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68 CASE STUDY – BUPA
We head out to Salford to take a look at the brilliant new working home of BUPA – and find that , when it comes to forward-thinkng schemes, three really does go into one!
76 UPFRONT 10 Perspective 18 Forward Thinking 21 Seven... 22 Material Matters 25 Deser t Island Desks 26 Education Trends 29 Proper t y Matters 30
SPOTLIGHT 39 Big Question 41 A-Z of Trends Repor t 42
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ROUNDTABLE 62 CASE ST UDIES 68 BUPA , Salford 68 CEF, Durham 76 Smar tSearch, Ilkley 84
RE VIE W 95 Orgatec 95
L AST WORD 104 Criteo's Head of Workplace E xperience, Mike Walley
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Upfront | Welcome
A WORD FROM MICK THE COVER The logo Clerkenwell is one of our favourite spots in London and we found inspiration in the evolution of the area, from traditional crafts to creative hub. Take a tour around the twisting alleys within this ancient parish to find hidden discoveries just waiting around each corner. Mix – at the junction where creativity meets! www.kssgroup.com
So yet another Orgatec has come and gone. As you’ll see from our review on page 95, we felt there were plenty of eye-catching new products on show. This opinion, however, was not shared by a lot of our fellow Brits (and UK-based friends) – although I’m still not sure why that is. One reason, undoubtedly, is that a number of Brits having a good time over in Cologne were, well, doing exactly that – having a good time. They weren’t necessarily scouting products or even paying a great deal of attention to what the stands were offering in terms of innovation. Now don’t get me wrong – that’s perfectly okay by me. It’s certainly not my job to suggest how anyone should be using his or her time out in Cologne. If you’re out there to have a few beers
and catch up with your favourite dealers or bump into a designer or two out in the Alter Markt of an evening, good for you. What is wrong, however, is for any of those people to completely disregard the show, telling anyone who would listen that there was very little to see and even less to get excited about. Everyone is welcome to an opinion, but when said opinion comes simply on the fact that your brand/brands aren’t part of an event, well, that’s just lazy. In my opinion. Speaking of my opinion, we’ll be hosting the inaugural Manchester Design Collective in just a few weeks’ time (have a look at p17 for more info). This promises to be one of the most exciting new events to hit the UK in a long time. But that’s just my opinion.
The cover Milliken, one of the world’s leading manufacturers for floor coverings, is inspired by the power and beauty that meaningful design can deliver. Their Clerkenwell collection captures this perfectly; quirky, independent and free-spirited, the designs feature bold geometric shapes layered onto complex textural backgrounds. Courtesy of Milliken
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2 | Mix 189 November 2018
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Upfront |
GENERALLY IN A GOOD PLACE The investors behind a £1 billion programme of new government regional offices say they expect ‘knock on benefits’ for other office schemes in UK cities. Legal & General have backed new consolidated government offices in seven cities including Cardiff (266,000 sq ft), Edinburgh (190,000 sq ft), Leeds (300,000 sq ft) Liverpool (270,000 sq ft) and Manchester (157,000 sq ft, with about 500,000 sq ft still to come). Legal & General say they regard the regional cities as a steady bet in the potentially turbulent post-Brexit economy.
‘The deals we have done with the Government Property Unit will drive the local office markets because of the quality of the schemes,’ asset manager Simon Wilkes says. The deals provide Legal & General with annuitystyle leases, currently in high demand among investors, illustrating the way finance can influence the property market. ‘The government is using their leasing-power to drive office development, securing very good floorspace and very economic rents, much lower than market rents,’ says Simon. w
IS NOISE THE REAL ENEMY OF PRODUCTIVITY (AND THE END OF OPEN PLAN)?
TIPPEE TOP Ben Johnson Interiors has recently completed a unique new working environment for Mayborn Group, the powerhouse behind global super-brand Tommee Tippee. Located in North Tyneside, Mayborn Group’s new HQ has been created to reflect the company’s vision to be the world’s most loved baby company and the building is already being described as ‘one of the coolest places to work’ regionally. Ben Johnson Interiors worked closely with Mayborn Group to design and build a stunning HQ for the future. The completed 30,000 sq ft workplace offers the 170-strong HQ team lots of choice, comfort and autonomy in the way they work. The whole concept of the interior design supports collaborative working and encourages creativity and expression. On the ground floor meeting area, there are colourful ‘park’ and ‘beach’ areas with trees, picnic tables and swinging chairs. For privacy or small gatherings, there are numerous themed meeting rooms based around toddler activities and the global locations where Mayborn operates. The environment was deliberately created to reflect a non-uniform existence and to demonstrate that life is not regimented. w
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Open plan studies are placing too much emphasis on collaboration and not focusing enough on the real cause of worker inefficiency – noise – according to the latest data from Unispace. The study by the global workplace experts shows that firms are erroneously introducing open plan working environments, believing they will enhance staff productivity. In fact, Unispace’s research shows that many companies are overestimating the amount of time they need to spend in meetings and ‘collaborating’, while underestimating the time for tasks requiring concentration. The survey data was founded upon research with more than 2,000 occupiers of office space across four different continents. Each region and service threw up its own particular requirements for space, depending on work function, but distraction caused by noise was a continual theme. Sam Sahni, Regional Principal Strategy for EMEA at Unispace, said: ‘I would challenge the premise of the thinking that open plan workplace solutions are introduced to increase workplace collaboration. For some organisations that may be the case, however the origination of open plan solutions is rooted in the effort to rein in real estate costs. An open plan layout is the most efficient space planning solution when calculating real estate densities (desks/sq ft).
‘Our data shows that, on average, two hours of face-to-face collaboration, per employee, per day, is a reasonable amount to be effective. Of course, there are anomalous periods. However, organisations that plan for more than the two hour average are unknowingly facilitating an overly-collaborative environment that is potentially disruptive for individuals and the business.’ The Unispace study shows that those firms that tend to spend too much time in meetings usually have environments that create barriers between different teams and departments. ‘Over-collaboration is not intentional but a ‘boiling frog syndrome’. Conversely, employees working beyond walls often state a fear of missing out (FOMO),’ explained Sam. ‘Firms where this is happening need to re-assess employee feedback on their ability to focus, the cause of distractions and other factors that will diminish future productivity.’ The three main reasons that companies set out to change their workplace is better collaboration, employee attraction and retention and cost savings, according to the research. And these numbers are broadly consistent across the US, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. However, the need for focus and concentration is not cited by clients as a key reason to change the office. w
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Upfront |
YOUNG MAKERS ON DISPLAY Breakthrough design talent from across the UK came together in London last month to exhibit for one day only at The Furniture Makers’ Company’s annual Young Furniture Makers exhibition. Around 90 pieces of furniture and lighting, from GCSE and A Level students through to BA and MA graduates, packed out the Dutch Church and Furniture Makers’ Hall in Austin Friars, London, contributing to one of the best displays in the exhibition’s history. The Young Furniture Makers exhibition, sponsored by Axminster Tools & Machinery, Harveys Furniture, Bensons for Beds and The Furniture Ombudsman, is completely free
for participants to exhibit at and provides the next generation of designers and makers an invaluable opportunity to present their designs to key members of the furnishing and design sector. The winners of the awards were as follows: The Young Furniture Makers Bespoke Award went to Beatrix Bray for the Fluctuare Table; The Young Furniture Makers Design Award was presented to Lewis Small for the Wilf Floor Lamp; The Young Furniture Makers Innovation Award was handed to Matt Hill for the Array Table; The National School Prize was awarded to Brodie Haward for the Radioactive Bench; The Blum Best in Show
Prize was awarded to Harriet Speed for Corkey’s Cabinet; The Timothy Oulton Best in Show Prize was awarded to Mac Collins for the Iklwa.w
ABOVE: Beatrix Bray, winner of the Young Furniture Makers Bespoke Award
ECOPHON STRENGTHENS SOLO OFFER
MANCHESTER TAKING OFF Two new office buildings inspired by the Pepsi-Cola HQ in New York are to be built at Manchester’s Airport City. The proposals come as airport office property flies back into fashion (see pipeline feature, page 30). A full planning application for the development for a new 92,000 sq ft speculative office building and accompanying multi-storey car park at the £1 billion Airport City development project have been submitted by the consortium behind Airport City Manchester. A second block, also of 92,000 sq ft, is being prepared but is not expected to see a speculative start. Two new office buildings will be built at the site, in anticipation of likely future occupier demand, also helping address the lack of available Grade-A office accommodation in the south Manchester market. The first of the office buildings could be complete by early-to-mid 2021. 5plus architects have designed the scheme. w
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As we predicted back in January, 2018 is the year of acoustics. If you went to Orgatec last month, you might have left thinking that it was an acoustics show. The Swedish headquartered acoustics giant, Ecophon, has now launched the latest extensions to Ecophon Solo, a family of free hanging acoustic panels. The new additions to the already extensive product portfolio of versatile acoustic absorbers provide architects and designers with even greater choice and creative freedom. Launched as the first acoustic cloud in the market almost 10 years ago, Ecophon Solo is a design-friendly, free-hanging sound absorber that, due to its versatility, can be installed in virtually any space. The Solo range features panels in a variety of standard shapes including squares, rectangules and circles while Solo Freedom allows designers to express themselves creatively with custom shapes and colours. The latest expansion of the range introduces larger sizes, integrated luminaires and new baffle designs. The innovative glass wool core used in Ecophon panels provides a lightweight, stable solution that is strong and rigid regardless of the size or shape. This makes it possible for
Ecophon to produce uniquely large panels. This is seen in the newly launched 3,000 x 1,200 mm rectangle – the largest on the market – and the 2,400 x 600 thin rectangle. Ecophon’s Connect Profile and accessories makes installation simple and means that even the largest size panels are quick to fit on site. Will Jones, Marketing Manager at Ecophon, says: ‘The design of interior spaces has a huge effect on people’s experience, so architects need the freedom to design with solutions that not only deliver the required acoustic performance but also complement and even enhance the design of a space.’w
NEGATIVE IS A MAJOR POSITIVE At the recent Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, Interface CEO, Jay Gould, announced the company’s commitment to become a carbon negative company by 2040 – which, we are told, the business will achieve by innovating in three key areas: raw materials, supply chain and operations. This is all part of Interface’s overarching goal of Climate Take Back, to run the business in a way that reverses the impact of global warming. w
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Upfront |
ROCKET MEN Rocketmakers moved into Manvers Street in June and their new workspace, created by Bath-based office design and build company, Interaction, features the team’s very own rocket (courtesy of our friends at The Meeting Pod Company)! Founded in 2004, Rocketmakers have seen unprecedented growth in the past decade. In 2018 alone, the software developers have received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, a Creative Bath Award for Innovation, and The Bath Life Platinum Award. With this in mind, the team needed a space that would meet their growing reputation and needs – in terms of space-efficiency, agility, and attracting new recruits and partners. The Rocketmakers team found their new home at the refurbished 20 Manvers Street, where Interaction had previously created a new workplace for fellow tenants, Wild & Wolf. The office design and build firm were therefore a natural choice when it came to Rocketmakers’ new space; after six weeks on site, Founder and CEO Richard Godfrey and the team were presented with a ‘wow’ factor space fit for their innovative and forward-thinking business.
Commenting on the new space, Richard said: ‘We really wanted our new office to embody our Rocketmakers brand and our Queens Award-winning innovative approach to software development, so when it came to choosing an office design and build company it really was a ‘no-brainer’ for me. We knew about Interaction’s great reputation in and around Bath and the amazing space the team created for our Wild & Wolf neighbours – plus they’re based just seconds away from our previous office!’ w
DAMS OPENS 2ND FACTORY
COUNTRY HAUS Manchester-based architecture and interior design practice, 74, has completed a £2.7m project to extend and remodel a Grade II listed, two-storey Victorian brick building in a semi-rural location in Englefield Green, just outside Egham. The repurposed 453 sq m building, Hox Haus, will serve as the central focus, clubhouse and social amenity for Hox Park student campus, newly-created by developers Moorfield Group for students attending Royal Holloway, University of London.
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The new campus is located within a larger, 67-acre mixed-use site, owned by Royalton Group. Its Surrey location, near Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was once signed (we thought it was signed at the bottom!) lent the site its name – Magna Carta Park. The Hox Park campus is one aspect of an overall masterplan for the site that also includes affordable and luxury housing, as well as the Audley Senior Living village. The heritage of the building was a key driver for the interior approach and, unlike many architectural projects, the interior was the key driver, so the architecture is actually subservient to both the existing host building and the functions within. The overriding concept was to create a space that felt like a country retreat or clubhouse-with-a-twist. The new gatehouse provides a sense of arrival, whilst offering a separation between the functions of ‘reception’ and the need for a comfortable student social space monitored, but not overlooked, by staff. w
We caught up with the Dams team at Orgatec and it’s no surprise they are in good spirits. Dams have recently opened their new multi-million-pound manufacturing facility at their head office site in Knowsley, Merseyside. The new 85,000 sq ft building consolidates the four sites that Dams currently operate from on Knowsley Industrial Park into one larger site, which will bring all manufacturing and assembly together on one full site alongside their head office, showroom, warehouse and distribution centre. ‘Dams have been a big champion of UK manufacturing ever since my father set up the business over 50 years ago, and we’re investing back in the business so we can better support the needs of our customers.’ says Chris Scott, Managing Director. ‘This new production facility marks the start of the next phase of our development as a business and we are really looking forward to working in the new space over the coming weeks, months and years. ‘Having all our operations on one larger site will not only boost our UK manufacturing capabilities and reduce our lead times on made-to-order products, it will also create dozens of new jobs, which will have a positive effect on the local and wider community – not just in the short term but for years to come!’ w
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Upfront |
FROM THE HEART ‘Innovative’, ‘wellbeing’ and ‘collaboration’ are words that have been used to describe the new quality assessment centre – designed for Tesco by LOM architecture & design at the retail giant’s head office campus in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. Sited within a tree-filled, landscaped context, the scheme creates a people-focused work environment that promotes interaction, collaboration and creativity, while promoting Tesco’s values, products and the customer. Project Heart provides flexible spaces where staff can interact with customers and suppliers
to develop and present new initiatives, and assess new products, technologies and trends. Project Heart will serve as a new ‘hub’, creating a focal point for employees working in nine other Tesco office buildings on the Shire Park campus. The site was previously occupied by a social club, which was relocated in a new building close by, as part of the development agreement. The project incorporates the Tesco Academy, a facility that hosts learning and training opportunities for up to 100 Tesco staff at any one time. An event space, able to accommodate up to 500 people, with a 20 sq m presentation screen, occupies the apex of the first floor plan, while at
EAGLE-EYED Barclays’ flagship Manchester Eagle Lab, located at Bruntwood’s Union building on Albert Square, has officially opened for business The 8,000 sq ft Lab, laid out over two floors, incorporates a brand new café, an 80-seat auditorium, coworking and breakout space. Created for businesses and entrepreneurs to scale and grow their ventures, the Manchester Eagle Lab is the 17th launched by Barclays, following successful sites in locations including London, Liverpool, Cambridge and Cardiff. Barclays and Bruntwood are now inviting entrepreneurs, businesses and members of the
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the opposite end of the floor is a new state-of-theart gym, operated by Nuffield. The building has been designed with a minimal number of internal fixed walls, allowing the spaces to respond to changing requirements over time. Acoustic panels have been positioned strategically throughout the building to lower background noise, particularly in the dramatic, impressive main hall. w
public to experience what the flagship incubator space has to offer and to benefit from its state-ofthe-art facilities. Andrew Butterworth, Commercial Director at Bruntwood, said: ‘The Eagle Lab opening represents a significant milestone, both for our Union building and Bruntwood’s ongoing mission to support innovation and entrepreneurship in the region. The fantastic blend of flexible, collaborative workspace, outstanding facilities, expert business support and growth-orientated events is already proving a successful draw for ambitious businesses in the city and we look forward to many more joining this like-minded community..’ w
En ga ge
Upfront |
Educate
Mix Design Collective In association with:
Exp
SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED We thought we would pop this story in as one of our 30 under 30 from this year was so keen to tell us all about it when we met for our event in May. We will give this more coverage in our next issue of IMPRESSION – but a little extra publicity never goes amiss. Located in the heart of the West End, the exciting new Assembly Hotel has a ‘Get Up and Go’ mantra, with a design that connects guests to the city. The nearby Central St Martins has informed Scott Brownrigg’s design concept, with each of the hotel’s 121 rooms inspired by the works of three of the college’s famous alumni designers – Stella McCartney, Gareth Pugh and Alexander McQueen. Each bedroom references the signature design of one of the three, from the headboard style to the carpet and bathroom tiles. For example, black leather features in the Alexander McQueen based rooms, whilst the Stella McCartney referenced rooms feature the softer feminine tones of her work. The public spaces within the hotel also reference McCartney’s work through the use of pink accents. The hotel has four tiers of room – the Snug, Nest, Pad and Den. w
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MIX DESIGN COLLECTIVE GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH We are delighted to confirm that commercial property leaders, Bruntwood, have come on board as the headline sponsor for Mix Design Collective, part of Mix Week Manchester. The brand-new workplace design event will celebrate the best national and international design products. The event will see themed spaces, curated by leading architects and designers including Gensler, Hassell, Faulkner Brown Architects, Incognito, Michael Laird Architects and tp bennett. Heartspace, Health & Wellbeing, Engage, Smart & Connected, New Analogue and Escape will showcase a range of workplace settings incorporating cutting edge design ideas and products. Mix Design Collective in Association with Bruntwood is a must attend event and free of charge for those involved in architecture, design, commercial property and construction. Visitors will have access to the design leaders of the future whilst being immersed into the live working zones. Ciara Keeling, Chief Executive at Bruntwood Works said: 'Mix Design Collective promises to be an inspiring, informative and thought provoking event for the commercial property community in the UK. At Bruntwood we pride ourselves on creating places that are healthier, better connected, more vibrant, sustainable, inclusive and economically empowered. Places people want to live, work and play in. 'The themes that will run through Mix Design Collective sit perfectly with this ethos and we’re very much looking forward to the design and commercial property communities coming along to witness the creations within each of the experiences.'
Marcie Incarico, Managing Director of Mix Group, said: 'We are delighted that Bruntwood have come on board as headline sponsor for Mix Design Collective. As true pioneers and leaders in the commercial property sector, they are a genuinely relevant partner for what will be created and delivered throughout the event. At Mix Group we are passionate about commercial interior design and creating exceptional live experiences with compelling content. And what better place to launch the inaugural Mix Design Collective than in our inspirational, thought leading home city of Manchester.' Running from 4th-6th December 2018 at INNSIDE at First Street, Mix Week Manchester will also feature a number of free to attend seminars across the Wednesday and Thursday featuring industry leaders sharing their thoughts on subjects including coworking and WELL Standard. All seminars are CPD accredited. The grand finale of Mix Week Manchester will of course be the award-winning Mixology North Winter Ball and Awards at Manchester Central, on Thursday 6th December. Mix Design Collective is free to attend. Places are limited and guests must register in advance at: www.mixdesigncollective.co.uk w
PEOPLE-FOCUSED OFFICE DESIGN T: 0161 402 3340 W: www.opus-4.com E: hello@opus-4.com
Mix 189 November 2018 | 17
Upfront | Perspective
PERSPECTIVE Hannah Cookson, Ecosystem Manager, Plexal Regular readers may recall that we were fortunate enough to take a look around the amazing Plexal facility last year. East London’s coworking space and innovation centre continues to go from strength-to-strength – and so we asked Hannah to tell us about the forward-thinking approach she and the team at Plexal takes when it comes to working and workspace.
Has the importance of the desk lessened? I think that what we consider as our desk has shifted. I’ve worked in the serviced office industry for over 11 years and things have completely changed. 11 years ago, the demand was very much about a dedicated private space, where you kept your work and belongings locked away, whereas now it’s very much about collaboration and flexibility. At Plexal, our members love being able to work in different spaces and they can choose from working in an office or using our facilities as a coworking space. I’ll often see members work in a few different locations in a day, whether it’s at an actual desk or sitting in a deckchair in our indoor park. Just having the freedom to move around depending on your mood is hugely beneficial for your mental health and creativity – it just makes you feel so much more refreshed. As Plexal’s Ecosystem Manager I’m constantly moving around and only a very small part of my day is spent at my desk, which suits me just fine. It’s great to have a base where I can go when I need to concentrate on a report and have somewhere I can put pictures of my daughter and make it feel homely and personal. But ultimately, I love the freedom of knowing that at any time I can pick up my laptop and work from anywhere.
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What is an Ecosystem Manager? My role is to ensure our members are happy, our building and the facilities are working as expected and that we’re always on-track with our wider business strategy. Plexal has a jam-packed events calendar and our members come from all sorts of sectors, so no single day is the same. My team and I are always anticipating what members want and need, whether it’s more booths for casual meetings or connecting them with somebody influential who will take their business to the next level. No two days are the same – and given that Plexal is spread over 68,000 sq ft, it definitely keeps me fit! What is the best thing about your job? Without a doubt, it’s getting to know our members, really supporting their vision and helping them make the right connections. We’re nearly at full occupancy now and there’s an amazing buzz in the air. One minute I’m speaking to a member about 3D printing diamond rings and the next discussing the future of mobility technology in London. And, as we’ve brought on more members, we’ve seen our community come together even more – not just at social events, but also to collaborate and share advice with each other. I find those moments really inspiring. It was only a few years ago that the mentality was very much about secrecy when it came to your success and how you got there, whereas now it’s all about sharing and helping – which
can only be beneficial for everyone. Some of our members have even set up community groups, like the fortnightly public speaking group where they all gather to practice their presenting skills. We really do have the best members! Tell us one thing that gets on your nerves. Messiness! Although I’m based very little at my desk, my ritual each night before I leave is to tidy my desk, put all my paperwork away and ensure it’s ready for me to start the next day with a clear space. Name one thing that will have disappeared from the workplace in the next decade. Desk telephones. We only have two members at Plexal who still use a desk telephone.
The concept of being tied down to your desk and using a hardwired telephone is very alien these days. Mobiles have changed the way we operate in all capacities, whether it’s at work or in our personal lives. What tech is occupying your thinking at the moment? I’m thinking a lot about mobility at the moment – self-driving cars, electrification and where that will go. We’ve been having a lot of conversations in the office about this and, honestly, the future of mobility is so bright and I’m excited that Plexal is so heavily invested in its future. w
CELLULAR SYSTEM w w w.brunner-uk .com
Upfront |
GOING AGAINST THE FLOW? Steve Gale sees hope in our trending reactions to global failure…
The basic ingredients of daily life have stayed the same for decades
Steve Gale is Head of Business Intelligence at M Moser Associates. SteveG@mmoser.com
W
e can be fooled into thinking that the world is moving in a single general direction, with people lining up eagerly to take advantage of technological changes that make life easier, cheaper, faster. I see a trend in the opposite direction. I don’t buy into the idea that we live in times of relentless change. People go on about it being faster, and getting faster every week, pointing at the digital stuff that shapes our lives with its updates and latest versions, but ‘change is the new normal’ on auto repeat sounds a bit lame. It doesn’t fit with reality. Mobile phones get better and the Internet gets faster – but these incremental changes are hardly seismic. Truly disruptive changes do occur – recent history has plenty of examples; an outbreak of war, an outbreak of peace, the introduction of free healthcare, colour telly, free newspapers, cheap air travel, comprehensive education, a change in the voting age, the Good Friday Agreement, a man on the moon, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Brexit referendum... The basic ingredients of daily life have stayed the same for decades, in a way that our grandparents would recognise. Being born, educated and going to work are really not that different now. There are some changes to all of them, but not huge. On the other hand, there are some subtle trends incubated over the last few years; people behaving differently, embracing alternative dogmas, moving against the flow of ‘progress’. These are not highly visible, nor are they universal, but significant and measurable. I offer three examples to illustrate the trend: Veganism, Facebook deactivation and the ‘gig economy’. Although cause and effect are uncomfortable bedfellows, these positive actions can be strongly linked to some negative sentiments, which are all connected to a loss of faith and mistrust of some of the pillars of modern life. This makes a depressing list. Let’s start with institutions. We do not have to explain why banks have become targets of intense scepticism. Greed and over-confidence have cost everyone dearly (except bankers) and no-one knows if we will ever be back where we were before 2008. Universities have mostly devalued their currency
with grade inflation, over-subscription and reliance on high tuition fees, especially from foreign students. Intensive farming has failed to hide its ugly side with BSE, foot and mouth, salmonella, avian flu outbreaks and a corrupt supply chain. Global companies seem to be incapable of self-regulation or even compliance, with disastrous offenders in the accountancy realm. Then there is inequality in pay and opportunities, sexual harassment and unfair practices. Next we have social media, which has failed to escape the fact that it is founded on selling your personal data for advertising at best, scamming at worst. The exposure of your data to future employers or people with nefarious intent has left a nasty taste. Platforms are accused of working in an ethical vacuum. The morality of politics has taken a severe knock. The promise of a £350m weekly bonus after Brexit is a local one, followed by racial abuse at a Presidential level over the pond, and several national leaders are accused of war crimes, while hit squads kill people in a Wiltshire city and a Saudi consulate. The global peacekeeping institutions remain completely neutered. And, finally, the big economic model that is supposed to create universal wealth, growth and cheaper goods – let’s call it globalisation – turns out to only line the pockets of a miniscule number of people, while allowing companies and their owners to dodge taxes, hide profits and exploit workers. I told you it was depressing, but the bright side is the trend of disengagement from these dark places while finding alternative ways of dealing with the big necessities of life. Vegans don’t need livestock farmers and sometimes even grow their own vegetables, social network leavers call their friends directly and actually write letters (fountain pen sales are increasing!), people entering the workplace are joining the gig economy where a part-time plumber makes more than an accountant, but without the tuition-fee loan. These are all very contentious minority trends, but all growing in the UK. For better or worse, people (mainly young people) are finding routes around established ways of doing things – because they no longer trust them. There is hope here. w
Mix 189 November 2018 | 21
1
Upfront | Seven
6
SEVEN MANUFACTURING INNOVATIONS Globally, manufacturing continues to grow – and accounts for approximately 16% of global GDP and 14% of employment. With over 30 year of adapting to the changes in the workplace, our friends at Silverline understand the importance of manufacturing all too well. Here are seven great innovations with manufacturing at their heart… 1. The Printing Press Most people attribute Johannes Gutenberg with the invention of the printing press – but he actually built on the work of others, starting with their existing tools and devices, which he modified, refined and perfected to suit his purpose. However, his achievements are still monumental. They are rooted in his ability to combine various mechanical elements into an economical, practical product. Gutenberg invented the adjustable mold, which allowed the person casting metal type to adjust the width, enabling a narrow or a wide character to be locked in preparation for casting. This meant that an artisan could replicate a given character many thousands of times. It also established the principle, three centuries before it was widely adopted by industry, of interchangeable parts – the basis of modern mass-produced printed products. 2. Portland Cement Where would we be without concrete? In 1824 a bricklayer called Joseph Aspdin devised and patented a process for making Portland Cement (the most common source of cement in use today). The process involved heating a mixture of clay and limestone to around 1,400 degree centigrade. This then needed to be ground into a fine powder only to be later mixed with sand and gravel to make concrete. It is seen by many as one of the great inventions of the Industrial Revolution.
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2
5
7
3. Modern Roads Over 300 years ago turnpike trusts were established in an attempt to improve roads and make some money. By the end of the 1750s almost every road in England and Wales was the responsibility of a turnpike trust. Stage right, John Loudon McAdam. Having made his fortune in the US, he bought an estate in Ayrshire. Noting the roads were in poor condition, he undertook a series of experiments in road making, at his own expense. Later, with Government support, he set out a series of innovations that are still used today. Notably, that roads should be raised above the adjacent ground for good drainage and that the make-up of the road should be a series of large rocks, then smaller stones, with the whole mass bound with fine gravel or slag. 4. The First Factory For many, the first modern factory was opened in Derby in 1721 by John Lombe. Powered by water mass, manufacturing of silk products was the order of the day. Inspired from his trips to Italy, Lombe created the factory on an island on the River Derwent. Using the services of renowned engineer, George Sorocold, he created his new factory that, at its height, employed 300 people and was believed to be the first fully mechanised factory in the world. 5. The Tin Can In 1810, Peter Durand patented the use of tin-coated iron ‘Food Can’ or canning. It has had an incalculable impact on food preservation and transportation right up to the present day. John Hall and Bryan Dorkin opened the very first commercial canning factory in England in 1813. In 1846, Henry
4
3
Evans invented the machine that can manufacture tin cans at a rate of 60 per hour – up from a measly six per hour. 6. Matches In 1816 Francois Derosne created a sulphur-tipped match to scrap inside a phosphorus-coated tube – which proved all too unsafe. John Walker, a chemist from Stockton-on-Tees, sought to make the process of making fire easier. The process of ignition was known, of course, but what he did was create a means of transmitting the flame to a slow-burning material like wood. Also, like many inventions, the good fortune of seeing a match ignited by accident in the hearth gave him all he needed. 7. The Blueprint John Herschel was an astronomer who was keen to find a way of copying his notes. In 1842, he perfected the cyanotype process (also known as the blueprint process). Herschel managed to fix pictures using hyposulphite of soda as early as 1839. In these early days, the paper was coated with iron salts and then used in contact printing. The paper was then washed in water, which resulted in a white image on a deep blue background. Apart from the cyanotype process, Herschel also gave us the words photography, negative, positive and snapshot. The cyanotype process has remained virtually unchanged since its invention. w
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Upfront | Material Matters
MATERIAL MATTERS In this month’s Material Matters, the team of experts at Material Lab explore innovative surfaces that challenge existing material technology. www.material-lab.co.uk
VADO Constantly working to develop innovative coating technology, Vado individual finishes are produced with state-of-theart PVD (physical vapour deposition) technology. Available in seven finishes, this adds further protection to bathroom brassware compared to electroplating or powder coating. PVD offers greater protection against temperatures, defends against corrosive substances and offers greater resistance to marks and scratches. www.vado.com
Piñatex Piñatex is an innovative natural textile made from pineapple leaf fibre. The leaves are the byproduct of existing agriculture, making this a natural, sustainablysourced, cruelty-free material. Piñatex can be used as a sustainable alternative to leather in footwear, fashion accessories, clothing, interior furnishing and automotive upholstery. The material is made from fibre drawn from the leaves of the pineapple plant. These leaves are discarded from the pineapple harvest, so the raw material requires no additional environmental resources to produce. www.ananas-anam.com
SIBU Specially developed for interior, furniture, fashion, architectural and display design purposes, SIBU offers a plethora of 100% synthetic PVC-free surfaces. SIBU offers a wide range of aesthetics and expertly combines durability, cleanability and flexibility to create a truly versatile material. www.sibu.at/en
Biohm Biohm develop natural, intelligent and multi-tasking materials to replace those currently used in construction for a healthier and more sustainable future. Working with different types of mycelium, Biohm creates sustainable alternatives to some of the construction industry’s most damaging materials. As mycelium consumes organic and synthetic waste to grow, innovative alternatives like Biohm could have highly significant implications for ridding our planet of synthetic waste. www.biohm.co.uk
Mix 189 November 2018 | 25
Upfront | Desert Island Desks
DESERT ISLAND DESKS
ACTUAL PAPER BOOKS
SUNGLASSES
JIF PEANUT BUTTER
I love to read and I much prefer to hold the pages in my hand and turn them as I progress through the story. I read all sorts of things – from the latest business/leadership book to the classics to literary fiction. I admit, I read Fifty Shades of Grey.
The bigger the better! I sneeze when I see bright light, sunlight in particular. It’s an actual thing: the ACHOO syndrome: autosomal dominant compulsive helio-opthalmic outbursts of sneezing)
My American badge of honor. It’s my comfort food and my main source of protein. I eat it all of the time, on toast, bananas, but mostly by the spoonful. It’s hard enough to get in London . . .
A SWEATSHIRT Yes, I even get cold on desert islands.
26 | Mix 189 November 2018
LAYLA AND OLIVER My kids 8 and 6. They are my heart and soul. They give me endless joy. Except when they don’t.
MY SNEAKERS Perhaps, I could finally check off my ‘to do list’: Get Fit
Tel 01925 850500 Email info@sixteen3.co.uk
Jeanne Wood, Senior Associate Vice President, CallisonRTKL
Jeanne Wood, CallisonRTKL’s workplace practice group, has more than 15 years of experience in business development, marketing, and identifying and developing sales and partnership opportunities.
A LARGE SOFT PILLOW I just can’t sleep well if my pillow is too hard, too thick, or too small. On a desert island I’d finally have time to sleep!
TRACKS FOR THE DESERT ISLAND JUKEBOX: Safety Dance, Men Without Hats – best song ever
Find us at:
I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor – female empowerment Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice – MC Hammer/Vanilla Ice concert when I was 15 = mind BLOWN Like a Prayer, Madonna – love Madonna Mix of classical - for when I pretend to meditate w
www.sixteen3.co.uk
Upfront | Education Trends
HIGHER & HIGHER BDP's Sue Emms, Principal of Architecture in Manchester, offers an enlightening overview of the UK's thriving higher education sector.
The blurring of the boundaries between academia and business is leading to new building typologies
H
igher Education in the UK has experienced a monumental change over recent years with the advent of tuition fees and the cap on student numbers lifted, intensifying an already hugely competitive market and rising expectations of students. Universities are now investing and the impact on the construction industry is significant. AUDE reported earlier this year that universities' capital expenditure had exceeded £3M for the past three years. BDP have worked with over 100 UK universities and our recent and current projects focus on enhancing the student experience, providing world-class facilities for new pedagogic approaches in teaching and research and developing sustainable estates that can adapt to changing student numbers as well as significantly reducing carbon emissions. BDP's multi-disciplinary teams have delivered numerous university masterplans and, whilst each of the estates are different in context and character, there are some common emerging principles. Historically, universities were inward looking and today one of the main drivers for transforming estates is to provide universities with an enhanced civic identity by making them outward facing, permeable and connected to their local communities and cities. Within our masterplans, we transform streets by activating ground floors and showcasing the excellence in teaching and research. We ensure universities are ‘open for business’ and provide facilities and 3rd party space to enhance engagement with industry and partners. Our current masterplan for Sheffield Hallam University transforms impenetrable estate to provide a new civic heart and identity to the campus. A new business school acts as a catalyst to enhance business engagement and all buildings provide active street frontages to provide ‘Windows to the Work'. The blurring of the boundaries between academia and business is leading to new building typologies. We are designing a Smart Innovation Hub for Keele University, which brings together the university’s management school and local council funded incubation space. The functions are designed around a central business lounge, creating an environment that enables ‘open innovation’ by sharing ideas, knowledge and expertise between businesses and academia.
With four UK universities within the top 10 research universities in the world and more Nobel Prizes per capita than any other large nation, UK universities are also investing heavily in new worldclass science and technology research facilities. A common theme within our designs for these facilities is an emphasis on interdisciplinary working, both within the university and with industrial partners. The Technology Innovation Centre for the University of Strathclyde brings together academics, researchers, engineers and leading industrial partners to work side-by-side in a state-of-the-art building. Building upon this, our design for MMU’s new science and engineering houses facilities to transform the way academics and industry work side-by-side on projects with research focused on industry’s challenges at the same time as ensuring students acquire the relevant skills for future careers. Whilst home student numbers have been maintained, UK universities are in intense competition for international students on the global stage. Universities and their selected partners are providing new facilities to support emergent pathways for international students, leading to enhanced recruitment. Ambitious UK universities are also branching out, creating satellite campuses abroad. Our new campus for Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University in Suzhou, China, accommodates a range of academic buildings and our recently completed International Business School Suzhou, on this campus, mixes teaching, research and business engagement, offering a creative and professional context, supporting their aspiration to become one of the top business schools worldwide. Common to all these trends in investment is the enhancement of the ‘Student Experience’ and the physical environment has a significant role to play in enhancing the experiences for students, staff and visitors. The role of good design and the provision of dynamic spaces that facilitate technology-enabled, social learning and collaboration is fundamental to this. In an age where students have become consumers, universities are focusing on building a brand and great public realm – and architecture and interiors have a key role to play to attract and inspire a new generation of students. w Hear more from Sue at our Education Roundtable on page 62
Mix 189 November 2018 | 29
Upfront | Property Matters | Pipeline
FLYING HIGH
Airport office space is flying high after nearly two decades in which it largely dropped off the workspace search list. Is this the result of sudden atmospheric pressure in the property market, or a real shift in sentiment? David Thame reports.
S
uddenly, the office market is airborne. And this is not just a metaphor. After a decade in which the lustre appeared to have worn off airport-linked office development, a series of deals and developments suggests that the glamour of air travel is triumphantly back. Earlier this autumn, Internet retail giant, The Hut Group, ended a summer of speculation by announcing that it would occupy a 1 million sq ft campus at Manchester’s Airport City business park. A 280,000 sq ft first phase would begin the development of the 16.8 acre site, to be completed in four phases over the next three years.
30 | Mix 189 November 2018
To say jaws dropped is to underplay the reaction. This is Manchester’s largest occupational deal in living memory – perhaps ever – and a real sign of the airport business park’s pulling power. A planning application has been submitted, with construction scheduled to begin in early 2019. The hope is that it opens the door to up to 2 million sq ft of further development on the remaining 60 acres. The site’s promoters, a consortium lead by MAG Property, got the ball rolling with plans to build a 92,000 sq ft speculative office building
In the last six months we’ve seen three German-owned businesses opt for offices close to the airport, because that matters to them – so it does matter
Upfront |
next to The Hut Group’s site, with the option to add another 92,000 sq ft. The move comes as the south Manchester office market enjoys record take-up, with lettings in the year to 30 September of 683,000 sq ft. To grasp the scale of the market, bear in mind that the entire city of Birmingham transacted just 478,000 sq ft in the same period. With demand this good, MAG Property thought they were onto a winner, says Adam White, MAG Property Director of Commercial and Business Development. ‘Airport City will bridge the market between Manchester city centre, the wider GM conurbation and Cheshire, complementing their offer with strong car parking ratios, up to nine trains an hour to the city centre and a significant price differential,’ he says. Manchester is currently in the midst of a cork-popping economic and property boom, so maybe the rebirth of airport property there is not a reliable guide to the appeal of airport sites? So to assess whether airport offices really are back, turn instead to Birmingham and Solihull and, as it happens, there is an imminent opportunity to test the issue at Arden Cross – a 350-acre slice of a much larger project to develop land next to
ABOVE: Plots E1-2 at Airport City Manchester
Mix 189 November 2018 | 31
Upfront | Property Matters | Pipeline
Birmingham Airport Date
Number
Departures/Arrivals
2018
Total International Passengers
2018
Passengers from outside the EU
202,000
2018
Domestic passengers on scheduled flights
120,000
2017-2018
1.13 million
477,000 sq ft
Property take-up in Birmingham
Manchester Airport Date
Number
Departures/Arrivals
2.6 million
2018
Total International Passengers
2018
Passengers from outside the EU
212,000
2018
Domestic passengers on scheduled flights
216,000
2017-2018
Property take-up in South Manchester (not city centre)
683,000 sq ft
Data relates to Q3 2018 from Civil Aviation Authority
Birmingham Airport and the new HS2 station (due to open in 2026). A decision last month by Birmingham City Council to add their 99-acre part of Arden Cross to that of other private landowners has opened the door to real progress. A new joint development business has been formed with the city council’s dynamic Economic Development Director, Waheed Nazir, in the chair. After a long and, to some observers, frustratingly slow build up, action now seems likely. The move comes at a time when the office market in the immediate airport neighbourhood is strong: Q3 2018 was the best quarter of office lettings in the Solihull and M42 office market for
ABOVE: Plots E1-2-3 + THG at Airport City Manchester
32 | Mix 189 November 2018
more than three years. Solihull’s office vacancy rate is about 3%, and although estimates vary from the 7% rate at the nearest big business park, Birmingham Business Park, is perfectly respectable, data from local agents KWB shows. Serviced office provider, Instant, signed the largest deal, taking 21,217 sq ft. Andrew Berry is Associate with Cushman & Wakefield in Birmingham. He says today the airport matters, but only because it is part of a mix of amenities. ‘The airport has a significant impact, not necessarily on its own, but because the area also has railway stations and the M42. So office occupiers cluster there for the connectivity and the amenity that goes with it,’ he says. ‘The key to success at Arden Cross will be to offer amenities, not just to talk about the airport and the trains. Today you can see how much of a difference it makes because, whilst the vacancy rate in Solihull is low, at the Trinity Park site immediately next to the station, it is effectively zero. Occupiers like the connections and the fact that they can get out at lunch and buy a sandwich.’ If Arden Cross is to succeed, Andrew advises the development of low-rise, standalone blocks of 60-80,000 sq ft in the traditional business park mode. Nigel Tripp, of KWB, agrees that Arden
Cross could be a winner – and also agrees that, whilst the airport appeals to some, it is the entire connectivity package, including rail and road, that really attracts occupiers. ‘In the last six months we’ve seen three German-owned businesses opt for offices close to the airport, because that matters to them – so it does matter,’ Nigel says. ‘The office market is now seriously short of supply, so developers are dusting off old plans, encouraged by the way headline rents have risen to £25 a sq ft, which makes development viable.’ Nigel thinks Arden Cross needs the kind of boost Waheed Nazir’s appointment will give it. ‘I would expect it to develop in a similar way to Airport City at Manchester. The appeal of being able to walk to either the airport or the HS2 station will be considerable, so there are real opportunities there. Waheed’s appointment is the catalyst we need,’ he says. Other UK cities are exploring similar developments: Glasgow will be worth watching. Airport workspace is flying high and, for so long as the economy is growing and there is a shortage of newly-built floorspace, they will be in a holding pattern over the office market for some time to come. w
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Upfront | Property Matters | C-Suite
STANDFIRST Few big money players in the office property market get bigger than the £984 billion portfolio of Legal & General Investment Management. In an exclusive conversation with Mix, their business space development boss explains why Brexit matters, but happy office occupiers matters more. David Thame reports.
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P
roximity to money – serious money – has a distorting effect. Things just look different when you’ve millions, or billions, riding on what happens next. The seriously rich live in a world of worry and anxiety most of us know nothing about because, quite literally, it is not worth us bothering. And in no walk of life is this more obvious than that of commercial property. The basic rule of thumb in the property world is this: the closer they are to real money, the more likely they are to appreciate the downside. Cheery Joe, the office broker, may see nothing but blue skies as he jostles you into leasing another 10,000 sq ft of floorspace. At the same time, Sober Samantha, the asset manager, who owns the office building on behalf of her pension fund clients, worries that it’s all too good to last and wants to hedge their bets, because her aim is not so much jam today as jam tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.
Upfront |
Talk to the big investors, particularly UK-based institutional investors whose mandate is to play safe in the search for long-term income, and today’s office market begins to seem different. From their elevated viewpoint, way above the leasing scene, today’s ups and downs are barely visible whilst longer-term opportunities (and risks) stand out like the Alps. Simon Wilkes is Head of Business Space Development at Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM). They manage an investment portfolio of £984 billion, including the new government regional offices created under a £1 billion funding deal assembled during the last 12 months. In other words, LGIM see the world through the lens of enormous amounts of (mostly) other people’s wealth. From his desk in London EC2 he sees an office market with a long-term opportunity to make office occupiers a lot happier (and hence a lot happier to stay put in their offices and pay higher rents). But the clear downside risk is Brexit. So first the good news. Investors like Wilkes really believe in the wellness and amenity agenda, and intend to make it work. ‘The biggest focus for us it to create office environments that are better places to work, more flexible, and with the prospect of better work/life balance, which traditionally landlords have not done,’ Simon says.
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Upfront | Property Matters | C-Suite
BELOW: P&P, Hammersmith Road, Plaza
‘It makes sense because it means better rents, quicker leasing, and the greater likelihood that we will retain the tenants if they are happier. Now that is difficult to prove statistically, but what we hear from occupiers is that getting these things right is key to them retaining staff. For them, it is all about what the building offers, from paper storage to bike storage. ‘A lot of occupiers really focus on this, it’s a factor they are taking into account, so it’s a factor we are taking into account.’ This means instructing asset managers to make buildings open, flexible and transparent. They have to create bigger shared spaces, light and airy entrances, and gardens, where it can be done (LGIM have experimented with gardens in Southwark and at 245 Hammersmith Road, London). ‘Buildings have to be more inspiring places,’ is Simon’s up-sum of their aim. Which raises another issue: if an office building is to include a tempting range of amenities, and still make a decent return for the investors, then the ratio of net to gross floorspace can’t be adjusted too dramatically. To make the sums work, you still need a lot of office floorspace, and the easiest way to do that is to build big buildings where losing a few thousand sq ft for a bike store or a coffee bar is not going to be a big deal. Simon plays down the idea that big-is-best when you follow the wellness and amenity agenda. ‘It doesn’t always follow that you need bigger buildings,’ he says. ‘Look at the Lewis Building in Birmingham, which is 110,000 sq ft, where we were
36 | Mix 189 November 2018
'The biggest focus for us is to create office environments that are better places to work, more flexible, and with the prospect of a better work/life balance... able to fit a library and a shared workspace in the reception area. And look at 120 Aldersgate in London, where we put meaningful facilities into a small space.’ Even so, the exceptions prove the rule: big probably is better for the UK's funds. Big buildings in city centres are particularly favoured, but if Simon is any guide, the resurgent out-oftown office market does not excite them. Perhaps they can see past the current vogue to a longerterm problem, because, as Simon explains: ‘We have some out-of-town sites, but the problem is cars, which obviously these sites require, and our agenda is all about wanting to be more sustainable.’ So a warning there for developers and agents currently riding the out-of-town business park wave. And how do the funds feel about the UK’s regional cities? Enthusiastic is the answer. Not only has LGIM bought heavily into the Government’s efforts to establish major centres in the big regional cities, but they also see the
regions as a safe place to stash the cash, and a long-term growth prospect. The ‘safe place’ appeal of UK regional cities is at the front of Simon’s mind because – as Mix goes to press – Brexit negotiations appear to be reaching a chaotic climax. Chaos is exactly what long-term investors do not like. ‘The bigger danger to the office market has got to be the unknowns of Brexit,’ Simon fears. ‘Probably the London office market is more vulnerable than the regions, but it all depends what the terms of Brexit are. ‘In the circumstances, we are not inclined to sit on our hands, but we are a bit more cautious because we are aware of office requirements in London, where the occupier wants to agree terms but will not sign the lease until after Brexit is agreed. There are two or three cases like that, it is not yet common, but we’re watching how it develops.’ The best way to judge an investor is, perhaps, to watch what they do with their money: today LGIM are offloading one of their prime Birmingham assets with a £136 million sale of the 237,000 sq ft Lewis Building and neighbouring Priory Court. The properties are a stones’ throw from what will be Birmingham’s new HS2 station at Curzon Street when (and if ) the high speed line is completed in 2026. The sale suggests mighty LGIM see this is a good moment to take a profit on their investment – and by extension a good moment to plan for the future. And that is wisdom that even the smallest of low-value small fry could agree with. w
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Spotlight | A-Z Trends
SPOTLIGHT
THE BIG QUESTION 41 Which current trend has no chance of surviving long-term?
SPOTLIGHT: A-Z OF TRENDS 42 Mix 189 November 2018 | 39
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Q
THE BIG
UESTION
Spotlight | The Big Question
Wh i c h c u rre nt t re n d h a s n o c h a n c e o f s u rv iv i n g l o n g-t e rm?
NICK ATKIN, GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE, HALTON HOUSING TRUST
LAWRENCE RIVERS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, TOFF
PAUL MCKENZIE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ABL UK
The trend for workplace presenteeism is dying – and not before time. The rapid advances in ICT, coupled with the increased costs (time and monetary) of commuting, office space, recruitment/retention challenges and some very different expectations of what the workplace experience should be from a new generation of workers and leaders, means that the approach will shift to 'work is something you do and not somewhere you go'.
To leave a voicemail or not is the 'Big Question' for me. I see an increasing trend of ‘missed calls’. Personally I’ve been a victim of essay-length messages and, if truth be told, have left messages that I wished I hadn’t. What I do know is that my communications are shorter and I use multiple platforms – i.e. WhatsApp, Messenger and iMessage. So is that a lack of patience or just the immediate world that we now live in?
Technology is changing at such a fast pace that we are seeing shorter life-cycles on electrical products and components. One example of this, which is happening now, is the move from USB-A to Type-C USB. It is estimated that by 2021 around five billion devices will be using Type-C USB and this has the potential to replace a whole range of connections, including HDMI and VGA.
NIKKI KIRBELL, HEALTH & WELLBEING LEAD, UNILEVER
MARK SIMPSON, PRINCIPAL, BDP
RODERIK MOS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, DATAFLEX UK LTD
Car ownership has limited chance of surviving long-term apart from as a pleasure seeking or collectible pursuit. Personalised transport services will likely change dramatically in the future with the widespread adoption of driverless vehicles. This will make car ownership less of a necessity as we see consumption of transport reverting to a subscription/on demand service similar to the way we are now using Deliveroo or Uber.
Trumpism is surely the worst trend of the last few years and one which I’m hoping will be snuffed out by common decency and humanity. I am hoping that, by the time this gets to print, Mr Trump and the Republican Party have been given a bloody nose in the Mid-Term Elections. The right wing agenda typified by Trump and his mini-me puppets, like Nigel Farage, are the things that keep me awake at night – and not whether bare filament lightbulbs are passé yet (they are!).
As designers and manufacturers of ergonomic office products, we think the trend of aftermarket sit-to-stand converters won’t last very long. You spend a ton of money on whatever is slightly decent, only to lose 50% of effective desk space, either standing or sitting. Those are definitely short-term ‘problem solvers’. Anyone buying new desking in the future will hopefully go for sit/stand straight away.
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Spotlight | A-Z of Trends
INTRODUCTION
PLANNING FOR TURBULENCE When we started to consider this year’s A-Z of trends, we thought it would be appropriate to invite one of our fantastic contributors (and former MixInspired panellists) to compose an introduction for us. When we then considered which contributor we should ask, well, the man who deals with trends for a living - Rohit Talwar, CEO at Fast Future - was an obvious choice.
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here is one point where the forces shaping the future of business collide - and that’s the workplace. The future of business and the nature of work are being influenced by complex external factors including international trade tensions, global supply chains, Brexit uncertainty, regulation and societal expectations. The way that work then gets done is increasingly shaped by task automation, unruly innovations, disrespectful new entrants, outsourcing and the uncertain future impact of exponentially improving technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, big data, cloud computing, hyperconnectivity, and the Internet of Things. How we organise work also reflects the quality of leadership and management, digital literacy levels, broader workforce competencies and priorities regarding wellbeing, stress and mental health. Our choices on all these factors come together to shape our decisions on the purpose, ethos, functionality and design of workplaces. So, from this complex set of influences, and this A to Z of trends, there are two key forces to consider in planning future workplaces. Firstly, we must let history guide us and acknowledge that, in uncertain times, companies often reduce spending, so pressure is only likely to grow in terms of generating innovative workplace designs for ever-smaller budgets, whilst also catering for the possibility of workforce numbers shrinking by 20-50% or grow by 10%. The second core challenge is allowing for the impact of disruptive technologies like AI. At one end of the spectrum we see jobs being lost to smart automation and the emergence of entirely digital organisations with zero employees. The insurance company, Teambrella, is an example of these Decentralised Autonomous Organisations, which generate jobless economic growth. At the other end of the spectrum is the growing level of job creation in the new ventures enabled by science and technology advances. In the face of such uncertainty, our challenge is to become ever more creative and flexible in designing workplaces that serve humans in an uncertain world. ROHIT TALWAR, CEO, Fast Future
Spotlight | A-Z of Trends
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
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rtificial Intelligence is rapidly changing the way we work. AI is already being incorporated into our office spaces, and will no doubt hugely influence the design process itself. We have seen in other industries that new technology can replicate human intelligence traits, leveraging the power of machines to replace human user responses with much greater speed and effectiveness. However, what does this mean for design? AI is based on data sets; patterns of information which form algorithms that machines can learn, and then predict. But innovation doesn’t come from repeated problem-solving – it comes from the ideas that fall outside of the norm. Humans are eccentric, unpredictable, ingenious…can machines ever become human enough to be avant-garde? At Perkins+Will, our Insight i/o group has been exploring how, as designers, AI is something that works alongside humans, instead of replacing them. By melding the best abilities of both human and machine cognition, we can develop EI – Extended Intelligence. What we mean by this is that AI can help us gain a greater understanding of complex problems and build new tools and develop new insights that will become aids to the design process. Starting now, we should embrace AI as something that can, and will, augment the existing problem-solving and ‘outside-of-thebox’ thinking abilities of designers. The insight group is a part of the Perkins+Will i/o lab, a technology-focused R&D group. The purpose of the group is to integrate right brain /left brain solutions to complex problems with the application of next-generation tools and technologies. www.medium.com/insight-io
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ome people think they live in the future because they are surrounded by robots. They are wrong. Today’s affordable robots – like Alexa, Siri and Cortana – are not shaping the future, they’re simply the next version of any other labour saving device from the last 100 years, and a distraction from the real problems of the future as highlighted by BBC’s The Blue Planet. At a recent roundtable event, expert opinion was unanimous, citing that, in 20 years’ time, universities are going to be very flexible and offer adaptable spaces. AI & VR technology would rule, up-market apprenticeships would increasingly blur the boundaries between industry and academia would be commonplace – the future was indeed bright. On the other hand, no one mentioned what we are going to do about limiting material usage, reducing pollution, or how to create happy and healthy communities for everyone. Most practitioners have heard of the benefits that biophilia can bring, but
BIOPHILIA few know how to implement biophilic design strategies correctly. It’s not just about installing a living hydroponic wall or adding a sprinkling of potted palms; these are great additions but they don’t make truly biophilic buildings. If biophilia is implemented correctly, it creates a harmonious link between all aspects of the natural world, both inside and out. So, it’s therefore essential that interior designers take precautions in the early stages of the design process, to limit the potential discomfort and health problems for end users. With a closer examination of the relationship of a building’s interior with its surrounding environment, we can combat the onslaught of climate change and make better connections with nature; if not, there won’t be a future – not even for robots. Truly successful biophilic design offers much more than the chance to walk backwards into the future; with robot professors beaming in lectures via drones, towards multi-coloured, beanbag strewn, stress-free zones.
STEPHEN EDGE, Senior Lecturer in Interior Design, University of Gloucestershire
NATALIE SMITH, Senior Associate, Workplace Consultant and Interior Designer, Perkins+Will
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INTRODUCING TAKE5® LOUNGE COLLECTION
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COLLABORATION
A CHARLES BETTES, Managing Director Gpad
few years ago, the industry was considering home offices and how they will affect our working environments – and even if they will become obsolete. Now people are looking at offices as meeting areas, places to discuss ideas and collaborate. People come to the office to sit down with each other and converse or create together. Discussions are much easier face-to-face and workplaces are encouraging people to do this. There was a time when work was about a person and their computer. Now, however, computers can do so much more and we are tasked with being more creative. Offices need to adapt to encourage this creativity and foster a culture of being creative and collaborative. This has given rise to more
flexible spaces, and our offices aren’t banks of desks but a variety of places to gather, confer and work together. We are also looking at designing-in places for serendipitous collision, where the building and layouts are designed to encourage chance encounters, leading to further collaboration and sharing of ideas. Kitchens are placed in particular locations that encourage teams or people to cross paths and talk. Offices are no longer just about producing work, but also about lifestyle and discussion; this directly affects their make-up. Although collaboration is really created through office culture and leadership, good design can definitely help and encourage this culture to grow.
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION DIMITRA DANTSIOU, Workplace Strategy Consultant Strategy Plus
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orkplaces need to catch up with the new digital reality. Internet of Things, big data, voice-activated technology, smart sensors, VR/AI will become an essential part of the workplace. We must integrate digital technologies in the way businesses work to help collaboration, boost productivity and facilitate mobility. One of its benefits is that it frees us to have multiple workplaces; where we can work with anyone, anywhere and at any time. The boundaries between home and the office dissolve and new office typologies are emerging – e.g. coworking hubs and spaces. Big data, aligned to smart sensors, help buildings to understand and effectively respond to the needs of users. The office environment can be optimised to support collaborative and individual
tasks with clients and colleagues on the spot and across the world. Voice-activated technologies complement the digital scene, creating new opportunities for capturing ideas, re-configuring work settings with a simple voice command. Digital technologies may empower the future workforce but also bring with them challenges – a potential Trojan Horse on the doorstep of every business. These technologies usually involve a high cost, increased security risks and require a fundamental cultural shift in the organisation if they are to be successful. Forget your personal desk, security badge and paperwork. Voice-activated AI office assistants, noise-cancelling wearables, acoustic meeting bubbles and immersive technologies will be only the start of your new 3D-printed office.
ENGAGEMENT
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here was a time when a cubicle, a kettle and a photocopier were the sum of parts to a standard office. The workforce of today demands more. To be competitive in the hiring market it is not enough for an employer to only address the new recruit’s financial package. They must show themselves worthy of their staff through an exemplary workspace. In doing this they are demonstrating that they will aide each individual to be their best. These workspaces need to give choice, to inspire, and be open to change and innovation. They must also welcome and enable those of all personality types. Currently, the trend is to design for the extravert; open plan offices and spaces shared with a host of other people (and often dogs!). The best future spaces and designs will also cater to the introverts, and those with other needs; for example, those suffering from autism. For large employers it can be a huge challenge to answer the ‘needs of the many’, especially when there is a business case to answer to. This can result in the perfect answer appearing to be a sea of desks to that client, although often with a bespoke offering for themselves. It is our job, as designers, to remind managers that they are not alone in their firm in requiring something different for great focus and productivity.
STEFANIE WOODWARD, Head of Interior Design, Cushman & Wakefield
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Spotlight | A-Z of Trends
GRAIN JOHN AVERY, Director, LOM architecture and design
FLEXIBILITY
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he concept of ownership of space runs deep in our work culture but is gradually eroding as organisations better understand how their people work. Be it down to biorhythm, personal preference or circumstance, designing a flexible workspace to accommodate how individuals work is shown to result in greater productivity. Thanks to technology, we’ve already seen a number of roles, which were previously exclusively office based, now being accomplished offsite. As an evolution of this, new workplaces are increasingly accommodating and are adopting a much broader range of functions, enabling people to move to spaces that better support their way of working. There’s a number of flexible alternatives to the traditional office work set-up already available, including coworking, activitybased workspaces and hot desking. Resimercial office design is set to be the next focus. Here we find a space that merges home comforts with the resources of a modern day office so workers are supported from both a physical and psychological perspective. As time goes on I believe we’ll see the trend for flexible workspace design to become the norm.
NICOLE PORTIERI, Director, Woods Hardwick
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e recently spent the afternoon with a client, working our way through a full shelf of oak veneer samples. Although we were designing a hightech workspace, the choice between red, white, smoked, crown cut, rift and rotary was absorbing, and finding the right natural grain became as important to the design as the digital backbone that keeps it running. ‘Grain’ means texture, scale, pattern and material. It’s a fundamental part of how we build and furnish space, and it’s also a reflection of how we work – big picture vision doesn’t happen without attention to the fine grain. Bespoke detailing and individuality are expected in every interior project these days and, as workplace specialists, we’re designing for the individual end user – what they sense and touch, how to keep their space alive and interesting through the year. Designing the grain of a project means understanding how people like to sit, how light changes through the
day, and how to combine a desk, a staircase and a planter into one seamless object. Natural, eclectic interiors might be old news, but it’s still a joy to experience the grain of reclaimed timber, mesh and patinated metal, and (as a lover of brutalism) rough in-situ concrete. Building on the grain of natural materials, this year’s projects are using more layers to create depth – overlaying textured acoustic panels, printing patterns onto plywood boards and furniture, making layered ceiling-scapes with translucent and slatted rafts, and enriching spaces with the added grain of planting, dressing, art and collectables. If we ever get tired of debating the virtues of sapele versus walnut, arguing whether rusty steel is a ‘natural’ material, or printing 15 samples of our wall patterns to test the scale, maybe we’ll be tired of interior design. Until then, it’s all about the grain.
HYGGE CHLOE COTARD, Creative Director, Jolie Studio
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ygge. The Danish word used when acknowledging a feeling or moment. It is a philosophy of comfort and cosiness and it has become the inescapable ‘trend’ over the years, especially when the dark and cold days arrive. This Scandinavian lifestyle has indeed been taken over by every sector of design – graphic design, interiors, product and fashion. However, there maybe a misconception regarding the real meaning of Hygge and the ‘trend’ we should follow. You can’t buy Hygge. It is not a certain piece of Scandinavian furniture, not a certain colour, not a certain type of graphic and not a certain type of candle. Since it is a feeling, it is about what makes you feel great in a certain environment. This is where, as interior designers, we can help to
translate those emotions and sense of comfort into colours, textures, smells, sounds, to create your very own space. After a trip to Copenhagen, discovering their environment and the way they live, I realised that Hygge is part of their culture and they translate it in many different ways and many different spaces, as I think there is also the perception that it can only apply to your home, in a quiet environment. It is a beautiful thing to share. It can be having a chat with a friend in a coffee shop or even in your workplace – just acknowledging the moment. Now, as we are on our way into Winter, let’s look around and ask ourselves what would make us feel better – more Hygge!
Spotlight | A-Z of Trends
INTELLIGENCE
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he advent of the smartphone age has changed the way we all interact with the world – and that includes the workplace. With an ever-growing focus on sustainability and efficiency, new building developments are taking advantage of technology advances to make their buildings as intelligent as possible. In so doing, a building’s ability to adapt to
the users, rather than the other way around, makes for an enhanced working environment and improved wellbeing for staff. Mechanical systems have increased lifespans, energy bills are lower and the functionality improves, because intelligent buildings often focus on ensuring that their systems operate exactly when required, in exactly the way required,
JUST IN TIME
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he nascent years of new ways of working in the late 80s and early 90s coincided with a widely held but soon to be discarded belief that the Japanese had cracked management practices. It was inevitable that a system called Just In Time manufacturing – most famously applied in the factories of Toyota – should migrate to the new discipline of flexible working. Just In Time describes the alignment of work processes with the supply of resources and materials as a way of increasing efficiency and minimising inventory. In a workplace setting this means only providing people with workstations when they need them, especially because it had become clear that desks were simply sitting around empty for most of each day.
for exactly the duration required. It is this intelligence that will continue to enhance the working environment as the technology develops and becomes more readily available.
ELIZABETH DEXTER-BOND, Project Manager, JAC Group
The advent of mobile devices and the Internet made it very clear that the solution was to introduce a new type of workplace in which people were not assigned desks but had to find somewhere to work when they needed it. This idea found various forms and names, including Just In Time, hot-desking, hotelling and free address, but all had the same problem. They were often introduced in a cack-handed way that fomented strife and left people feeling alienated and unloved. No other firm characterised the problems of this confrontational approach to workplace design than the ad agency, Chiat Day, which had implemented it with a great deal of ballyhoo in its offices in LA and New York. The end result was described in a 1999 piece in Wired after the firm had abandoned the idea and its offices. ‘For a brief, swirling period…the ad agency became engulfed in petty turf wars, kindergarten-variety subterfuge, incessant griping, management bullying, employee insurrections, internal chaos, and plummeting productivity. Worst of all, there was no damn place to sit.’
MARK ELTRINGHAM, Workplace Insight
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KAIZEN
he Japanese word kaizen means change for the better. The word refers to any improvement, singular or continuous, large or small. In Japan, it is customary to label industrial or business improvement techniques with the word kaizen. In English it is typically applied to measures for implementing continuous improvement. Flow kaizen is oriented towards the flow of materials and information, and is often identified with the reorganisation of the production cycle in a company. Process kaizen refers to improving the way production workers do their job. The use of the kaizen model for continuous improvement demands that both flow and process kaizens are used. Kaizen is a daily process, the purpose of which goes beyond simple productivity improvement. It is also a process that, when done correctly, humanises the workplace, eliminates overly hard work (muri) and teaches people how to perform experiments on their work using rational testing methods and learning how to spot and eliminate waste in terms of time, space and human resources. In all, the process suggests a humanised approach to workers and to increasing productivity and contributes towards what the Japanese call ikigai, which means a reason for living. Kaizen techniques are available to analyse objective and subjective data and therefore are useful in POE analysis. Kaizen cycle for continuous improvement and POE application: 1. Get occupants involved in identifying needs, issues and problems. 2. Formulate a brief for a new build or a refurbishment plan. 3. Create possible solutions. 4. Measure, test and compare solutions. 5. Analyse the results. 6. Study patterns, trends and outliers. 7. Iterate. 8. Recommendations.
DEREK CLEMENTS-CROOME, University of Reading
LIGHTING
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s the wellness movement dominates the industry and with light listed as one of its seven core concepts, promising to improve productivity and happiness of staff and visitors to buildings, lighting is a key element of office design. For years, uniform lighting in offices was a given and company leaders did not consider its wider role in their operations strategy – instead their main focus was on factors like air conditioning, infrastructure and ICT. This, however, is changing. This move comes from research supporting the theory that more natural daylight or mimicked natural light has a wealth of benefits, enhancing vision, wellbeing and performance for those in the building and improving energy and productivity. Human-centric lighting systems are the emerging trend to tackle this. Now a more accessible, cost-effective technology, the LEDs support our circadian rhythm, tuning light to the rhythm of natural daylight patterns through cool and warm white diodes.
A particular challenge we have come across is recreating natural light and appropriate light when repurposing and retrofitting buildings. For example, basements or traditionally used office archive spaces require a well thought out lighting system to become a comfortable modern office environment. It has been well documented that window views and natural lighting are beneficial for workers – however, glare, distraction and temperature monitoring are just some of the challenges that need to be overcome due to their effect on productivity. A focus for our projects is activity based design and localised lighting – providing bespoke lighting systems and palettes for the particular needs of the space. Our working styles are becoming more flexible, and so should the light that supports them. Whilst these opportunities are exciting, the most important thing for occupiers is the management of the systems. Facilities management need simple and clear interfaces that are easy to maintain and use – allowing for flexibility and for everyone in the building to feel the maximum benefit of these technological advances.
RACHEL BISHOP, Project Director, tp bennett
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Spotlight | A-Z of Trends
NATURE
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MINDFULNESS
he popularity of mindfulness has skyrocketed in recent years and its application in the office environment is increasing. The concept is nothing new, and can be traced back to the 5th century BC, when it appeared in the 37 Factors of Enlightenment – the Buddha’s most essential teachings. Mindfulness is not just a modern wellbeing buzzword; it is a movement, which is cultivated by a range of meditation practices that aims to bring a better awareness of thinking, leading to an expansion of choice and capacity in how we perceive the world. Unfortunately, as with the majority of social networks, mindfulness in the workplace is often portrayed as the idea of striving for individual perfection. But it should not be driven by a personal goal; it should be a holistic company approach,
which aspires for a more mindful working environment. The introduction of yoga classes and the creation of meditation spaces and prayer rooms in western businesses is a sign of the traction and popularity it has developed. As designers, we need to take the principles of mindfulness and apply them to each space we create, so that the end user can benefit from greater mental clarity, and care for themselves and others. With the common rhetoric of ‘switching off’, there is also an assumption that mindfulness and technology go hand-inhand. Our ability to be mindful is constantly affected and regularly interrupted by the attentionbased products we use. The challenge we face in 2019 is how to implement the ideas and practices of mindfulness into technology, so that the attention and wellbeing of the people who use it is best supported.
DEBBIE DRAKE, Associate Director, KSS
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iophilic design is the philosophy of theming an interior around nature. For corporate environments, texture, natural light and materials are essential for this practice. Biophilic design encourages a better sense of wellbeing, not only in the corporate workplace, but also within the healthcare and education sectors and is proven to increase wellbeing and productivity levels. People are happier when they are surrounded by nature, so it is woven into interiors, positively affecting those working in schools, universities, hospitals and offices. We use biophilic theory by incorporating more indoor plants into our interior design projects, as seeing plants taps into our innate desire to be close to nature. We use colours, textures and patterns that are reflective of nature, especially tones of green, beige, grey and blue, as well as green walls – both real and faux. Materials such as moss, concrete, stone, metals, cork, brick and wood, particularly dark wood, are particularly popular. The interior design industry follows trends, which are usually taken from fashion, technology and nature, so we continually apply inspiration taken from these trends and apply it to our work.
CRISTINA RILEY, Senior Interior Designer, CPMG Architects
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Spotlight | A-Z of Trends
OPERATING SYSTEM RAJ KRISHNAMURTHY, CEO, Workplace Fabric
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e are mooting the concept of an Operating System of the Workplace. This is the software that sits over your agile workplaces and enables office users to use the hardware that you have installed. The Workplace Operating System brings the office to life, allowing people to find the right space at the time of their need. It is tempting to do this with apps, however this has not worked in the past. Experience shows only around 40% of people download apps and the usage drops to sub 10% in six months. A different approach is needed. An OS has to be something that should be part of the infrastructure, not part of an employment contract! Our concept is to make it
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part of the built environment – making spaces intelligent using sensing capability such that the space is able to inform workplace users about its state of occupancy, comfort, activity and facilities. Such systems do exist and have been successfully deployed. Micro-sensing can be achieved without capturing the identity of the occupier, thereby avoiding personal data issues. Information presented simply shows if a space is free and simple rules determine when it has been truly vacated and is available for re-use. This OS can also help occupiers to improve the space design over time so that it works for all the occupants by analysing usage patterns and taking action to continuously improve it.
PLACE, POSTURE & PRESENCE
s private and professional lives continue to merge more intrinsically, workplace wellbeing has extended far beyond comfort during the working day. Of course, ergonomics are still instrumental in supporting the physical and mental health of workers. However, there is now a network of additional factors that mean workplace wellbeing begins long before – and continues long after – employees log on and off for the day. Steelcase champions a two-part approach to staff wellbeing, with one half manifesting in company culture and human-centric management, and the other being achieved through strategic workspace design and product implementation. This encompasses a holistic approach, which Steelcase has dubbed the Palette of Place, Posture and Presence. Place– Designing an ecosystem of diverse settings, which cater for a variety of work modes, from collaboration to private focus.
Posture– Furniture and design solutions, which encourage freedom of movement and support the plethora of postures, which have emerged on account of new technologies and devices. Presence– Seamlessly integrating a mixedbag of presence experiences, be it face-to-face or virtual, to streamline information-sharing between both resident and mobile workers to boost ‘presence’ and engagement. These three different palettes embody the wider attitude towards modern working life, which has inspired the creation of new settings such as the WorkCafé – an innovative combination of dining area, social space and work environment, which is quickly and easily adapted to task or requirement. The workplace palette is all about striking this perfect balance in order to nurture a happy, healthy workforce who feel confident and motivated both in and out of work hours.
MARK PENKETH, Managing Director, Penketh Group
Mix 189 November 2018 | 53
Upfront | | A-Z of Trends Spotlight
QUANTIFYING HUMAN CAPITAL YOUNG LEE, Director, Innovative Workplace Institute, New York
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he advancement of workplace-related scientific methods and analytics has seen a trajectory towards understanding workplace performance in various aspects. It may be pursued in a form of quantifying employee experiences, cost associated with absenteeism and presenteeism, physical and mental health states via health monitoring systems, or more serious measures of their innovative performance. With a demanding need of evidence-based decisions in corporate environments, the field of workplace science is rapidly growing and being adopted in workplace design and management. Leading companies such as Boston Consulting Group, Google and Innovative Workplace Institute are integrating
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or offering scientific measures to understand diverse aspects of workplace performance. Workplace scientists are analysing employee behaviors such as interaction/collaboration nodes via software programmes like space syntax or spatial calculator. Neuroscientists are brought into the workplace research to understand employee behaviours, to provide workplaces more conducive to higher performance. Furthermore, in-house human resources departments in many companies are also linking workplace design and management to people analytics. All these efforts are part of the trend to provide
the workplace that allows people to perform using their potential to their fullest extent. As we are further realising the complexity of the workplace, the future trend will rest in capturing the intricate system of the workplace and altering the conventional simple assessment mechanisms of human capital return on investment (ROI) to more accurate, multiattribute assessment mechanisms, requiring a systems thinking perspective to truly evaluate human capital in the workplace.
RISE OF THE HUMAN FACTOR
eople costs are the biggest, single business expense. Your most valuable asset is your people! Attracting top talent is evermore competitive so the need for a space in which humans can thrive is diamond clear. Companies used to build factories and offices to embed hierarchies or keep facility costs low. Today, when technology provides complete freedom, you can feel like you don’t even need an office – yet studies show that digital technology compounds loneliness and isolation. A human-centric workplace promotes creativity and enhances productivity. A successful design has wellness at its core: promoting varying working styles;
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encouraging movement and interaction; fostering a sense of community and belonging, whilst ensuring the space meets the needs of a diverse demographic of end users. Rather than a vast plain of identical desks, modern, innovative businesses need to create an experience that competes with the sociability of the coffee shop and the comfort of a home office. Our environments should allow people to personalise their working day – I might need a discreet place for a tough 1:1, a reconfigurable space for ideation or somewhere open, encouraging others to drop by. The workplace today has to be all of these things for both it and your people to rise.
ANOUSCHKA WALKER, Senior Interior Designer HOK
Switch Tables shown with our rather splendid Mi Chairs.
1. Remove the top. 2. Fold the frame. 3. Switch your space in seconds. Switch is a range of beautifully simple folding tables. A unique locking mechanism secures the top to the legs and a flexible scissor-style frame allows the user to assemble and disassemble the table quickly and easily. The durable, lightweight frame can be stowed away with the detached tops on a purpose-built trolley, allowing the user to manoeuvre up to 6 tables around a building and through standard sized doorways. Brilliantly designed in Blighty by Bruce High.
Don’t be a stranger. Get in touch. You never know, it could be the start of something beautiful. +44 (0)1427 677 556
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Upfront | | A-Z of Trends Spotlight
SMART BUILDING TECHNOLOGY STUART FINNIE, Head of Design, Tetris
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he integration of Smart Building Technology is key to more engaging experiences and a more fulfilled and happy workforce. The story starts outside of the office; individuals can communicate with their workplace via mobile apps to effectively curate their workday before arriving – to order breakfast, book meeting rooms or identify and locate available contacts. Equally, smart building technology can improve the visitor experience. Wayfinding or locating a contact is no longer a challenge – key data for employees is available through the visitor’s smartphone, creating a feeling of integration with an organisation that leaves visitors with a positive impression of an efficient and forward-thinking business. As always, data is king. Internet of Things allows us to harness detailed information related to how workplaces are actually used and unlocks a building’s potential through algorithms, predicted movements, identification of inefficiencies and core working patterns. Access to real-time data can also influence the physical management of flexible working patterns to consolidate staff and open additional workspaces during busy periods. In a large scale campus environment we reference examples of entire buildings being closed on days when home working peaks, bringing obvious benefits to running costs and improved environmental credentials. The building itself can also become more intelligent through userdriven fault identification – facilities become simplified and earlier identification of issues is achieved through mobile-logged alerts. Facilities managers benefit greatly from this level of self-diagnosis but also easily have instant access to warranty guides, help desk data and a 3D database of building management systems. Smart building systems respond to real-time scenarios to create more human environments – buildings that respond directly to user needs to improve comfort, increase security and ultimately allow organisations to focus on culture – harnessing productivity, attracting and retaining employees and creating measurable efficiencies across their business.
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TAILOR-MADE
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CIARA KEELING, CEO, Bruntwood Works
nnovative, inspirational and fun interiors tailored to reflect a business’ personality and culture are on the up. As Millennials and Generation Z gather influence in the workplace, savvy employers are increasingly recognising the need to exceed their expectations by providing truly inspirational, ‘cool’ work environments that will act as talent magnets and boost happiness, productivity and wellbeing to boot. Style, it seems, is increasingly having an impact on the substance of a business. For this reason, companies of all sizes are increasingly seeing the value of tailor-made workspaces that can act as a key differentiator from the competition. However, carefully curating an office space that reflects your brand takes time, money, effort and, frankly, isn’t always something that lies in the average business leader’s skillset. For this reason, many businesses are turning to specialists to help them create and run a commercial space that makes ‘who they are’ part of the fabric of their workspace and adds that all-important ‘wow’ factor. And, with added extras available as part of these tailored packages, everything – from furniture leasing to Internet services or cleaning – can be bolted on, meaning it really is the most hassle-free way to run an efficient and eye-catching office space. Property company Bruntwood, for example, has recently launched a new managed office product which allows businesses to tailor-make, design and configure their own bespoke workplace. Allowing a high level of personalisation, brands can not only choose things like colour, furniture and configuration but also benefit from a ‘rentalised’ model, which means design and fit-out costs are absorbed into the ongoing monthly fee. The company says that this will enable businesses of all sizes and budgets to have the opportunity to enjoy and benefit from bespoke workspace, tailor-made to their brief.
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Upfront | | A-Z of Trends Spotlight
VISUALISATION
B UPSKILLING
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n 2018, we’re unafraid and confident to try new things in our workplace and disrupt the traditional career hierarchy. The nobarriers approach to career progression has seen an end to the ‘corner office’ goal and its replacement by a ‘role in securing, nurturing and developing the talent pipeline in the organisation’. This ongoing cultural shift is supported by big name employers like PwC and Deloitte – who are making major investment in their apprenticeship and learning and development programmes for their people. Upskilling in the workplace is a lot more than an antidote to the skills crisis. Yes, employers are finding it increasingly difficult to find the right people with the right skills but – against the bigger picture of rapid change and innovation in the business world – firms are compelled to invest in team development to stay agile, competitive and responsive, primed and ready for success in a dynamic market The virtuous circle created through upskilling by organisationspecific learning and development programmes, apprenticeships, peer mentoring and online learning results in engaged and inspired staff who are embedded in a culture of learning.
PAULA MCCLOSKEY, Director, Specialist Joinery Group
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usiness unit managers and the real estate team are often at loggerheads to determine how much space is needed for staff to perform efficiently. It often becomes an exercise in hearsay and department politics to ensure everyone is happy. Getting to the optimal occupancy strategy is an ongoing battle, usage data is gathered and changes are made – but as soon as this is done, the next round of organisational changes happen and the whole process starts over again. Why do we keep going around in circles? Because it is impossible to define a fixed workplace design for what is becoming a dynamic working environment. Modern collaborative working styles require meetings with little notice, with different people, in different settings. Designers have responded with flexible solutions, however the challenge of knowing which space is available at any time of the day is an office user’s nightmare. This is where Visualisation of the Live Floor can make a dramatic difference. Using real time sensing capability, available spaces can be shown to users at the time of need. Users navigate the space with this information and obey simple rules that determine how spaces get released after use. Another huge benefit of this approach is there is no more argument about utilisation, as the historic data is available to all. This approach has been successfully used at major organisations like Willis Towers Watson, BDO and Adobe.
KAREN PLUM, Management Consultant and Executive Coach, AWA
Spotlight | A-Z of Trends
WELLBEING KELLY DERBYSHIRE, AECOM
W
ellbeing in the workplace is not just a trend, it is here to stay. As companies are starting to understand the impact of ill health on staff satisfaction and productivity, the topic of wellbeing is making headway to the top of organisations’ strategic agendas. The impact of ill health on the economy is evident: In 2014/2015, the HSE reported that businesses were losing around £5.2 billion annually due to work related stress, anxiety and depression. Similarly, the 2015/2016 Labour Force Survey estimated that 11.7 million working days were lost and that 0.5 million employees were suffering from mental health problems. Without a doubt, these statistics provide the business case for raising awareness and positioning wellbeing as a priority. Whilst these figures indicate the importance of protecting and enhancing mental wellbeing at work, it is imperative that a holistic view is taken
on wellbeing in the workplace to achieve sustainable results. Indeed, successful case studies show that promoting wellbeing is not just a case of having a confidential helpline in place or providing fresh fruit to staff as healthy snack alternatives; it’s about looking at the bigger picture. Broadly, two types of influencing factors have been identified to predict employee wellbeing, satisfaction and performance. Organisational factors include managerial support, job control, autonomy, demand and cultural norms. Environmental factors, such as light, ventilation and air quality, have been found to be key predictors from the perspective of the physical workspace. As diverse as the factors influencing wellbeing are, employee wellbeing itself goes beyond physiological outcomes such as health and fitness. To understand
I XENNIAL MARIE LEYLAND, Associate Partner, Sheppard Robson Architects
read about the phrase ‘Xennial’ recently, which was coined to describe a micro-generation born between 1977 and 1983. This group – defined by watching films such as The Goonies, making mix tapes for their Walkmans and remembering the frustrations of dial-up Internet – weren’t seen to easily fit within the common demographics of Generation X, Y and Z. This suite of terminology reveals a willingness to label each generation and their distinct identities – but what does this tell us about the workplace? Labelling generations is undoubtedly incredibly generalised but it does emphasise the generational mix of people that can be brought together in our workplaces – and
wellbeing truly holistically, we also need to take into account social, material, spiritual, psychological, and intellectual wellbeing. All these areas need to be integrated to ensure a healthy, productive working environment.
perhaps their different expectations of what an office should be. For example, if an organisation would like to attract the best graduate talent, how are they going to accommodate their view of what a working environment should be? The transition between university and commercial workplace is particularly interesting, with the corporate world looking to offer the energy and flexibility of educational life within their office. This is a response to seeing the workplace not as a fixed ‘one size fits all’, but an environment that is tuned to different demographics and, by offering genuine choice and diversity, can help bring different generations together.
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Spotlight | A-Z of Trends
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YOU & YOURS
e the change: look after yourself, look after your friends, your family and your colleagues. Make sure you are talking to people in your workplace and listening to what they have to say. This is the first and most important step in finding out where problems lie that may be holding you or your company back. Ultimately, all the design in the world will not change your happiness at work or the productiveness of your company. You will. GARY HELM, Director, OBO
I ZZZZ, SLEEP, LIGHT, WORK DR NEIL STANLEY, Sleep Consultant, FUTURE Designs
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f light is – as leading physician and sleep researcher Prof. Charles Czeisler says – a drug, then surely one must ask the question, do you really want your workforce to be on drugs? The claimed benefits of human-centric lighting could just as easily be achieved by giving your workforce amphetamine in the morning, cannabis in the afternoon, a sleeping pill at night and have your night shift take a wake-promoting agent. Such a suggestion is clearly nonsensical. While any drug has benefits, they also have negative side effects, and obviously light, if it is a ‘drug’, must also have unwanted negative effects – and this is particularly relevant in terms of sleep. Sunlight is the primary zeitgeber (time giver) and the sleep/wake cycle is controlled to a huge degree by the light/dark cycle. Thus, using light to modify workplace behaviour/productivity without taking into consideration its probable effects on sleep is unwise.
We are told that it can take up to three days to adapt to the simple one-hour clock change in spring and autumn, so imagine how much greater an effect there is when travelling to work on a dark December morning and entering an office flooded with 6000K light. Given our different innate chronotypes and the wide variation in our circadian and ultradian rhythms, there can be no ‘one size fits all’ approach to lighting – any lighting schemes will, by necessity, be a compromise, which at best will be sub-optimal and, at worse, actually negative for the majority of people working under that scheme. Good sleep is important to business performance and leadership skills, as well as good physical, mental and emotional health and it would be incorrect to believe that we can use lighting during the day to improve performance and alertness without potentially impacting on sleep. w
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Roundtable
THE DYNAMIC WORLD OF HIGHER EDUCATION
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e’ve come to Space Zero’s impressive working home in The Zenith Building, in the heart of Manchester, to discuss the subject of what the corporate sector can learn (and is learning) from higher education – and vice versa. It’s some years since Mix Interiors suggested that the commercial workplace sector has plenty to learn from the higher education sector. The contention being that, for some time now, designers of space for higher education have been creating spaces that support, stimulate and stir the desire to learn and collaborate – the very same focus for today’s workplace designers.
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The education sector can be praised for its relentless drive to spark innovation, creativity and productivity among its students. This has, of course, long been the case, as educators strive to ensure new generations succeed and supersede those who have gone before them. However, now more than ever – given the often tumultuous political and economic landscape – it is vital that educational facilities can support and allow students to flourish, preparing them for their entrance into the world of work. Students will be entering a working world that looks vastly different than it did 10 years ago.
The battle to attract the best talent, coupled with rising student and parent expectations, has prompted educational establishments reassess their offering which has in turn had a direct effect the whole of the building process and where design takes centre stage. We have brought together a group of professionals who work at different stages of the higher education processes, from the designers through to the academics themselves, in order to assess the latest in the sector. Here is a mere snippet of what proved to be one of our most interesting (and intelligent) discussions to date.
Roundtable
THE DISCUSSION We begin by asking our esteemed guests, considering how far HE establishments have come in the past 20 years, how will they continue to change in the future? What can we expect to see in the next 20 years? Kay: There will be a lot more specialism, partnerships and technology. Simon: I agree, technology will be the driver and we’ll definitely see further changes when it comes to tech. Stephen: As one of the academics around the table, I believe we’re still stuck in the 20th century. I think we need to get into the 21st century. We’re still delivering courses that are steeped in what we were doing 20 years ago. If you go back 20 years, the students were born in the early 1980s – and they had no mobile phones or WiFi. Current students have everything on their laptops and their mobiles – and they expect their universities to be as quick and as current as they are. Andrew: I instantly go into child mode and start to think about fantasyland because 20 years feels like such a long time away – but it’s probably not! I think universities will continue to contract. They’ll continue to specialise and there will be less and less teaching accommodation or industry accommodation – we’re already getting heavily involved with universities who are starting to do our work for us. So I think, thanks to technology, more of the teaching elements will be done from home and not in teaching spaces.
Sam: What we’re seeing is far more choice. When we’re currently looking to create facilities – and obviously there are different sectors with different requirements – but the one thing we’re constantly being asked for is choice of spaces. I think that’s only going to continue to grow. There is now a wider acceptance that no single solution will suit everybody and people are looking to offer different types of spaces for both students and for teachers. I’m not saying that the auditorium is dead – but people are now looking at different types of learning spaces. The requirement for auditorium space is certainly less than it has ever been. People want more one-to-one tuition, they want more informal learning – if they want to see a lecture they can now watch it online and then go and speak to the academic. These are some of the things we’re being asked about right now. Oliver: Picking up on what Sam just said, I think there is a blending of workplace, hospitality and higher education that comes with technology, expectations and marketisation – commercial reality. Paul: Universities have had a great 10 years in terms of the stability of the funding model. Going forward, to continue that, I think there’s going to be a drive to create other income sources, echoing the businesses now coming into our universities. Similarly, I think we’ll see more of the universities going into the workplace. For example, where we’re based, out in Media City, the students from Salford University being out there has really lifted the feel of the area. I think we’ll definitely see more of that.
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Sue: I agree with a number of the points that have already been picked up. Technology is of course advancing – but I see it very much as an enabler. I think universities are about social interaction – about people getting together, sharing ideas and pursuing and exploring that academic endeavor. Technology might support that – but campuses are still going to exist. In saying that, campuses are going to look very different. In my view, we’re going to get rid of the silos, we’re not going to have departments, instead we’re going to have inter-disciplinary space and flexible space. Those research establishments are going to have more specialist spaces and I also think that academia and industry will be sat side-by-side, sharing these facilities. The more vocational universities could potentially have more applied learning spaces – going back to the point of ‘real life’ working environments, where either students go to work in the city or bringing the city to the universities. I think that integration of university and city – and that mutual dependence – is only going to get stronger. There’s also likely to be more flexibility – different pathways, there are no longer going to be semesters, people might participate in university life for an intensive six weeks a year because they are earning and learning at the same time. So that’s all going to have a huge impact on the spaces needed. David (David Judge, Group Creative Director, Space Zero): I’m really from a different sector. I’ve spent the last 25 years involved in retail – and that sector’s also gone through an enormous change. Most will have probably forgotten now, but I remember doing some research for the Head of IT for a major retailer – and this is only 15 years ago. He said that the problem he had was that people kept buying things online and then bringing them back into the shop, saying ‘I don’t want this!’ The people in the shop were saying, ‘It’s got nothing to do with us!’ So we started using the phrase ‘blurring the lines’ – and today we’ve ended up with Amazon! That’s a huge shift. From an educational
64 | Mix 187 September 2018
Technology is of course advancing – but I see it very much as an enabler
Roundtable
point of view, we’ve got to move away from didactic teaching – and there’s lots of experimentation around that. I think that, in the university world, the blending of all things is where we’re heading. The idea that students go and get their degree and then go and get a job – that feels as though it’s almost gone as an idea. Around 40-50% of students who turn up at university know which business they’re going to set up when they leave – so they’re there to be an entrepreneur. So the blurring and blending process across the physical and digital will continue – and I think there will still be the campus, but it will start to feel much more like an intrinsic part of the city. Almost like the educational quarter.
We very much need to work with the academics to change the way things are done
Samuel: I suppose I’m a quasi-academic. Some of the burning issues for us are the changing landscape of higher education, the uncertainty around Brexit, international students, diversification of income…but the really interesting thing from our point of view is trying to understand what the students want and need. Innovation is a hard thing to drive, particularly from a hard estates standpoint. We very much need to work with the academics to change the way things are done. Importantly, we’re currently working on a really interesting project, which is a Student Hub – and this is about consolidating all of our services, so there is an analogy with the banking and retail sectors here. This is all about trying to create a completely different environment, bringing in advisers and offering the students a very commercial experience. I know the majority of today’s panel are concerned with delivering the facilities – but it’s actually more about how the services are delivered around them. Sometimes that can get lost when these landscape architectural projects are delivered. They look great – but they don’t actually function that well! With this in mind, we ask how long it takes, on average, to ‘stack’ one of these landscape buildings? Sue: It’s probably a minimum of three and a half years – and that is a challenge. There’s definitely a move towards working in the same way as you would when approaching a speculative office block. I do a lot of university masterplans and, constantly, head of estates are saying, ‘We don’t want you to design that for the business school – we want a flexible building that could be commercial, could be academic…’ We’ll still deliver super specialist spaces
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when and where they’re required, but there’s little difference between the majority of these spaces and commercial spaces – they could be classrooms, they could be offices, they could be social learning. It’s all about designing in that flexibility. Kay: A lot of the work we get involved with is quite specialised in terms of R&D. So these buildings are shared with private partnerships – you might get Unilever taking a floor within the University of Liverpool, for example. They are paying rental to the university and having a major input – but they’re not having the risk of building a new lab. It’s a really good crossover because the post-grad students get hands-on learning with these corporate businesses. It’s a different way of learning and teaching. Samuel: From our point of view, it’s probably the other side of that. For us, it’s more about degree apprenticeships and vocational studies. We’re moving away from the traditional undergraduate PGT model, where students are taught for eight hours per week, over the course of a week, using the library facilities etc, into a model where degree apprentices are in for a day, for all-day intensive learning. It’s very different because they then take the projects they’re working on in the university back to the businesses they’re working with. That’s impacting on the space they require – it’s very different in terms of a timetabling point of view. It’s quite difficult because you need a certain volume to be able to create bespoke spaces that can then be block booked. It’s taken some time to adjust to this.
It’s a really good crossover because the post-grad students get hands-on learning with these corporate businesses. It’s a different way of learning and teaching
Conclusion: There’s little doubt that, in the not so distant future, our universities are going to be even more flexible and adaptable spaces. As Professor Stephen Edge suggests, AI & VR technology will rule, while up-market apprenticeships will increasingly blur the boundaries between industry and academia – the future is looking bright for the higher education sector. The transition from cellular classrooms and ‘traditional’ teaching methods will, of course, take time – but with people such as the members of our panel in charge, the move to more flexible, innovative spaces and practices will continue, while forwardthinking collaborations with businesses will help produce new generations of ‘work ready’ graduates and also healthy revenue streams for the universities. w
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Mix 187 September 2018 | 66
Roundtable
THANKS FOR THE DISCUSSION!
Sam Bensky, Partner, Rider Levett Bucknall
Kay Bridges, Senior Interior Designer, Fairhurst Design Group
Andrew Bruce, Manager, Morgan Sindall
Sam is jointly responsible for overseeing a 30-strong team in an office nearing almost 100 staff. Since joining in 2006, Sam’s main projects are in the office fit-out and higher education sectors, including the University of Manchester and Staffordshire University. Sam was also part of the team selected to develop a version of their sustainable fit-out assessment tool, Ska, specifically for the HE sector.
Interior Design Associate at Fairhursts Design Group, Kay plays a key role in the design and delivery of a wide range of interior/architecture projects. An experienced and innovative designer with over 20 years working in the commercial sector, over the past five years she has specialised in the R&D and higher education sectors and enjoys working closely with the client team to design and deliver environments that everyone can be proud of.
Having begun his career in architecture, Andrew joined Morgan Sindall in 2015 and has worked on a number of high profile projects in the North West. He is passionate about creating buildings that inspire and transform, and enjoys the opportunities at pre-construction to work closely with clients, providing support that goes beyond construction. Andrew is a champion of digital construction and lectures at universities in the North West.
Sue Emms, Architect Director, BDP
Simon Lane, Head of Design Management, Laing O’Rourke
Paul Munro, Regional Director, ISG
Sue is a Principal in the Manchester studio of BDP and is the education sector lead in the North. She is responsible for delivering innovative and award winning educational projects. An active champion of good design and a holistic and sustainable approach to building, Sue is also a visiting practice professor at the University of Sheffield. In 2015 she won the Architect of the Year category at the Women in Construction Awards.
Simon, Head of Design Management at Laing O’Rourke Construction, has functional responsibility for a team of 34 Design Managers. Simon was born in Wythenshawe, Manchester, and has worked in construction since leaving school at the age of 16. An advocate of collaboration and off-site manufacturing, Simon prides himself on his ability to form successful long-term working relationships.
Paul is a Regional Director for ISG, with approaching 30 years of major construction project experience. He joined ISG in 2017 to lead the North West business, which carries out new build, refurbishment and fit-out projects across the region. Recently completed projects include the £13 million refurbishment of Manchester Corn Exchange for hotel operator Roomzzz and the £39 million redevelopment of Liverpool Lime Street.
Steve Edge, Senior Lecturer Interior Design, University of Gloucestershire Steve has been a design academic and practitioner for over 30 years. He divides his time between lecturing and practicing, promoting Biophilic strategies to universities, to help improve health and wellbeing in the interior. His latest commission from Manchester’s AHR architects as Biophilic Design Consultant is to ensure that the new RCP HQ in Liverpool will be the healthiest building in the UK, when it opens in 2020.
Samuel Radziejowski, Assistant Director of Estates, Facilities and Capital Development, MMU Sam has been focused on managing property assets and developing estate strategy solutions for nearly 12 years and has recently taken responsibility for the estates projects team. His key responsibilities are strategic estates planning, property and asset management, space management and utilisation and estates management information and analytics.
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Case Study | BUPA
Health Centre We’re big fans of Manchester’s tram network. Just minutes ago, we were in the heart of the bustling city – and now we find ourselves already at the entrance of the building we’ve come to visit in Salford Quays (so officially we’re in a completely different city). What’s more, it cost us less than we’d pay for a frothy coffee! 68 | Mix 189 November 2018
ABOVE: Coworking space offers plenty of natural light
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uch is the position of the new BUPA headquarters here in Salford, it almost feels as though it has its own dedicated tram stop – in everything other name. The new facility opened its doors in June, with interiors designed by ID:SR – the interior design group of Sheppard Robson. The 148,500 sq ft project is split over six floors, bringing together over 2,000 staff from three buildings into what is BUPA’s first co-located environment. The project was seen as a significant opportunity to elevate the BUPA brand and focus on health and wellbeing within the workplace design.
The ground floor space features a fantastic variety of visitor (and staff) facing settings and facilities – in fact it’s so impressive that we hardly notice our hosts, BUPA’s Facilities Manager, Will Greene, and ID:SR Associate Partner, Marie Leyland, are here to greet us and give us a tour of the building. We begin by asking about the origins of the project. ‘Years ago, our architectural team looked at a number of sites for BUPA across Manchester,’ Marie reveals. ‘We ended up looking at the interiors for them when they decided to move here. This was built by Peel for BUPA, with Chapman Taylor
as the base build architects – and they obviously remembered us from when we did the appraisals for those other sites. We pitched for the project and were brought on board in 2016 – so quite early in the process. It’s been really good working with them. ‘They were in three separate buildings over a number of floors in Anchorage, just down the road from here. The leases were expiring on a couple of those buildings and what they were finding was that a number of different working cultures were developing. What they really wanted was one building and one culture – a building that would
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Case Study | BUPA
ABOVE: A coworking space featuring hut style meeting areas
reflect their ethos. So what you’ll find here is lots of natural materials, natural light, sit/stand working etc. ‘The brief was originally for 2,000 people, with 1,600 desks and during the duration of the project the figure went up to 2,300 people – so that really is quite a business change as well as a cultural change.' We ask Marie if the fact that ID:SR were brought on board at a relatively early stage of the process meant they were able to influence the development of the building. ‘When we did our test fits, we found that the secondary core was slightly off – when we looked at the circulation space, the core was cutting into the middle of that. It just wasn’t very logical. So we ended up moving that in by a couple of metres – which meant we had a clear circulation and could increase occupancy.’ The wellbeing of staff is supported through the layout of working and social spaces to encourage movement and flow through the building, facilitating increased interaction, internal/external visibility and collaboration. The range of agile work settings and social spaces also empowers staff, giving them control over the type of spaces they select to support their work. The move provides a dynamic workplace for staff, centred on promoting flexible and collaborative working and enhancing business productivity, supporting BUPA’s vision to provide an even better service for their customers. Workspace on the upper floors provides meeting,
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seminar and training rooms and a variety of informal work settings, surrounding a central open atrium that connects with the café and coworking space on the ground floor. ‘The ground floor is non-departmental – it’s all shared workspace,’ Marie points out. ‘The idea is that visitors from other offices can use any of the informal meeting spaces here. None of this is bookable. Anyone can come here and use it – we wanted people to be more agile and not take any ownership of this space to the exclusion of others. 'The café blends into the workspace and then there is the separate 250-seat restaurant at the back of the floor, which has great views over the Manchester Ship Canal. Part of the original brief was to have vending machines – but we were really keen to promote healthy eating. The idea is that the café is open from early until late, while the restaurant is open in the middle of the day.’ ‘The ground floor has proved to be incredibly popular,’ Will admits. ‘The whole ground floor is busy all day long. We inducted people into the building in groups – about 80 people a day, with everyone getting about an hour-long induction – so that really helped in getting people to understand that they can come down here and use the space. We put a lot of emphasis into making people understand, from day one, how the building works. I’d say we’ve been pretty successful in achieving that. We haven’t found that there has been any pressure on desks – and a lot of that is
Project Team Client BUPA Place, Salford Quays Interior Design ID:SR Sheppard Robson Furniture Provider Workstation Flooring Interface, Bolon, Forbo Furniture Vitra, Pedrali, Offecct, DUM, Sancal, Andreu World, Billani, Herman Miller, Hay, Modus, Norman Copenhagen, BuzziSpace, Senator, Ophelis Storage Specialist Joinery, BCD, Bisley, Scribe Surfaces Jonathan Carey Design, Vescom, Textura, Domus Tiles, Corian, Johnson Tiles Architect Chapman Taylor Others Baux, Autex, Kvadrat, FF&E, TC5
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Case Study | BUPA
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With this environment it feels
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as though we have all been
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rejuvenated – it almost feels as though we’re working for a different company
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TOP TO BOTTOM: The Atrium perimeter. Support facilities lockers. The restaurant space.
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down to people using the space as we intended them to. There are people who have been with us for over 20 years – so this was a huge cultural change for them. 'With this environment it feels as though we have all been rejuvenated . A lot of our people have never experienced anything like this – and there is a real ‘wow’ factor for people coming into the space for the first time. Everything has been thought about – and we had to do that. We’ve got people upstairs in our call centre who are answering calls of a sensitive nature, like, ‘I’m terminally ill…’ – that’s not a standard call centre job. It can be really tough – so we needed to provide those facilities where people can get away from their desks and have some time to themselves. ‘We are operational 24/7 and we have put a number of etiquettes in place. Because of the nature of the hours and also the nature of the work when people come to the rest area – the restaurant – there is no work whatsoever. That means no laptops, no phone calls, no meetings. This is purely a space for people to escape, to rest. We also want people to come down to the ground floor to have their lunch – not stay at their desks.’
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intelligent bespoke environments
www.jcareydesign.com
Case Study | BUPA
THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: The reception area. In the café. A group work area. OPPOSITE, TOP TO BOTTOM: A view of the atrium. In the café.
‘It was also important that the design and the palette was calm and soothing – and wasn’t overly corporate,’ Marie adds. The design engages with the principles of biophilic design, forging connections between people and nature. To help promote a positive mental response, there is plenty of ‘green’ to be found on the ground floor (including a central 5m high Barringtonia tree) while, as Marie touched upon a little earlier, a subtle palette of organic materials with high environmental credentials and recycled content has been employed throughout, helping create a calm setting for work.
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The majority of the team workspace is located on the upper floors and to the perimeter of each floorplate, with views out over the building’s waterside location, allowing natural daylight to flood into these areas. Collaboration and informal social space encircles the full-height central atrium on each of the floors. Client meeting rooms, on the other hand, are positioned central to the floorplan, giving views over internal operations. ‘When it comes to meeting space, we’ve gone from 17 formal meeting spaces across 24 floors, to 59 bookable rooms – but overall we have more than 90 formal and informal meeting spaces,’ Will admits.
Marie challenges us to count the number of different work settings we can find on one of the upper floors. From a standing start we can see a huge variety, from open collaboration tables through to high back sofas and pods…we lose count without even moving. This really is a scheme that massively elevates the culture and the brand. By relocating just down the road, BUPA has actually moved forward decades. We think it’s probably time we said our goodbyes, left our hosts in peace and took that 20 second stroll to ‘our’ tram stop. w
Leading UK furniture manufacturer
In Short BUPA was founded in 1947 and became the first major company health insurance scheme during the 1950s. It has bases on three continents with almost eight millions customers. BUPA now run care homes, health centres, dental centres and hospitals alongside offering workplace health services and health insurance.
t 01685 352222
sales@triumphfurniture.com
www.triumphfurniture.com
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Case Study | CEF
Electrical Engineering Over the years, we've taken many an East Coast train up to the fantastic cities of Newcastle and Edinburgh. On each of those journeys we have, without fail, reached Durham and vowed that, some day, we would find a way to stop there. Today is that day!
OPPOSITE: Meeting space with feature switch wall ABOVE: CEF Cafe
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f you’ve also taken that train journey, you’ll be all too aware of why we were so keen. The railway snakes high above Durham, giving brilliant views across the city, with its stunning cathedral almost on the same level as the train. So, when FaulknerBrowns’ Head of Interiors, Steve Dickson, asked us if we’d be interested in taking a look at a project the firm had recently completed in that part of the world, we jumped at the chance – although the truth is that we’d have said yes wherever it had been! Steve told us that he’d been working on an interesting office building for City Electrical Factors (CEF) – the UK’s leading electrical wholesale network, with almost 400 branches nationwide (that’s almost twice as many distribution outlets as its nearest competitor). A private limited company established in 1951, City Electrical Factors’ group of electrical companies not only extends throughout the UK today, but also North America, Ireland, Spain and even Australia.
‘A few years ago, we were asked to design CEF’s IT headquarters in Durham,’ Steve tells us, as we make our way out of the town and to that point where business estate meets countryside. ‘Pivotal to the expansion of the business, the IT teams required a new home as they were distributed around a variety of buildings, each with poor facilities and limited appeal. They were, traditionally, in and around this area, but not only had the facilities become tired, they had also virtually doubled the number of staff in a pretty short period of time.’ The new building brings together various departments including IT programmers, data prep teams, finance, graphics, marketing and the call centre into one creative environment. ‘It’s important to CEF that they are seen as a creative business,’ Steve reveals. ‘They recorded an impressive growth last year, while others had shown the opposite – and put a great deal of that down to their online skill.
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Case Study | CEF
ABOVE: Creative crit space for marketing BELOW: Cafe with views of Durham countryside
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'So these people are incredibly important to the business.’ On approaching the building, it’s immediately clear that it stands out from its neighbours on the estate. ‘The whole premise of the design is based around what is the lowest commodity they have as a wholesale business – which is a piece of wire!’ Steve points out. ‘We quite like that metaphor because it’s about how CEF communicates. So we took the visual of a wire and stripped it back. The black architectural block is symbolic of the protective coating of the wire; then you get an armored secondary skin, which is represented in the southern block, then an insulator – which is the
internal concrete structure here – then the colour, which is the plastic around the copper and, finally, the copper itself. 'So the whole building has that nice analogy about it – CEF really wanted a building that was ‘of them’. ‘Moving inside, we’ve also got braided wire forms throughout. One of the first things we were asked to do was to use as many of CEF’s own products as possible in the building. An example of this is the Tamlite lighting products – which are slightly utilitarian – and we’ve wrapped them and created grand feature chandeliers. We really got into the idea of using their products.’
LEFT: Entrance with feature map BELOW: Orsted meeting room BOTTOM: Digital review wall for support team
The Client
City Electrical Factors Ltd were established in 1951 at a single branch based in Coventry. Due to an impressive rate of sustained growth are now the UK's leading electrical wholesaler with almost 400 branches nationwide. Their group now reaches out across Ireland, North America, Spain and Australia.
Proud furniture provider to CEF, designed by Faulkner Browns Architects. A big thank you to all involved in delivering this amazing project. Follow us on social media;
@workpattern
Case Study | CEF
ABOVE: Upper level view of the street
Walking into the double-height space, Steve tells us that each side is home to teams with concentrated activities, such as data processing and coding. ‘This space is defined by the black box, with its perforated skin that wraps around it and the street, which links the work zones. We’ve tried to keep everything black, lightweight and almost ‘wire-like’ when it comes to the furniture and you’ll see that there’s a constant reference to this throughout the various workspaces.’ We can see the first examples of this in a flexible multi-use space opposite reception, where training, functions and large-scale presentations can take place. Steve reveals that there is, directly above us, a full-on gym with both facilities boasting views out over the local countryside and bags of natural light. ‘CEF takes wellbeing and the welfare of their staff really seriously,’ he tells us. In fact, as we walk through the ground floor of this amazingly open and bright facility, we notice that a great deal of the space benefits massively from serene views of greenery and natural light. The open nature of the main street is cleverly punctuated by a series of bridges and interventions. ‘We’ve used a lot of CEF’s own fittings in these areas – for example, we’ve created this large industrial lantern, which looks like a safety light you’d clip onto a building, but on a giant scale. It looks great at night – it really glows!’ Steve
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grins. ‘To this end of the building we’ve created a breakout and social space, with games consoles and pool table, while the café then wraps around this area. Everything is networked and has WiFi – and we’ve added little punches of red and green and some really beautiful soft seating. ‘We’ve used a super-thin concrete material on a lot of the joinery – which picks up the concrete that runs throughout the building. The concrete helps to cool the building because of its thermal mass and the water pipes that are embedded in it. The system we’ve employed here is actually taken from car park design and gives us huge spans – we have 15m unbroken spans here. ‘The street connects the different departments and we’ve added some softer breakout spaces here, which have a really good spec. It didn’t take any convincing for CEF to buy into design quality and longevity. We went through a debate about what would go where but, other than that, CEF were fully on board. They previously had very little breakout or social space and only two meeting rooms. We went through a major presentation phase and a mock-up stage with them to help with what are pretty enormous cultural changes. ‘One of the key strategies with the street was that we didn’t want to make it a straightforward, parallel void. We wanted to make it articulate sculpturally, so we have pushed and pulled
Project Team Client City Electrical Factors Interior Design & Architecture FaulknerBrowns Architects Furniture Dealer Workpattern Furniture Suppliers Herman Miller, Vitra, orangebox, Boss, Naughtone, Ocee Design, Knoll, Pedrali, Dare Studio Flooring Milliken, Forticrete, Junkers, Forbo, Gerflor, Gradus Storage Bisley, Vitra Lighting Tamlite Acoustics Autex Surfaces CTD ceramics, Formica, Skyline Neolith, Silent Gliss, Idea Paint
Case Study | CEF
the skin of the black ceramic, which gives us balconies, meeting rooms, semi-protected discussion space and then these pods, which cantilever right out. 'Departments are given collaborative space away from the main desk space as well as breakout facilities. In terms of ratio, this is probably 60:40 in terms of breakout space to dedicated space – so an awful lot of the building is given over to collaboration.’ Throughout each department we see a continuation of the smart ‘wire’ theme in both the base build elements and on the furniture solutions. There are smartboards, project tables and acoustic products, all designed to further aid collaboration in the heart of the dedicated working zones. Furthermore, as we look along the street, we can see that each of the different settings – from standing height meeting tables and pods, through to meeting rooms and aforementioned café and pool table – are all being used. One thing that we don’t say too often, but which is incredibly relevant and true of this facility, is that City Electrical Factors’ people appear genuinely happy, creating a welcoming, healthy buzz throughout the heart of the building.
BELOW: IT touchdown for roaming staff
Moving up to the first floor, we get to see the inside view of the discussion spaces and cleverly ‘protruding’ pods. Not only do we get fantastic views back over the street below, but we also discover just how different the nature of each of these different facilities is: from individual quiet space through to formal meeting space, relaxed informal meeting space and open collaborative space – and all within a short, easy stroll from each department. The integration of City Electrical Factors’ own products really works well, not only smartly suited with the base build’s materials and furniture and furnishings, but also adding a unique personal touch to what must be a pretty unique facility in this part of the country (and beyond). ‘What’s truly rewarding is that, through this process, CEF has actually looked at its own product offering and really stepped up to take notice of where the market is. They’re really creative people and that is intrinsic to their business.’ So, we’ve had our day out in Durham and it really is a beautiful place. The next time we’re on that East Coast Line heading through (or should that be above?) the city, we’ll be thinking of our visit to CEF. Impressive, creative, welcoming and putting people at its heart, this is how a modern workplace should look, feel and function. w
Case Study | CEF
LEFT: Watt review room BELOW: Cantilevered meeting pod BOTTOM: Games zone
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Case Study | SmartSearch
Ilkley More When we told friends and colleagues that we were heading up to the West Yorkshire spa town of Ilkley, we were met with a series of approving noises. Having never been to the town, we weren’t sure what to expect. Let’s just say that we liked everything about Ilkley. 84 | Mix 189 November 2018
Case Study | SmartSearch
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LEFT: Many lounge and collaboration areas were featured in the design. Connection’s ‘Tryst’ console sofa with integral tech, room dividing storage from Dieffebi and feature timber ceiling rafts, combine to stunning effect. TOP: Sales floor at SmartSearch, featuring the Hive by Senator Special Projects and wall mounted acoustic panels in the client’s logo and colours. The Mixology award-winning Drumback by Viasit was selected after chair trials. BOTTOM: SmartSearch wanted a reception that created a lasting first impression and gave Opus 4’s design team a blank canvas. Floor and wall finishes combine with the bespoke counter and coloured bulkhead to create a striking visual impact.
he picturesque town is not the only thing that we’re going to be impressed with today. We’ve headed just a couple of minutes away from the heart of Ilkley, to look at the new headquarters of SmartSearch. Formerly based just along the railway in Guiseley, a short hop from Leeds, SmartSearch is the rapidly growing AML business. Not sure what that means? We weren’t altogether certain either. Thankfully, the company’s MD, Martin Cheek, is happy to tell us more. Martin explains that, back in 2004, he and his executive team created one of the very first electronic individual Anti Money Laundering (AML) verification services, in response to the 2004 Money Laundering Regulations. Back then, the regulating bodies and a number of organisations didn’t recognise electronic identification as a viable alternative to documents such as passports, driving licenses and utility bills – but how things have changed! Today, electronic verification is widely recognised as the most reliable, secure and efficient source of information for identity solutions – and SmartSearch’s groundbreaking Anti-Money
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Case Study | SmartSearch
TOP: At the heart of the space is a stunning 4000 sq ft social hub, with hd video games, pool, table tennis and futsal.
Everybody in the business was invited to put suggestions forward for what they would like to see in the new workplace – and their ideas were taken on board and implemented
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Laundering (AML) verification platform is used by more than 3,000 businesses across the world. SmartSearch is the only organisation in the UK with the ability to verify individuals and companies, all in a single platform. It screens for ‘politically exposed persons’ (PEPs) – those that present a higher risk for potential bribery and corruption. Serious stuff then. Not that you’d know it by the warm, friendly and generous welcome we receive from Martin and the team here – or from the buzz of this impressive new SmartSearch home. Of course, one of the reasons for this lovely welcome (apart from the fact that the SmartSearch team is such a happy, friendly bunch) is that we’re accompanied by Andrew Jackson of Opus4 – the design firm responsible for this forward-thinking workspace. Andrew tells us more about the origins of the project: ‘It’s been incredible working with these guys. The leadership team they put together worked really well together. As part of the ‘getting to know you’ phase, we went out to a local Michelin star restaurant and we paired up into twos and cooked a course each with the chefs – that really set the tone for the six-month collaboration phase. 'Initially, they looked to go out to a number of firms – and we had been recommended by two separate sources. So we felt we had a USP over a number of the other firms.
‘We took an initial brief – and SmartSearch felt that we were the only ones who really listened to them. They also felt that we had gone away and come back with the closest scheme to what they had in their minds. Like I said, we had a good six months’ collaboration. There were slight changes to the actual design during that phase, but it was more about the product specification. So we went back to Clerkenwell and showed them various furniture items. It was a real blank canvas – and they very much made their own minds up. For example, when they saw Senator’s Hive product they said, ‘We’re having that!’ ‘If they liked it, and saw the value in it, they went for it. This was great for us, as it allowed us to bring together an eclectic mix of products from the majority of the mainstream manufacturers, rather than trying to shoe-horn products in from just one. And the manufacturers were all great too. There is often politics at play where, if a certain company knows there is more furniture to go for, they can get territorial or greedy and push for everything. That really didn’t happen (too much).’ This eclectic mix of products includes pieces by Senator/Allermuir, Frovi, Gresham, orangebox, Sven Christiansen, Spacestor, Ocee, Boss, Connection, Receptek, Vantage and many more.. There’s nothing random about the selection, however, with everything suiting and dovetailing to produce a
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Case Study | SmartSearch
fantastic choice of work, informal and formal meeting and social settings. ‘As you’d expect from a furniture consultancy perspective, we came in and learned how their various departments worked,’ Andrew continues. ‘We paid particular attention to acoustics in the call centre area and factored in future expansion.’ Future expansion is hugely important here. As we mentioned earlier, this is a rapidly growing business. Having far outgrown their former facility in Guiseley, the SmartSearch executive team was determined to find a new home that would accommodate not only the present numbers of staff but also imminent growth in the future. With this in mind, SmartSearch have taken the ground and second floors here at Mayfield House (the first floor was already in occupation). While the hub of the business is situated on the second floor, the ground floor is split into two wings, with expansion space on one side and an amazing social space on the other. When we say amazing, we mean amazing! There are no formal work settings here, instead we find a cool gaming zone, pool and table tennis, informal booths, a large kitchen/bar facility and plenty of seating options for staff to chill, eat, drink and play. Although space for expansion, attraction and retention of good people and improved productivity were only prerequisites for SmartSearch, looking after their people is clearly at the very top of the agenda. Andrew tells us that the directors went above and beyond when it came to ensuring the people were looked after here. ‘Everybody in the
business was invited to put suggestions forward for what they would like to see in the new workplace – and their ideas were taken on board and implemented. On the first day here, everyone had a personal message and a present on their desks, welcoming them to their new home and letting them know that their requests had been listened to. They really involved and engaged the staff. ‘To be honest, since joining Opus in 2002, I’d say that SmartSearch have given us our best ever client experience. They really bought into the importance of workplace design in influencing and improving culture and wellbeing. This resulted in a much longer design consultancy period than normal. Their project team was very hands-on and so receptive to ideas. They love people to hear their story and explain the decisions they took and the subsequent benefits the staff has got from the space. We’ve taken seven separate visiting companies to see the space so far, five of which have engaged with us – while we’re still awaiting decisions from the other two. ‘One of their directors and our Head of Design were in tears on the final day because we had got so close on the project journey. It was a real labour of love for us.’ The results are, indeed, pretty special. There’s a great flow to the second floor, with the bright, colourful reception in the middle of the space, while to our left we find another smart kitchen/ diner facility, accompanied by a collaboration table and elegant soft seating solutions, as well as an elegant boardroom.
Project Team Client SmartSearch Interior Design & Architecture Opus4 Furniture Opus4, Sven, Senator, Frovi, orangebox, Viasit, Ocee, Spacestor, Connection, Humanscale, Gresham, Silverline, Dieffebi, Muuto, Orn, Receptek, CMD, ABL Flooring Bolon, Desso, Interface Surfaces Red Interiors, Tektura, Vescom, Photowall, 4D Creations, Howdens, Tiles UK, Topps Storage Spacestor, Dieffebi Other Suppliers Agile Acoustic, Absorba, Wayfair, Vantage Spaces, Dwell Rug Vista, Karboxx Lighting, BigDug, Commercial Blinds, Merlin Architectural, Nest.co.uk, Designed 4U
BELOW: The client had a decades-old wood-panelled boardroom at their old office. A key element of the design brief was to have a contemporary boardroom with the latest conferencing technology. The finishes are striking, but more formal than the bright colours used in the lounge and collaboration spaces.
Mix 189 November 2018 | 89
Case Study | SmartSearch
To the left, departments are cleverly delineated with the use of acoustic and domestic-styled products, subtly breaking up what is a large open plan floorplate. Again, the space is bright and energetic, with the aforementioned Senator Hive at its heart. The design is underpinned by a series of angles, which also help to break up and delineate the space – while adding a dramatic flourish to the scheme. The friendly, smiling girls on reception admit that this is a different world from their former home – with both staff and clients loving the new facility. We meet up with Martin again, who entertains us with his story of picking up the Queen’s Award from Prince Charles, before telling us all about the business – even giving us some eye-opening examples of how SmartSearch’s innovative products work. ‘Our goal is to make everything faster – and our previous building was stopping us from doing that. Now we can really fly,’ he smiles. ‘It was a fabulous experience,’ Gareth Allen, Operations Director, tells us of the process. ‘We felt that Opus’ thinking really mirrored our own. We liked
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them as people and we liked how they ran their business. After coming to see us initially, they came back to us with one phone call to check a couple of things – to make sure that they knew what it was were really after. So either they’d listened really well or understood us. Everything gelled straight away. We trusted them from the start. ‘It was a concern for us that we were moving from Guiseley – from further away from Leeds – but we really liked this place and it’s on the same line. To be honest, we’re delighted that we found somewhere far better than moving closer to Leeds. We did, however, want to make sure that everything we put in place here would convince people to stay with us – and everybody moved, no questions asked!' And why wouldn’t they? The fact that Ilkley is a lovely town only adds to the appeal. When a company looks after its people as well as SmartSearch clearly does, they could relocate to the moon and still keep the vast majority happy. There is, however, a much better atmosphere here! w
Case Study | SmartSearch
The Client THE ONLY AML RESOURCE YOU NEED
Smart Search were the very first electronic individual Anti Money Laundering (AML) verification service in response to the 2004 Money Laundering Regulations. They are now the leading online provider of Anti Money Laundering Services and help businesses comply with Anti Money Laundering Regulations. The CEO is Robert Sulentic, the company has over 450 offices worldwide and has clients in over 100 countries.
LEFT: The sales training room was themed. The mix of furniture styles from orangebox, gave the room a more relaxed, social feel. OPPOSITE, BOTTOM: Opus 4 designed a number of acoustic solutions to reduce noise pollution. The result was an eerily peaceful call centre space, despite the majority of people being on calls.
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Review | Orgatec
Swing Time We hope we don’t sound too smug when we say that we could have told you (months and months ago) the majority of the major trends we’d find at this year’s Orgatec.
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Review | Orgatec
1 1. Ray Soft range by Brunner 2. Thinking Works stand 3. CILA GO by Arper 4. Håg by Flokk 5. Sedus stand
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o be honest, it doesn’t take much of a genius to work out that the latest edition of Europe’s leading furniture fair would be dominated by a mass of new phone booths, acoustic products, high-backs, soft seating landscape products and swings. What’s that? Swings? Yep, there were plenty of swings on show, as the good and the great of the German furniture market took their soft seating on to the next free and fancy level. Wheeee! We wonder who sent the memo. Another trend we might (and should) have anticipated was that there would be many a non-
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3 exhibiting Brit casting dispersions on the show. We’re not sure why. Oh, and for the record, simply saying that the show was ‘too German’ is not good enough. You’re in Cologne! There was, as ever, plenty to see – some good and some not so good – but if you took a bit of time, you could certainly find some genuinely impressive new product introductions. Take Brunner’s beautiful new extensions to its already brilliant RAY collection; simple, elegant, modern – this is a perfect example of how to build a collection and enhance a brand. Hats off to Jehs +
Laub – and to Brunner for knowing a winner then they see one. We were also impressed by the new Pure chair from Interstuhl. The swivel chair supports the user’s movements in all directions. This 360-degree manoeuvrability is all down to a new and unique material – a special composition of polyamide and glass fibre, which has been meticulously developed and extensively tested by Interstuhl. The result is a dynamic and agile chair that adapts intuitively to anyone who sits on it, while there is also a welcome absence of a mechanism and tricky adjustments
Review | Orgatec
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– and, we’re assured, it comes with a surprisingly attractive price tag. Once again, Vitra (and friends) flexed their muscles with a full-hall display. We were slightly taken aback (but actually quite liked) to be chaperoned into the zone where you could actually test the latest products. Although we received no official line of why this was, we did hear that it was to detract certain foreign bodies from getting a little too close with their screwdrivers and cameras. Anyway, we did like Barber & Osgerby’s Soft Work, which can be easily assembled into diverse arrangements, enabling you designers to structure the internal spaces of a building, create specific focal points or define flexible public areas. It just looked like a really elegant, flexible seating solution to us. Think Joyn in seating form. It will be available from June 2019.
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Review | Orgatec
6. BuzziBracks by BuzziSpace 7. Parkour by werner works 8. FourSure table by Ocee Design
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9. Coworking meeting rooms and lounge pavilions by Kettal
Also catching our eye was Rookie – a small, agile and unconventionally simple chair, designed by Konstantin Grcic. It provides a high level of immediate comfort with a minimal number of adjustments. Furthermore, Rookie is extremely budget friendly, and will be available from April 2019. We’ve come to expect crisp, smart storage solutions from werner works, but were (very pleasantly) surprised to find an entire new direction at this year’s Orgatec, in the shape of Parkour. The series of multifunctional, flexible ‘bunks’ is the brainchild of Kinzo from Berlin. Like parcour, the design follows possible sequences of movement, with human proportions dictating the layout. You can work, meet, store and chill. We like. We were especially taken with Actiu’s latest offerings. If we were to pick just one, Talent is a mobile, foldable, stackable table system that offers great versatility to multi-use spaces. The tables also provide an ergonomic solution, as their height adjustment system does not need an electrical connection. Clever stuff from Spain’s finest. Humanscale introduced a redesign of its bestselling line of its M2.1, M8.1 and M10 monitor arms, now manufactured with the fewest parts, pieces and packaging possible, to minimise the amount of energy and materials needed. There really is plenty of bang for your buck here! It was also good to see Summa, Humanscale’s first executive boardroom seating, in Europe for the first time. Summa exudes luxurious simplicity, presenting a clean aesthetic from every angle. With auto-recline and tension automatically established by the user’s weight, it offers seamless support and comfort for the boardroom. It was curtains for BuzziSpace in hall 10 – in a very good way. We were particularly taken with BuzziBracks, which is a modular system that can
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Review | Orgatec
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12 be combined in numerous ways to create different areas – to work, focus, relax or meet. The curtains, available in a wide color palette, act as a visual as well as acoustic shield from the surroundings, separating one zone from the other. Designed by Alain Gilles, BuzziBracks allows users to continuously create and recreate microenvironments within open workspaces. Think coworking! Just for the record, we spent far more time than we expected to in halls 10 and 11 at this year’s show. Slightly removed from the main new boulevard, where the Germanic giants largely dominate, we were pleasantly surprised to find so many brilliant brands with brilliant displays and brilliant product introductions – including the likes of Arper, Walter Knoll, Fritz Hansen, Kettal and Poltrona Frau. We’re big fans of Italy’s Tecno, and, for this year’s Orgatec, the company’s stand was designed to represent the ideal office building floor, offering multiform solutions that promoted free movement, collaboration and meeting options. Among these impressive, diverse environments, we really liked Linea, a new reconfigurable micro-
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13 architectural system designed by Zanon Architetti Associati and the Centro Progetti Tecno – while the Aura armchairs also turned our heads. Thinking Works seldom disappoint. The Screenliner system incorporates human-centric lighting technology to maximise productivity in the office. Running on a central control panel, workstations equipped with the Screenliner acoustic screen system will emit a measured amount of blue and yellow light. Following a programme that has been engineered to maintain focus over the course of the workday, cool light keeps employees engaged throughout the day before smoothly transitioning to a warm light as the workday ends. With additional features including integrated storage for phones, glasses, headsets and other personal effects, Screenliner provides built-in power and inductive charging facilities as well as concealed power management. Screenliner will be available in 2019. Finally, although the number of UK manufacturers was low compared with previous editions, it was good to see neighbours (for the week at least) Camira and CMD, who both delivered impressive displays. w
14 10. Nowy Styl stand 11. Casala stand 12. SoftWork by Vitra 13. Camira 14. Pure by Interstuhl
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Review |
SELECTIONS
Grow is a defining theme shaping colour in commercial interiors The Grow palette is found within INVISTA Antron Lumena carpet fibre, now featuring 19 new colours driven by the results of the Global Colour Trend Forecast 2019. With more than 300 different stain-resistant and fade-resistant colour options, Antron Lumena includes metallic shades in mineral, silver and granite, through to vibrant flashes of fuscia, oceanside and citron. Antron Lumena carpet fibre provides carpets with permanent colour through a solution-dyed multi-hollow yarn. www.antron.eu
Armstrong Ceilings help bring a new lease of life to a tired office building A mix of metal and mineral systems from Armstrong Ceilings has helped to transform a tired office block opposite Victoria station in London into a stunning mixed-use building. Armstrong’s perforated metal D-Clip island or floating ceilings in RAL 9022 (pearl light grey), a modern and modular absorber solution for exposed concrete ceilings, feature on all six office floors (11,000 sq m), while white mineral Ultima+ 600mm x 600mm boards in an exposed 24mm grid were used in the back-of-house areas. www.armstrongceilings.com
Multi-functional colour from modulyss at Alzheimer’s Research UK The Cambridge headquarters of Alzheimer’s Research UK has recently been refurbished, including the commissioning of an additional 350 sq m of office space, with the Motion /// Vision carpet tile concept from modulyss playing a key role. The carpet tiles used in the reception and breakout area, feeding directly off the meeting room suite, needed to be more vibrant and stimulating, but follow the same design. The Motion /// Vision carpet tile collection from modulyss had the style and depth to allow both tasks to be met. www.modulyss.com
Make offices out of the ordinary with UNILIN, division panels UNILIN, division panels, designs and manufactures HPL and melamine surfaces for use in commercial environments and, through its Evola and ClicWall ranges, it can provide office spaces with innovative, authentic looking surfaces that are durable and easy to maintain. In fact, UNILIN can offer office space designers a flexible way to approach walls, partitions, furniture and surface treatments, with different looks that all possess the same low-maintenance, splash-proof, scratchresistant, fade-resistant and durable finish. www.unilinpanels.com
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Review |
SELECTIONS
Ethereal inspiration at The Imperial Banqueting Suite The stunning Ethereal collection of wool-rich woven axminster by Wilton Carpets has inspired a striking new floor for the impressive mezzanine at Preston’s Imperial Banqueting Suite, a new wedding venue inspired by Dubai’s luxury hotels. 'As soon as I saw the Ethereal collection, I was adamant that it would take a role in one of my projects,' comments Nita Patel, Creative Designer. 'The mezzanine level at the Imperial proved the perfect canvas. As soon as I presented it on mood boards for the scheme, the client loved it.' www.wiltoncarpets.com
Protocol introduces modular seating with charging capabilities AirWave by Protocol is an exciting new modular seating solution that can incorporate wireless charging for mobiles and USB power for other devices. The range starts with simple ottomans and benches that can be arranged in a linear or curved series, followed by endless possible configurations of single and double seats. The backs and sides of the high and low models combine to create various patterns of sinusoidal curves, allowing you to optimise floor space to create communal or private environments. www.protocoluk.com
Storage-top displays continue to be popular planting option Storage-top plant displays continue to be a key office trend, according to interior landscaping company, Inleaf. 'Living plants are a key part of a healthier workplace and biophilic design, adding storage-top planters is proving a very popular way to add them to modern offices,' says Inleaf Director, Daniel Atherton. Inleaf specialises in design-led living and artificial plant displays for commercial clients. www.inleaf.co.uk/storage-top-planting
Introducing the new SL range by Staverton SL is a new range of cleverly designed, cost-efficient and lightweight, sit/ stand desks from Staverton. Features include clean aesthetics, a versatile cable management bridge, height-adjusting software – which can be programmed to reflect the users’ personal health preferences – and the option to connect desks together to form long benches. In addition, Staverton’s high manufacturing standards guarantee that the SL range is a reliable and enduring workplace solution. www.staverton.co.uk
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The Last Word | Opinion
IS IT TIME THAT WORKPLACE MANAGEMENT HAD A SEAT AT THE TABLE? Criteo’s Head of Workplace Experience EMEA, Mike Walley, takes us on a journey through time – from the ‘humble’ office manager through to the complex and rapidly changing role of today’s workplace specialists.
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Mike Walley is Criteo’s Head of Workplace Experience EMEA
ack in the day I was an IT manager. This was before IT was really a thing and we would report to whichever department head had an interest in the subject, or had not ducked quickly enough when the responsibility had been thrown their way. No one could really work out where the responsibility for such magical things as email and word processing should live. Life was simpler back then as there were really only three departments in IT. Helpdesk, Network and Servers. Server Rooms used to be hot, dark spaces filled with laughably large machines but, gradually, over the years, things became more complex. Email systems became huge complicated monoliths, databases required vast amounts of management and finance systems became the tool upon which the operation of the entire company depended. So the Application Engineer was born to manage it all. Networks began to require architects that could envision a spider’s web of global connectivity and, in turn, require engineers who would realise the architect’s brainchild. Then the hackers arrived and security became a huge concern. Finally, just when we thought we could see the edges of the envelope, it all went wireless. Network Engineering was now mainstream. Helpdesks? Well they grew too. Major ticketing systems helped them manage the volume of calls they were now getting, since we all had computers. Specialisms grew up, teams were created and problems got categorised and sent off to particular groups for resolution (although the first question they still seem to ask is, ‘Have you tried turning it off and on again?’ Some things never change). Performance data was carefully collated and reported on. Graphs were drawn. One day, people realised, if you got this stuff wrong and it failed, you could go out of business overnight. Governments made it a legal requirement to do it properly, with sanctions if you didn’t and, in boardrooms all over the world, it was decided that a responsibility of such magnitude needed a seat at the table and the CIO or CTO was born. IT had finally come of age. You can probably see where I am heading with this now… It used to be that the MD’s assistant ran the office. It was part of the power they wielded. Then it got to be a little too much work and the Office Manager appeared. This person tended to look after the softer side of workplace and
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would bring in handymen and plumbers etc to deal with the technical issues. Office moves were just an exercise in logistics and office design meant counting how many desks could fit in the space. When the buildings got bigger, we got Facilities Managers. They were quite technical and spent their time with building systems and health and safety issues. When I first got involved with facilities, the tech company I was with had us reporting to the CIO(!) and it was very building oriented. Technical issues took up most of our time and coffee came in a jar. But over the next few years it began to get complex very quickly. Over and above the usual building management and health and safety responsibilities, new norms developed around ergonomics and wellbeing. The talent war in the tech industries started to heat up as the big players began to suck up all the available workforce. We all found we were competing for talent against beautifully designed offices, great experiences in the workplace and comprehensive wellbeing offerings. Finally, the tech start-ups decided that it was OK to be seriously agile, and so flexing the size of real estate footprints became the norm and deals got fast and complex. We had to step up and get serious. We had become ‘Workplace Management’. We created specialists. Hard services, events, wellbeing, concierge services, design, workplace analytics – all these elements are now integral to the operation of large workplaces and the concepts are spreading out of the world of tech companies and into that of financial services, pharmaceuticals and other large scale businesses. Now, just like IT, it is the turn of Workplace Management to be recognised. Leadership should realise that what we do impacts every person in a company and if we get it wrong there are serious consequences. These consequences are not limited to a lawsuit over a Health and Safety failing, but that the environments we create have a bearing on recruitment and retention. The cultures we create impact staff wellbeing and our supply chain and real estate decisions have major impacts on the bottom line. It is time to come out from under whichever department picked up the management of the workplace (typically it’s finance or HR these days) and take a seat at the leadership table. Workplace Management responsibilities are significant. Chief Workplace Officer anyone? w
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