Columnists
March 31, 2015
Time to move on from the anachronistic display screen equipment regulations
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Legal news, Wellbeing, Workplace design
The European Display Screen Equipment Regulations were introduced in 1992 as a way of improving the posture and wellbeing of people working on computers in the office. That’s a long time ago. Too long, in fact. Here’s a list of thing that have happened since then – 1. The Internet. Actually, we can stop there. […]
March 27, 2015
MIPIM demonstrated how property industry is moving with the times
by Anna King • Comment, Property, Workplace design
In its 26th year, the colossus conference that is MIPIM was back in full flow. With 93 countries were present, 4, 500 investors and 22, 000 registered delegates there were numerous developments presenting opportunities around the world. And crucially, there were more people apparently buying than selling, meaning that strong investment activity will follow. A […]
March 24, 2015
Film: The Japanese workers who withdraw to live in Internet cafes
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology
Japanese workers appear to manifest some of the most extreme reactions to the challenges of modern life. Often these are related to the uncertainties of work and the fracturing of time and space associated with contemporary working life. Two of the most common characteristics of the Japanese response appears to be isolation and exclusion. Recently, the […]
March 18, 2015
What the colonisation of new domains tells us about how we work
by Charles Marks • Architecture, Cities, Comment, Flexible working
Headlines about the world’s accelerating taste for skyscrapers tend to be dominated by the big numbers. This is a world in which size is important, but get behind the focus on height and you find some very interesting data about the rapid and significant changes in what these tall buildings are actually for and how […]
March 17, 2015
How facilities management brings organisational values to life. Or not
by Alan Williams • Comment, Environment, Facilities management, Workplace
We have used stories to pass on information for thousands of years and they remain the most powerful way we know to communicate. Indeed, the power of story is magnified in today’s super-connected, transparent world – the truth gets out fast and can be widely communicated – to millions of people all over the world […]
March 13, 2015
It’s worth exploring alternative forms of finance for office fit out
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design
You can’t help but notice that there has been a shift in recent years for us to become the consumers of things we were once obliged or wanted to own. We watch films on Netflix, listen to music on Spotify and share cars with strangers through BlaBlaCar. As both individuals and businesses we rent software […]
March 11, 2015
How a big, stupid idea can be more attractive than a small, effective one
by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Property
We’re going to be hearing a lot of big ideas over the next few weeks. Politicians will be sharing their ‘visions’ with us and letting us know exactly how ‘passionate’ they are about them and anything else Twitter tells them we care about. It’s going to be boring and infuriating, but we only have ourselves […]
March 9, 2015
The UK’s enduring and understandable love affair with Scandinavian design
by Justin Miller • Comment, Furniture, Lighting, Workplace design
The British have an enduring love affair with Scandinavia. From Norwegian Wood to Ikea, Abba to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and all the other manifestations of Nordic noir, the country’s love affair with everything Scandinavian shows no sign of abating any time soon. We have a particular affinity with Scandinavian design, which is both familiar […]
March 5, 2015
The financial services sector leads the way in how we think about office design
by Charles Marks • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design
The office as we know it may continue to change, but that doesn’t mean its vital role at the heart of the organisation will diminish. The recent downturn meant some tough decisions had to be taken by many companies. It certainly focussed more attention on the way firms design and manage their workplace, based on […]
March 4, 2015
Over half of workplace support staff are privy to confidential conversations
by Sara Bean • Comment, Facilities management, News, Workplace
Facilities managers often remark that ensuring their staff gain the recognition they deserve for a job well done is much less common than fielding criticism when something in the workplace goes wrong. The fact is that when support staff are doing their work well, they fade into the background. For many office workers, the people who […]
February 24, 2015
Design Museum Awards: the buildings may be accessible, but the language isn’t
by Simon Heath • Architecture, Comment, Workplace design
One of the fundamental challenges when asked to offer a critique of something is that you may find that you actually like a great deal of what you are presented with. And this is precisely the challenge offered up by the shortlist for The Designs of the Year awards, organised annually by London’s Design Museum […]
March 31, 2015
SMEs provide the key to encouraging more women onto boards
by Aki Stamatis • Comment, Workplace, Workplace design
Research from the Government, released last week, found that women now accounted for 23.5 percent of FTSE100 board members, up from 12.5 per cent in 2011. The target is 25 per cent by the end of this year, meaning that another 17 women need to be appointed. However the research showed that small companies are […]