About Mark Eltringham

Mark is the publisher of Workplace Insight, IN magazine, Works magazine and is the European Director of Work&Place journal. He has worked in the office design and management sector for over thirty years as a journalist, marketing professional, editor and consultant.

Posts by Mark Eltringham:

New research highlights trends in technology market

image: ../art/MacBookProDesktop_2x.pngA new report from Deloitte has highlighted what it believes are the key trends in the market for telecommunications, media and technology as part of its annual TMT Predictions research project. Amongst other things it predicts a slowdown in the uptake of Bring Your Own device polices, the enduring appeal of the laptop,  a change in the way we protect our data and devices, and the annual market for smartphones hitting one billion units for the first time as 4G takes off in the UK.

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Gulf developments are talking the big numbers

Following the announcement at the end of last year from the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, that the emirate was to build what it called a new city within its borders, the Government of neighbouring Abu Dhabi has announced that it plans to spend around £56bn on capital projects over the next five years as it seeks to restructure its economy to reduce its reliance on the oil and gas industry. Abu Dhabi is the largest emirate state and its investment marks a significant shift in the economic focus of the region.  More →

CPA: UK construction activity will fall in 2013

The UK’s Construction Products Association (CPA) has today reported that it expects overall construction activity in the UK to fall by around 2 per cent this year, with most of the decline attributed to a greater than 5 per cent drop in commercial projects. Particularly concerning is the fact that the Government’s austerity measures with regard to public sector investment have not been offset by an increase in private sector activity. However these figures still represent an improvement on the 9 per cent fall of 2011.  More →

Tall buildings continue to flourish in Gulf and Asia

The ongoing economic downturn hasn’t much dampened enthusiasm for erecting tall buildings according to a review for 2012 carried out by the Chicago based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats. Although the number completed in the last year fell from 82 in 2011, there were still 66 buildings taller than 200 metres opened in 2012, the third most in history. Because some projects were delayed for one reason or another, activity is expected to pick up again this year and next.  More →

The ABC of Architects – a short film

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What’s not to like about this cute and smart short animation from Andrea Stinga and Federico Gonzalez? Doubtless they’ll get earache from some people about who has been left out or included, but architects should think themselves lucky their work is recognised in the way it is. Most professionals only hear their name mentioned with any sort of passion when they screw up. The only problem with an ABC, of course, is that while Iannis Xenakis is a shoe-in, the compiler has to make choices between Gaudi and Gehry.

Cloud computing set to transform business models

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As an issue explored in our own briefing on the technologies that will do most to transform the workplace during 2013, we know the Cloud is set to be adopted (and understood) by more and more organisations and individuals in the coming year. Doubtless it will follow the usual process of technological adoption as people begin to understand its unintended consequences as well as its uses but it pays to know what some of its implications will be for office designers and managers as shown by this programme from Deloitte.

Only one in five FDs see suppliers as strategic partners

Only one in five finance directors see their suppliers as ‘strategic partners’, according to a survey of finance leaders in the UK and Ireland carried out by Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA). The report also revealed that 77 per cent of companies work on a short term basis when procuring products and services and resort to a defensive cost-cutting mentality when money is tight. More →

Goldman Sachs submits plans for troubled European HQ

Following recent reports that a growing number of firms were locating in the burgeoning creative centres of East London,investment bank Goldman Sachs has finally submitted plans for the 1.2m sq ft nine storey headquarters building KPF in Farringdon Street. The KPF-designed development will replace two existing buildings – the 13 storey Fleet Building and adjacent Plumtree Court which Goldman Sachs acquired in 2011.

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The latest issue of Insight is now available to view online

Insight 3 copyThe latest issue of Insight has been sent out to our subscribers and is also available to view online. If you don’t subscribe already, please add your name to the four thousand people who already do by popping your name and email address in the box on the right. ?

It’s as simple as that.

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UK construction set for growth, say surveyors

Following the recent news that the UK’s construction sector had suffered a significant fall in the final quarter of 2012, better news emerges from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors with a report indicating that the UK construction market is expected to turn a corner this year as the government’s focus on infrastructure starts to generate returns. Chartered surveyors are predicting that output is set to increase in 2013 according to the latest RICS construction market survey. More →

All right? Manchester property outperforms other UK regions

The idea that the UK is essentially a closely bound federation of city states, each with their own culture and economy is given added credence by new research from CBRE into regional variations in the commercial property market. London does things  its own way, of course, but the top regional city is Manchester – the only one of eight centres that showed any evidence of rental growth during 2012, even though it was a modest increase from £29.50 per sq ft to £30 per sq ft. The full report can be viewed hereMore →

It pays to check the green credentials of manufacturers

Generation from Knoll

Generation from Knoll

There is a theory that when companies talk about issues such as corporate social responsibility they are doing so because it helps them to achieve their business goals. This is the coldly rational thing to do according to people like free market guru Milton Friedman who argues that companies should not actively pursue altruistic ends unless that pursuit is ultimately in the interest of their shareholders. As Friedman puts it: ‘Hypocrisy is virtuous when it serves the bottom line. Moral virtue is immoral when it does not’.

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