October 24, 2018

Central London office market maintains sustained levels of demand

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property

London’s office market continues to attract occupiers and investors, despite political and economic uncertainty JLL’s recent Central London offices seminar revealed. The event highlighted the strength of the capital’s office market where Central London has seen sustained levels of both leasing and investment activity so far in 2018 and JLL anticipates that the final numbers will match, if not exceed those recorded in 2017. Take-up of offices across Central London reached 8.3m sq ft at the end of Q3 2018, with 3.1m sq ft leased in the West End and 4.5m sq ft in the City.

October 23, 2018

Technical, social and legal challenges to deployment of wearables in buildings

by Sara Bean • AI, Facilities management, News, Property, Technology

While there is substantial potential for the deployment of wearables there are also significant technical, social and legal challenges. This is the conclusion of the latest white paper from BSRIA, ‘Wearables & wellbeing in buildings – the story so far’ which found little evidence of any practical solutions linking wearables to HVAC or building systems in general that were already in operation, apart from in “niche areas” such as wearable security fobs. A wearable is a device or an item of clothing which can be worn by a human, or possibly be carried as an implant, which has a degree of “intelligence” built into it and can potentially communicate with the Internet of Things (IoT), either directly or indirectly, for example via a Bluetooth connection to a smart phone. More →

October 22, 2018

Nearly a quarter of London office take up is in financial sector, says CBRE

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

Despite political and economic uncertainly and the aftermath of the global monetary crisis in 2008, London remains a leading global financial centre, with nearly a quarter (24 percent) of the capital’s office take-up attributed to banking and finance occupiers over the last ten years. London is by far the most active banking centre in Europe, according to the latest research from global real estate advisor CBRE. According to the report, 1.1 million people were employed in the UK financial services sector in 2017, of which 34 percent were in London. More →

October 18, 2018

Majority of UK workers sit at their desk between four and nine hours a day

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The majority (81 percent) of UK office workers spend between four and nine hours each day sitting at their desk, equating to an average of 67 sedentary days per person each year, claims a new survey from Fellowes. Nearly half (45 percent) of office workers polled said they sat at their desk for between six and nine hours daily with 36 percent claiming they spent four to six hours seated. On top of this, a huge 64 percent claimed their office environment also had a negative impact on their health.

October 17, 2018

Manchester is being chosen over London as location for tech start-ups

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace

The new northern home of the BBC is giving London a run for its money when it comes to siting offices for the UK’s top tech talent, with Manchester leading the way, according to CWJobs. The recruitment firm found that those who consider London to have the best talent, the most likely (75 percent) reason for this being the concentration of tech companies. Of those employers who believe Manchester has the UK’s best tech talent (9 percent), 56 percent believe this is due to better tech-focused educational institutions (vs 43 percent who thought London’s were better). More →

October 16, 2018

How landlords can maintain their mojo and retain tenants

by Gemma Church • Facilities management, Features, Property

Flexibility is rocking the foundations of the traditional commercial real estate world. It’s entering our workforces, our offices and the shock waves are extending to the relationship between landlord and tenant. This demand for increased flexibility from the world’s workforces is due to a convergence of social and economic factors. JLL’s Top 10 Global Corporate Real Estate (CRE) Trends report predicts the emergence of a more dynamic workforce, demand for work environments that support creativity, cross-collaboration and innovation, and an increasing focus on employee wellbeing and performance will dominate global CRE strategies throughout 2018. This has major implications for both occupiers and landlords.

October 16, 2018

BIFM announces winners of its annual awards

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News

Now in their 18th and final year before the Institute changes its name, the BIFM Awards set out to ‘celebrate the profession’s finest, honouring those whose outstanding work has driven innovation and achieved exceptional results in the organisations where they work, benchmarking excellence and inspiring others’. Thirteen winners were announced from 46 finalists at a ceremony held last night in London. The occasion also celebrated the work of a further nine finalists whose initiatives were highly commended by the judges.

October 15, 2018

BSRIA publishes list of new and upcoming legislation and guidance for buildings

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

The Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA) has published a list of the most up to date legislation and guidance that affects the design, construction and management of buildings. While a couple are relevant primarily for domestic buildings, the emphasis is very much on commercial property and will be of interest to a range of professionals. BSRIA members also have access to a legislation service on building and building services legislation and relevant guidance. More →

October 11, 2018

Latest technology would improve productivity of office workers

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

In spite of all the evidence and their own experiences, over half (55 percent) of office workers believe access to the latest workplace technology would make them more productive; 43 percent said this would make them feel more valued, while 38 percent said it would motivate them to work harder. This is according to research for the report, The Hidden Value of Workplace Technology, conducted on behalf of Econocom by survey consultant Censuswide. The research found that workplace tech is important not just for companies looking to retain existing staff, but also to recruit new members. More →

October 10, 2018

CIB sets out a roadmap for the creation of intelligent and responsive buildings

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) has published a free roadmap written by members of the W098 Commission and CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group, which presents collective ideas for the creation of intelligent and responsive buildings for current needs and the future. Intelligent buildings present a number of challenges, according to the authors. They must be responsive to people’s needs including their health and wellbeing; be sustainable in the use of resources as well as incorporating the most useful parts of the evolving technologies.

October 10, 2018

The Genesis of ideation and the places we go to have our best ideas ⁰

by Giuseppe Boscherini • Facilities management, Features, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace design

Because collaboration, creativity and innovation are increasingly perceived as key objectives and differentiators of performance, the genesis and mechanisms behind ideation and creativity are an an integral part of both business and personal development. As a consequence, there is growing interest in the way the physical attributes of work settings may influence or even trigger creative behaviour. The cliché of the shower as one of these favourite places comes to mind and yet experience does show that the idea of seeking a setting, a “zone” if you will, for a specific purpose is intuitively right. This needn’t be a retreat or cocoon, as is often assumed, but can also be a crowded, busy, noisy place, which might explain why so often the most animated work conversations move out of the office shop into the coffee shop. Equally, highlight events or special meetings tend to be held in a “venue’, often dressed for the occasion.

October 3, 2018

First impressions count when it comes to office reception areas

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace design

Two out of every five people (40 percent) claim their perception of a company or brand has been negatively affected by their experience in the corporate lobby or reception area. Of 2,000 US and UK office workers surveyed in Proxyclick’s annual ‘Office Worker Bugbears’ survey, over 70 per cent (71.48 percent) cited unfriendly receptionists, followed by over half (53.78 percent) naming a lacklustre welcome as top reasons for their bad experience. ‘The Integrated Visitor Experience’, a white paper which explores integrated building, security and workplace management technologies, claims that visitors can feel a culture the moment they walk through the door to an office. Gregory Blondeau, Founder of Proxyclick, said: “Not five to ten years ago, the visitor experience did not really exist, the basic process simply covered how someone is received in a building or premises and how they’re able to move around. Today, the rise of smart buildings, developments in automation, open application programming interface standards and cloud technology, have changed the game.” Click the link to download the ‘Integrated Visitor Experience’ white paper.