British Council for Offices launches competition to imagine the office of 2035

British Council for Offices launches competition to imagine the office of 2035 0

by • News, Property, Workplace design

Participants in a new competition to define the ‘office of the future’ will be asked to consider ‘what it will look like, and how it will support the way we will work’ by the British Council for Offices (BCO). The free-to-enter competition is seeking ‘forward-thinking and innovative responses, challenging the conventionalities of today’s workplaces and anticipating future needs’. The BCO hopes that the NextGen programme will allow it to ‘mentor the next generation of professionals – designers, agents, developers, consultants and others – and provides a platform for emerging talent to share their ideas’. The announcement cites social, economic, cultural and technological factors as the main agents of change, leading to changes in the expectations of employers and workers. It suggests that ‘ubiquitous and instantaneous technology; a growing interest in health and wellbeing; a greater desire for organisational flexibility; and an increased awareness of individual’s needs are now all competing factors within the workplace’.

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Manchester leads the UK as regional creative talent market place for tech and media

Manchester leads the UK as regional creative talent market place for tech and media 0

by • Facilities management, News, Property, Technology, Workplace

Manchester leads the UK regional creative talent market to house tech and media

Manchester tops the ranking as the leading UK regional creative talent market, having the key ingredients required by this sector to progress and develop as a future destination for the creative industries (including publishing, film, TV, media, digital, computer programming and information services). This is according to ‘Creative Regions’, a first of its kind report, showcasing the Top 25 Regional Creative locations in the UK [outside of London] published by CBRE. Common characteristics of successful creative locations, suggest the report, include large concentrations of creative businesses and professionals, deep talent pools of highly educated graduate populations, large and growing millennial populations, good transport connections, quality of life and proximity to world class universities with strong research and computer science ratings. The report’s also found that Reading punches well above its weight as a creative talent destination, given the size of its office market; Scotland features particularly well with Edinburgh and Glasgow in the top five list, and 11 of the top 25 creative talent locations are in the East and South East.

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Built environment sectors ignoring the potential of smart cities and big data

Built environment sectors ignoring the potential of smart cities and big data 0

by • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property

There is little or no evidence of the built environment, real estate and construction sectors engaging directly with the smart city agenda, according to a new RICS Research Trust report by University of Reading academics. The research, which examined four case studies (Bristol, Milton Keynes, Amsterdam and Taipei) found that less than a quarter of UK cities had an smart city action plan. Of those that did, the main focus in the smart city case studies is on open data. As a result, city residents are not benefitting from a clear strategy for smart cities according to the report Smart Cities, Big Data and the Built Environment: What’s Required?

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From footprint to footfall: how the experiential workplace is set to take over the world

From footprint to footfall: how the experiential workplace is set to take over the world 1

by • Briefing, Facilities management, Premium Content, Property, Workplace design

collaborative_main_dof_v5From the archive. This piece was originally published in 2016. The culture within which we work determines how effective, successful, fulfilled and well we are in both our professional and personal lives. The organisations for which we work – on whatever basis that might be – the physical surroundings they create, and the other places in which we choose to work are now woven into the fabric of our lives as never before. The technological immersion that allows us to work in new ways also means that each day becomes a series of experiences. Because we are free to work wherever and whenever we choose, we are increasingly able to determine the nature of those experiences. For those who design and manage offices this represents both a great opportunity and an unprecedented series of challenges.

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The new normal arrives for the commercial property sector

The new normal arrives for the commercial property sector 0

by • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

wework-coworking-new-yorkTraditionally, the two principle vectors for change in the commercial property market have been lease lengths and space standards. Both have shrunk markedly over recent years, subject to the miniaturising effects of technological and cultural change. Even so, the effects of this contraction have taken place within an existing paradigm so have been easily understood, if not always acted upon.So it has been that major property organisations such as the British Council for Offices and CoreNet have been able to produce guides and reports based on well understood principles and without challenging the business models and assumptions of developers, landlords, workplace designers and occupiers. For most the challenges remained the same, not least how to resolve the sometimes conflicting timescales of people, place, property and technology that is the defining tension at the heart of office design and management.

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Property developers welcome extension of office to residential conversion rights

Property developers welcome extension of office to residential conversion rights 0

by • News, Property

Three quarters (74 percent) of property developers expect to see an increase in the number of conversions of under-used office buildings into new homes over the next two years as a result of the government’s decision to extend property development rights (PDR) legislation. Of these, nearly a third (30 percent) of developers expects to see a significant growth in PDR-related conversion schemes. This is according to a small study commissioned by Amicus Property Finance. More than two thirds (69 percent) of property developers welcome the PDR extension, which was designed to enable thousands of new homes to be built by making use of neglected industrial and office property while preserving the green belt. In the UK between July 2015 and June 20163, a total of 1,066 office to residential permitted development applications were permitted with prior approval not required and a further 1,480 applications granted with prior approval.

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Regional office take up in UK’s major cities hits five year low

Regional office take up in UK’s major cities hits five year low 0

by • News, Property

The latest research from real estate adviser GVA claims that Q1 2017 office space take-up across the UK’s ‘Big Nine’ regional office markets was at its lowest level for five years. At 23 percent below average, activity was particularly low in the city centre market where only Cardiff recorded above average take-up. Out-of-town markets were more resilient however with Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Newcastle recording above average take-up. Professional services made up 28 percent of all take-up over 5,000 sq. ft. in the city centres during Q1, slightly higher than the usual profile, led by legal and engineering firms. Deals to universities in Cardiff and Bristol meant that the education sub-sector made up 15 percent of activity. It was a strong quarter for the Technology Media and Telecom (TMT) sector, which increased its share to 18 percent compared to an average of 13 percent, while recruitment companies were also very active (9 percent of take-up).

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Winners of BCO Awards for Midlands and Central England announced

Winners of BCO Awards for Midlands and Central England announced 0

by • News, Property, Workplace design

The £10 million new headquarters of Wolverhampton beer and pubs group Marston’s has been named as the Best Corporate Workplace at the British Council for Offices’ annual Midlands and Central England Property Awards. The refurbishment was led by interior design firm Newman Gauge. Centre City, in Birmingham, gained the award for best commercial workplace following a redevelopment by owner Bruntwood. The judging panel said the 1975 building had been brought back to life by the refurbishment. Energy Systems Catapult, a workspace lab based at Cannon House won the award for best fit out of a workplace, with judges praising the company ethos to stimulate innovation in energy technologies.

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Immigration and skills will be key to success of next UK Government

Immigration and skills will be key to success of next UK Government 0

by • News, Property

The next Government must ensure the construction sector has enough skilled workers post-Brexit or its housing and infrastructure manifesto pledges will be redundant, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). The FMB has called on all major political parties to recognise the importance of migrant labour to the construction sector as part of its ‘Programme for Government’, that has been launched the day before Parliament is dissolved for the General Election. The organisation claims that the UK construction sector’s demand for skilled migrant workers from the EU and beyond cannot be overstated. It suggests that in London alone, there are more than 157,000 non-UK construction workers constituting almost half of the industry’s workforce in the capital. Pre-Brexit, 60 percent of small construction firms are already having trouble hiring key workers even before the Government unveils its intentions for the free movement of people.

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Fresh concerns raised about council investments in commercial property market

Fresh concerns raised about council investments in commercial property market 0

by • Comment, Property, Public Sector

As we reported last month, the level of investment in commercial property undertaken by UK local authorities is raising serious concerns within both central government and the real estate sector. Now, a fresh warning has been issued by the former business secretary Sir Vince Cable that councils face potential bankruptcy if the property bubble bursts. In recent years councils have faced an average 37 percent real term cut in government funding and so have taken to borrowing large sums at low interest rates from the Treasury’s Public Works Loan Board to reinvest in commercial property ventures. The move has already been identified as risky by the Government’sown Public Accounts Committee and Cable joins a chorus of voices in expressing doubts.

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Europe needs national renovation strategies for buildings, coalition claims

Europe needs national renovation strategies for buildings, coalition claims 0

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

Europe must lead the world in cutting greenhouse gas emissions from existing buildings if it is to meet the ambitions of the Paris Agreement, claims BUILD UPON, a coalition of over 300 businesses and organisations from across the continent. The coalition – which includes cities, public authorities, property developers, manufacturers and energy utilities, as well as trade associations, NGOs and universities – is backing the need for ambitious ‘national renovation strategies’ that set out clear targets, milestones and measures on transforming existing buildings. The intervention comes as EU member states near the deadline to publish updated strategies to renovate their buildings, which account for around 36 percent of Europe’s total greenhouse gas emissions, and as political decision-makers grapple over the future of EU energy laws for the construction sector.

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Best workplaces in London honoured by British Council for Offices

Best workplaces in London honoured by British Council for Offices 0

by • Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace design

The British Council for Offices has announced the six winners of regional property awards for London and the South East of England. The winning entries, announced at a lunch at the Park Lane Hilton were Sky Central (main image), 8 Finsbury Circus, The Estée Lauder Companies, 20 Eastbourne Terrace, 67-71 Beak Street and Sea Containers House by BDG architecture + design. The prestigious BCO awards programme claims to recognise ‘the highest quality developments and sets the standard for excellence in the regional and national office sector.’ The winner of the Best Commercial Workplace was 8 Finsbury Circus while Sky Central took home the prize in the Best Corporate Workplace Category.

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