Despite having existed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years in every country across the globe this dual-use building type has long gone unnoticed.This book analyses the lives and premises of 90 contemporary UK and US home-based workers from across the social spectrum and in diverse occupations. Laura Vaughan recommends readers study the book alongside the Workhome Project’s handsome website, which carries a wealth of additional material including a pattern book and information on policy and governance. 

Baker, bookbinder, box-maker, dressmaker, jeweller, architect, doctor, public house licensee, gardener, housekeeper, college porter, plumber. How many of these occupations, which appear in 19th century street directories, are taking place in homes on contemporary streets? Beyond Live/Work shows that before the industrial revolution buildings which combined work and home were practically universal. The book, written by architect and academic, Frances Holliss, brings together in a single volume a wealth of material on the historic importance and future potential of buildings that combine dwelling with workplace. This timely publication is the culmination of several years’ research into a neglected building type and Holliss’s work is already receiving increasing attention through her shorter, previously published pieces on the subject. The book’s examples from the past are not an exercise in nostalgia. At a time of changing patterns of work in the western world, it provides the blueprint for designing suitable environments for this ‘intricate mingling’ of mixed-use.......Continue Reading

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