting the bar very high because it is the incredible Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto who will endeavour to answer this question with an exhibition entitled: “Que se passe-t-il lorsque la nature et les usages façonnent l’architecture?” (What happens when nature and usage shape architecture?”). Another outstanding example is provided by Milliken, an American company specialising in floor coverings, which will be showing how acoustics, ergonomics and biophilic design (which uses plants) are sources of harmony. As you journey from one location to another, you will discover Flos in the amazing Passage Dauphine in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, celebrate the 10th anniversary of the NOCC design duo in the prestigious Hôtel Cromot du Bourg (the HQ of consulting firm Nelly Rodi) and visit ENSCI (Ecole Nationale de Création Industrielle), whose new furniture was designed by its students… and much, much more.