Search Results for: environment

October 15, 2018

Some thoughts on the addictive power of workplace design

by Agustin Chevez • Comment, Workplace design

The search for some concoction or contraption to improve our performance at work is nothing new. Lawyers, bankers and other professionals have famously used performance-enhancing drugs to gain a competitive advantage. But the design of a workspace can actually have similar effects on those who create it, consume it or pursue it. And, just like a drug, workplace design can have good and bad effects. Instead of chemicals, design manipulates space to change behaviour. An increase in the length of a lunch table, for example, can encourage people who did not know one another to interact more.

October 15, 2018

BSRIA publishes list of new and upcoming legislation and guidance for buildings

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property

The Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA) has published a list of the most up to date legislation and guidance that affects the design, construction and management of buildings. While a couple are relevant primarily for domestic buildings, the emphasis is very much on commercial property and will be of interest to a range of professionals. BSRIA members also have access to a legislation service on building and building services legislation and relevant guidance. More →

October 12, 2018

European research network sets out to discover exactly how the Internet is bad for us

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Wellbeing

A pan-European network to tackle problematic internet usage officially launches today with the publication of its manifesto, setting out the important questions that need to be addressed by the research community. As the internet has become an integral part of modern life and its use has grown, so too has its problematic use become a growing concern across all age groups. It has provided a new environment in which a wide range of problematic behaviours may emerge, such as those relating to gaming, gambling, buying, pornography viewing, social networking, ‘cyber-bullying’ and ‘cyberchondria’, which can have mental and physical health consequences.

October 11, 2018

Bloomberg HQ declared the best new building in the UK as well as best office

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, News, Workplace design

The humble office doesn’t always feature prominently in RIBA’s annual Stirling Prize list but last night, Bloomberg’s European headquarters was named the UK’s best new building. The 2018 RIBA Stirling Prize judges were unanimous in their decision to award Bloomberg the 2018 RIBA Stirling Prize describing it as a “once-in-a-generation project”. RIBA President, Ben Derbyshire says it is a “monumental achievement”. It’s the second award bestowed on the project in the last week. The BCO has already declared the building the UK’s best workplace. More →

October 10, 2018

CIB sets out a roadmap for the creation of intelligent and responsive buildings

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) has published a free roadmap written by members of the W098 Commission and CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group, which presents collective ideas for the creation of intelligent and responsive buildings for current needs and the future. Intelligent buildings present a number of challenges, according to the authors. They must be responsive to people’s needs including their health and wellbeing; be sustainable in the use of resources as well as incorporating the most useful parts of the evolving technologies.

October 10, 2018

The Genesis of ideation and the places we go to have our best ideas ⁰

by Giuseppe Boscherini • Facilities management, Features, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace design

Because collaboration, creativity and innovation are increasingly perceived as key objectives and differentiators of performance, the genesis and mechanisms behind ideation and creativity are an an integral part of both business and personal development. As a consequence, there is growing interest in the way the physical attributes of work settings may influence or even trigger creative behaviour. The cliché of the shower as one of these favourite places comes to mind and yet experience does show that the idea of seeking a setting, a “zone” if you will, for a specific purpose is intuitively right. This needn’t be a retreat or cocoon, as is often assumed, but can also be a crowded, busy, noisy place, which might explain why so often the most animated work conversations move out of the office shop into the coffee shop. Equally, highlight events or special meetings tend to be held in a “venue’, often dressed for the occasion.

October 8, 2018

Refurbished industrial buildings provide perfect modern workplaces

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

Refurbished industrial sheds provide the perfect space for the creation of modern workplaces, according to a study by Hawkins\Brown and JLL. In what the authors claim is the first comparative study of its kind, Industrial Rehab: A new space of opportunity takes a look at the global trend for companies in the knowledge economy to seek out large-span buildings because they support creative working, are able to accommodate rapid growth and deliver high quality, good value accommodation.

October 5, 2018

Innovation and culture are key ingredients of successful cities

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News

CBRE has released Our Cities, Knowledge for the future, a report and microsite which explores how British cities might look and feel in twenty years’ time. The research claims to cast new light on the complexity of the future city. The project examines what will make a successful city through a collection of over 80 separate articles with insights on areas such as diversity, culture and sport, the economy, sustainability, governance, health, transport and placemaking. In doing so it identifies innovation, culture, and governance as being crucial to the success of British cities.

October 4, 2018

Fall in number of employees who feel motivated at work

by Sara Bean • Wellbeing, Workplace

Employee motivation levels appear to be the decline, with 29 percent of employees surveyed saying they were not motivated at work in 2017 compared to just 18 percent who said the same in 2016 the research report, “Living to Work” has claimed. Motivates Inc. has commissioned its employee motivation research for the past three years, surveying over 2,000 UK employees in full-time employment. The full data shows like-for-like how employees are feeling in the workplace and what hygiene factors have affected behaviours year-on-year. According to the latest data 71 percent of UK employees were motivated in 2017, which on its own shows a positive result, yet when you look at the motivational statistics from 2016 the data actually shows the percentage of motivated employees has dropped by 11 percent in just one year. That’s 220 more employees in an organisation of 2,000 who are not feeling good about their job.

October 3, 2018

British Council for Offices announces names of best workplaces in UK

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, News, Property, Workplace design

Bloomberg’s London HQ (left) came out on top at the British Council for Offices (BCO) National Awards in the UK’s capital last night, taking home both the ‘Best of the Best’ and the ‘Corporate Workplace’ awards. The office was joined by five other award winners recognised for excellence in office space. The BCO’s respected National Awards programme sets out to recognise top quality office design and functionality, with the objective of setting the standard for excellence across the office sector in the UK. The awards dinner attracted over 1,200 players from the office sector to celebrate the best-in-class talent. Winners from the 2018 Regional Awards programme attended the event at London’s Grosvenor House, hoping to take home the National Award for their category.

October 2, 2018

How to measure the impact of biophilia on individual performance

by Julia Ayuso Sanchez • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The improvement in well-being and performance in the workplace are economic and social critical factors since the loss of productivity for companies means a cost of up to US$ 550,000 million per year. Numerous studies affirm that biophilic design, defined as a response to the inherent need of human beings to be in contact with nature, in the workplace improves productivity and user well-being. As Lord Kelvin said, if you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it, so the challenge that arises is how to objectify and quantify rigorously the features that improve productivity and wellbeing in spaces designed with biophilia in mind. From this, it is necessary to go a step further and objectify the design criteria serving as an operator for performance and wellbeing in design practice.

October 1, 2018

National Work Life Week research reinforces appeal of flexible hours

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

National Work Life Week (1st – 5th October 2018) starts today with the aim of encouraging companies to think about their employees’ wellbeing and happiness. To mark the week new research asked British workers about the things they most want from their work. The YouGov surveyof 2,000 adults, commissioned by the Oxford Open Learning Trust, found that while money is predictably the biggest motivator behind career choice (64 percent), over half of the respondents cited working hours and flexible working as an important factor (55 percent). More →