February 27, 2024
Despite a huge increase in the number of businesses adopting a hybrid working model, a new poll from Crown Workspace claims that almost half (46 percent) of hybrid workers believe their office or workspace does not suit a hybrid working model and is in need of modernisation. More →
February 23, 2024
In just a few days the eagerly-awaited Workspace Design Show, the trade show that brings together the UK workplace interiors community, will open its doors. Held at London’s Business Design Centre, handily placed in the heart of Islington, from 27-28 February 2024, the event offers attendees the chance to explore the latest industry trends, see the latest products, and find inspiration in the thought-provoking talks programmes. More →
February 19, 2024
Domino Risch uses her new found freedom to discuss the limitations of relying on a single place to get work done. Sharing a hot drink separated by numerous time zones, she chats with Mark Eltringham about what firms get wrong about hybrid and in-office work, the best places to have ideas and how hard the modern world makes it to achieve flow states. They discuss the potential of anthropology to change the way we work. And what the current news about Deutsche Bank’s insistence people come into the office on Mondays and Fridays tells us about the avoidable tensions that exist in the tedious debate about remote work and so-called return to office mandates. More →
February 16, 2024
A new report from Brivo claims that, while security is a new priority in building design, a mismatch between ambition and reality can lead to spiralling costs. The results of its research into integrated physical security in building design by Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) practitioners have been published in a report called The State of ‘Security-by-Design’: Is Security an Afterthought in Building Design?[registration]. The report claims that despite an increased commitment to “security-by-design” principles, the industry is still spending significant time and money post-build to fix security issues, risking dire retroactive effects. More →
February 16, 2024
Love it or hate it, weather chat is part of Britain’s day to day – yet in the world of work it’s not just casual small talk. In fact, the seasons have a real impact on how we feel and perform. The change in seasonal characteristics influences what employees need from where they work. Looking after employee wellbeing and putting individuals in the best position to be productive at work means different things throughout the year. Building in flexibility within workplace strategy and office design is a way to ensure working environments remain a magnetic destination that support people all year round…but what does this type of flexibility look like? More →
February 15, 2024
Helsinki City Council has voted to provide a donation of 60 million euros to the foundation responsible for establishing the new national museum of architecture and design. The Finnish state will match this funding, with an additional 30 million euros to be raised from private donations. With these commitments in place, an international design competition for the new museum building will be launched in April. The new museum will sit at the heart of a new pedestrian-friendly district in Helsinki’s South Harbour. More →
February 14, 2024
After a challenging environment for commercial real estate in 2023, its fallout provides investors, developers and corporate occupiers with significant opportunities for value creation and transformational organisational change in 2024, says leading property management and investment firm, Colliers (EMEA) in its new market commentary: ‘Engage, activate and accelerate performance: next generation real estate strategies’ [registration]. The report claims that new approaches to the workplace will create new opportunities for the quickest and smartest to adapt. More →
February 12, 2024
This year’s edition of the Workspace Design Show (27-28 February 2024, Business Design Centre, London) will once again present an impressive array of features, ranging from an immersive forest stage to an interactive lighting installation, which bring together some of the industry’s leading designers, architects and built environment partners. We’ve been given an exclusive early look at what we can expect to see at this year’s design extravaganza. More →
February 7, 2024
For years it has been evident that there is no ‘future of work’. There is only a journey with no destination and no single way of not getting to it. That hasn’t stopped people talking about it all endlessly. And each time they have, I’ve reached for my pistol. More →
February 2, 2024
The idea of diffusion of innovation has become so embedded in our culture, and most recently so associated with the adoption of new technology, that we might assume it happens in predictable ways. The steps between innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards seem intuitive and certain even when their peaks might be unsure. And yet history teaches us that sometimes new ideas can take years or even decades to take hold, even when they are potentially world-changing and relevant for the era in which they were formulated. More →
February 1, 2024
A while ago, Antony Slumbers asked me why I thought firms had never done anything much about the underutilisation of their offices. This was in the first throes of lockdown-driven remote work hysteria, prompted by one of those headlines about how offices being half empty was some signifier of hatred for them.
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February 20, 2024
Navel gazing may not be the answer to the challenges facing workplace professions
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace, Workplace design