May 17, 2013

Colliers uses Bucharest HQ to showcase office design for Generation Y

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Company news, Workplace design

The Bucharest office of property consultancy Colliers International has been revamped to showcase an office design model that the company claims will meet the needs of the next generation of employees. Colliers has worked with architecture studio Prographic and drawn on its own studies of Generation Y and their needs to create the space. According to the firm, the prototype office will incorporate the newest technology, the latest thinking on workplace design and space planning and set new standards in sustainability. As well as Prographic, Colliers International worked with suppliers including ASUS, Techo, Bene, Bittnet Systems and Saint-Gobain to create its vision.

May 15, 2013

RICS developing BIM accreditation standard to advance uptake

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Property, Technology

Alan Muse, Director of Built Environment Professional Groups (RICS) is calling for a cultural shift to ensure that Building Information Modelling (BIM) is more widely adopted. This follows the results of a survey taken at the RICS National BIM conference which revealed that despite its overwhelming recognition within the built environment nearly half of respondents were still not using the process, with 46 per cent identifying minimal client demand as a major factor preventing their implementation of BIM. Comments Muse: “Quite simply, some clients are not yet recognising the efficiencies that BIM can bring”, which is the reason why RICs is now developing a BIM accreditation standard.

May 3, 2013

BIM provides opportunities for the built environment finds report

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Public Sector

Building Information Modelling (BIM) will raise productivity, provide better buildings, faster and cheaper and represents opportunities for the built environment to become a powerful international player. This is according to a major new report, Growth through BIM produced by Richard Saxon, the UK Government’s BIM Ambassador for Growth who concludes: “No wonder it has been mandated as government policy“. The Built Environment sector, for the purposes of his report, is defined as Property, Construction and Facilities Management, which accounts for about 15 per cent of GDP, and which he describes as: “an enabling sector, facilitating the performance of most other sectors”. More →

May 1, 2013

Global coalition to create universal standard of property measurement

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property

The world’s leading property institutions meet today to create a universal method of measuring property assets. At present, the way property assets – such as an office development is measured, varies widely from country to country. With so many different methods of measurement available, it makes it difficult for those looking to invest in these developments to compare like with like. This confusion can affect property values, lead to errors in financial reporting and, consequentially, undermine market confidence. Headed by RICS, this initial meeting of the International Property Measurement Standards Coalition (IPMSC) is the first step to delivering this consistency.

April 26, 2013

British Land submits plans for London landmark Mayfair scheme

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property

British Land has submitted a planning application to Westminster Council for a major new 193,500 sq. ft. mixed use scheme following its acquisition of the Clarges Estate last year. The site totals almost one acre bounding London’s Piccadilly and includes residential, offices and retail. Planning consent for an earlier scheme was granted in April 2011 but the new plans mean the development’s office element will be re-modelled from 91,000 sq. ft. to 47,500 sq. ft to sit on the ground floor and six upper floors with facades to Clarges Street and Bolton Street.

April 24, 2013

Plans for redevelopment of iconic BBC Television Centre confirmed

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace design

Detailed plans to open up and transform the BBC’s Television Centre into a mixed use development including office and studio space for the BBC have been released today. Developers Stanhope and the BBC revealed in February that for the first time, Television Centre will be opened up to the public and the famous forecourt remodelled. The BBC will remain at Television Centre operating studios and BBC Worldwide will consolidate their new home at Television Centre, following refurbishment. The remaining offices are aimed at occupiers in the creative sector. The much loved listed buildings at Television Centre will be retained. More →

April 23, 2013

Client focus as crucial as great design says RIBA

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Workplace design

The architectural profession can’t rely on great design alone, but needs to be more business and client focused warns the Royal Institute of British Architects. According to RIBA’s 2012/13 Business Benchmarking Survey, 62 per cent of practices do not have a business plan and, of those that do, only 13 per cent plan beyond one year. Interestingly, the survey also finds that 50 per cent of the profession’s work is won as the result of a direct approach with no competitive process. RIBA President Angela Brady said: “One key element exposed in these latest results is the acute split in business management, profitability and specialisms between large and small practices on how to make the most of their own position in the market place. What is clear is that if growth is on the agenda for a practice, then simply being a great designer, or a good project runner, is unlikely to be enough.” More →

April 17, 2013

City approves plans for new offices by Fire of London Monument

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property

The City of London has granted planning permission for the development of an 88,000 sq ft (8,175 sq m) office-led scheme, next to the historic Monument column which commemorates the Fire of London in 1666. The project by Skanska Project Development Ltd (SPDL) will see the existing buildings at 11-15 Monument Street, 46 Fish Street Hill and 1-2 Pudding Hill replaced with around 85,000 sq ft (7,896 sq m) of offices on nine floors, with floorplates of around 10,000 sq ft (929 sq m), and 3,000 sq ft (278 sq m) of ground floor retail accommodation. Work is expected to start on site later in the year with completion scheduled for 2015.

April 17, 2013

Abu Dhabi continues to create new offices, despite current oversupply

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Knowledge, Property, Workplace design

A new report from Jones Lang LaSalle into the property market in Abu Dhabi claims that although the Emirate is committed to investing in the development of new commercial property, there is already a serious oversupply of offices in the region. Vacancy rates already stand at over a third (37 per cent) with increases expected as new developments become available. Around 1 million sq. m. of new office space is set to be developed in Abu Dhabi between now and 2015, increasing the total commercial building stock by a quarter. The JLL report claims that this oversupply is suppressing rents. Grade A properties now yield about 40 per cent of what they did at their peak in the final quarter of 20008 while Grade B space also continues to see falls in its yield.

April 16, 2013

Hong Kong’s pioneering zero carbon building wins innovation award

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

The Construction Industry Council’s (CIC) Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) in Hong Kong has been awarded Champion of the Innovation Award for the Engineering Industry 2012/2013 by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE). The ZCB, which is the first of its kind in Hong Kong engineered by Arup won the construction category for its integrated innovations, tailored for the city’s sub-tropical climate. It is the first building in Hong Kong to actively feed electricity back to the grid and has BEAM Plus Platinum status – the highest rating for excellent building environmental performance.

April 15, 2013

When the world’s cities became the stars of the show

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment

The City has always been source of fascination for artists. The growth of cities in the 20^th Century was paralleled by their growing depiction in art. Whereas early paintings from the likes of Edward Hopper and the photogravure prints of Alfred Stieglitz would invariably focus on individuals within the context of the city, as the century wore on the cities themselves became the focus. Film was the natural medium for the new starring role of the City. Fritz Lang’s Metropolis was seminal in its depiction of the eponymous city and throughout the 20^th Century camera lenses continued to fall in love with the likes of Paris (Jean Luc Godard’s Alphaville), New York (Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets) and a future Los Angeles (Blade Runner from Ridley Scott).

April 8, 2013

One St Paul’s offices attracts “new type” of City tenant

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property

A marketing campaign aimed at attracting non-traditional City occupiers appears to have paid off, with the entire 60,000 sqft office element of One St Paul’s in the City of London being let to a single tenant. Genesis Oil and Gas Consultants Ltd has agreed a 15-year lease for all six storeys of bespoke office space, and will take possession upon handover of the building works during the summer of 2013, with the aim of moving its headquarters in the autumn. The deal marks the culmination of AXA Real Estate’s reworking of the property as a major mixed-use redevelopment scheme.