March 24, 2014
Insight newsletter is now available to view online
In this week’s Insight newsletter, available to view online; new research from the Economist Intelligence Unit reveals organisations and business leaders are not very good at judging how responsive they are to change; while Deloitte research suggests the more firms strive to engage with the people who work for them, the less engaged they become. CIBSE designs its brand new website around an iconic new London building and RICS unveils plans for additional office space. Mark Eltringham on what lifts tell us about life; why the urban environment is an increasingly important part of the ‘virtual’ workplace; and to mark the United Nation’s International Day of Happiness, Jessica Pryce-Jones and Julia Lindsay explain why work should be a key focus of improving happiness. To automatically receive our weekly newsletter, simply add your email address to the box on the home page.
March 27, 2014
Design of the Year shortlist contrasts what is practical with what is possible
by Simon Heath • Architecture, Comment, Workplace design
A great many of us pay architecture and design very little attention until it’s too late and we’re confronted with the workings of a mind that doesn’t consider whether just because we could really means we should. The kind of mind that designs a building that melts cars on the street or one with wind turbines that are so noisy they can’t be turned on. And so this week sees the announcement of nominees for the Design Museum Designs of The Year awards. It’s a studiedly eclectic list. In amongst the Lego calendars and texting fire alarms we also find a mobile gaming app designed to be used over many centuries (it is impossible to finish it in your lifetime, natch) that, it says here, “questions the inevitability of death, the meaning of legacy and the nature of progress”. I’ve searched for signs that this might be satire without success. However, we’ll focus our consideration on the nominations for designs for the built environment. (more…)