Search Results for: workplace

New innovatively designed West End office development nearly fully let

New Portman Square office development nearly fully let10 Portman Square, an innovatively designed office building based in London’s West End, is nearly fully occupied, following an agreement by Ardagh Glass to lease 10,250 sq ft of office space from British Land. Award-winning architecture and interior design practice Jestico+Whiles led the design of 10 Portman Square, which offers column-free floorplates of 18,500 sq ft, and benefits from natural light on all four sides with views across Portman Square. Ardagh Glass will occupy part of the first floor, to join investment management company Independent Franchise Partners, who agreed terms on the other half of the first floor in July. The building, which provides 113,700 sq ft of Grade A office space over seven floors, is also home to Aspect Capital, Arrowgrass Capital Partners and Aramco Overseas Company. The latest deal brings occupancy across the 2.4 million sq ft West End office portfolio to 96 per cent. More →

Julian Assange escapes incarceration to take part in conference as a hologram

Julian Assange escapes incarceration to take part in conference as a hologram

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We have grown accustomed to the way technology distorts time and space. This, after all, is the underlying tension that defines each of the major debates about the workplace, including flexible working, office design, facilities management and the acquisition of commercial property. But, as they say, we ain’t seen nothing yet as the next generation of technologies starts to scale the upslope of the diffusion of innovation curve. People have been talking about telepresence for a little while, but it is about to achieve mainstream awareness thanks to events such as the appearance of Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange at a conference in the USA last week. Assange is famously holed up in London in the Ecuadorian Embassy, challenging his extradition to Sweden to face trial and can’t leave the building without being arrested. So the way he appeared at the conference in Nantucket was as a hologram.

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Increasing numbers of over-65s will require flexible working rights

Increasing number of over-65s will require flexible working rightsWe can get so preoccupied with meeting the younger generation’s more flexible approach to work, that we miss the fact that a much greater challenge for employers is in managing the needs of the older workforce. Figures released by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) show that nearly a quarter of a million more people aged 65 and over have remained at work since the default retirement age was abolished three years ago. This means that more than a million (103,000) over 65s now choose to stay in work, compared to 874,000 in the quarter October to December 2011 – an increase of 229,000. There are now 9.1 million people aged 50 plus at work, accounting for 29.7 per cent of all those in work aged 16 plus in the UK (30.6 million). This means employers not only need to accommodate an increasingly diverse range of ages but must enable older workers to work more flexibly as they wind down from working life. More →

New London hotspots emerging as affordable office space runs dry

New London hotspots emerging as affordable office space runs dryFlexible working initiatives such as hot-desking and home working have done little to dampen demand for the right office space, finds Cluttons in its latest London property outlook guide, which reveals very few areas of central London are now able to offer good office space for less than £40/sq ft. Echoing research by JLL earlier this week Cluttons reports that for the third quarter of this year current office letting activity was 17 per cent above the long-term average with more than almost 9m sq ft already acquired this year. Occupiers are showing a taste for larger offices, with a total of 21 transactions so far this year measuring upwards of 50,000 sq ft, accounting for a quarter of the space acquired. This is further eroding the supply pipeline, and is leading areas such as Aldgate and Whitechapel, Bethnal Green in the east, and Vauxhall in the south, to emerge as the next peripheral hotspots for those requiring offices on a more affordable basis.

UK Government urged to do more to support country’s technology sector

technology sector

Silicon Fen in Cambridge

The technology sector trade association techUK has published a new report urging politicians and policy makers to acknowledge the UK’s role in the global technology market, create the conditions in which it can thrive and  oversee the roll-out of new digital services across the public sector and beyond. The body, which has more than 850 members employing 500,000, claims that Securing our Digital Future: the techUK manifesto for growth and jobs 2015-2020 offers a blueprint for jobs growth in the tech sector and the chance for the UK to establish a reputation as a world leader in the global digital revolution. The report coincides with the announcement that the UK Government has commissioned a report to explore how Britain can lead the development of the sharing economy based on the success of firms such as Airbnb and Zipcar. Ahead of next year’s General Election, the techUK report calls on the next government to use technology to improve the quality and accessibility of public services, increase productivity and secure a million new jobs.

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Occupiers’ expansion plans fuel demand for Central London office space

Principal Place office space

Amazon to move to Foster & Partners’ designed development Principal Place

The already intense levels of competition for prime Central London office space look set to increase. New data by JLL reports that leasing figures in the Central London office market are set to top those reached in 2013, with City lettings showing potential to reach over 7 million sq ft for the second year in a row and the West End on track for 3.3 million sq ft by the close of 2014. Strong take-up in these markets, combined with a resurged market in the Docklands, will see Central London take-up figures on track to exceed last year’s total of 11 million sq ft. While consolidation and lease expiries have been main drivers up to now, a buoyant economy means occupiers expansion plans are bringing new requirements to the market. Amazon’s recent decision to take a 400,000 sq ft pre-let at mixed-used development Principal Place at Shoreditch, is an early example of this and it’s expected more occupiers will follow suit.

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Research reveals associations between multitasking and lack of grey matter

MultitaskingSimultaneously using mobile phones, laptops and other media devices could be changing the structure of our brains, according to a new study published by researchers at the University of Sussex. A study published last week in PLOS ONE reveals that people who frequently use several media devices at the same time have lower grey-matter density in one particular region of the brain compared to those who use just one device occasionally. The research supports earlier studies showing connections between high media multitasking activity and poor attention in the face of distractions, along with emotional problems such as depression and anxiety. But neuroscientists Kep Kee Loh and Dr Ryota Kanai point out that their study reveals a link rather than causality and that a long-term study needs to be carried out to understand whether high concurrent media usage leads to changes in the brain structure, or whether those with less-dense grey matter are more attracted to media multitasking.

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The weekly Insight newsletter is now available to view online

wandpcoverIn the latest edition of the weekly Insight newsletter, now available to view online; Mark Eltringham describes some of the most readily identifiable themes at this year’s 100% design, while Sara Bean hails Richard Branson’s adoption of a flexible working policy for his personal staff. The British Council for Offices (BCO) launches the much awaited new edition of its Specification Guide; a new report from the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) claims “overwhelming evidence” that office design significantly impacts the health, wellbeing and productivity of staff; and research by Steelcase discovers nearly a third (31%) of occupants now routinely leave the office to get work done in private. Justin Miller discusses the challenge of balancing sustainable building design with the need to ensure a comfortable workplace; and from the latest issue of Work&Place, the journal we publish in partnership with Occupiers Journal, Dr. Agustin Chevez lists the thirteen ways the physical environment shapes knowledge management .

European airlines now free to allow use of electronic devices during flights

electronic devices during flightsOne of the few remaining refuges from the gaze of the unblinking digital eye is now under threat following news that the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has concluded electronic devices do not pose a safety risk so can be left on during flights. Airlines are now free to permit the use of devices during flights. In an announcement EASA has confirmed that, although each airline would have to go through its own safety checks and an assessment process, they are now free to establish their own policies based on its new guidelines.  Of course there remain technical barriers, not least the lack of a signal six miles up, but experience tells us that technology – like nature – always finds a way. The only remaining hope for those passengers who don’t want to be connected themselves or share a confined space with others who are, is cultural. British Airways already allows browsing and texting in wi-fi enabled business class flights, but prohibit voice calls because they understand from surveys how objectionable they are to other passengers.

RICS Scotland officially opens its new Edinburgh offices

New HQ for RICS ScotlandRICS new Scottish headquarters were officially opened this week at Edinburgh’s iconic Princes Street by Minister for Local Government and Planning, Derek Mackay, MSP. The new, state of the art offices, located at 125 Princes Street, will also host Planning Aid Scotland, Built Environment Forum Scotland and the Scottish Arbitration Centre, with the idea being to create collaborative built environment hub in the heart of Scotland’s capital city. Explained Sarah Speirs, Director RICS Scotland: “Throughout this process we have been very keen to recognise and utilise the professional skills and expertise of our members, including the talents of our building surveying members, who we have now been working on the design and fit out of our transformational space at 125 Princes Street for the past couple of months.” The new open plan offices, which benefit from views of Princes Street Gardens and Edinburgh Castle were designed using BIM technology as a best practice example for the sector. More →

Generation Y make the most trusting managers, finds ILM report

Generation Y are the most trusting managers finds ILM reportMaintaining high levels of trust at work helps to foster an engaged and productive atmosphere, finds a new report by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), which reveals the youngest generation to be the most trusting and those working within the public sector the least trusting. The truth about trust, honesty and integrity at work found that the millennial generation of managers (born 1981 onwards), are the most likely to trust those within their organisation (54%), followed by baby boomers (born between 1946–1964), almost half of whom (45%) say they trust everyone or almost everyone. Generation X, those born between 1965–1980, had the lowest level of respondents saying they trust everyone or almost everyone (44%) at work. The research also reveals that the five fundamental skills and qualities that leaders need in order to be trusted are openness, effective communication, the ability to make decisions, integrity and competence in their role. More →

New letting strengthens Cambridge’s growing reputation as a centre of technology

Latest lettings underline Cambridge’s growing reputation as a centre of technologyIn the largest office letting in Cambridge in over a decade, technology developer CSR plc has agreed with The Crown Estate to establish an expanded, 100,000 sq. ft. global HQ at Cambridge Business Park. Further lettings of a combined 11,000 sq. ft., to the multi-national computer technology company, Oracle, and to JDR Cable Systems, means that the 320,000 sq. ft. Business Park is now fully let, with over 2,000 people set to be working on site once these tenants move in. These latest lettings underline Cambridge’s growing reputation as a centre of technology – where its success this sector has even led to it being referred to as the “Silicon Fen”, the UK’s equivalent of California’s Silicon Valley. More →