July 1, 2019
BDG architecture + design has completed the new Amsterdam campus for WPP as part of its global co- location strategy, which is to provide world-class spaces that bring together its people and agencies into one location, encouraging greater collaboration and giving clients easier access to all of WPP’s talent and expertise. More →
May 29, 2019
In recent years, the concept of biophilia and the inclusion of greenery in the working environment has captured the media’s attention, which has depicted it as an important aspect of wellbeing in the workplace, seemingly the crucial indicator of a great office. For this reason, and beyond the superficial or cosmetic use of plants in the office, I would like to analyse the relationship between nature and the corporate world from a historical perspective in an effort to understand the role of greenery within the architecture of the corporate headquarters.
May 13, 2019
The Belfast office market is one of the UK’s best performing when it comes to returns for investors, significantly outstripping cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Cardiff and London, a new property report claims. The Northern Ireland Commercial Property Investment Review (registration), produced by Ulster University and global financial company MSCI in collaboration with RICS commercial property firms, benchmarked the Northern Ireland and Belfast market against their UK and European peers. More →
April 17, 2019
Bristol has the lowest vacancy rate for Grade A offices amongst the UK’s leading Big 6 cities, reflecting strong demand combined with a shortage of high quality commercial space, according to new figures published by property consultants JLL. Although the city and region’s reputation for talent and innovation has so far countered the shortage of space, with inward investors citing access to a highly skilled, graduate workforce as one of the main reasons for relocation, JLL is warning that more needs to be done to ensure Bristol continues to attract investment. More →
April 10, 2019
The question of what makes a city great is an old one but has never been asked more than it is right now. It is usually couched in terms of the urbanisation of large parts of the world but it is important for other reasons too, not least because the urban environment is an increasingly important part of the virtual workplace many of us now inhabit and offices themselves increasingly resemble the agglomeration of spaces we have typically associated with our towns and cities. Recently, McKinsey published a report into urbanisation, based largely on the usual premise of the proportion of the world’s people involved, but it is an issue that touches all of our lives and in unexpected ways.
February 4, 2019
AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets (AXA IM – Real Assets), along with development manager Bell Hammer, is to commence construction of the initial phase of its 300,000 sq ft mixed-use Assembly Bristol regeneration project, having appointed Galliford Try as the main contractor. The construction contract and initial work has commenced for Building A which comprises 200,000 sq ft across 11 storeys with practical completion due in 2020. The building is claimed to a offer new archetype for Bristol office space; comprising multiple uses, and a range of flexible office spaces designed for both local and global businesses in the services, creative, consultancy, financial, media and technology sectors.
February 1, 2019
The Top Employers Institute, a certifier recognising employers that provide world-class employee conditions, has released its list of Certified UK Top Employers for 2019. Over 600 HR professionals gathered at London’s Hilton on Park Lane, on the 31st January 2019, to recognise the best employers in the UK. More →
December 21, 2018
A recently published paper describing the results of an academic study by Ethan S. Bernstein and Stephen Turban[1], both of Harvard, has become another unwarranted casualty of the debate within our industry and in the mainstream media on ‘open plan’ offices versus anything else. The researchers conducted two controlled studies in different organisations before and after a workplace refurbishment from dedicated cubicles to dedicated open plan (benching) neighbourhoods, and concluded that face to face interaction reduced significantly, while email and other digital communications increased in the new environment.
December 14, 2018
Deloitte’s new UK and North West Europe headquarters at 1 New Street Square, EC4, is claimed to be the largest office in the world to achieve leading certifications for being both an exemplar green building and one designed to enhance the wellbeing of its people. The new 270,000 sq ft HQ, which Deloitte occupied in July, is the culmination of a four year programme redefining the workplace of the future for the firm’s people and clients. The space was designed by ID:SR with furniture supplied by Sketch Studios.
November 28, 2018
The research-driven Workplace Trends Spring Summit returns for 2019. We have two sessions with invited guest speakers, our keynote and the after lunch debate. Following a recent Call for Abstracts and a blind peer review by our two moderators for the day, Nigel Oseland (Workplace Unlimited) and Mark Eltringham (Workplace Insight), the remaining sessions have now been filled with the highest ranked submissions.
April 3, 2019
Coworking and a new golden era for the workplace and the people who inhabit it
by Gary Chandler • Comment, Coworking, Workplace design
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