USM at Salone del Mobile in Milan

Too much HomeWork, not enough play? A dialogue about our work and life, today and in the future.

Too much HomeWork, not enough play?

UNStudio Futures x USM

Will offices still exist in 50 years’ time? UNStudio’s Futures team, together with USM, is exploring the shifting boundaries between work and domesticity, now and in the future. Way back in 1930, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that, by the early 21st century, advances in technology would lead to an “age of leisure and abundance” in which people might work 15 hour weeks.

Well, it didn’t exactly turn out that way. Work rules our lives today more than ever, and technology allows work to invade our leisure time. As digital nomads we are increasingly mobile, ready to set up office wherever we are. Cafés resemble living rooms, restaurants feel like home kitchens, and co-working spaces have replaced the home office.

Explore our PlayGround – share your thoughts with us in Milan!

Salone del Mobile in Milan marks the beginning of a long-term exploration for USM. Over the past few years, it has become conventional wisdom that automation, along with advances in artificial intelligence, have put us on the path to a jobless future. But all may not be doom and gloom. With the eradication of ‘bad jobs’ we can focus on finding meaning in our working lives. How can we learn more at work? How can we play?

Designed by UNStudio’s Futures team, our booth explores the shifting boundaries between home and work life by exploding the rooms in which this takes place, creating hybrid domestic and office environments hidden within. Being highly sustainable, the single parts of the booth can be reused for the next project after Milan.

We invite people to reflect on the human qualities which differentiate us from machines and to enter a dialogue with us. Will the future workplace be designed around qualities rather than professions? Will work in the future take place in an office at all? Feedback will inspire a WorkHouse this summer in Berlin, where we’ll dive deeper into the idea of post-work and the need for lifelong learning to future-proof our careers.

Join the dialogue online – starting April 10!

usm.com/homework #usmhomework