February 20, 2018

Built environment needs to address the talent gap to make the digital transition says WEF

by Sara Bean • AI, Architecture, Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace

The construction industry needs new talent and skills to help in the adoption of new technologies to meet the challenges of digital transformation. It must also become more diverse, including increasing the percentage of women in the industry. These are the recommendations of a new report from the World Economic Forum, developed in collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Shaping the Future of Construction: An Action Plan to solve the Industry’s Talent Gap. The report argues that the Infrastructure and Urban Development (IU) industry has failed to innovate as quickly as other sectors, resulting in stagnating productivity and negative effects on the economy, society and the environment. An ongoing industry-wide shortage of qualified workers is among the key reasons for this issue. It has undermined project management and execution, adversely affecting cost, timelines and quality. It also has impeded the adoption of new digital technologies, such as building information modelling (BIM), automated equipment and cloud-based collaboration tools, which could improve productivity. The report provides twelve key actions which needs to be implemented to close the structural talent gap of the construction industry.

February 1, 2018

Green buildings provide billions of dollars in additional benefits, claims Harvard study

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Environment, News, Property

A new sponsored study from researchers at Harvard University claims that green buildings deliver billions of dollars of social and health benefits beyond those associated with reduced energy consumption. The researchers examined a subset of green-certified buildings over a 16-year period in six countries: the U.S., China, India, Brazil, Germany and Turkey. The study identified nearly $6 billion in combined health and climate benefits. The results are published in the peer reviewed Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.

January 31, 2018

Creators of the Edge in Amsterdam to develop new generation of Smart buildings

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

The creative team behind the development of the world’s most sustainable building – The Edge in Amsterdam – has announced the launch of a real estate technology company. EDGE Technologies, launched by OVG Real Estate CEO Coen van Oostrom will focus on creating a new generation of buildings which feature the latest innovations in sustainability and wellbeing. Whereas parent company OVG is focussed exclusively on the development of its existing portfolio, EDGE Technologies will focus on both the development and the long-term operations of this new generation of buildings, aiming for a cohesive experience across cities. Each EDGE building will be built and operated on the same technology platform and offer consistent user-centred design, created to serve the needs of today’s fast-changing and demanding workforce. To help achieve this the new company is launching a product that will capture and aggregate data across its properties in order to optimize, measure and inform both the user experience and the building’s environmental performance. More →

January 8, 2018

Seven stories to get your week (and 2018) off to a flying start

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Features, Property, Technology, Workplace design

How PropTech will change in 2018

China’s supernova cities

Video: Capitalism without capital

The State of the (property management) nation

Ten workplace trends you’ll see in 2018

Deconstructing the high rise

The best ideas and inventions of 2017

Image: CCTV headquarters in Beijing by OMA

January 5, 2018

The global BIM market projected to reach $18.8 billion by 2024, report claims

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Technology

The global BIM market was valued at $3.6 billion in 2016, and is projected to reach $18.8 billion by 2024, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.9 percent from 2016 to 2024. This is according to the report Global Building Information Modelling Market. In 2016, the BIM software segment generated the highest revenue share of $2.7 bn, growing at a CAGR of 23.4 percent. Among major regions, North America is currently leading the BIM market with the revenue of $1.07 bn, however, Europe and Asia Pacific are expected to surpass the North American market by 2021. According to the report, the emerging countries of Asia Pacific and Europe will experience a steep growth in the market because of infrastructure developments. The rise in population and the requirement for new buildings and structures will lead to a hike in the growth of the market in countries such as India and China.

January 2, 2018

Seven stories that got us thinking over the holiday season

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Facilities management, Features, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Around the world in 80 architecture offices

If work dominated your every moment would life be worth living?

Ten years in and nobody has come up with a use for blockchain

The case against digital transformation

All the creepy, crazy and amazing things that happened in AI in 2017

The tyranny of competence: why it is bad for us to be ‘good enough’

The dangers of dark nudging

December 28, 2017

The most read workplace stories from the last twelve months

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Facilities management, Features, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

One of the greatest joys of online publishing is the opportunity it offers to reflect on the demonstrable preoccupations and interests of an informed audience. We can see what professionals see as the most important issues they face by what they read in the UK’s most widely read publication in its field. It’s especially heartening to see that those do not include the usual glib misdirections about Millennials, gimmicky office design, robots, open plan and ‘trends’ that have been more or less commonplace for years. We can leave those to others. Instead you have been seeking out stories that challenge the lazy mainstream narratives, reflect the reality of the endlessly shifting landscape of work, understand the challenges involved and retain a focus on the human beings at the centre of it all. So, here are the ten most read pieces from Workplace Insight published over the past 365 days. More →

December 7, 2017

What P T Barnum can teach us about the facilities management circus

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Facilities management, Workplace

Does any of this describe you? “You have a need for other people to like and admire you, yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have weaknesses you are generally able to compensate for them. You have considerable yet hidden strengths that you have yet to turn to your advantage. Self-controlled on the outside, you are slightly insecure inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you always make the right decision. You prefer a certain amount of change and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by limitations. You pride yourself as an independent thinker and do not accept the statements of others without satisfactory proof. But you also think it can be unwise to be too frank in revealing too much about yourself.” Does this sound familiar? Well it should because that is how most people see themselves.

December 5, 2017

Facebook’s new Frank Gehry designed London office includes start-up space

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Case studies, Cities, Property, Technology

Facebook has unveiled its new offices in London’s Rathbone Place, with the announcement that it will include a dedicated incubator space for start-ups. In terms of Facebook staff, the office will be home to a diverse range of teams including engineers, developers, marketing and sales teams. The 247,000 sq office, designed by award-winning architect Frank Gehry, includes 7 floors and features a new public square just off Oxford Street called Rathbone Square. In a first for a Facebook office, the new London site will offer incubator space for start-ups, called LDN_LAB, which will invite UK-based start-ups to take part per three month long programmes designed to help kick start and accelerate their businesses. The programme will help start-ups who are focused on creating, building or empowering communities through innovation and technology. Facebook experts from a range of disciplines including engineering, product and partnerships, will share their knowledge, expertise and mentorship as part of the programme.

November 23, 2017

The workplace sector responds to the 2017 UK Autumn Budget

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Environment, Features, Property, Technology

Yesterday, the Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the details of the UK government’s latest budget. While Brexit inevitably cast its shadow over the whole thing, there were a number of announcements relevant to the workplace, construction, tech and built environment sectors, many of which have been broadly welcomed by commentators, industry bodies and experts. Among the announcements in the budget were new plans for infrastructure and planning, skills and training, the environment, productivity, AI and regional development.

October 12, 2017

New Scotland Yard wins Better Public Building Award at the 2017 British Construction Industry Awards

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, News, Public Sector, Workplace design

The New Scotland Yard building on Victoria Embankment has been named as the winner of the 2017 Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Award. The Award sets out to ‘recognise excellence in publicly funded buildings and infrastructure, and highlights projects that bring real change to communities, demonstrate innovative and efficient construction and deliver value for money’. The winning building, designed by AHMM, is a £58 million project that remodelled and extended the former Curtis Green building. It represents a move back to Victoria Embankment for the Metropolitan Police service, having first previously occupied the address in 1890. The new entrance is designed ‘to create a welcoming and non-institutional yet secure front door’ and reinstates the iconic revolving sign. The project was completed as part of a major rethink of the organisation’s corporate real estate strategy, in line with UK Government objectives for the public sector estate.

September 12, 2017

Eight pathways launched to combat unethical practices in construction supply chains

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property

A new eight stage action programme called APRES, has been released by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to support the responsible and ethical sourcing of materials, products and people. This call to action has been created in partnership with Loughborough University and presents eight pathways to best practice to combat modern slavery and unethical practices in supply chains. The pathways aim to take organisations and individuals from the level of ‘Baseline’ to ‘Best in Class’ performance.