How Second Home is engineering the new creative hothouse
In 2010, Rohan Silva was a smart young thing pulled from the UK’s Treasury department into the policy unit at No.10 to advise the then prime minister David Cameron. He had already launched the Tech City initiative that established East London’s ‘Silicon Roundabout’ as Europe’s key startup engine. Sam Aldenton, meanwhile, had impeccable new model entrepreneur credentials, opening what he says was London’s first dedicated co-working space in Dalston in 2005 – ‘we took an empty floor in a factory and put lots of desks in it’ – followed by alternative music venue Café Oto and Dalston Roof Park. He also set up street food arena Feast, which is where he first met Silva. The pair bonded immediately. ‘I had hung out at all these places and really liked them,’ says Silva. ‘Then I realised there was this one person connected to all of them and that was really exciting.’
Silva and Aldenton quickly looked for opportunities and hatched a plan. Working life had splintered and atomised. More and more people were working for smaller and more companies, often their own, but the professional infrastructure hadn’t kept pace with those changes. Commercial space was expensive, inflexible and spirit-crushingly dull. The pair also realised that this new workforce of atomised entrepreneurs still wanted to feel physically connected. They understood a fundamental truth: it’s hard to stay energised and motivated when your only company is the cat and a half-empty fridge in your kitchen.
‘Today’s technology means you can work with anyone anywhere, but this means that clustering in physical proximity is more important than ever,’ says Silva. ‘Everyone could be working in the middle of the countryside in their pyjamas, yet they’re not.’
This story is from the April 2018 edition of Wallpaper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2018 edition of Wallpaper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A Kind of Magic
Demna's breathtaking couture collection takes centre stage at Balenciaga's newly renovated couture salons in Paris
Building Site
Sun Tower, China, by Open Architecture
Circular Approach
Repurpose clothing initiative, by Oliver Spencer
CITY
Seoul's unique mix of culture, art and style goes global, thanks to an unstoppable new wave of dynamic creatives
RESTORATION KINGS
Laplace for Hauser & Wirth Paris
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS
'Box' furniture, by Max Lamb, for Gallery Fumi
URBAN BOLTHOLE
Pacaembu House, Brazil, by Arthur Casas
SURREALIST DREAMS
Weird and wonderful works to wake up to
CROWNING GLORY
15-step scalp treatment, by Eco Jardin by Park Jun
WEARABLE ART
Jewellery collection, by Lynda Benglis, for Loewe