May 17, 2023

Environmental concerns and wellbeing continue to dominate BCO Awards

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The BCO Awards for the South of England and South Wales have been announced, with recognition going to six office buildings across the region. Held at The City Hall in Cardiff, the BCO’s annual South of England and South Wales Awards Dinner claims to recognise projects that demonstrate best practice in office design, fit-out, operation and sustainability, setting the standard for excellence across the sector. More →

May 16, 2023

TRILUX and Skanska circular lighting project saves 17 tonnes of CO2e and creates inspiring workplace

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Environment, Lighting

Skanska, the leading construction and development company committed to reducing carbon emissions, partnered with TRILUX to provide a sustainable and inspiring workplace for its UK head office. The project aimed to introduce more efficient lighting to match the existing look and type of luminaires, providing lighting control with minimal impact on carbon emissions. More →

May 16, 2023

Most firms don’t see retrofit as part of their net zero strategy

by Jayne Smith • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

Despite organisations and the Government setting environmental targets, when it comes to buildings, there remains a lack of commitment to prepare for net zero. Without boards changing their attitudes and government action, the UK faces a building retrofit crisis which threatens the nation’s ability to ever reach net zero. That is the main finding of a new report which explores the current state of retrofit for commercial property in the UK. More →

April 25, 2023

Wellbeing and sustainability are defining characteristics of London’s BCO Awards winning offices

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Workplace design

London’s most outstanding workplaces have been recognised with British Council for Offices Awards going to seven office buildings across the capital. Held at the London Hilton on Park Lane, the BCO’s annual London Awards Lunch recognised projects that demonstrate best practice in office design, fit-out, operation and sustainability, setting the standard for excellence across the sector. More →

April 25, 2023

Employers gain nearly two weeks extra work a year from hybrid workers

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Analysis by workplace consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA) claims that on average hybrid workers deliver nearly two extra weeks of work a year for their employer as well as working harder and better in a hybrid environment. The results of the analysis — which shows the benefits of hybrid working for organisations — are a combination of academic research and studies by AWA itself. They are included in AWA’s latest report, ‘Why Employers Benefit From Hybrid Working’, which also found that employees often work better when in a distraction-free environment, with more than half their time dedicated to working alone or focussed work. More →

April 19, 2023

We shouldn’t be deterred by the wonky start to the circular economy

by Becky Gordon • Comment, Environment, Workplace design

We’re all familiar with the circular economy in some shape or form. We know the principles of recycling materials back into the original product to create a perfectly circular model of sustainability. But in practice, as architects and designers are finding, the development of the circular economy not quite so simple. Circular design is possible now, but we have to start with circles that are slightly wonkier than we might like. More →

April 6, 2023

Government turns to business rates reform to improve building quality, but will it work?

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Property

The UK Government claims that a new bill will support businesses by modernising the business rates system to incentivise property improvements and support more frequent revaluations. The measures being put forward review and reform business rates in England, making them fairer and more responsive to changes in the market. The Non-Domestic Rating Bill will introduce more frequent valuations, to take place every three years instead of the current five, meaning those with falling values will see their bills drop sooner, accorrding to the Treasury. 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 →

March 15, 2023

The UK workplace sector reacts to the Spring Budget 2023

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News, Property, Workplace

Today the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt presented his Spring Budget to the House of Commons. In it he announced what her referred to as his ‘four pillars’ of industrial and productivity strategy, namely: ‘Enterprise’, ‘Employment’, ‘Education’, and ‘Everywhere’. Perhaps the headline element of this announcement was the creation of twelve new investment zones across the UK as well as incentives for older workers to return to the country’s patchy workforce. This includes£63m for programmes to encourage retirees over 50 back to work, “returnerships” and ‘skills boot camps’. Another headline for the workplace sector was the offer of improved childcare arrangements, especially for the parents of very young children, who will see 30 hours of free childcare expanded to include one and two-year-olds. More →

March 15, 2023

Office market continues to fail on environmental standards …. say landlords

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Property

A new survey that explores the state of sustainability within the UK office market, jointly commissioned by infinitSpace and The Instant Group, claims that the office market is falling behind on environmental policies. The poll of 250 landlords suggests that almost half (47 percent) of landlords believe the office market is lagging behind other areas of the property sector in implementing/adopting environmental policies. The same number say they can’t ‘go it alone’ with 47 percent of landlords agreeing they need help in shaping environmental policies. At the same time, 84 percent of landlords report a vacancy rate of 30 percent and above as average among their office building portfolio. More →

March 6, 2023

Routes to Greater Sustainability event brings office furniture sector together to talk climate change

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Environment, Furniture

An inaugural conference that gave insight into how the UK furnishing industry is mitigating climate change proved an outstanding success. The Routes to Greater Sustainability Industry Day was organised by The Furniture Makers’ Company in association with the British Furniture Confederation (BFC) and took place on Thursday 16 February at Furniture Makers’ Hall, London.