September 30, 2021
In less than two months, Workspace Design Show will open its doors, welcoming the commercial interiors community to discover and discuss tomorrow’s places of work at London’s Business Design Centre from 4-5 November 2021. More →
September 28, 2021
The rapid changes to our working lives caused by the global pandemic have prompted a great deal of debate about the future of work, the workplace and corporate real estate generally. At the highest levels of management within many organisations, leaders are now reflecting on their experiences and asking searching questions about their ways of working. More →
September 28, 2021
Collaboration furniture specialist Logovisual have expanded their range of ThinkingWall® mobile walls. The range answers the increasing demand on modern office spaces to be flexible to meet the needs of different workers and tasks. From small team huddles to a video call, the team at Logovisual believe building in visual and acoustic privacy is key in an open plan space. The new ThinkingWall® Mobile Acoustic Curve and ThinkingWall® AV Divider fit with other units from the ThinkingWall® Mobile range to create amazing, adaptable collaboration spaces. They are quick and simple to switch out and move around as often as required to divide workspaces and make flexible layouts. More →
September 24, 2021
Since 2018, Tarkett and Stockholm-based Note Design Studio have developed their collaboration, with the longstanding commitment that there should be no compromise when it comes to design and sustainability. This progressive journey now introduces the latest edition of the PLAY magazine. More →
September 10, 2021
I recently stumbled upon the phrase epistemic trespass, which describes the phenomenon of people making judgements in fields in which they have no expertise. I came across it as it was used to explain the sudden explosion of opinions about Afghanistan from a hitherto unknown horde of experts. Which may or may not be the same horde that has been so very certain about immunology and public health during the pandemic. It’s an old idea and one that needs to be treated with care, for reasons set out by Noah Smith here. But it is useful in some ways because we all recognise the phenomenon and how social media amplifies it. More →
August 27, 2021
The new Clerkenwell Open event organised by the BCFA and Women in Office Design takes place on the 9th and 10th September 2021. Although long the epicentre of the UK’s office design community, this is a new two day showroom trail event which aims to provide a focus and a clear statement that Clerkenwell is “alive” again, and will provide a combined opportunity for architects, designers, specifiers , dealers and end users to network in person and exchange views. More →
August 26, 2021
We’ve all learnt a great deal about working from home over the past eighteen months. We’ve seen how for some, it can be incredibly beneficial to employees, enabling them to better balance their work and personal lives and can also benefit the company, enabling business as usual during the Covid-19 pandemic, even improving efficiency. It’s also prompted some important conversations about mental health that simply hadn’t been had, normalising the challenges that we all face, especially during lockdowns. More →
August 13, 2021
As the UK government has withdrawn its advice for employees to work from home, more organisations than ever will be instituting what have become known as hybrid working models: 68 percent globally, according to research from Steelcase. Definitions of “hybrid work”, however, are often contradicting and unclear – leaving business leaders without definitive guidance about how to approach the future of work. To provide businesses with a more concrete view of what hybrid working looks like in reality, and provide tangible actions to help streamline productivity and collaboration, Steelcase have researched the experiences and needs of workers worldwide in their report: Changing Expectations and the Future of Work. More →
August 10, 2021
There’s a scene in the 1986 horror movie The Fly in which Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) persuades the reporter Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis) to try two steaks, one of which Brundle has just sent between two teleportation pods in an effort to work out why they can’t process organic matter, including the organic matter belonging to a very unfortunate baboon. More →
July 30, 2021
The removal of most Covid restrictions in the UK has increased calls for clearer practical guidance and the setting of specific indoor air quality (IAQ) contaminant targets to support the health and wellbeing of building occupants. The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has, therefore, produced a concise guide to good practice: ‘Indoor Air Quality for Health & Well-Being’, which is designed to help building owners, managers and engineers interpret IAQ data and turn it into useful strategies for improving the indoor environment. More →
July 23, 2021
I recently read an interesting little book called Office by Sheila Liming. It’s a small book, easy to read in a sitting and linked to a series of essays in The Atlantic. The author is a Professor of English so it’s no surprise to find that it’s beautifully written and draws on a range of sources to illustrate its points. It’s pretty sound on its own terms but also illustrates perfectly what is wrong with so many current narratives about work. The writing may not be clichéd but the thinking often is. More →
September 30, 2021
The truth about the workplace comes out of the well
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Property, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design