Search Results for: office design

May 2, 2019

The best workplace events to look forward to in May

The events season is in full swing every May and this year is no exception. So much so that we’ll never do justice to how much is going on in one story. As the workplace sector becomes increasingly well defined in its own right and the world sets out to address a number of pertinent challenges for the way we live and work, this might prove to be something of a seminal year and so it’s important to be out and about sharing ideas. Fortunately, you can find a full list of relevant happenings around the world on our Events page, the most comprehensive calendar of workplace related events in the world, in partnership with Herman Miller. Here are a few of the best to whet your appetite: (more…)

May 1, 2019

The impact of technology, cyber-risk and the future of corporate real estate ⁰

by Kate Langan • Features, Property, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace design

It’s no surprise to say that technology is having a significant impact on the workplace and the use of corporate real estate. The fast pace of change has seen technology impact all aspects of business, government and culture, as well as personal life, with a constant flow of new innovations and solutions helping us to do things more quickly and efficiently. Equally, technology also provides a challenge to business and, more specifically, corporate operations, with a whole array of disruptive technologies.

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May 1, 2019

“First ever” dedicated UK India tech hub opens at Royal Albert Dock London

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Technology

A newly delivered building at Royal Albert Dock (RAD) in London has been launched as the UK India Tech Hub to provide a designated space for technology firms from India and the UK. It is claimed to be the first venture capital fund that has partnered with a business district to create a tech hub anywhere the world. Under the partnership agreement, developer ABP London and investors Pontaq will provide technology firms with work space while Pontaq’s tech fund will be invested in tech start-ups to assist them to develop and expand. India High Commissioner, Ruchi Ghanashyam, and Under Secretary of State at the Department for International Trade, Graham Stuart MP, along with Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz, witnessed the signing of an agreement between Royal Albert Dock developer ABP London and the venture capital firm Pontaq. (more…)

April 30, 2019

Best workplaces in London honoured at BCO annual Regional Awards

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Workplace design

Six London businesses celebrated success at the BCO Annual Regional Awards earlier today, with Facebook, 2TVC, Deloitte, Boden, Project North and Fora Borough all recognised as the capital’s best workplaces. The prestigious BCO Awards programme recognises the highest quality developments in the UK and sets the standard for excellence in the regional and national office sector. Today’s ceremony marked the third of the BCO Regional Property Awards dedicated to London, celebrating the best office space in the country. London winners will compete with those from other regions at the BCO National Awards in October this year.

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April 25, 2019

Space Matrix becomes the strategic Asia Pacific partner for The United Workplace

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace design

Space Matrix, a major design and build workplace consultancy in Asia Pacific has joined The United Workplace (TUW), a global network of workplace consultancies and designers. The United Workplace’s existing partners include Fourfront Group in Europe, Amicus in Australia and New Zealand, Summertown in the Middle East, Ware Malcomb in the USA and Contract Workplaces in South America. Founded in 2001, Space Matrix is a dynamic, agile digital enterprise specialising in workplace design. The company operates from 14 office locations in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore (HQ) and New York. The firm has completed work across 55 cities, employs over 400 professionals globally and continues to push the boundaries in workplace transformation. (more…)

April 25, 2019

Lies about work, the limits of wellness programmes, sleepwalking architects and some other shoes

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Features, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

There are lots of reasons to worry about where the World might be taking us, or perhaps where we are taking it. You can take your pick but for me one of the most worrying aspects of contemporary discourse is the obvious dearth of empathy. We might like to think of this as an innate characteristic of human beings, but it really isn’t. It’s something that we also need to learn. This idea is explored in this piece by Hanna Rosin who centres her argument around an analysis by Sara Konrath, an associate professor and researcher at Indiana University who has discovered that our willingness to empathise with people is eroding rapidly, especially for those who we see as ‘other’ or irrelevant. If you want an example of lack of empathy, you can see it in this footage of a banker being taken to task for it in a US committee hearing.

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April 25, 2019

MPs to investigate impact of placemaking and built environment on productivity

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property, Workplace design

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Building Communities is calling for evidence and contributions from all organisations with an interest in the built and natural environment to contribute to its new consultation, which aims to explore how placemaking can lead to greater productivity in the UK. As part of its remit, the APPG seeks to conduct research on the concept of ‘placemaking’ and investigate design practices that maximise the social value of infrastructure. In this way the APPG hopes to build an evidence base that can be used by policy makers when engaging with the build and natural environment.

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April 24, 2019

The meteor strike of coworking and the beasts that will remain

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Property, Workplace design

The concept of coworking has only been with us for a short time, but there are already signs that it is evolving into something rather different. The most common misperception about the way evolution works is that it is based on some steady progression, driven by the merciless principle of survival of the fittest, with the best adapted climbing towards the top of an evolutionary tree. This gives rise to one of the most common questions posed by sceptics: if we evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

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April 16, 2019

UK architectural firm claims global sustainability first

by George Eltringham • Environment, News

UK-based Bennetts Associates is the first architecture practice in the world to achieve approved Science Based Targets and commit to the UN’s Climate Neutral Now campaign. This commitment builds on the practice’s track record of sustainability within the built environment by taking a leadership position on climate change.

Climate Neutral Now is an initiative launched by the UN Climate Change in 2015 to encourage and support all levels of society to take climate action to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century, as enshrined in the Paris Agreement. The scheme requires companies to measure and offset carbon footprints across three elements of the business. (more…)

April 11, 2019

The best tall buildings in the world are announced

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Workplace design

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has announced the winners of the 17th Annual CTBUH Awards Program. These winning projects – comprising tall buildings, urban developments, and technical innovations – competed for winning distinctions at the 2019 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference from April 8–10 in Shenzhen. The CTBUH Awards Jury has named Salesforce Tower in San Francisco designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli as the “Best Tall Building Worldwide”, in addition to naming Category Winners across 20 award categories. (more…)

April 10, 2019

The growing urbanisation of work and workplaces ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Cities, Features, Workplace design

The question of what makes a city great is an old one but has never been asked more than it is right now. It is usually couched in terms of the urbanisation of large parts of the world but it is important for other reasons too, not least because the urban environment is an increasingly important part of the virtual workplace many of us now inhabit and offices themselves increasingly resemble the agglomeration of spaces we have typically associated with our towns and cities. Recently, McKinsey published a report into urbanisation, based largely on the usual premise of the proportion of the world’s people involved, but it is an issue that touches all of our lives and in unexpected ways.

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April 9, 2019

UKGBC issues circular economy guidance for construction clients

by Marie Hillen • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

New guidance has been launched by the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) to assist client organisations to include more ambitious circular design and construction best practices in project briefs for non-domestic projects. It addresses the commercial realities associated with making this practically happen and provides support and evidence to assist clients in setting clear strategies that ensure budget, project timescales and risks are all minimised and mitigated. The guidance may also be helpful for those in the supply chain looking to support construction clients on their journey towards specifying and practically applying circular economy principles.