Search Results for: london

April 21, 2015

UK office market grows as employers enhance quality of workspace ⁰

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

The level of activity in the UK office market has grown as employers strive to create environments designed to enhance staff wellbeing. According to the 2015 edition of the annual Office Report from property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton, occupiers have expanded headcount and upgraded their accommodation, helping to propel take-up in markets up and down the country. Edinburgh reported record activity; Oxford, Cardiff, Bristol and Cardiff all posted take-up well ahead of their 10-year averages and Manchester enjoyed its best year since 2001. However, over 11 m sq ft of office space has been earmarked for alternative use since the relaxation of planning rules. This equates to an area the size of all the office floor space in Reading being converted into new uses such as apartments and hotels, since the introduction of Permitted Development Rights in May 2013.

April 20, 2015

Uptake of flexible working at UK firms continues to gather pace ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

In the last three years the adoption of flexible working by UK organisations has increased by over a third (37 percent), according to new research published by recruitment consultants Robert Half. The study, based on interviews with 200 HR Directors also claims that concerns that remote working without direct physical supervision leads to a decrease in productivity are increasingly unfounded. The research reveals that 60 percent believe giving employees greater autonomy over working styles and practices including remote working and flexi-time results in increased productivity. Respondents also increasingly believe that offering greater autonomy to employees results in positive business benefits. Over half (51 percent) thought greater employee autonomy boosts creativity and almost half (45 percent) believe it makes employees easier to manage.

April 20, 2015

Planning permission granted for two major towers at Canary Wharf ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property

Planning permission has been granted for two major new towers at Canary Wharf in East London. The developer Canary Wharf Group has been granted full permission for the 1 Bank Street development and outline planning permission for 1 Park Place. The 1 Bank Street building has been designed by architects Kohn Pederson Fox and is a 700,000 sq. ft. commercial property with 27 storeys including three levels of trading floors and also retail facilities at ground level as well as landscaping and public spaces. Bank Société Générale has already agreed a lease for 280,000 sq. ft. of the building over seven storeys on a 25 year lease. The planning committee at Tower Hamlets council has also granted outline planning permission for the 1 Park Place scheme, a 31-storey office building offering around one million sq. ft. of space.

April 17, 2015

A preview of Clerkenwell Design Week 2015 ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Events, Flooring, Furniture, Lighting, News, Workplace design

The organisers of Clerkenwell Design Week have announced the latest up to date details of its events and showrooms programme. Taking place between 19 and 21 May, this is the sixth year the event has taken place in London’s creative centre. Over 80 showrooms will take part this year, hosting a range of activities, discussions, showcases, product launches and talks. Confirmed keynote participants include designers such as David Adjaye (top), Michael Young and Patrizia Moroso. New participants this year include heritage brand Carl Hansen & Søn and modernist storage specialists USM. Office furniture firms Wilkhahn and Connection Seating will both open new showrooms on Great Sutton Street, while flooring manufacturer Milliken is significantly expanding its Berry Street premises.

April 15, 2015

Office location key factor for staff engagement, with home working preferred ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News

It might be disheartening to learn that despite an employers best efforts to design an engaging and inspiring workplace, for many employees it’s where the offices are located that matters most. In a recent UK poll by ClickSoftware over half (57%), said office location was the most important reason why they’d stay in their job ahead of both pay (52%) and job security (33%). However, the most preferred place to work is at home, with 60 percent of people identifying this location to be ‘very comfortable’. The survey also looked at the factors that affected job performance, and found one in five people (20%) believe their productivity at work has been negatively affected by the location of their job. This increases further in the capital with over a quarter of Londoners (26%) feeling that their productivity would suffer by working in a ‘horrible location’. More →

April 14, 2015

Latest issue of the Insight newsletter is now available to view online ⁰

by Sara Bean • Newsletter, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s issue; Justin Miller previews this year’s Milan International Furniture Fair; John Sacks reviews the 35th China International Furniture Fair in Guangzhou and Charles Marks explains why Facebook’s new offices sport a traditional open-plan design. News that commercial occupiers in London are willing to pay a premium for outside access and upper floor views, the latest CIPD research finds that one in three workers have experienced conflict at work, and a US-survey highlights the negative impact on productivity of working with a toxic colleague. There is also video footage of Perry Timms‘ talk on the challenges and opportunities of the future of work made at his TedX in Bucharest. Sign up to the newsletter via the subscription form in the right hand sidebar and follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

April 13, 2015

Approval granted for new 27-storey office building at Canary Wharf ⁰

by Sara Bean • Company news, News, Property

Planning permission has been granted for a new 27-storey office building at 1 Bank Street, Canary Wharf in London. The new 700,000 sq ft office building will comprise office space, three levels of trading floors, a retail unit at ground level, a free-standing retail kiosk on South Dock Promenade, public realm, planting and landscaping and basement car and cycle parking. There will also be public access to a new promenade along the South Dock. According to developers Canary Wharf Group, the new offices will provide capacity for an additional 5,837 full-time equivalent jobs. French bank Société Générale, has already agreed a lease for 280,000 sq ft of 1 Bank Street, covering the ground and first to seventh floors on a 25 year lease. Tower Hamlets also granted Canary Wharf Group outline planning permission for just over 1 million sq ft of space at 1 Park Place.

April 9, 2015

Why Facebook and other tech giants still apply mainstream office design ideas ⁰

by Charles Marks • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

This week Facebook moved into its new offices in Menlo Park, California. As you might expect they are somewhat out of the ordinary. Designed by Frank Gehry, they are bright, open and loaded with quirky and colourful design ideas. Yet upon closer inspection their underlying office design principles are often resolutely mainstream, not least the inclusion of what is billed as the world’s largest open plan office. In fact this has the personal backing of the CEO himself and has long been the core element in the brief because Facebook sees the idea of openness as being an essential part of its mission and business model. Mark Zuckerberg announced the opening of the building on his own Facebook page (where else?). In his official statement, he explains the thinking behind the design in an interesting way and it bears reproducing.

April 8, 2015

Sino might: a review of the CIFF office design show in Guangzhou

by John Sacks • Comment, Furniture, Products, Workplace design

Guangzhou, about two hours by train from Hong Kong, is China’s third city. It is a sprawling metropolis. Apart from a cluster of skyscrapers and the busy, broad sweep of the Pearl River which carves the city into districts, it has few redeeming features. Unlike the previous years’ office design shows hosted in Guangzhou, the heavy rain stayed away and the weather was hot and humid. It would probably have been sunny, were it not for the pall of smog which constantly shrouds the city. The 35th China International Furniture Fair is too large to be held at one time in the 430,000 sq. m. China Import & Export Fair complex, so it’s split into two, five day phases, held six days apart. Billed as the ‘Fabulous Furniture Fair’, Phase 1 concentrated on residential furniture. Phase 2 was for CIFF Office and for Interzum – the furniture materials and machinery show.

March 30, 2015

Driverless cars will transform the UK economy by 2030, claims report

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

A new study from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and KPMG claims that the development of connected and autonomous vehicles will help generate 320,000 jobs in the UK and deliver huge benefits to society and the economy. The first ever comprehensive analysis of the opportunities provided by the new technology claims that by 2030 driverless cars will deliver a £51 billion boost to the UK economy, reduce congestion and carbon emissions and cut serious road traffic accidents by more than 25,000. By that time all new cars will incorporate some form of connectivity, according to the report’s authors. It also predicts that the UK will be a global leader in the production of this next generation of vehicles, with the support of Government including financial backing. The study was presented at last week’s SMMT conference in London.

March 27, 2015

The latest issue of the newsletter is now available to view online

by Mark Eltringham • Newsletter, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s issue; we glimpse the lives of Japanese workers who reject social norms and instead choose to live in Internet cafes; a new report explores how artificial light and the dark affect us in more ways than we might think; HSBC announces its plans to relocate a thousand employees from London to Birmingham; the civil service looks for better ways to meet the needs of disabled staff and overcome their current barriers to career progression; the Government reports on the state of its estate including a look at how it is introducing new ways of working to drive change; a new report lays out the challenges and opportunities of the much talked abut subject of workplace wellbeing; and Anna King offers some thoughts on this year’s MIPIM event. Sign up to the newsletter via the subscription form in the right hand sidebar and follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

March 27, 2015

MIPIM demonstrated how property industry is moving with the times

by Anna King • Comment, Property, Workplace design

In its 26th year, the colossus conference that is MIPIM was back in full flow. With 93 countries were present, 4, 500 investors and 22, 000 registered delegates there were numerous developments presenting opportunities around the world. And crucially, there were more people apparently buying than selling, meaning that strong investment activity will follow. A dumbfounding prediction from property agent Cushman & Wakefield, that global real estate investment could rise 11% to 1.2 trillion euros – an indication of just how much healthier the market is. However, the renewed positivity isn’t simply a return to the ‘good times’, it is apparent that the pain the recession brought in 2008 hasn’t been forgotten and we are seeing a revised formula for property that includes sustainability, collaboration and – crucially – people.