A new generation of workplace apps is transforming people’s experience of work

A new generation of workplace apps is transforming people’s experience of work

These days, workplace apps promise a much more sophisticated experience, which can be accessed in the palm of your handDisseminating information about a building to the people who occupy it has come a long way from a basic, intranet desktop interface with warnings about wet floors or notices about charity fundraising. These days, workplace apps promise a much more sophisticated experience, which can be accessed in the palm of your hand. Gartner has a useful definition of workplace apps’ capabilities, stating, “They are used to explore and reserve workspaces, navigate the workplace, find colleagues, plan the best days to attend the workplace, access services and ensure that employees could feel safe in a future post pandemic workplace.” More →

NeoCon announces best of show award winners

NeoCon announces best of show award winners

The winners of the 34th annual Best of NeoCon Awards have been announced at this year’s show at THE MART in Chicago. This year, a total of 126 (!) awards were bestowed upon products in 50 categories for Gold, Silver, Sustainability, Innovation, Business Impact, and the coveted Best of Competition. The winners were selected by a group of 53 architects, designers, specifiers, enterprise clients, facility managers, and top business media who judged the products on-site over the weekend. This year, Momentum Textiles & Wallcovering’s collaboration with British-Nigerian artist Yinka Ilori (main image) received the coveted distinction of Best of Competition—marking the first time a product in the Wall Treatments and Textiles categories took home the top honour. More →

Four simple ways to embrace neurodiversity in the workplace

Four simple ways to embrace neurodiversity in the workplace

Around a fifth of people have some form of neurodiversity, so it's essential that the workplace is as welcoming as possible It is thought that up to 20 percent of the UK population is neurodivergent and while many companies now are more educated on the need for diversity, many still have some way to go to adapt their workplaces both culturally and physically to ensure these individuals feel they are truly supported, valued, respected and able to the excel in their role. Sadly, a recent study by Birkbeck found that 65 percent of employees with a form of neurodiversity fear discrimination at work, despite companies increasingly recognising the need for inclusivity. More →

Furniture Makers to hold next sustainability event focussed on ecodesign

Furniture Makers to hold next sustainability event focussed on ecodesign

The Furniture Makers’ Company, the City of London livery company and charity for the furnishing industry, is hosting its next sustainability event focussed on the issues surrounding ecodesignThe Furniture Makers’ Company, the City of London livery company and charity for the furnishing industry, is hosting its next sustainability event focussed on the issues surrounding ecodesign, including the implications of the new EU law, Ecodesign for Products Regulation (ESPR). More →

More content! New themes! New font! Same old team! It’s all there for you in this issue of Works magazine

More content! New themes! New font! Same old team! It’s all there for you in this issue of Works magazine

 

The digital issue of Works magazine is now available for you here. And it's bigger, and dare we say better, than ever.

The digital edition of the new Works magazine is now available for you here. And it’s bigger, and dare we say better, than ever. In this issue: we look back on Milan Design Week and forward to Clerkenwell Design Week; there are no fewer than four projects highlighting the latest design trends and thinking; we present the award winners from the Sustainable Design Collective; explore how biophilia shouldn’t just be about a plant in the office and a picture of field on the wall; set out the most important office trends; consider the always thorny issue of office acoustics and distraction, and showcase a new generation of products that help to address it; catch up for a drink with our friends at Modus; pay tribute to the great Gaetano Pesce; and there’s all the news, launches and projects you need.

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The Furniture Makers’ Company announces Design Guild Mark 2024 holders

The Furniture Makers’ Company announces Design Guild Mark 2024 holders

Innovation of materials, creativity and sustainability are at the forefront of British design as 16 outstanding submissions, from three categories, are awarded the coveted Design Guild Mark in 2024, with three receiving the additional accolade the Jonathan Hindle Prize. The Design Guild Mark is a non-profit award programme that was established in 2008 by The Furniture Makers’ Company to raise the profile of British industrial design and to recognise excellence in this discipline. Over time the Mark has grown from just Furniture to include categories for Interior Design Elements, and Lighting. More →

Looking forward to a whale of a time at Clerkenwell Design Week

Looking forward to a whale of a time at Clerkenwell Design Week

 

To celebrate this rich and diverse community, Clerkenwell Design Week will showcase the borough’s creative residents, alongside visiting brands and emerging design talentAs the majority of you will know, Clerkenwell is home to more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else on the planet, making it truly one of the most important design hubs in the world. And, for three days each May, it truly feels like it. To celebrate this rich and diverse community, Clerkenwell Design Week will showcase the borough’s creative residents, alongside visiting brands and emerging design talent. And we have a special show preview to help you get the best from it. More →

Bringing workplaces back to their prime requires a holistic approach

Bringing workplaces back to their prime requires a holistic approach

Enticing employees back to physical workplaces has proved challenging, but there are solutions writes Steve Elliott of BW Workplace Experts The pandemic radically changed the way we work and kick-started the proliferation of the hybrid model and widespread remote work. Now the picture has shifted once more, with headlines pointing to increasing return to the office policies introduced by organisations, with greater productivity and collaboration among their top reasons for doing so. Dubbed the year of the ‘Great Office Return’ by Virgin Media 02 Business Movers Index, 2023 saw four in ten companies mandating a return to the five-day office week and 92 percent enforcing some level of in-office requirement. However, enticing employees back to physical workplaces has proven challenging. According to CBRE, almost half of companies report their office attendance at 40 percent or under. More →

Inclusivity, sustainability and user-centric design dominate BCO South West Regional Awards

Inclusivity, sustainability and user-centric design dominate BCO South West Regional Awards

What are claimed to be the South West of England’s and South Wales’s most outstanding workplaces have been announced, with British Council for Offices Awards going to six office buildings across the region. Held at The Coal Exchange Hotel, the BCO’s annual South of England and South Wales Awards Dinner celebrated the high-calibre of the region’s offices in terms of design, fit-out operation and sustainability. More →

Daylight Award ceremony announces two new laureates

Daylight Award ceremony announces two new laureates

On the UNESCO International Day of Light, The Daylight Award announces the 2024 laureates: Spanish architect and professor, Alberto Campo Baeza for his architecture, and German professor of chronobiology Till Roenneberg, for his research. The two categories of The Daylight Award – scientific research and architectural design – recognise a duality with the aim of directing knowledge, based on research at the highest level, to the benefit of architectural thinking and practice. Research has created a scientific grounding for the use of daylight in architecture. – states the jury. More →

The workplace is no longer about presence. It’s now all about the experience

The workplace is no longer about presence. It’s now all about the experience

a high-performing workplace is no longer solely defined by building efficiency or space effectiveness, it is also measured by the workplace experience — or, how employees feel about the spaceThe Gensler Research Institute has announced the findings from its Global Workplace Survey 2024, offering what it says are fresh insights into the future of work. The comprehensive global study shifts the focus from employee presence in the office to workplace performance. The core argument presented in the report is that a high-performing workplace is no longer solely defined by building efficiency or space effectiveness, it is also measured by the workplace experience — or, how employees feel about the space. More →

Peace and quiet at work? Here are ten of the best and most far out solutions

Peace and quiet at work? Here are ten of the best and most far out solutions

 

Any survey that sets out to establish what people believe cuts their productivity and annoys them most about their workplace invariably throws up the same result; the noise and distractions generated by other people. So it will come as no surprise to learn that the same surveys usually find that employees believe that peace and quiet and freedom from distractions is the most important factor when it comes to getting some decent work done. More →