January 13, 2023

How the 21st Century office was born in post war Europe

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Workplace design

There was a curious addition to a 2016 report on the Top 10 Technologies Driving the Digital Workplace from tech researchers Gartner. It wasn’t a technology at all but rather a slightly obscure office design concept that originated in Hamburg in the late 1950s, but which tells us a lot about how we work in the 21st Century office, according to Gartner. Its history lies with the German consulting firm Quickborner. Led by the brothers Eberhard and Wolfgang Schnelle, the firm applied the egalitarian principles of the post war world and rejection of the scientific management theories that had created the familiar factory-like rows of desks that had come to dominate open plan offices to create something more in tune with the new age.

January 4, 2023

What IS hybrid working?

by Neil Usher • Comment, Flexible working

In an uncharacteristically Waddellian moment*, the Word of the Year for 2022 according to The Economist was ‘hybrid work’. Yet despite its ubiquity, in the comparative calm of social channels over the holiday period lurked claims that no-one knows what hybrid working is. Even though millions of people are doing it. Given that such an assertion came as a surprise, there was only ever going to be one opening post for 2023: an attempt to explain it. More →

December 9, 2022

The Great Relearning about the Great Office Problem

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace design

One of the latest people to invent activity-based working is sociologist Ana Andjelic, who combines it with the similarly familiar hub and spoke office model on her substack as a solution to the Great Office Problem. She’s not the first and is a less surprising pioneer of a decades old model than some other people who should really know better. That includes an architectural practice who came up with the idea earlier this year and whose name escapes me. More →

November 25, 2022

TRILUX energy efficient lighting proves fit for the flexible, inclusive workplace of the future

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Lighting, Workplace design

A new installation at 20 Water Street in London allows a world leading, real estate services company to create a user-friendly, innovative workspace. The impressive downlight range from TRILUX opened the door to a complementary, tech-smart sustainable workplace lighting scheme – fit for the future of work. Global real estate advisor JLL’s new Canary Wharf office is in one of the most sustainable buildings in the UK. It recently relocated some of its London-based teams to the second and third floors at 20 Water Street, Wood Wharf. The move is part of its commitment to shaping the workplace for its employees, providing a flexible and inclusive work environment underpinned by a sustainable and technologically advanced workplace that boasts excellent connectivity and amenities. More →

November 22, 2022

HR profession should rebrand and shift its focus, claims a new report

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

The time has come to re-brand the human resources profession and shift its focus from processes to people, a new report from Sage claims. The authors claim the study emphasises the scale of the challenge facing teams, with 92 percent of executives believing the perceived value of human resources is a challenge for the profession. The poll of more than 1,000 HR and C-suite leaders working in SMBs across six of the world’s largest economies also highlights that 81 percent of human resources professionals are feeling burnt out and 62 percent are considering leaving the industry. More →

November 17, 2022

The workplace circus continues to entertain, but back in the real world…

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Wellbeing

The Great Workplace Circus headlines its 322nd show of the year with everybody’s favourite distraction, Elon Musk, being driven into the ring by his own shoddily built clown car, declaring he needs everybody at Twitter to be ‘extremely hardcore’ before sacking a few people from his space programme, then setting fire to the tent himself. The swarm of stories spawned by this extraordinary behaviour include this tired and predictable rant in the Telegraph about ‘lazy Brits’. Ironically, there’s nothing lazier than a columnist on this rag with some space to fill. More →

October 25, 2022

The underlying problems with the way we think about work

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

An idea that has never really gone away, but which seems to be enjoying a new lease of life is the tabula rasa. The conception of people as a blank slate is something a that has crept back into mainstream political and social thought for a variety of reasons. Arguably, it is also behind many of the most misleading notions about work and workplace design, perhaps most importantly that a change to some single element or characteristic of a working environment will lead to a specific outcome in the behaviour of people. More →

October 24, 2022

BCO recommends more space per person for the new era of flexible working

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Workplace design

A report by the British Council for Offices (BCO) recommends a new method for calculating the amount of space needed per person in the post-pandemic world of flexible working. The research claims to identify a ‘sweet spot’ of 10-12 sq. m. per person. This will account for the rise in people working from home and hot-desking when in the office, while simultaneously ensuring the workspace meets modern employers’ requirements to promote productivity and wellbeing, as well as targets to minimise carbon emissions. More →

October 5, 2022

Gallery: British Council for Offices announces winners of national awards

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Workplace design, Works Magazine

Sunderland City Hall was celebrated as ‘Best of the Best’ at the British Council for Offices’ (BCO) National Awards at the Grosvenor House hotel in London last night, also taking home the ‘Corporate Workplace’ award. The office was joined by six other award winners recognised as leading examples of excellence in office space across the UK. The BCO’s National Awards programme claims to recognises top quality office design and functionality and says it sets the standard for excellence across the office sector. More →

September 20, 2022

Teknion Routes wins Gold at the 2022 International Design Excellence Awards

by Freddie Steele • Workplace design, Works Magazine

Teknion has announced that Routes, designed by Pearson Lloyd, has received the Gold award in the Office & Accessories category at the 2022 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA). Teknion Routes is unlike any other contract furniture system, as it eschews conventional thinking to offer an alternative, flexible solution that evolves with the workplace. It is designed to allow teams to create flexible, practical, and engaging workspaces quickly and efficiently. Utilising the collection, teams can easily define their ideal ‘route’ to completion for any given task, increasing the office’s overall efficiency. More →

July 28, 2022

Personal space is not merely an issue of hygiene, but a biological imperative

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The current debate about how much space we will need in the office from now on is not new. As with many of the debate’s facets, the point at which we find ourselves has long been our destination. We’re just here earlier than we might have expected. More →

July 28, 2022

KI furniture helps Crunch Digital reimagine Swansea HQ for hybrid working

by Mark Eltringham • Company news

As part of their ‘return to the office’ following the COVID-19 pandemic, Crunch Digital, a digital media specialist that focuses on SEO, pay-per-click-social media, programmatic, technical, and creative services, wanted to create a new office space that promoted both safety and collaboration. The office design, carried out in partnership with Ministry of Furniture and KI furniture also needed to reflect the ethos and culture of the company and cater to a young and innovative workforce. More →