Search Results for: office design

January 22, 2015

MPs call on BBC to cut ‘staggering’ running costs of its estate

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Public Sector

The body which oversees UK public spending has criticised the way the BBC is running its estate following the publication of a National Audit Office (NAO) report. While the report praises certain aspects of the way the estate is managed, especially its strategy of rationalising space, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is heavily critical of the BBC’s failure to meet its target of costs capped at 6 percent of licence fee income and the way the costs of some buildings are unacceptably high, including at the revamped Broadcasting House in London (above). According to the PAC, the running cost of the building is significantly more than others in the same area and around three times higher than a UK average. The BBC defended itself, highlighting progress in many parts of its estate and claiming that such comparisons did not stand up to scrutiny.

January 20, 2015

New Hammersmith mixed-use scheme to accommodate 2,000 workers

by Sara Bean • Company news, Facilities management, News, Property

Legal & General has appointed Land Lease Property to develop a £75 million mixed-use scheme on London’s Hammersmith Road. The development, designed by Sheppard Robson, will feature 242,000 sq ft of Grade-A office space over 10-storeys, which can house up to 2,000 workers. The office space has been designed to maximise natural daylight and features outdoor roof terraces. The entire 350,000 sq ft site retail frontage will be stepped back from Hammersmith Road, with a new landscaped plaza at the front that leads through to a podium garden. A business lounge and café will form part of the retail element, which totals 13,000 sq ft, to help enhance the public areas and encourage social interaction for workers. Construction is set to start in early January 2015 with completion expected in summer 2017.

December 30, 2014

BBC Wales exchanges contracts on new Cardiff headquarters

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, News, Property

BBC Wales has exchanged contracts with the developer of its new 150,000 sq. ft headquarters in the centre of Cardiff. Although still subject to final planning consent and the approval of BBC executives, the building is an anchor site in the Foster + Partners masterplanned Central Square regeneration project and work is confidently expected to begin in the middle of 2015 for completion in 2017 with full occupancy expected the following year. The new building will be home to some 1,000 staff and has been targeted to achieve a BREEAM excellent rating. Developers Rightacres expect the Central Square mixed use project to provide around 1 million sq. ft of office, residential and retail space, creating one of Wales’ largest property developments and regeneration schemes in the heart of Cardiff on the site of the current bus station.

December 18, 2014

Revised plans approved for development of iconic BBC Television Centre

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

New office space aimed at occupiers in the creative sector is included in Stanhope and Mitsui Fudosan’s planned redevelopment of the former BBC Television Centre in west London. The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham have granted planning permission for the revised plans for the mixed use development of the iconic building; to include the demolition of the existing Stage 4 and 5 office buildings and their replacement with a more sustainable and efficient new ten storey office building with improved facades, designed by architects AHMM. A change in use from residential to commercial has also been approved for a new nine storey office building fronting Hammersmith Park on the site of the old BBC restaurant block, with an overall increase in office accommodation across the site from 350,000 sq ft to 519,000 sq ft.

December 12, 2014

Can the workplace environment change an organisation’s culture?

by Adam Burtt-Jones • Comment, Workplace design

It is rare that organisations are totally satisfied with their current culture. They will often see what can be improved and at the same time recognise that these improvements will inevitably stem from a change in behaviour or the attitude of their employees. What is important to remember is that a change in the design of the physical environment will not, by itself, change the culture of an organisation. But workplace design can reflect the desired culture of the organisation, and help to promote certain behaviours and attitudes. It can also help to reinforce the unique attributes of your organisation in a powerful, subliminal way. Culture results from the values and behaviours of employees and is best understood by the relationships internally between individuals, teams and departments. Culture can also be seen through relationships externally with customers, suppliers and stakeholders

December 10, 2014

We should bring the soft landings idea back to Earth with a bump

by Andrew Brown • Comment, Facilities management, Property

Soft landings, hit the ground running, smooth handover, transition phase: whatever words you choose to describe the process the principle is the same. Managers and occupiers of a building – any building, want it to function properly. But why is this apparently so hard for anybody to achieve? Soft landings feels more like tainted love right now. So, think back a few steps and imagine you’re buying a brand new, shiny new-build house. It doesn’t come with an instruction manual, but it is a house – what’s not to know about it. But even new homes have issues. Maybe cracking in plaster, gaps around architraves, doors not closing smoothly and heating systems that is noisy and untested. In the trade it’s called snagging. You call the builder up, you make a list he comes round your new house and checks the list and then argues about the repairs.

December 3, 2014

Fresh completes a new installation for Teleperformance in Gateshead

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, Facilities management, Workplace design

Interior design and fit-out firm Fresh Workspace has completed a 30,000 sq ft turnkey project at Baltic Place Gateshead for Teleperformance, the world’s largest contact centre and outsourced customer service providers. Teleperformance, which also occupies several sites in The Watermark Gateshead, commissioned Fresh to carry out the fit-out of three floors of the landmark Baltic Quays building on South Shore Road. The project was completed within a 12 week programme of work with a fixed end-date. Works incorporated a range of mechanical and electrical alterations and additions including the provision of a stand-by generator, cooling and fresh air. The full fit-out comprised the specification and installation of partitions, doors, power and data cabling, new furniture, flooring, feature lighting and security systems.

November 28, 2014

We should welcome the Government’s evidence based approach to wellbeing

by Justin Miller • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace, Workplace design

The UK Government is very big on evidence based design these days and it is applying this approach in a number of new areas of policy, including wellbeing. Invariably the outcomes of its research and analysis are first refracted through a political prism on their way to becoming legislation, but the approach is very welcome and we should greet it without cynicism. At the end of October of this year The Cabinet Office announced the launch of The What Works Centre for Wellbeing including a dedicated website. The centre has the support of 17 founding partners including Public Health England, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Office for National Statistics, a number of other central government departments, the Local Government Association and the BIG Lottery Fund which means it enjoys wide ranging buy-in from the people best able to shape policy making and is chaired by Lord Gus O’Donnell.

November 20, 2014

Land Securities takes full control of Thomas More Square for £85.3m

by Sara Bean • Company news, Facilities management, News, Property

Land Securities has taken full control of Thomas More Square, in London’s E1 for £85.3 million. It acquired the 50 per cent share it doesn’t already own from an affiliate of its joint venture partner the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. The Thomas More Square Estate, which is located between St Katharine Docks and London Dock – totals approximately 4.2 acres and includes six office buildings incorporating retail, leisure and parking. Land Securities was granted planning permission in June 2014 for a comprehensive refurbishment of Building 3 at Thomas More Square and a redesign of the estate’s public realm. The plans for the 570,000 sq ft estate include 200,000 sq ft of fully refurbished office and retail space in Building 3 which will include a new double height entrance and an extensive business lounge. Tenants Ipsos MORI and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (“MOL”) have already let 97,000 sq ft of Building 3 on 15 year leases with 10 year breaks; while a further 100,000 sq ft will be available from mid-2015. More →

November 14, 2014

EU institutions are not implementing their own green building policies

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

According to a report on EU news site euractiv.com, the various institutions of the European Union have been ‘unambitious’ in terms of delivering energy efficiency as part of their own buildings strategies. That is the key finding of a new study from the European Court of Auditors. which claims that green building standards and initiatives developed and promoted by the EU are not consistently employed for new buildings or as part of major renovation projects carried out by bodies such as the European Commission, European Parliament, EU Council and other institutions. The special report reveals shortcomings in the approach of these bodies, calls on the EU Commission to propose a common policy for reducing the carbon footprint of EU institutions and bodies and proposes the setting of an overall reduction target for greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2030. The report claims that it is through the design processes of a new building, or for a major renovation, that the greatest impact can be made on its energy performance and this should be the focus of its proposed new approach.

November 13, 2014

Case Study: AutoTrader motors into its new Manchester digital playground

by Mark Eltringham • Case studies, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

Even in the context of a rapidly declining print market, the decision to end AutoTrader’s 37-year history as a printed magazine was not an easy one to take. At its height, Auto Trader had a circulation of 368,000, but in June 2013 the final printed copy rolled off the presses and the business began its new incarnation as a purely digital platform. Of course, this transformation was a long time in the making and had actually begun ten years earlier. By the time the print room lights went out, all of Auto Trader’s revenues had not only migrated online, but experienced significant growth too. It is Auto Trader’s growth during this process of transformation that is considered so unique in the publishing world and is proof that the business’ aspiration to be at the forefront of the digital marketplace is not just a wide-eyed intention. The website boasts 11.5million unique users, carrying out more than 140 million searches across mobile, table and desktop devices and the business is set to launch an extensive TV advertising campaign on boxing day.

November 11, 2014

City of London’s iconic building the Gherkin, sold to Brazilian billionaire

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property

The Gherkin, otherwise known as 30 St Mary Axe, has been sold to The Safra Group, controlled by Brazilian billionaire Joseph Safra. Although the financial terms of the deal agreed with Deloitte, the receiver for the London property were not disclosed, it is reportedly to be around £700m. Designed by Norman Foster, the 180-metre office tower encompasses approximately 50,000 square meters of office space and is the second-tallest building in the City of London. It was completed in 2004 for Swiss Re, which still occupies half the space, along with law firm Kirkland & Ellis. Safra Group said that the acquisition: “Is consistent with our real estate strategy of investing in properties that are truly special – at the best locations within great cities. While only ten years old, this building is already a London icon that is distinguished from others in the market, with excellent value growth potential. We intend to make the building even better and more desirable through active ownership that will lead to a range of enhancements that will benefit tenants.”