Search Results for: london

May 27, 2014

A third of UK workers would welcome a digital assistant to free up their time

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, News, Technology

A vision of the present. © Pixar Studios

In the 2008 Pixar film WALL-E, humans have fled the planet they have destroyed in an orgy of garbage-generating mass-consumerism and been reduced to morbidly obese, sedentary lumps living vicariously through screens and whose every need is catered for by the machines around them. Well, they say the best science fiction is really about the present day and sure enough, it appears that many of us are perfectly happy with the idea of suckling at the galvanised teat of a robot overlord. A new survey carried out by ClickSoftware claims that a third of UK employees would welcome the idea of having a personal digital assistant to help them carry out everyday tasks. Over half (58 percent) hope that intelligent apps will take on at least a tenth of their workload in the future, especially those tasks considered mundane and repetitive such as administration, work scheduling and planning journeys.

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May 16, 2014

Employees’ time off increasingly squeezed by their job duties

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Flexible working may be perceived as more advantageous to employees than employers, but there’s new evidence that it encourages presenteeism rather than promoting a better work/life balance. The Glassdoor UK Annual Leave Survey has discovered that 44 per cent of employees undertake some work while on holiday; 18 per cent report that a colleague and 13 per cent their boss, have contacted them about work related matters while on leave. And that’s just those who take their allocated holiday time. The average UK employee uses just 77 per cent of his or her annual leave, and only half (50%) of UK employees take their full annual leave. Given that the average annual leave in the UK is approximately 28 days per year, this means that employees could be losing 6.5 days every 12 months. (more…)

May 16, 2014

BCO office standards include guidance on provisions for cyclists for first time

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

The new edition to the British Council for Offices’ Guide to Specification, which provides guidance on industry standards for workplaces across the UK will contain guidance on provisions for cyclists for the first time. The new 2014 edition to the office standards guide due for publication later in the year, recommends one shower per ten cycle spaces and one cycle space per 100m2, reflecting the evolving face of travel to and from the office environment. Another significant change is to the recommended workplace density, which has been reviewed to take into account the ever more diverse way businesses are now using their workspaces; which includes the adoption of more flexible working patterns. The report states that: “Considering workplace density alone may overstate the demands placed on building infrastructure, or result in over provision if used as the basis for design.”

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May 9, 2014

British Land announces first letting at Marble Arch House in West End

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

Just a month after its launch, Marble Arch House in London’s West End, which includes 61,200 sq ft of new office space over seven floors, has been let by British Land. Fulcrum Asset Management has signed a ten year lease at £78.50 per sq ft, and will move into the 9,000 sq ft fifth floor of the building in the summer. British Land entered into an agreement with The Portman Estate to purchase and redevelop Marble Arch House, located on Seymour Street in the Portman Village, in 2011. The scheme, designed by Bennetts Associates Architects, includes 6,400 sq ft of green roof space, designed to encourage wild grasses, as well as birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife. The office space features natural light from both east and west, with shading louvres that minimise glare and overheating, while maintaining views towards Hyde Park. (more…)

May 7, 2014

The business of workplace design and management; new issue of Insight is now available

by Sara Bean • Comment, News, Newsletter, Workplace design

In the latest Insight newsletter, available to view online; Mark Eltringham lists just seven of the ways in which flexible working may have actually made our lives more rigid; expectations for rising rents as demand for commercial property reaches the highest level since before the financial crisis; ‘Walkie Talkie’ skyscraper signs up two new tenants; and the BCO names London and the South East’s best recently refurbished examples of workplace design. The idea that staff find greater job satisfaction when they work in environmentally friendly surroundings is challenged by a new study; while another report claims that wearable technology could be a boast to productivity; and the CIPD warns that rigid organisational hierarchies hamper the development of management and leadership skills within the workplace. To automatically receive our weekly newsletter, simply add your email address to the box on the home page.

May 6, 2014

Walkie talkie lands two more tenants as demand for City space grows

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

The ‘Walkie Talkie’ skyscraper, 20 Fenchurch EC3 – dubbed the ‘Walkie Scorchie’, after its unusual design was found to reflect and magnify the sun’s rays onto nearby parked cars – is now 87 per cent let, after securing a further two tenants. Insurance firm CNA and UK law firm DWF LLP are taking 35,000 sq ft and 43,000 sq ft respectively at the 38-storey building. The latest two lettings come after joint developers Canary Wharf and Land Securities achieved the building’s first completion milestone on 17 March, when they handed over possession of the first completed office floors to tenants. The rest of the office floors were completed as planned in April. The remaining space, the Sky Garden – a landscaped garden, dining and viewing area on the top three floors, which will be operated by rhubarb – remains on schedule for completion before the end of the year. (more…)

May 2, 2014

Unprecedented rise in demand for commercial property outstrips supply

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

There was a marked increase in demand for office space in the first quarter of this year. According to the latest RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) commercial property survey, tenant demand for commercial property rose at an unprecedented rate; with 52 per cent more surveyors polled reporting higher demand from clients for space. Proving that the recovery is no longer limited to the capital, this increased demand is being seen in all regions outside of London. However, demand for commercial property is fast outstripping supply, resulting in rising rents. Following four quarters of declining supply as suitable commercial space is snapped up – 30 per cent in this latest poll are reporting a further drop in the availability of office space, with expectations for rising rents at the highest level since before the financial crisis. (more…)

May 1, 2014

Wearable technology will improve productivity and job satisfaction, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology, Workplace

It’s remains a cause of a great deal of rancour in workplaces and public spaces around the world but new research from Goldsmiths, University of London claims that wearable technology can boost employee productivity by over 8 percent and job satisfaction by around 3.5 percent. The study was carried out as part of the University’s Human Cloud at Work (HCAW) programme and was designed to explore the effects of wearable technologies such as Google Glass in the workplace and on employee wellbeing, productivity and job satisfaction. HCAW is a two-year collaborative project between the Institute of Management Studies and cloud specialist Rackspace to investigate how cloud-enabled wearable devices will impact on individuals and businesses.

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April 29, 2014

Ska rating is shaping the future of sustainable office design

by Ben Murray • Company news, Environment, Insight promotion

We all know the ways in which we can ‘do our bit’ at home – turn off the lights when you leave a room, only boil as much water as you need, recycle as much as you can. At work however, it can be all too easy to forget and ignore the impact we have on our environment. Intelligent and inspired office design can not only increase productivity and employee wellbeing, but also be sustainable and provide financial benefits as a result. Although there were established tools for assessing the environmental impact of whole buildings, such as BREEAM and LEED, the certification of fit-outs, especially on existing buildings, had previously been unsatisfactory. To address this, the Ska Rating method was developed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

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April 17, 2014

UK unemployment down & wages up, but regional differences widen

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Unemployment dropped below 7 per cent for the first time since the recession, according to figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Jobless figures fell by 77,000 to 2.24 million in the three months to February 2014, taking the unemployment rate to 6.9 per cent for the first time since 2009. The figures also show a small growth in regular weekly pay, which, excluding bonuses was up by 1.4 per cent on the year. However, the recovery appears to remain regionally unbalanced, with London and the Greater South East powering ahead of the rest of the country. Said Ian Brinkley, chief economist at The Work Foundation: “Employment levels in the North East are lower today than they were at the end of the recession, measured by the workforce jobs indicator. Gaps in regional employment performance are also widening rather than narrowing.” (more…)

April 17, 2014

Gallery: Interiors Group completes office fit-out at Instinctif Partners

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, Flooring, Furniture, Workplace design

The Interiors Group has completed a project for the design and fit-out of the relocated offices for Instinctif Partners, an international business communications consultancy now situated at 65 Gresham Street, London. The relocation coincided with the launch of Instinctif Partners’ new name (having previously been known as College Group) so the new design became an expression of the new identity. The office fit-out project includes joinery, the installation of a media wall, bespoke feature walls, reception desk and lighting. The flooring consists of porcelain tiles and carpet from Interface. The backlit reception desk displays the client’s twelve corporate colours on rotation. Leather seating was specified for the visitors’ waiting area. The open plan office is designed as a circular newsroom with a high table in the heart of the space highlighted by an oversized dome pendant. The dining area has been fitted out with LED screens and furnished in white. (more…)

April 16, 2014

European Commission names Munich as continent’s main tech hub

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology

Never mind the Champion’s League, there is a fascinating battle across Europe’s major cities to win the tech hub crown, or at least wear it for a year before it is snatched away by some other agglomeration of latte-sipping arrivistes. The latest City to be awarded the mantle is, perhaps surprisingly, Munich often seen as something of a laggard even within the borders of Germany, playing second fiddle to Berlin. According to the European Commission report (not so snappily titled Mapping the European ICT Poles of Excellence: The Atlas of ICT Activity in Europe) even London, usually regarded as the continent’s tech heartland, bends the knee to the Bavarian City. According to the report’s authors Munich is particularly strong in research and development, although it loses out to London on other factors including networking and access to finance. Paris was placed third.