January 18, 2013
Consensus in property industry for green agenda
The UK Green Building Council, backed by a wide range of trade and professional organisations across the construction and property sector, has sent an open letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne demanding a suite of policy changes to make the most of the green growth opportunity. The level of collaboration and consensus from within the industry is unprecedented, and includes, among others, support from the British Property Federation, Construction Products Association, British Council for Offices and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
US based technology giant Google has completed the long expected £1bn property deal for a brownfield site in the King’s Cross Regeneration Area in London. The 2.4 acre site is located between King’s Cross and St Pancras rail stations and will be used for the development of an up to 11 storey complex which is due to be complete during 2016. Google will rationalise its two existing London locations into the new office and workplace design aficionados will be expecting great things from a firm that is renowned for its original approach, most recently at its 
The Menil Collection in Houston, by Italian architect Renzo Piano has been selected for the prestigious 2013 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Twenty-five Year Award. The neighbourhood museum set a new precedent in museum architecture and confirmed Piano, who designed the Centre Pompidou in Paris, as one of the world’s most trusted designers of cultural buildings. Recognizing architectural design of enduring significance, the Twenty-five Year Award is conferred on a building that has stood the test of time by embodying architectural excellence for 25 to 35 years. 
If you don’t already subscribe to our weekly newsletter – Insight – please join the thousands of workplace professionals, facilities managers, real estate experts, suppliers, service providers, architects, designers and specifiers from around the world who do by filling out your name and email on the right. Or see the 
No new building ever really deserves to be called ‘landmark’ unless it has acquired a nickname while still on the drawing board. That is why we can be assured that we will be hearing a lot more about the Kohn Pedersen Fox designed 38 storey HQ for US insurer WS Berkeley which has just been granted planning consent and already rejoices in the moniker ‘The Scalpel’. The new facility will provide over 500,000 sq ft of commercial space over 35 floors in Lime Street, East London. 
A new report from Deloitte has highlighted what it believes are the key trends in the market for telecommunications, media and technology as part of its annual TMT Predictions research project. Amongst other things it predicts a slowdown in the uptake of Bring Your Own device polices, the enduring appeal of the laptop, a change in the way we protect our data and devices, and the annual market for smartphones hitting one billion units for the first time as 4G takes off in the UK.
