Lift off with the November Issue

Editor’s Letter
On a sultry Shoreditch evening during London Design Week, I had the honour of introducing a conversation between Richard Rogers and his son Roo at Second Home. They were there to tackle what it means to design for a better world. In many ways, they represent different approaches from different centuries. Richard gave startling new form to modernist idealism. Roo, a writer and documentary maker who did a stint with Yves Béhar at Fuseproject, is now what you might call a progressive accelerator. His Founders Factory Africa is about to set up office in Johannesburg, aiming to help establish 100 start-ups across the continent. Rogers junior is as passionate, insightful and eloquent a speaker as his father, and I recommend listening to their conversation on Soundcloud.

Designing for a better world has been a constant concern for this magazine and we have been working towards lift-off on a project that will take that mission to a whole new level: Wallpaper* Moonshots Division. Elsewhere in the issue we tackle work, with our Officepaper* guide to well-designed and wellness-conscious spaces; rest, with a selection of remarkable retreats from Namibia to Bahrain; and creative play, which is one way to think about art. In our Smart Art section, we try a few other ways of thinking about it, too. A final note. Roo Rogers’ Wikipedia page says he has only worn red socks (though different pairs) since he was 11. A lesson in obsessive dedication and attention to detail we could all learn from. Nick Compton, Acting Editor