Search Results for: office

A synaesthetic approach to office design

A synaesthetic approach to office design

A colourful face to depict synaesthesia in office designSynaesthesia is a condition in which one type of sensory stimulus triggers an involuntary stimulus of another sense. Being able to hear colour or taste numbers might seem like a unique party piece, but some research indicates it’s an ability we’re all born with. More →

Fine tuning office design and its most wonderful invention to our needs

Fine tuning office design and its most wonderful invention to our needs

The best workplaces are always focused on people. Which is why many of the great pioneers of workplace thinking are from the social sciences, including disciplines such as psychology, ethnography and anthropology. These are the people who have shared the insights that help us to understand the characteristics of great office design. In particular, this relies on an awareness of the ways in which people interact in particular spaces. More →

How office design trends in different countries feed off each other

How office design trends in different countries feed off each other

The term Global Village has passed into general use to describe many of the phenomena we associate with the modern globalised world. But it actually dates back to 1962 when coined by Marshall McLuhan to describe an emerging, electronically contracted world in which cultures converge alongside political, business and legislative frameworks. These forces have been instrumental in bringing nations and organisations closer together and yet each nation continues to be shaped by little differences and residual cultures and conditions. More →

Many flexible office users would prefer to work in conventional space

Many flexible office users would prefer to work in conventional space

Many people would prefer conventional offices to flexible office spaceJoint-research from Gensler and the British Council of Offices (BCO) on the rise of flexible workspace in the UK corporate sector claims that 40 percent of flexible office users would rather work from a conventional office. According to the report, while the future of coworking is increasingly being explored as part of academic and industry research, there has been limited focus on what it means for large corporate occupiers. The 2019 Rise of Flexible Workspace in the Corporate Sector Report (choir members only) aims to identify the drivers of and the barriers to – the use of flexible space and coworking by large corporate occupiers. More →

What people want from an office is pretty basic

What people want from an office is pretty basic

what people want from an officeFollowing recent reports from the likes of Boss and Leesman as well as the work of Neil Usher in his book The Elemental Workplace, a new study from Workthere confirms that what people want from an office is primarily basic stuff such as comfort and privacy. More →

WeWork, false narratives and the superstate of office design

WeWork, false narratives and the superstate of office design

WeWork New YorkSo, WeWork then. As the dust settles on whatever has happened, some lessons may be emerging. Many of them are presented in this comment in The Economist and this piece in The Intelligencer in which Scott Galloway of NYU Business School claims that the problems have been evident for a long time. He doesn’t hold back. More →

The office of the future should be circular

The office of the future should be circular

The WWF Living Planet Centre gives a taste of the office of the futureMinimising the impact of business on the wider environment is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a business imperative. Pressure is coming from all stakeholders including employees, investors, customers and clients, government and the media. According to the Leadership in Corporate Sustainability – European Report 2018, three quarters of European business leaders believe that ignoring sustainability will affect their company’s ability to create long-term value. More →

Striking the balance between the office and remote work

Striking the balance between the office and remote work

remote workOnce upon a time the concept of ‘remote working’ beyond outsourced contractors was almost unheard of. Employers viewed remote work as an opportunity for workers to be less productive, out of contact and generally more inefficient. As an employer myself, I would have agreed with these misconceptions early on in my career. However, after many years of hiring staff that either work part- or even full-time remotely, I can confidently say the myths are unfounded; even I am now more prone to remote working. More →

Office design alone cannot motivate us or make us happy at work

Office design alone cannot motivate us or make us happy at work

Office design and happinessThere’s a good reason why we find it hard to establish the causal links between our working lives, office design and our personal happiness. It’s because it’s all very complicated. So complicated in fact that you can sidetrack any discussion on the subject by asking elementary questions such as: ‘what do you mean by happy?’ or ‘should it be the role of work to make us happy?’ More →

High streets should switch focus to office space and high-skilled jobs

High streets should switch focus to office space and high-skilled jobs

Many British High Streets face a bleak future as policymakers are failing to identify a clear economic focus to city centre regeneration strategies. According to the Centre for Cities’ latest research, in partnership with Nationwide Building Society, success is defined by those policies that create skills, jobs and quality office space for businesses rather than currently accepted interventions such as cultural initiatives, business rate reforms and online sales taxes. More →

Flexible office space transforming US commercial property sector

Flexible office space transforming US commercial property sector

An image from the CBRE report on flexible office spaceA new report from CBRE claims that the US market for flexible office space will generate significant growth over the next decade, even in the event of a recession, as flex operators consolidate and forge financial partnerships with building owners. More →

Offices iQ launches flexible corporate space solution Enterprise iQ

Offices iQ launches flexible corporate space solution Enterprise iQ

Offices iQ, the broker of flexible office and coworking space, has announced the launch of Enterprise iQ, a global end-to-end service that includes ongoing customer support. With flexible working spaces set to grow by up to 30 percent annually for the next five years across Europe, Enterprise iQ will service the growing number of corporate companies looking for flexible office space. More →