July 4, 2019

Poor office design continues to hamper productivity

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Research published by Dell claims to highlight the issues related to office design holding back workers’ productivity and the impact this has on UK businesses. While classic gripes like office temperature and loud colleagues take the top spots, poorly designed or implemented technology is having a negative impact on employees – with out of date technology (29 percent), poor Wi-Fi (22 percent) and poorly integrated technology (19 percent) featuring in the top ten factors UK workers feel impact their office lives. More →

July 1, 2019

BDG completes Amsterdam offices of WPP

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace design

BDG architecture + design has completed the new Amsterdam campus for WPP as part of its global co- location strategy, which is to provide world-class spaces that bring together its people and agencies into one location, encouraging greater collaboration and giving clients easier access to all of WPP’s talent and expertise. More →

July 1, 2019

The biggest problem with open plan offices is how they are used

by Prof Dr Alexander Brem • Features, Workplace design

For decades the trend among workplaces has seen employees moving out of individual offices and into open plan spaces. This has not always been successful, with the open-plan approach receiving significant criticism. The key issues are distraction and noise, which apparently leads to uncooperative behaviour, distrust and negative personal relationships, and the lack of privacy and sense of being universally observed. Now that the internet connectivity is available almost everywhere and thus allows much more flexible working, the question arises: What might the set-up of an ideal workplace environment look like today? More →

June 28, 2019

Office taxonomy and an increasingly diverse workplace ecosystem ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

It is perhaps the most common misconception of evolutionary theory that all animals are somehow evolving towards some end point – meaning us. This notion is perhaps best summed up when a sceptic asks: “If we have evolved from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?” The lesser of the two problems with this is its solipsistic assumption that humans are the pinnacles of life and that, if evolution were true, all species would eventually evolve into people. More →

June 26, 2019

WeWork completes largest office deal in Birmingham this year

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

WeWork has agreed a deal to take over all seven floors of Six Brindleyplace in Birmingham. The deal is the coworking provider’s third in the City this month alone, following deals for 55 Colmore Row and Louisa Ryland House, both in the Colmore Business District in the city centre. The deal for the 97,000 sq. ft. of Six Brindleyplace is believed to be the largest office deal in Birmingham so far this year, bringing its total offering in the city to 200,000 sq. ft. More →

June 25, 2019

The difference between office design and FM is the difference between sex and parenthood

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

There is an ongoing feeling within the facilities management discipline that when it comes to office design, facilities managers are not consulted early enough or well enough or consistently enough to ensure that the end result is a workplace that is as functional and as effective as it could be. The reason this feeling persists is that in many cases it is true. Or at least is true to a greater or lesser extent depending on how you view these things. More →

June 25, 2019

Office furniture firms take their partners

by Colin Watson • Comment, Furniture, Workplace design

The development of products for the workplace follow many trends, generally aiming to provide that ideal setting for maximum effectiveness and fully tuned to the philosophies of the day. The processes involved can occupy a good proportion of time and energy for the workplace specialist and office furniture maker and feature heavily in the media. But, behind all the product cacophony, there are activities, often unseen, that make more difference to what will become available in furnishing the workplace. More →

June 25, 2019

Surge in demand for London office space

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

May 2019 saw a total of 13.3m sq ft of London office space under construction across 98 developments. 60 percent of this space has already been let or is under offer, the highest level to be achieved in over 15 years. This is according to new data from real estate advisor CBRE. Take-up of office space rose above the 10-year average in May 2019, increasing to 1.2m sq ft. There were eighty transactions, of which twelve were greater than 20,000 sq ft in size. The largest deal of the month saw the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development take 358,700 sq ft at Five Bank Street (pictured). More →

June 21, 2019

Flexible office revolution shows no signs of slowing

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Workplace design

The latest research from JLL, Disruption or distraction, where next for the UK flex market sector, claims that the real revolution of flexible office space lies in the variety of solutions now on offer and that the market has seen more changes over the last three years than the previous 30 combined as it continues to grow and evolve. JLL’s research claims that over the next five years more than 10m sq ft will be added to the stock in the key UK cities and flex space will account for over 8.5 percent of the total office stock by 2023. More →

June 20, 2019

London remains second most expensive office market

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

Hong Kong Central and London’s West End held onto their top spots in a ranking of the most expensive office market locations in the world at $322 and $220.70 per sq. ft. per year respectively according to the latest Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs report from CBRE. The ten most expensive markets were the same markets as last year, though several have changed positions within the top category. The biggest gainer within the top 10 was Midtown Manhattan ($196.89) in New York City, which climbed to the fourth most expensive market this year from the sixth last year. London City retained its number 10 position on the list at $139.75 per sq. ft. More →

June 20, 2019

Area opens new Birmingham office

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Office design and fit-out form Area is expanding its UK operation and opening a new office base in Birmingham to support and grow its existing client base. The move to Birmingham – one of the UK’s most dynamic regions – comes on the back of a series of successful projects in the region and builds on strong relationships with local clients such as Mills & Reeve, Zurich, Legal & General, Jaguar Land Rover, KPMG, Handelsbanken, Aviva, Grant Thornton and Deloitte. Birmingham and the West Midlands are regarded by economists and businesses alike as one of the most promising places in Britain to invest and grow, which creates opportunities for the commercial property market. More →

June 19, 2019

London councils form office of technology and innovation

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Technology

The London Office of Innovation and Technology (LOTI) has been officially launched, ushering in what the fifteen councils behind the initiative claim will be a new era of digital transformation. The councils claim that London’s public services will benefit from faster adoption of technology, data and digital skills. The city-wide venture is a collaboration between all 32 London boroughs with the Mayor of London’s backing.