December 10, 2023

UK built environment is woefully under-prepared for climate change

New analysis published by UKGBC during the COP28 talks concludes that the UK’s built environment is severely under-equipped to adapt to our changing climate. On five out of seven critical climate resilience priorities, UKGBC’s scorecard finds that the Government policies in its Third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) are insufficient, flawed, or missing, placing millions of homes and buildings – and the lives of people occupying them – at serious risk of damage from climate-related disaster. More →

November 28, 2023

Unpicking the retrofit enigma

by Mark Eltringham • Briefing, News, Property, Workplace design

Earlier this year, a report from building consultancy Mace advocated for a retrofit first principle for buildings. The report highlighted how non-domestic buildings in the UK make up about an eighth of the country’s building stock but account for around a quarter of the country’s carbon emissions. The solution argued for in the report was to look at how best to retrofit around 3.5 million such buildings over the next ten years. We explore many of the issues around this crucial subject in this supplement produced in partnership with BVN. It represents both a snapshot of the current conversations about retrofit while pointing a way ahead. This one will run and run, but we need to get it right. More →

October 23, 2023

Manufacturers have sustainability strategies in place but progress remains slow and patchy

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News

Two-thirds of board-level executives at UK-based manufacturing companies agree that sustainability is a high priority and a third have decarbonisation plans in place, but according to new research conducted by management consultancy, Vendigital, progress in decarbonising products, processes, and supply chains is patchy at best, and this could cause UK industry to fall behind global competitors in the race to net zero. More →

September 27, 2023

Act now on retrofitting if you want to boost commercial property values, new report argues

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

For European real estate owners and investors already on a journey to net-zero-carbon through retrofitting, upfront spending has the potential for long-term rent and capital-value accumulation, according to a new report from Colliers. Europe’s Renovation Wave [registration] explores the regulatory and societal pressures the authors claim is now driving an era of accelerated asset renovation, and the proactive actions investors, owners and occupiers can take to make sure their assets are not ‘left behind and stranded’ in the race to decarbonise the built environment by 2050. Retrofitting is also the subject of a special supplement published in the new issue of IN Magazine. More →

September 25, 2023

Innovative ideas and artistic expression converge at the Workspace Design Show Amsterdam

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Events

Discover a unique event experience that transcends the boundaries of artistic inspiration at the upcoming Workspace Design Show, taking place from 11 – 12 October at RAI, Amsterdam. This event will bring together the Benelux workplace interiors community in a dynamic exploration of the future of experiential workspaces. The Workspace Design Talks will host 13 panel discussions and over 50 leading speakers. Renowned firms such as UNStudio, D/DOCK, Booking.com, EDGE, MVRDV, Turner & Townsend, KAAN Architecten, CBRE Design Collective, Miro, Cushman & Wakefield, and many others will be there to share their insights. More →

September 11, 2023

Is the workplace experience shaped more by maintenance or by design?

by Andrew Brown • Facilities management, Features, Workplace design

What has resilience got to do with the workplace experience? It is a word that has been used a lot recently as the great British public has demonstrated massive amounts of resilience in coping with Covid-19, fuel shortages, worries about food availability and a massive shift in how we work. So what is it? The dictionary gives two meanings: firstly the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, i.e. toughness. And then secondly, the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity – like nylon for example. More →

August 14, 2023

First look at Sustainable Design China Summit taking place in Beijing this September

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Environment, Events, Workplace design

Following on from its successful launch last year, the Sustainable Design China Summit returns for 2023. The event, an evolution of Design China Beijing, is held at the Beijing Exhibition Center from 21-23 September 2023 and is a must-visit for designers, architects, developers, and decision makers looking to design a sustainable future. More →

August 1, 2023

Award-winning WorkBold Podcast returns for a ninth season on space-as-a-service

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Podcasts

Caleb Parker’s award-winning #WorkBold Podcast returned for an industry-leading ninth season, which took the podcast to over 100,000 downloads (117,000 at the time of publishing this article) with an audience from 90+ countries. The only podcast dedicated to Space-as-a-Service (SPaaS), #WorkBold Podcast is in the top one percent of business podcasts globally. Its host, entrepreneur Caleb Parker, is the founder of Bold – a joint venture with NewFlex. More →

June 22, 2023

Businesses need to take real action to create a more sustainable workplace

by Ashley Lawrence • Comment, Environment, Workplace design

For the last decade, if not longer, we’ve heard businesses saying they are focused on reducing their environmental impact. It’s been written in annual reports and immortalised in pledges shared with stakeholders, but the question still remains – what action is actually being taken, including in the creation of a sustainable workplace? More →

June 1, 2023

The circular economy is a great opportunity, but it doesn’t add up yet

by Joanna Knight • Comment, Environment, JK, Workplace design

The circular economy, carbon measurement, product material content, rental, ‘take back’, reuse and recycling – all actions for a more environmentally responsible workplace sector. But what are the priorities? Manufacturers and suppliers are arguably challenged by lack of clarity, requirements for significant investment, combined with cost pressures in a heavily subscribed market. More →

March 28, 2023

MIPIM 2023 confirms that green sells. But is commercial real estate buying?

by Anna King • Comment, Environment, Property

MIPIM may have returned last year, but 2023 was the year it felt back. That was despite widespread concerns over the rising costs of refinancing and a banking crisis that started with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and quickly moved to Europe, with Swiss financial regulators beginning to put together during MIPIM week the deal that would see UBS buy Credit Suisse in an emergency rescue. More →

March 27, 2023

The five ages of the office and the man who shaped the way we talk about them

by Rob Harris • Features, Flexible working, Workplace design

The office has passed through five ages. The ‘coffee houses’ of the 17th century, yielded to the ‘clerical factories’ of the 19th as machines revolutionised work. After the Second World War, the ‘corporate offices’ of global corporations and William Whyte’s Organization Man dominated the scene. Following the launch of IBM’s PC in the early-1980s, we saw the rise of ‘digital offices’ in the 1990s, complete with internet, email and social media. And for the past few years we have been moving inexorably towards the latest age: ‘network offices’. Each age was shorter than its predecessor: both the digital and network ages began less than a career span ago. More →