Search Results for: real estate

Case study: dPOP’s jaw-dropping new offices light the road ahead for Detroit

by • Case studies, Facilities management, Flooring, Furniture, Workplace design

P1020679If you think you know what’s going on in Detroit based on the stories of the city’s financial woes and pictures of some crumbling buildings, it is worth a visit to the offices of dPOP, the two month old design firm with origins in creating the award-winning office spaces for Quicken Loans and its family of companies.The design firm’s space in the basement of a long defunct Detroit bank embodies what being from the Motor City is all about — being tough, but talented; gritty yet glamorous; fun with a funky twist.They design like they don’t care what you think — and that might just be true. Their own offices and those they created for the 11,000 workers that were moved from divergent suburban sites to the center of Detroit are bold, bright and fun. Most of all fun. But the result is spectacular.

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Latest Insight newsletter is now available to view online

by • News, Newsletter

2.Insight_twitter_logo smIn this week’s Insight newsletter, available to view online; Nigel Oseland makes a plea not to kill off the open plan office just because it has been misinterpreted; Cathie Sellars explains why Maslow continues to offer us the ideal definition of wellness and Annie Gurton says the ability to find meaning and purpose in our lives trumps financial rewards. Mark Eltringham writes: what Robert Frost can teach us about how we discuss the changing workplace and why he believes attempts to predict the workplace of the future are overwhelmingly rooted in the present. In the news; employers who struggle with “doing mobile”; high tech sector contributes to highest level of commercial real estate activity in over six years and zero-hours contracts are not the evil they’ve been portrayed.

Revival in UK commercial property driven by high tech enclaves such as Cambridge

by • News, Property, Technology

Silicon FenAs we reported recently, it’s not just technology firms in London’s creaking digital enclaves that are driving recovery in the economy and commercial property markets. The UK is home to several hothouses of innovation and talent and the cluster of technology firms and related businesses in Cambridgeshire – inevitably Silicon Fen – are contributing to the highest level of commercial real estate activity in over six years, according to a survey we reported recently from property advisor Savills. The Cambridge arm of the firm is reporting that as well as new projects, schemes that were shelved during the recession are coming back online. Now in an interview in local magazine, Business Weekly, Savills has described how the national recovery is manifesting itself in one of the UK’s high tech hotspots.

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Boom in London commercial property development, but demand still outstrips supply

by • News, Property

London cranesOffice construction in the City of London is higher than it has been for five years, according to a report from Deloitte Real Estate. The London Office Crane Survey found that there are over 5 million sq.ft. of office developments at 23 schemes in the Square Mile including major landmark and well known buildings such as the Walkie Talkie and the Cheesegrater. Elsewhere in London, development is at a 4 year high in the central area which covers the West End, King’s Cross, Midtown, South Bank, Docklands and Paddington, with 71 schemes set to create some 9.7 million sq. ft. of new commercial property.  The report claims that in 2014 alone, some 6.6 million sq ft of office developments will be complete in central London. More →

RICS’ new FM Guidance Note aims to improve business performance

by • Facilities management, News, Property

RICS launches guidance note to improve business performanceThe Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has launched a global guidance note which can help facilities and estates managers increase efficiency and drive up profits across business. The Global Strategic Facilities Management (FM) Guidance Note is aimed at facilities managers and corporate real estate professionals overseeing the running of commercial property worldwide, providing recommendations on developing, implementing and evaluating a strategic plan for the running and servicing of individual buildings and property portfolios. The note is also accessible for clients and consultants by providing them with a clear picture of the best practice methods that should be implemented in the running of buildings in order to boost organisational performance. More →

Latest Insight newsletter is now available to view online

by • News, Newsletter

2.Insight_twitter_logo sm

In the latest issue of the Insight newsletter available to view online; flexible working isn’t a matter of choice, but because technology has created greater opportunities for presenteeism; the Workplace Trends conference reinforces the power of place and why a quarter of UK employees are ready to jump ship. We look forward to the Workplace Week events which begin today and explain why the recent upturn in the US commercial real estate sector is set to continue. Contributor Brandon Allen says that the ownership of a mobile device doesn’t mean we all know how use it; and Philip Ross predicts that the next wave of technological change coupled with socio-economic and commercial developments will affect every aspect of our society and business.

New report identifies the ten key trends set to transform US commercial property

by • News, Property

Navel gazingAccording to a new report from Deloitte, the recent upturn in the US commercial real estate sector is set to continue unabated into next year. Which is great news but according to the property consultancy, the market that emerges from the ashes of the downturn will be very different to the one from which they were formed. Deloitte’s 15th annual Commercial Real Estate Outlook report has identified what it considers the top ten trends that will reshape the emerging market based on a mixture of original research, subjective insights and the firm’s experience with clients. These trends are dominated by structural and financial issues and the only nods towards external socio-economic factors are mentions for the aging workforce within the market (so much for the transformational potential of GenY) and increases in single family households (can’t see the link with commercial property).

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Yahoo and HP “seeing success” by taking a stand against flexible working

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property

Yahoo! Sunnyvale headquarters. October 28, 2001 (Y! Photo / Brian McGuiness)

Yahoo has had some successes since curtailing its work from home policies, global corporate real estate leaders were told at this week’s CoreNet Global Summit in Las Vegas. Continuing the industry conversation around balancing an organisation’s need to foster work and collaboration in person (aka: presenteeism) against the needs of employees to work off site, the discussion centred on how employees can “be present” in an increasingly virtual world, and where should leaders in corporate real estate place their focus? Julie Ford-Tempesta, Senior Director, Real Estate & Workplace at Yahoo said despite predictions of “epic policy failure” following the announcement that all employees must work in the office; employee engagement is up, product launches have increased significantly, and teams are thriving. More →

Winners announced for outstanding leadership in sustainable buildings awards

by • Environment, News, Property

City Green Court

City Green Court building in Prague

British Land, Spanish city Vitoria-Gasteiz and the City Green Court building in Prague, Czech Republic, have clinched the top spots in the inaugural World Green Building Council Leadership Awards – Europe Region. The awards, which were announced to coincide with World Green Building Week 2013 – honour leadership and best practice in green building policy, construction projects and corporate initiatives. British Land won the category for Business Leadership in Sustainability; Vitoria-Gasteiz picked up the award for Leadership in City Policy for Green Building award; and office building City Green Court, topped the Leadership in Building Design and Performance category for its sustainability features. More →

Value of offices and property rental income across the UK hit two year high

by • News, Property

Manchester Media CityThe value of commercial real estate in the UK rose for the fourth consecutive month during August, led by increases in the average value of offices, according to a report from Investment Property Databank (IPD). The average value of offices, warehouses, retail and industrial rose by a 0.4 percent across the country. Office buildings rose by 0.6 percent during the month while total return, which combines changes in real estate values and rental income, was 0.9 percent, to reach the highest level since March 2011. The report claims the upturn is down to the wider economic upturn and persistent  low interest rates which incentivise investors to acquire high income generating assets. The report also notes that investors are looking to acquire more property outside of London as the economic recovery spreads across the UK. More →

When it comes to transparency, most businesses might fail The Peacock Test

by • Comment, Workplace

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The HR profession took a savaging yesterday in a Daily Telegraph article by Louisa Peacock following what many felt to be a disastrous appearance by the BBC’s head of HR, Lucy Adams in front of the Public Accounts Committee. You can see a brutal excerpt above. A thread of sensationalism runs through the Telegraph piece but some good points are made that have broader lessons for the commercial world. There have been acres of coverage generated by the debacle at the Beeb, but there is a real sense of “there but for the grace of God go I” and schadenfreude about much of the commentary and chatter from the business community.

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Research reveals UK’s shrinking workplace space standards and regional disparities

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, Knowledge, Property, Workplace design

Alice growingThe latest Occupier Density Study from the British Council for Offices reveals that London and the South East of England have some of the most spacious workplaces in the UK, in spite of the fact that London has the most expensive office space on Earth. The BCO research found that the South West has the highest density at 8.6 sq. m. per workstation while London (11.3 sq. m.) and the South East (12.7 sq. m.) have lower densities than all UK regions apart from Wales (11.4 sq. m.). Yet recent research from Cushman and Wakefield has identified London as the world’s most expensive city to rent office space and a report last week from BNP Paribas revealed the large disparities in total occupancy costs between London and the rest of the UK.

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