Search Results for: creativity

March 25, 2014

The workplace should be designed for (and by) people, not robots

by Simon Heath • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

From existential and dystopian fears expressed through books and films, we have long had an uneasy relationship with the idea of automatons and artificial intelligence. The UKCES saw robotics and automation as significant enough to include in it’s recent report on the future of work and the risks to jobs are very real based even on the more widespread adoption of the technologies already available to us. The possibility that many people may cease to have any economic value is a challenge we seem ill-equipped to meet. As ever, the web giants are leading the charge with Amazon prototyping delivery of packages by the kind of drones more commonly used over the tribal badlands of Afghanistan, as well as Google’s recent purchase of Boston Dynamics, makers of military-spec robots. The people behind the algorithms that gave us the unintentional hilarity of Google Suggest are now branching to create the sort of killer robots produced by OmniCorp in the Robocop movies.

January 16, 2014

Surge of turnover and employment growth in UK’s creative businesses

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace

The Government has released new statistics that demonstrate the increasing importance of the creative sectors to the UK economy, although concerns remain about the UK’s creative skills base. The figures reveal that the overall turnover of creative businesses increased by just under 10 percent in 2012 and employment increased by 8.6 percent over the same period, more than any other sector. The creative industries are now worth more than £70 billion a year and employ 1.68 million people. While employment in the UK as a whole grew by 0.7 percent over the whole economy, jobs growth in the creative sector was 8.6 percent. There was also growth in export sales, up over 16 percent between 2009-11 and worth £15.5bn in 2011.

January 8, 2014

CBI to embrace open plan working at new London HQ

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

The CBI is to move its headquarters to new offices in Cannon Street, London, after more than 30 years at its present Centre Point home, which is to be converted into apartments. Staff at the UK’s leading business organisation will make the switch from the multi floor office layouts of the 1960s built tower to an open plan 25,000 sq ft space when they move into the fourth floor of the eight-floored Cannon Place development in the spring. The CBI director-general, John Cridland, said he was looking forward to the move to the new offices, on which the organisation has signed a 15-year lease and invited its members to make use of a dedicated member’s lounge at the new London HQ to meet their clients and CBI staff. More →

December 17, 2013

New survey reveals extent and nature of workplace change programmes

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Property

The newly published Workplace Transformation Survey from property consultancy Cushman and Wakefield begins with the now routine statement that “there is no doubt the corporate workplace is rapidly transforming”. So tell us something we don’t know – and in the subsequent report they pretty much do. That said, the methodology of the survey does skew the results by focussing on a particular part of the workplace elephant, because the report was compiled in conjunction with CoreNet Global, based on a questionnaire of over 500 occupiers and other participants from around the world taking part in events in Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Shanghai. So inevitably the results are weighted to at least some degree in favour of those with an interest in commercial property and the regions from which it draws its data. More →

November 19, 2013

2020 vision is a useless metaphor for far-sightedness in a number of ways

by Simon Heath • Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Technology, Workplace design

The year 2020 is a mere seven years away. Yet the designers of the future workplace and those who invite them to talk about it are still referring to it as if it marks the next frontier of human endeavour and as if we weren’t already up to our collective armpits in the 21st century. The idea of 20/20 vision is considered, in ophthalmological circles at least, to represent “normal” visual acuity and is dependent on the sharpness of the retinal focus within the eye and the sensitivity of the interpretative faculty of the brain. In practical terms, this means it’s about seeing and interpreting what is directly in front of us at a distance of around 6 metres. So as a metaphor for farsightedness regarding the future of work or workplaces it’s always been a poor one. And as we get closer to the eponymous year, it becomes worse day by day.

November 7, 2013

RIBA heralds dawn of a ‘smart’ era that revolutionises the way we shape our cities

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Technology, Workplace design

A new report that explores the massive potential role that data could have in the planning and design of our buildings and cities has been launched by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and ARUP. The report ‘Designing with data: Shaping our future cities’ identifies the main approaches to working with data for those involved in designing and planning cities. Better data can offer a deep insight into people’s needs and has the potential to transform the way architects and urban planners design our built environments. This could result in cheaper experimentation and testing of designs before construction begins. It also promises the chance for greater consultation with potential users – speeding up the process, saving time and money and resulting in better and more affordable design. More →

November 5, 2013

Interview: Greg Lindsay on engineering serendipity and harnessing chaos

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Workplace, Workplace design

Render of Plaza at Zappos offices in LA

Greg Lindsay is a journalist and urbanist. He is a contributing writer for Fast Company and co-author of the international bestseller Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next as well as a visiting scholar at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management, a senior fellow of the World Policy Institute, and a research affiliate of the New England Complex Systems Institute. He is also one of the main speakers at this year’s Worktech conference in London on 19 and 20 November. In this frank and enlightening interview he offers his thoughts on how firms can engineer serendipity into their workplaces and cultures and how the way we design offices is already taking clues from the way we plan urban environments.

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October 30, 2013

More law firms introducing flexible working, but progress remains slow

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Legal news, Workplace

When it comes to the adoption of flexible working, law firms have proved to be one of the more intransigent sectors in the UK. But there are signs of change with news that more firms in Scotland are embracing new working practices. A survey of 3,400 solicitors carried out by the Law Society of Scotland found an increasing number were making use of flexible working. The research shows that while the majority of respondents (77 percent) continue to work full time, two thirds are now allowed to work away from their main place of work although take-up remains sluggish with only a quarter doing so at least once a week. In marked contrast to other professions, around two thirds of respondents did not access emails and work files while away from the office.

August 28, 2013

Dull corporate offices with no “buzz” inhibit productivity, complain staff

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Workplace, Workplace design

Creating a dynamic and creative workplace is dependent on a number of factors; the office layout and design, the style of management and the wider company culture. Get these elements right and, says workplace consultants Morgan Lovell you hit the “Buzz Barometer” – a combination of a good atmosphere, energy and teamwork which encourages productivity and high levels of employee engagement. However, according to their recent research, three quarters (78 per cent) of employees say they would be significantly more productive if their workplace had more buzz. And worryingly for larger organisations, corporates are failing to match small company buzz, with four-fifths (81 per cent) saying SMEs offer a better working atmosphere than large companies.

July 26, 2013

Report: How will the future affect us or can we effect the future?

by Sara Bean • Furniture, Knowledge, News

Workplace furniture specialist Kinnarps has published its Trend Report 2013, which is the culmination of detailed research across European markets and thought leaders, conducted in partnership with Stockholm based futurologists Kairos Future. The study distilled a broad overview of emerging and established trends, across Kinnarps’ European markets, to focus on eight key themes that will influence the workplace of the future. According to the report, big changes are already apparent in our society, but these will come to have an altogether greater impact on the way we evaluate our working environment. More →

July 11, 2013

Personalised design and office plants proven to boost wellness and performance

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Workplace, Workplace design

Allowing staff to make design decisions in a workspace enhanced with office plants can increase wellbeing and wellness by as much as 47 per cent, increase creativity by 45 per cent and increase productivity by 38 per cent, new research has revealed. Visitors at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show were challenged to take part in the study which measured their creativity, happiness and productivity as they experienced a range of different workspace designs. The findings, which would be expected to translate to a significant increase in business profitability, confront the popular belief that plants and art are an unnecessary or even wasteful element of the business environment. Results from this and related scientific investigations indicate that across all measures of psychological comfort and business performance, the managerially popular flexible, controlled, lean office, is consistently inferior to a space enriched by the design decisions of people who work there.