May 15, 2020

What the humble avocado can teach us about why we will always work in offices

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace

From the archive. Originally published in 2013. People have been talking about the death of the office for at least a quarter of a century. Leaving aside the often misleading conflation of flexible working with homeworking that is often involved, the underlying premise of such talk has been the same for all of that time. The main argument is, and always was, that there is an alternative to the tedium, aggravation and expense of travelling to an office solely to work inside its hermetically sealed and fluorescent-lit, blue-carpeted interior alongside people who can drive you spare, before you schlep home again. More →

May 13, 2020

Building systems must be rethought before a return to the office

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News

Preparing an office for safe re-occupation is about much more than turning on the lights. Once it is agreed who will be working and when, there needs to be a thorough re-evaluation of air conditioning and ventilation systems, according to the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE). The Institution, whose membership includes the UKs leading experts on ventilation and air quality in buildings, has produced a series of guides for businesses looking to understand how their workspaces can be re-populated while minimising risk to their staff. More →

April 23, 2020

Carbon emissions from buildings fall, but more to be done

by Neil Franklin • Environment, Facilities management, News

Despite a fall in carbon emissions from buildings as a result of the lockdown, businesses can do much more to cut carbon and save costs during the COVID-19 lockdown reveals latest data from Carbon Intelligence which tracked and analysed energy usage from 300 buildings during this period. More →

March 11, 2020

Tech firms drive explosion in Oxford office costs

by Jayne Smith • Facilities management, News, Property

Office rent in Oxfordshire has shot up an eye-watering 24.3 percent in a year, with Bidwells’ latest research suggesting the need to fast-track new office and laboratory space to fulfil the explosion in demand from growing technology companies. Bidwells recorded more than 1.1 million sq ft of office and laboratory space being sought in Oxfordshire – another all-time high – with just 569,500 sq ft of space available, less than was on offer at the end of 2018. More →

January 22, 2020

We might spot patterns in office design, but a global picture is beyond us

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

The ongoing evolution in the design of the places we work has much in common with evolution in the natural world. But whereas natural selection is dependent on its ‘Blind Watchmaker’ to indirectly shape creatures in response to the constantly changing forces in their environment own, office design is anything but blind – at least it is when done intelligently and with insight. More →

January 21, 2020

The vaguery of workplace serendipity

by Neil Usher • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

It has become vogue to refer to the workplace as being ‘all about people’. It points in all directions at once. Organisations need fit, healthy, happy, skilled, motivated, engaged and purposeful people being (and feeling) productive and doing their best work every day. They want their people working closely together – they’ve spent a lot of time and money drawing in those they feel can contribute to a whole that is other than the sum of the parts. More →

January 15, 2020

Energy demand in offices should be cut by 60 percent, report claims

by Jayne Smith • Environment, Facilities management, News

Following a consultation exercise with industry and an analysis of the projected zero carbon energy capacity of the UK, UKGBC is recommending that the offices sector should reduce energy demand by an average of 60 percent by 2050 to help the UK achieve net zero. More →

January 8, 2020

From the archives: Is this the missing piece of the facilities management puzzle? ⁰

by Ian Ellison • Facilities management, Features, Premium Content, Work&Place, Workplace design

The IFMA Foundation Workplace Summit of summer 2014 felt like an optimistic time for facilities management and the workspace industry. Heavyweights from the sector were asking searching questions about our organisational contribution, with thankfully less of the internally focused, debate-free hubris typical of much of the industry narrative. The newly announced (and now evidently historical) collaboration between BIFM and CIPD was in full swing, endorsed by social media savvy Twitterati under The Workplace Conversation banner. More →

December 19, 2019

The truth about all those workplace trends lists

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Features, Property, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

You would not believe the number of firms that ask us to publish a list of workplace trends each week. Or maybe you would, given the number that have appeared elsewhere. Each firm perhaps convinced they are saying something original, unique or interesting, or maybe simply convinced they stand out in some way, while pushing the same timid, stale narratives about the workplace. It goes without saying that the commercialised messages often do little to shine a light on complex realities. In the words of the Scottish poet and anthropologist Andrew Lang, they use information ‘like a drunk uses lamp-posts—for support rather than illumination’.

December 12, 2019

Occupier priorities are shifting, according to new facilities management trends report

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News

CBRE Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) has published the 2019 edition of their Top Trends in Facilities Management report. The latest version of this annual report claims to highlight how changes in occupier needs are impacting FM strategies. The latest trends are broken down into four broad categories: client relationships; contracts; an increasing focus on people and technology. More →

November 21, 2019

Merging workplace cultures and breaking habits

by Andrew Mawson • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

Human beings are hardwired to be creatures of habit. From birth, we learn behaviours and develop routines that are reinforced over time through repetition. Researchers at MIT claim the neurons in our brains are responsible for this process. When someone begins a new activity a certain part of the brain kicks into gear, helping them to learn the exercise quickly. But once the action is repeated successfully, the scientists found, those same neurons only really come to life at the beginning and end of the activity. This is the reason that mundane tasks, like getting dressed or driving a car often feel like they’re performed on ‘autopilot’ and why breaking bad habits is so difficult, including those we develop in the workplace. More →

November 20, 2019

World Green Building council launches case study library of best practice

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, News

The World Green Building Council has launched a new digital case study library showcasing what it claims is excellence in sustainable development globally, featuring buildings that are net zero carbon and/or enhance human health. According to the WGBC, claims are verified by established certification schemes, rating tools or other third-party systems. Buildings and construction together account for 36 percent of global final energy use and 39 percent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions when upstream power generation is included. Additionally, people spend 90 percent of their time in buildings, and there is a consistent association between unhealthy indoor environments and negative human health impacts. More →