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Commercial property sector shifts focus to wellbeing in response to tenant demands

Commercial property sector shifts focus to wellbeing in response to tenant demands

Wellbeing is an increasing focus for the commercial property sector A new report from the Urban Land Institute (ULI), claims that the wave of interest in wellbeing in the UK is expected to translate into significant investment from the commercial property sector over the next three years. The report, Picture of health: the growing role of wellbeing in commercial real estate investment decision-making, has been published by the ULI UK Sustainability Forum to highlight the rise of wellbeing investment in commercial buildings. The report from ULI UK was sponsored by E.ON and addresses questions about the investment case for incorporating wellbeing into buildings and how to measure its impact. (more…)

New government has unprecedented chance to transform buildings

New government has unprecedented chance to transform buildings

Deloiite London offices is an example of a new generation of buildings with a focus on the environment

The new UK government led by Boris Johnson has an unprecedented opportunity to dramatically shift policy on the built environment and deliver higher standards of safety, sustainability and social justice, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA). It urged the new administration to back up rhetoric around climate change with robust legislation; to enshrine the recommendations of the Hackitt Review to improve fire safety in buildings; and tackle the scourge of late payment that is undermining thousands of SME and driving many into insolvency. (more…)

New BT HQ will be one of the “largest workplace transformations ever”

New BT HQ will be one of the “largest workplace transformations ever”

BT has agreed a deal to move into a headquarters in the Aldgate area of London after the £210 million sale of its current base. BT will move to the new 320,000 square foot, 18-storey building near Aldgate East station currently called One Braham. The move comes as part of the group’s sweeping shake-up announced last month that will see 270 offices closed. Its consolidation plan – the biggest of its type in the UK – will see 300 offices reduced to 30 by 2023, although BT stressed that no jobs will be lost as a result of the move. (more…)

Perkins and Will to design offices of European Commission

Perkins and Will to design offices of European Commission

officesThe London studio of designers Perkins+Will working with Madrid-based architects Rafael de La-Hoz has won the competition to design the new European Commission offices in Brussels. The consortium’s design was chosen over nine other entries from international teams in a blind competition for the project. The winning team will oversee the creation of the new complex, which is designed to reinvigorate the central European Quarter of Brussels in line with the plans of the local authorities. Alongside the new European Commission offices, which will house more than 5,000 people, will be public and retail space, a public gallery and landscaped gardens for staff, visitors and the local community. (more…)

A new generation of smart cities is with us

A new generation of smart cities is with us

Siemenstadt smart city in BerlinAn abandoned mine shaft beneath the town of Mansfield, England is an unlikely place to shape the future of smart cities. But here, researchers from the nearby University of Nottingham are planning to launch a “deep farm” that could produce ten times as much food as farms above ground. Deep farms are an example of what the latest wave of smart cities look like: putting people first by focusing on solving urban problems and improving existing infrastructure, rather than opening shiny new buildings. (more…)

Santander reopens closed branch as coworking space

Santander reopens closed branch as coworking space

Work Cafe represents a new form of coworking and retail spaceSantander has opened its first Work Café in the UK. The Work Café concept was initially developed by Santander in Chile in 2016  and its success has seen 50 branches opened in Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Argentina. The bank claims the reopened branch will work as a ‘community hub’ offering banking facilities, free coworking spaces and freshly-brewed artisan coffee. The branch was previously closed at the end of June last year. (more…)

The Age of Blorp, a dead tulip, no muggles allowed and some other stuff

First the good news. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has rejected the proposals for Foster+Partners’ godawful 300 metre tall ‘Tulip’ viewing tower in London. The reasons given for the refusal from the Mayor’s office include the fact that the thing didn’t represent the sort of “world class architecture that would be required to justify its prominence”. A nicely dressed up way of saying it’s a terrible idea, a terrible piece of architecture and has absolutely no place in London. (more…)

Construction sector loses patience with Brexit indecision

Construction sector loses patience with Brexit indecision

Construction in LondonActivity in the construction sector rose in the second quarter of the year, despite concerns that political uncertainty surrounding Brexit was holding back investment. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors claims that the market has lost patience with the lack of clarity over Brexit and that clients were beginning to push ahead with projects, albeit tentatively. In its construction and infrastructure survey, a balance of 16 per cent of respondents reported an increase in work, up from 9 per cent in the previous quarter. (more…)

A life after carbon for the built environment

A life after carbon for the built environment

A new urban model is emerging worldwide – transforming the way cities design and use physical space, generate economic wealth, consume and dispose of resources, exploit and sustain the natural ecosystems they need, and prepare for the future. This emerging new urban paradigm has profound implications for players who care about and depend on the design of a city’s built infrastructure – including architects, engineers, builders, real estate developers, and office building tenants. (more…)

Regional productivity gaps at near record high

Regional productivity gaps at near record high

Cardiff. Wales is the region of the UK with the lowest productivityDifferences in typical household incomes across the UK’s regions and nations have halved since their 1990 peak, but differences in productivity remain close to record highs, according to new research published by the Resolution Foundation. The report, Mapping Gaps, examines the relative economic performance of UK regions and nations since the 1960s, and the extent to which this has driven differences in household living standards. The report notes that regional inequality is a hot topic ­– particularly since the EU referendum exposed huge voting divides between London, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the rest of the UK – and that the UK is one of the most unequal countries in the OECD when it comes to the relative economic performance of its regions and nations.

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Commercial property investors losing appetite for UK

Commercial property investors losing appetite for UK

London commercial property skylineEnthusiasm among international investors for the UK commercial property market has continued to wane over the past quarter, according to BrickVest’s latest commercial property investment barometer. According to the data ,capturing the views of over 6000 international professional real estate investors, only 27 percent view the UK as their preferred market, a 4 percent fall in the past 12 months. (more…)

Large firms not investing enough in productivity

Large firms not investing enough in productivity

Offices of Concentra who have just published a report into productivityA new report claims that 86 percent of Britain’s largest businesses are worried about raising their productivity with two-fifths (39 percent) calling their productivity ‘very concerning’, but that they are investing just 0.25 percent of turnover in measures to improve it, less than they invest in telecoms. The report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) and Concentra Analytics also suggests there is a “spray and pray approach” to driving productivity caused by a lack of insight into the performance of people. (more…)