November 4, 2020

New Framework to drive a healthier and more equitable built environment

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News, Workplace design

After a multi-year global consultation, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) launches the Health & Wellbeing Framework — a comprehensive educational tool for a healthy and equitable built environment. With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing the link between the built environment and human health into focus, the Framework’s six principles span indoor air quality, human rights in the supply chain, climate change resilience and more. More →

October 2, 2020

Two thirds of people believe their work travel patterns have changed permanently

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News, Technology

Alphabet (GB) has published a new report examining how the pandemic has accelerated changes to travel and transport, altering consumer and business travel habits in UK cities. With mass migration to working from home, in March, road traffic travel dropped to levels not seen since 1955 and journeys on the London Underground fell by 95 percent. The report suggests that only six percent of those travelling to work by train feel comfortable, dropping to just four percent for tube users. More →

June 26, 2020

Talkin` about the quarantine generation

by Anthony Brown • Comment, Wellbeing

The year is 2045. It’s well over twenty years since the Covid 19 pandemic created chaos and fear throughout the world. But just like the ‘baby boomer’ generation who were born, celebrated and cherished in the wake of World War II, so the ‘quarantinis’ are starting to make their way in the world of work. In contrast to baby boomers’ desire to throw off the societal shackles which paved the way for the swinging 60s, the quarantinis are much more reserved in their expectations, especially when their every move can be tracked and traced and their every conversation saved on surveillance software. More →

June 19, 2020

Three quarters fear lack of workplace safety for older workers

by George Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

A majority of the public believe it is safer for younger people to return to work than their older counterparts, according to a nationwide survey by Populus Data Solutions. The survey, carried out on behalf of student employer Stint, claims that 73 percent of respondents felt it was not safe for over 65s to return to work, while 52 percent said they believed it wasn’t safe for workers over 55. More →

April 28, 2020

A brief history of workplace disruption

by Anthony Brown • Features, Workplace design

Office work has existed in some form ever since people started writing on tablets and papyrus. Depictions of clerical staff are common in the Bible and on the walls of pyramids. In the mid 14th Century the Church of San Nicolò, commissioned the artist Tomaso da Modena to create the fresco in the chapter room of the church depicting forty monks of the order hard at it at their desks. The word office itself derives from the famous Uffizi in Florence, created in 1560. More →

March 18, 2020

The UK`s tech sector continues to thrive

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Britain’s digital sector is growing at six times the pace of the country’s other industries, according to new research from Tech Nation. According to the annual study, technology businesses contributed around £149 billion to the UK economy in 2018, nearly 8 percent of GDP. Since 2017 staff numbers at digital companies have risen by 40 percent to 2.9 million, nearly tenth of the total UK workforce. More →

March 17, 2020

Government launches “revolutionary” green transport consultation

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Technology

The government has launched a new intiative to test the introduction of green transport systems and also injected £90 million into funding three experimental ‘future transport zones’ across the UK aimed at establishing whether smart and green technology can be adopted. The new transport zones in the West of England, Portsmouth and Southampton and the East Midlands will be used to test innovations in the movement of people and goods. One project will trial the use of drones for carrying medical supplies from clinics in the Isle of Wight to hospitals in the mainland. This should cut down the time spent moving supplies by ferry or road while speeding up diagnosis. More →

February 28, 2020

Exploring life at the new Siemens Campus in Zug

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Technology, Working culture, Workplace design

When it comes to creating an office to call home, all of the usual challenges are magnified by several degrees for a company like Siemens. It can’t afford to skimp on the building’s services, green credentials, integrated technology and all-round smartness then hold meaningful conversations on the same subjects with its clients. So, the new Siemens Campus in the Swiss town of Zug has to showcase the best the firm has to offer as well as delivering for the people who work there. More →

December 20, 2019

The tipped out, left out and fallout from a failing workplace culture

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The big workplace news story of the past week or so appears to be one about a toilet seat. Sometimes it’s in the small things we can discern a greater truth. To see a world in a grain of sand, as William Blake wrote. The seat of this much discussed loo is tilted forward by 13 degrees so that after about five minutes it becomes very uncomfortable because people tire of using their legs to stop themselves sliding off. The reason is clearly to stop them ‘wasting time’ on the toilet. More →

December 11, 2019

Growing number of major firms commit to net zero carbon buildings

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, Environment, News

Today, seven major global private sector companies including Goldman Sachs and Lendlease have announced pledges to slash emissions from their buildings to net zero, by signing up to the World Green Building Council’s (WorldGBC) Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (the Commitment). The organisations have pledged to take urgent action to ensure their own portfolios of buildings operate at net zero carbon by 2030 or sooner. More →

November 13, 2019

Drawing back the curtain on the new workplace

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Flexible working, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

It’s a shame that Rhymer Rigby’s piece in The Times on creativity at work is behind a paywall because it says something perfectly obvious and demonstrable about workplace creativity that more people should read. The gist is that a cult has grown up around creativity that should be subject to more scrutiny and we should stop thinking about all work as the potential outlet for the creative instincts of people who may not have any, may not work in a job that involves them or who may not want to express them during their shifts in the Amazon warehouse. More →

November 7, 2019

Real estate set to remain an attractive investment despite challenging environment

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Property

Europe’s property leaders continue to have faith in real estate as an attractive option for investments, despite a number of significant political and economic challenges, according to the latest Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2020 report. With interest rates set to stay lower for longer and bond yields in many European countries in negative territory, real estate income retains its broad appeal to investors, especially in comparison to other asset classes. Equity and debt are expected to remain plentiful for most real estate sectors. The report, published annually by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PwC, is based on the opinions of over 900 real estate professionals across Europe, including investors, developers, lenders, and advisers. More →