February 11, 2013
British investors still see Dubai as an attractive proposition
British investors continue to see the property market in Dubai as a good bet, according to new statistics from the Emirate’s Land Department. Of the $16 billion invested in Dubai properties last year, over $12 billion came from overseas investors. Indians led the field with total investments of $2.5 billion followed by Britons ($1.36 billion) Pakistanis ($1.09 billion) and Russians only $545 million – roughly the amount Roman Abramovich hides in his sock drawer for emergencies. The department’s director-general, Sultan Butti Bin Mejrin, said this showed how Dubai had recovered from global financial crisis with the help of support from local government.
February 10, 2013
Video: Why designers need to design for our ears too
by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Facilities management, Workplace, Workplace design
A subject too often ignored but about which we now have a great deal of research is that of acoustic comfort. Insight has covered the subject before, but the fact remains that too often we design for our eyes far more than our ears. What we also know to be true is that we are becoming more acutely aware of the issue as our workplaces change both in terms of the space each of us is allocated and our exposure to others in the name of collaboration. In this TED talk Julian Treasure of The Sound Agency considers how we might design our surrounding in ways to improve our acoustic comfort.