June 16, 2015

London cements its status as Europe’s most important tech hub

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology

A new report launched to coincide with London Technology Week claims that London has cemented its position as the most important tech hub in Europe and will boost the UK economy by £18bn in 2015. According to the event’s organisers, London’s technology sector is growing faster than both the overall economies of London and the whole UK and will continue to do so for the next decade. The figures show that the number of companies in London’s digital technology sector has grown by 46 percent since the launch of the Tech City programme. The sector now employs almost 200,000 people, 17 percent more than in 2010. Other research from EY claims to show London’s dominance of the European tech sector. According to EY more than 1,000 international tech investment projects located in London between 2005–2014, significantly more than the next most attractive city, Paris (381).

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June 12, 2015

‘Trailblazing’ firm wins Gold Award for sustainable buildings

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

Environmental engineers Max Fordham have been named Gold Award winners in the 2015 Ashden Awards which champion sustainable buildings. The firm, which was the recipient of the Ashden Award for Sustainable Buildings, works with architects to minimise the energy requirements of new buildings. This results in buildings that can meet many of their own lighting, heating and air conditioning needs through measures such as harnessing natural light and ventilation. Its work on new buildings – such as the Hive [pictured] can cut carbon emissions by up to 50 percent. Demand Logic, a clean tech company that helps large buildings make big savings on their energy bills, won the 2015 Impax Ashden Award for Energy Innovation for a cloud-based system which plugs into the management system of commercial buildings and detects what it calls ‘energy insanities’ where, for example, energy sapping systems such as boilers are left on when not needed.

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June 11, 2015

US Govt passes legislation to reduce the amount of office space it occupies

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector

Over the past few years, the UK Cabinet Office has looked to the way it procures and occupies real estate as an important way of reducing the country’s budget deficit. One other country that is following suit is the US. The congressional Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the US House of Representatives has unanimously approved legislation to reform the way federal office space is managed, procured and occupied. The Public Buildings Reform and Savings Act of 2015 sets out ways to reduce and consolidate space, divest unnecessary buildings, improve oversight of facilities management, negotiate better and shorter lease terms with the aim of saving billions of dollars each year. In the UK, the Government claims to have reduced the public sector estate by 2 million sq ft in just three years with a range of similar approaches, saving around £1.2 billion.

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June 11, 2015

Government urged by top organisations to combat climate change

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

In an open letter to the Financial Times, 80 UK businesses, including Willmott Dixon, Cisco, E.on, Kinnarps, UK-GBC and BT have joined with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) to call on the government to take action to combat climate change. It calls on the administration to; seek a strong global deal in Paris in December which limits temperature rises to below 2°C; set an ambitious 5th carbon budget to drive forward UK emissions reductions (covering period 2028-32) and establish a long-term framework for investment in the low-carbon economy. WWF-UK Chief Executive David Nussbaum said: “British business is ready to step up. From construction and energy to retail, the best British enterprises know that green growth is the future. They take on board that it’s no longer credible to base a sustainable economy on fossil fuels, so the Government should put us on track for a low-carbon world.”

June 9, 2015

National increase in number of commercial property new builds for 2015

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

There has been a strong start to the year for non-residential construction, with the annual total starts for new builds and existing projects rising by 7.9 percent over the first three months. According to JLL and Glenigan’s latest Commercial Construction Index Q1 outperformed same quarter in 2014 – with new building activity increasing most in Yorkshire & the Humber (30.6%) during Q1, boosted by the Hammerson’s Victoria Gate scheme in Leeds. In Scotland, building is up (28.1%), in Wales by 24.4 percent and the East Midlands has seen a 24.2 percent rise. Greater South East (London, the South East and the East of England) saw the volume of new builds rise 7.3 percent from £11.2bn to £12.0bn. However, construction has fallen in the North West (-14.2%) and the West Midlands (-9.2%), while across the UK refurbishments and extension projects have declined slightly.

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June 6, 2015

The latest issue of Insight Weekly is available to view online

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Furniture, Newsletter, Property, Technology, Work&Place

In this week’s issue; employees advised to spend up to half of each day working while standing. Paul Robathan’s views on the loosening of the bonds that link work with place are backed up by a new report that says work will be something workers do, not a place to which they commute; and Mark Eltringham explains why designers and manufacturers continue to launch more sophisticated and better chairs. Plans for the tallest office building outside of London are submitted to Birmingham City Council; CIBSE, the BCIA and the Building Futures Group collaborate to ‘kick-start the future of FM in the UK; and only 3 percent of European employees say their workplace is suitable for collaborative work. Subscribe for free quarterly issues of Work&Place and for weekly news via the subscription form in the right hand sidebar, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

June 3, 2015

Plans unveiled for England’s tallest office tower outside London

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property

Plans for what is billed as the tallest office building outside of London have been submitted to Birmingham City Council for approval. The proposed 26 storey tower at 103 Colmore Row is planned to stand 346ft (105m) and house some 2,000 office workers. Birmingham is bound to find the scheme attractive as it vies with Manchester for the crown of England’s second city. Up to now, tall buildings have not enjoyed the same appeal in regional cities as much as they have in London. The new building is planned to replace the former NatWest tower which has lain empty on the development site since 2003 and is set to be demolished once plans are finalised for its replacement. If given a green light, the new scheme will incorporate a rooftop restaurant, green roof, terraces, street level shops and cafes and a winter garden.

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June 1, 2015

Trade bodies seek to boost inclusivity and diversity with new initiatives

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, News, Property

Three major trade associations in the built environment sector have announced initiatives to increase the inclusivity and diversity of their respective professions. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has launched its new Inclusive Employer Quality Mark, which is designed to help firms ‘gain a competitive advantage and a diverse workforce’. Meanwhile, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) claims it has strengthened its chartered practice criteria to incorporate requirements related to equality, diversity and inclusion. From 2016, chartered practices are required to have an equality, diversity and inclusion policy. In the US, delegates at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) agreed at congress to introduce a resolution known as Equity in Architecture, that calls for measures to increase representation of what are deemed underrepresented groups ‘to move the profession forward’.

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June 1, 2015

Association hook-up aims to ‘kick-start the future of facilities management’

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Property

The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) Facilities Management Group has signed new cooperation agreements with the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) and the Building Futures Group as it seeks to ‘kick-start the future of facilities management’ in the UK. The three organisations plan to work together to promote best practice. According to CIBSE its agreement with the BCIA will focus on raising awareness of how building controls can help buildings perform better while its agreement with the Building Futures Group will set out to promote best practice in building services management and maintenance. The three groups signed the agreements last week, which will also see them working together on a number of supporting initiatives and joint events. The partner organisations claim the agreements are a response to the rapid pace of change in the sector.

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May 29, 2015

London firms focus on wellbeing and agile working to attract staff

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace design

An additional 5.1m sq. ft. of office space will be required by 2019 to accommodate the growth of professional services firms in London, claims new research from CBRE. According to the studio, firms will also adopt more pragmatic workplace strategies that focus on agile working and wellbeing to meet their objectives. Nearly all (92 percent) of the respondents to CBRE’s Professional London survey claim they use the workplace to enhance employee satisfaction and 83 percent of firms use it to control costs. Firms are also placing more emphasis on wellbeing and more agile and intensive ways of using space, according to CBRE. Other factors such as technology and the design of the workplace are also increasingly important. The research suggests that staff are increasingly attracted by on-site amenities, connectivity and location and other ‘lifestyle offerings’.

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May 27, 2015

Sheppard Robson release details of new mixed-use scheme in Clerkenwell

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, News, Property

Architects Sheppard Robson have released more details of their design for a major mixed-use project in the Clerkenwell district of London. The site is currently occupied by a multi-story car park and the new scheme, developed alongside Endurance Land will include a 3,900 sq m office development aimed predominantly at SMEs, particularly those in the media, technology and creative industries for which the area is known. The scheme includes a hotel and retail spaces at ground level. Sheppard Robson claims that ‘all elements of the development in-keeping with the vibrancy of Clerkenwell and nearby Exmouth Market, whilst also acknowledging the history of the site which is adjacent to two conservation areas’. The hotel will be operated by Premier Inn, and include a touchdown cafe open to guests and the public.

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May 24, 2015

More intensive space use is helping to drive down office costs worldwide

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Workplace design

Office costs are falling worldwide, in part because occupiers are using space more intensively, according to the latest Office Thermometer report from commercial property firm DTZ. The report found that the West End of London has comfortably retained its position as the world’s most expensive location. The average annual cost of a workstation in the area is $29,000 (about £19,000), fully a third higher than second placed New York. The report found that office costs continue to fall significantly in most regions, nearly 4 percent overall on average, although there were increases in fast growing local markets, especially in the Middle East. According to the study, more intensive use of office space by occupiers, an appreciating US dollar, weak economic growth in Europe and significant new supply in emerging markets have combined to cut costs worldwide.