Search Results for: environment

Connection launches ONE. ONE Module – infinite possibilities

Connection launches ONE. ONE Module – infinite possibilities

Connection, the British based furniture designer and manufacturer, has added to its existing portfolio of interior architecture products, with the launch of ONE. A unique modular solution, ONE is as the name denotes, one core module that facilitates and supports infinite possibilities. The ONE range comprises of a single core module, supported by a series of simple components to create building blocks, conceptualised to deliver inspiring configurations for inspiring spaces. (more…)

New objectives in workplace design guide set out to increase biodiversity in government estate

New objectives in workplace design guide set out to increase biodiversity in government estate

The UK's Government Property Agency has published details of how it intends to protect the natural environment and increase biodiversity across its extensive estate.The UK’s Government Property Agency has published details of how it intends to protect the natural environment and increase biodiversity across its extensive estate. The Biodiversity and Nature Recovery Annex (BNRA) forms part of the Government Workplace Design Guide. As the largest office property holder in government, the GPA believes it ‘has an opportunity to improve the environment for the benefit of everyone by playing a part in ceasing the extensive loss of biodiversity in the UK’. (more…)

How to create a truly inclusive office design

How to create a truly inclusive office design

Inclusive office design encompasses creating an environment that provides an attractive and inspiring experience for everyoneAccording to the Ministry of Social Policy in Ukraine, approximately 1/4 of the population belongs to groups with limited mobility, and unfortunately, this number is increasing due to the war. While the world has long been actively implementing the principles of inclusive design, it is particularly relevant in Ukraine now. Inclusive office design encompasses creating an environment that provides an attractive and inspiring experience for everyone. It’s about creating a space where all people, without exception, feel comfortable. Inclusion also contributes to expanding the market, improving reputation, and strengthening the company or brand’s authority through a focus on human-centric design. (more…)

When you empower your colleagues, you’re delivering excellence for them and your clients

When you empower your colleagues, you’re delivering excellence for them and your clients

The level of engagement within a company’s workforce significantly impacts clients satisfaction and its bottom line. Recent research by Gallup shows that teams with high levels of engagement enjoy a 10 percent uplift in client loyalty and a 23 percent increase in profitability compared to low-engagement teams. Empowering colleagues with learning and development programmes can dramatically improve their engagement with a business. Supporting them in this way is crucial if you want them to deliver excellence. When people are encouraged to own their careers, they care more about the outcomes of their work, which translates into exceptional productivity and happy clients. (more…)

Biophilic design has a long history and an even bigger future

Biophilic design has a long history and an even bigger future

biophilic design at the new Amazon HQ2There are plenty of definitions of the modish concept of biophilic design around right now. But perhaps nobody can top that of Erich Fromm, the sociologist and psychoanalyst who first described it in his 1973 book The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness as “The passionate love of life and all that is alive”. (more…)

Can commercial buildings shift from Carbon Conundrum to Carbon Control?

Can commercial buildings shift from Carbon Conundrum to Carbon Control?

A white paper challenging the building sector to consider what is really impeding the move to greater carbon control has been launched at an event in London by Artus. The heating and cooling experts have produced  From carbon conundrum to carbon control – how will the building sector get to net zero? to amplify the debate on whole-life carbon, design and the industry’s ability to move forward together to find solutions. (more…)

Fitwel Announces 2024 Best in Building Health Awards

Fitwel Announces 2024 Best in Building Health Awards

Fitwel, the building health certification system, has announced the winners of the 2024 Best in Building Health Awards.Fitwel, the building health certification system, has announced the winners of the 2024 Best in Building Health Awards. The awards are designed to honour the most innovative real estate companies and individuals ‘setting the standard for health and wellbeing in the built environment across the globe, leveraging the trusted Fitwel Standard to enhance quality of life and drive value through design and operational excellence’. This year’s winners include projects from Canada, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Thailand, and the United States. (more…)

Architecture must transform to meet the climate challenge, say RIBA

Architecture must transform to meet the climate challenge, say RIBA

The most significant actions the architecture profession can take to help mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, adapt buildings to withstand weather extremes, promote biodiversity and scale up engagement and activismThe Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has launched a new horizon-scanning programme with a set of scans that identify the most pertinent environmental issues facing the built environment over the next ten years. Developed by leading academics, The Environmental Challenge themed horizon scans provide foresight into the most significant actions the architecture profession can take to help mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, adapt buildings to withstand weather extremes, promote biodiversity and scale up engagement and activism. (more…)

People are simply ignoring bans on AI use at work

People are simply ignoring bans on AI use at work

Employees say they are ignoring AI bans because it makes them more productive and better at their jobsOlder readers may remember a phenomenon called Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) which marked the point at which employers gave up worrying about people using their own phones at work and instead made it look like it was their idea anyway. A similar arc seems to be happening with AI, as people simply ignore their employers’ attempts to manage its use. A new poll from comms firm Definition suggests that over half of employed UK adults (54 percent) use tools like ChatGPT at work, despite 25 percent of businesses banning or significantly limiting its use. We have no other information on the methodology beyond that it was of 1,000 people. (more…)

Reviving flexible workspaces – a guide to saving failing operations

Reviving flexible workspaces – a guide to saving failing operations

Landlords and operators of flexible workspaces need to ensure that what they offer is meeting customer demands says Calum RussellThe landscape of flexible working has witnessed unprecedented growth, spurred by the evolving needs of businesses in the aftermath of the pandemic. Despite the economic turbulence of 2023, the flexible office market has remained strong in the UK, achieving a record overall occupancy of 83 percent in the same year. As the demand for adaptable and collaborative working environments continues to rise, landlords and operators of flexible workspaces need to ensure that what they offer is meeting customer demands. Given the number of notable operator closures, many landlords are beginning to find themselves at the forefront of decisions about managing and revitalising failing operations. (more…)

Millions of people are living with poor air quality, placing their health and lives at risk

Millions of people are living with poor air quality, placing their health and lives at risk

IQAir has published its sixth Annual World Air Quality Report, which reveals troubling details of worldwide pollution in 2023IQAir has published its sixth Annual World Air Quality Report, which reveals troubling details of worldwide pollution in 2023. The report is an annual air quality analysis that tracks worldwide exposure to harmful levels of PM2.5 pollution. The report ranks 134 countries, territories, and regions across 7,748 locations using data from over 30,000 air quality monitoring stations around the globe. (more…)

Isolated under-40s far less likely to have strong workplace relationships

Isolated under-40s far less likely to have strong workplace relationships

Workers under 40 are 80 per cent more likely to lack trusted workplace relationships compared to workers over 50,Workers under 40 are 80 per cent less likely to have trusted workplace relationships compared to workers over 50, impacting their mental health, physical wellbeing and productivity, according to a new report from TELUS Health. The TELUS Mental Health Index sets out to explore the mental health of employed people in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Europe, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia. (more…)