June 21, 2021
Design Social North will reinvigorate the creative workplace sector in the North of England
Design Social North is the new event bringing the design community and creative businesses back together in the North of England. The organisers have created DesignFestivalNorth, a 3-day showcase of leading design brands and companies, presented in a series of events taking place this July in showrooms across Manchester, and a dedicated ‘design hub’ located at Impossible in the City Centre. It takes place from Tuesday 13th-Thursday 15th July 2021. (more…)
After outgrowing their offices at One Bishop’s Square, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) worked with interior design studio Shaw Studios, and Furniture dealer, Day2 Interiors to relocate to 25 Copthall Avenue/London Wall. 
Taunton’s UK Hydrographic Office Headquarters was named ‘Best of the Best’ at the British Council for Offices’ (BCO) National Awards, and also took home the ‘Corporate Workplace’ award. The office was joined by six other award winners recognised as leading examples of excellence in the office space. This ‘roll of honour’ includes two buildings in London: The Brunel Building on Canalside Walk, and 160 Old Street, a refurbished office space in the “Silicon Roundabout” district. 
Recently launched is 
Every day, after a leisurely breakfast in bed and the opening of his post, Roald Dahl would wander down his garden to the grubby little hut crammed with personal paraphernalia he had created there. There he would sharpen the six yellow pencils that were always by his side while he worked, settle into an armchair, put his feet up on an old suitcase filled with logs, place an American yellow legal pad of paper onto a makeshift board on his lap and work for two hours. 
HR leaders, heads of real estate and IT decision-makers have not always spent huge amounts of time working together – their roles and responsibilities have often been siloed. But in the new world of work, that’s all changing. These three groups of senior leaders are being asked to collaborate on one of the biggest challenges corporate occupiers, as they try to figure out when and how to return to office-based working and shape the future of work. Failure to collaborate will increase the probability of workplaces having low occupancy rates, low employee engagement and decreased productivity. 
Ten years ago, the day after I left my full-time job at FM World magazine* to set up Magenta I wrote a blog called 
When it comes to conversations about work and workplaces, the past year has offered a fully immersive experience. Everybody now has an opinion. Inevitably some of them are better informed and more rooted in experience than others. So, after a full year of talk and as we return to some form of routine working life, the time has come to take stock. Few organisations and people will remain untouched by the sudden shift in attitudes towards working life, so we asked four workplace experts for their views on the current state of play. 
The focus on creating a more sustainable workplace is increasing. Many designers, specifiers, manufacturers, suppliers and, of course, users are pledging their allegiance to the cause. Some are driven by a genuine recognition of the climate crisis whilst others are appreciating that commercially, it’s an essential direction. ‘Zero to landfill’ has been given ‘green bragging rights’ for some time. In reality, due to the significantly lower cost of incineration versus recycling, most material isn’t reclaimed, it is burnt. Whilst ‘energy from waste’ might alleviate some guilt, it is still contributing to pollution. 
Innovation of materials and creativity remain at the forefront of British design as 27 outstanding submissions from three categories are to be awarded the coveted 
June 14, 2021
Never mind the agile workplace, here is something you already know
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace design
(more…)