UK – Following the success of its initial lifestyle co-working hotel concept in Cheshunt, Birch will open a second location this spring.
Birch was designed for Bleisure travellers who want to combine escapism with productivity. Located a 30-minute train ride from the centre of London, the new Birch Selsdon offers just that – a suburban retreat to disconnect from reality and connect with like-minded people. Set in a 19th-century mansion and surrounded by greenery, the hotel has everything guests could need to reset, recharge, work and play. In addition to overnight stays for drop-in guests, Birch Selsdon will offer a membership programme unlocking access to the entire estate and to additional perks.
The premises are home to two restaurants, three bars, a lido, a wellness space, studios, communal spaces and even a green co-working concept with sheltered outdoor desks for a nature-filled working session. Birch’s concept, which puts the healing power of nature and of human connection to work to inspire and re-energise visitors, suggests how spaces can accommodate the nomadic and elastic futures of work.
Birch Selsdon, UK
Spora by Lucy Hardcastle and Maisie Cousins, UK
UK – Acclaimed creatives Lucy Hardcastle and Maisie Cousins have joined forces to create Spora, a series of digital art pieces the duo define as ‘hypnotic moving images exploring the hidden alchemy of the female form’. The project was launched in Shoreditch, East London, as part of Downstairs at Mother in April 2023.
Spora is available to watch online and we encourage you to do so to experience the fascinating yet uncomfortable ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) soundtrack, the macro-level photography and the CGI elements, all moving in harmony. ‘We wanted to create visuals that expose the eco-system of micro-organisms existing within us beyond a surface level,’ Hardcastle told Dazed. ‘These processes are happening within our body that we may not be aware of, or might be considered unpalatable.’
In Grotesque Grub and Doom Dressing, we previously looked at how both food and fashion brands are exploring their darker side and embracing uglier aesthetics in a new creative movement shifting away from the Instagram-ready pristine visual identity that dominated the 2010s and recalling the abject, de-centred work of artists such as Cindy Sherman.
