September 24, 2014
‘Overwhelming evidence’ of link between office design, productivity and wellness claims report
A new report from the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) claims it has “overwhelming evidence” that office design significantly impacts the health, wellbeing and productivity of staff. Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Offices: The Next Chapter for Green Building reports on a range of factors – from air quality and lighting, to views of nature and interior layout – can affect the health, satisfaction and job performance of office workers. Understanding the link between workers and their workplace helps to drive the business case for higher quality, healthy and greener buildings, valued by investors, developers and tenants alike. With salaries and benefits typically responsible for 90 percent of an organization’s expenditure, any higher construction or occupation costs are far outweighed by even small improvements in staff performance.
Avanta Serviced Office Group has signed a deal to establish a new business centre in the heart of London’s Tech City at The Eagle, a 27 storey art-deco-style development on City Road, EC1, from Mount Anvil – Central London’s specialist residential-led developer. The centre is set to open on the 1st March 2015. The new centre will provide over 26,000 square feet of flexible office space over two floors, with approximately 400 desks. Set within a mixed-use development comprising retail, affordable accommodation, offices and high-end residential, it is located within TFL’s Zone 1, approximately five minutes’ walk from Old Street Rail and Underground Station, just two stops from Kings Cross.bThis is Avanta’s first site within Tech City, also known as Silicon Roundabout, which is the third largest technology start-up cluster in the world and home to over 15,000 growing businesses.
The UK government has announced that it is to extend its groundbreaking One Public Estate scheme to a further twenty local authorities. The programme aims to divest and consolidate government-owned land and property to cut public sector spending and boost economic growth and regeneration. The government believes the initial phase will save £21m in running costs and £88m in capital receipts, generate around £40m for local economies and create an estimated 5,500 jobs and 7,500 homes over the next five years. The Cabinet Office is now looking to build on this with the extension of the schemes to councils including Liverpool and Birmingham city centres as well as six from Greater Manchester and Cornwall, Southampton and Plymouth. The Government Property Unit will provide funding and training to the participating authorities.
