October 23, 2013
RIBA reports a surge in confidence and headcount for UK architects
The good news keeps on coming for the UK’s architects. Following a number of reports of increased activity in the sector earlier in the year, the latest RIBA Future Trends survey reports that architects are increasingly confident about their future workloads. The Index used by RIBA to measure confidence rose by four points in September to +26. The number represents the difference between those expecting an increase in work and those expecting decrease. Encouragingly, the increase in confidence was seen across all of the sectors surveyed and in every part of the UK. The survey also recorded an increase in headcount in architectural practices as firms gear up to meet the demands of their increased order book.
October 22, 2013
What happens in a designer’s mind and Mac can be very different to reality
by Simon Heath • Architecture, Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design
Social media is inarguably closing the gap between organisations and consumers of their services. Advances in the way we interrogate the opinions of building users are lifting the veil on some sharp practices in management and the negative impacts of poorly thought out design or badly executed installation of designs into the built environment. The positive impacts of this new, more open world are evident in changing attitudes to mental health and other wellness issues that affect us in the workplace. And it is becoming ever more evident in the response to a clear disconnect between what happens inside the designer or architect’s MacBook and its effect on the physical spaces with, and within which, we interact.
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