When the chairs took over the world and what it all meant

When the chairs took over the world and what it all meant

rows of chairsOf all the things we buy, with the exception of our clothes, furniture is the most intimate, the one item we spend most time in contact with. According to JG Ballard who dedicated himself to understanding our relationship with the world around us, ‘Furniture constitutes an external constellation of our skin areas and body postures’. Whether he would have recognised it as such, Ballard was a pioneer of the principle we now refer to as psychogeography, defined by one of its founders, Guy Debord, as ‘the study of the precise effects of setting, consciously managed or not, acting directly on the mood and behaviour of the individual’. More →

UK office occupancy levels reach post-pandemic peak

UK office occupancy levels reach post-pandemic peak

New data from Remit Consulting suggests that UK office occupancy rates have risen to their highest level since the start of the pandemic.New data from Remit Consulting suggests that UK office occupancy rates have risen to their highest level since the start of the pandemic. Although still below pre-pandemic levels, the data indicates a gradual return to more office-based work patterns. The ReTurn Report is compiled by Remit Consulting each week. It uses data provided by building managers in ten cities based on their property’s access control systems. More →

UKGBC publishes new guidance on embodied carbon emissions reporting for more rigorous carbon reduction strategy

UKGBC publishes new guidance on embodied carbon emissions reporting for more rigorous carbon reduction strategy

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has launched new guidance on Scope 3 embodied carbon measurement and reporting, for stakeholders across the built environment. Scope 3 represents a proportion of an organisation’s indirect embodied carbon emissions that can constitute up to 80-95 percent of its total value chain footprint. Setting out a way to coherently align embodied carbon assessments, the guidance reframes Scope 3 reporting as a singular methodology rather than siloed efforts. More →

The only way is ethics … the Workplace Cocktail Hour with David Sharp

The only way is ethics … the Workplace Cocktail Hour with David Sharp

David Sharp joins Mark Eltringham on the Workplace Cocktail Hour to share a bourbon and discuss a wide range of issues - also avoiding one that won't help either of themDavid Sharp joins Mark Eltringham on the Workplace Cocktail Hour to share a bourbon, discuss a wide range of issues – and avoid one that won’t help either of them. They discuss the ethics of artificial intelligence, why we need more friction in our lives (and less seamlessness), the philosophy of work, how to deal with social media, the importance of making your own life more difficult on purpose, and the pleasures of finding out you are wrong about something.
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Navel gazing may not be the answer to the challenges facing workplace professions

Navel gazing may not be the answer to the challenges facing workplace professions

An adherence to strongly held beliefs can make people think and behave in peculiar ways and get them tangled up in peripheral issues that take on a great deal of significance. Early religious artists, for example, spent centuries wrestling with the seemingly intractable problem of whether to depict Adam and Eve with belly buttons or not. More →

Offices not geared up for hybrid working, poll claims

Offices not geared up for hybrid working, poll claims

Despite a huge increase in the number of businesses adopting a hybrid working model, a new poll from Crown Workspace claims that almost half (46 percent) of hybrid workers believe their office or workspace does not suit a hybrid working model and is in need of modernisation.Despite a huge increase in the number of businesses adopting a hybrid working model, a new poll from Crown Workspace claims that almost half (46 percent) of hybrid workers believe their office or workspace does not suit a hybrid working model and is in need of modernisation. More →

New guidance on storing and charging lithium-powered e-bikes and scooters in the workplace

New guidance on storing and charging lithium-powered e-bikes and scooters in the workplace

The British Safety Council has published an introductory guide for employers to help them manage risks posed by storing and charging lithium-powered e-bikes and scooters in the workplaceThe British Safety Council has published an introductory guide for employers to help them manage risks posed by storing and charging lithium-powered e-bikes and scooters in the workplace. Most e-bikes are powered by Lithium Ion (Li-on) batteries, larger versions of the kind found in our smartphones, tablets, and some laptops. More →

“Security-by-design” aims fall short, and building costs spiral as a result

“Security-by-design” aims fall short, and building costs spiral as a result

A report claims that despite an increased commitment to “security-by-design” principles, the industry is still spending significant time and money post-build to fix issuesA new report from Brivo claims that, while security is a new priority in building design, a mismatch between ambition and reality can lead to spiralling costs. The results of its research into integrated physical security in building design by Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) practitioners have been published in a report called The State of ‘Security-by-Design’: Is Security an Afterthought in Building Design?[registration]. The report claims that despite an increased commitment to “security-by-design” principles, the industry is still spending significant time and money post-build to fix security issues, risking dire retroactive effects. More →

Changing shape of workplace is creating new opportunities for property market

Changing shape of workplace is creating new opportunities for property market

A new report claims that changing approaches to the workplace will create new opportunities for the quickest and smartest to adaptAfter a challenging environment for commercial real estate in 2023, its fallout provides investors, developers and corporate occupiers with significant opportunities for value creation and transformational organisational change in 2024, says leading property management and investment firm, Colliers (EMEA) in its new market commentary: ‘Engage, activate and accelerate performance: next generation real estate strategies’ [registration]. The report claims that new approaches to the workplace will create new opportunities for the quickest and smartest to adapt. More →

Sustainable offices attract higher service charges

Sustainable offices attract higher service charges

The most efficient and sustainable offices attract higher than average service charges, a new report claimsOffice buildings with the highest efficiency and sustainability ratings tend to have higher than average service charges, a report from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO claims. The firm’s latest benchmarking report suggests that offices with an ‘outstanding’ or ‘excellent’ Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM) certification had total service charge costs that were 26 percent higher than the other offices it surveyed. Meanwhile, total service charge costs were 6 percent higher for sustainable offices with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of A or B compared to all other offices. More →

London must take better decisions on whether to retrofit its buildings

London must take better decisions on whether to retrofit its buildings

The London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committee has published a new report called Retrofit vs Rebuild? which asks how decisions are made to either retrofit or rebuild properties and the carbon implications for bothThe London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committee has published a new report called Retrofit vs Rebuild? which asks how decisions are made to either retrofit or rebuild properties and the carbon implications for both. In London, buildings account for an estimated 68 per cent of the city’s carbon emissions. These emissions arise from the construction, operation, and demolition of buildings. The report claims that, if London is to meet the Mayor’s 2030 net zero target, there is an urgent need to reduce emissions from buildings and to retrofit both housing and commercial stock. More →

The facilities manager’s fear of the penalty kick

The facilities manager’s fear of the penalty kick

facilities managersOn the whole, football is not a great source of inspiration for artists. It certainly doesn’t film well, although there is a small place for it in literature. The likes of Arnold Bennett, Orwell, Sartre and J B Priestley have all drawn from the game some metaphor, philosophical point, social observation or other. There are even some major literary figures who played the game to a decent level.

And the curious thing about them is that they were all goalkeepers.

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