Issue #2 - August 2011
ROPEMAKER REVIEW
ROPEMAKER
The
Place
Welcome
Welcome to the second edition of The Ropemaker Review. It’s been an eventful few months, with retail occupiers opening, new services launching and community initiatives ongoing. On p2 of this issue we continue the ‘Sustainability’ theme by giving you the lowdown on our solar panels and their money-saving magic. P3 updates on the successes of our recent retail openings, and p4-5 will tell you about the new range of lifestyle services, the latest innovation in the Ropemaker community. The fantastic CSR initiatives undertaken here are covered on p6-7, with updates on the Japan Tsunami Appeal, the Fairbridge charity and two exciting upcoming projects. There is also news on The Big City Climb coming to Ropemaker, and an abseil organised by our very own Liberum Capital. Finally we round off with some fascinating little known facts about Ropemaker Street, researched by our very own budding historian Stuart Ball!
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ROPEMAKER
SUSTAINABILITY
Place
atives Ropemaker’s Environmental Initi Ropemaker Place has a number of sustainability features, all of which are designed with energy efficiency and carbon reduction in mind. In the last issue of the Ropemaker Review, we introduced Sarah, our biomass boiler. In this issue, we look at how the building harvests solar energy. As the name would suggest, the photovoltaic (PV) cells in the roof’s solar panels transform light into electrical energy. To quote NASA: “Some materials naturally absorb photons of light and release electrons (the photoelectric effect). “Solar cells contain semi conductive photoelectric materials, such as silicon. A thin semiconductor wafer is specially treated to form an electric field, positive on one side and negative on the other. When light strikes the solar cell, electrons are knocked loose from the atoms in the semiconductor material. The electrons are captured in the form of an electric current, used as electricity.” A number of cells connected together in a support frame is called a module, and a number of modules wired together is called an array. Our roof has 90 “high efficiency” Sunpower PV panels, which from 1 April 2010 – 31 March 2011 generated some 16 000kWh of electricity – enough to power a 1kW electric heater for around 1 year and 10 months! In total, from practical completion in May 2009 until June 2011, the PV array has generated some 39 000 kWh of electricity. This was fed directly into the building’s electrical supply system, saving in the region of £4,000 and reducing our consumption of commercially produced electricity and therefore our carbon footprint. And that, folks, is why we love sunny days at Ropemaker Place!
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ARRIVALS
ROPEMAKER
New
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maker Family The Latest Additions to the Rope Cycle Surgery and EAT opened during June, with POD following hot on their heels in July. We are pleased to advise that all are reporting strong early trade. We have had positive feedback from a number of occupiers, who feel that the 3 retail operations are a good fit with the building. Cycle Surgery and Runners Needs (with a great range of not only running shoes but related products too) tie in very
EAT
well with the sustainability credentials of the building, and EAT and POD are a perfect fit because we all like to, well, EAT! A superb combination of healthy, wholesome food, and products and services designed to facilitate a combination of increased personal fitness and a reduction in carbon emissions – what more could we, as a sustainability-focused community, want!
Cycle Surgery
POD
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HARMONY
ROPEMAKER
Working In
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estyle Services Lif ’s er ak m pe Ro of ch un La ril The Ap TWINKLING TOES The good people of James Shoe Care were there demonstrating how to make even the most tired pair of Jimmy Choos shine like the bumper on a pristine ’59 Chevy. Initially James Shoe Care started coming in on Mondays but occupier feedback indicated that later in the week might be better, so we now have them in every Thursday. Further feedback has shown that people might not be entirely comfortable with the very public position of the stand, so we’re experimenting with different positions and indications are that behind the escalators might be better. James Shoe Care are also very flexible. They’ll shine your shoes in the chair. They’ll come up and shine your shoes at your desk or elsewhere on your floor. They’ll even come and collect your shoes from you, bring them down, shine them in reception and then return them to you within 15 minutes.
HEALING HANDS The ladies from Pampalicious provide the full salon nail experience within the workplace. The launch saw them set up in Ropemaker’s reception and demonstrate a number of their premium treatments. At present, they visit us every two weeks and provide their own special brand of pampering in the Broadgate Estates meeting room. They are, however, also flexible and able to provide their services wherever needed, be it at your desk or elsewhere on your floor.
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ROPEMAKER Place
RUB IT BETTER A number of stressed out people were much more relaxed after the tender ministrations of the Xhilarate team. Specialising in bespoke back, neck and shoulder massages, the talented team of stress busters can loosen up those tight muscles either in our meeting room or anywhere suitable in your own space.
CLEAN ‘N’ EASY Convenient cleaning at work! By far our most popular service at present, London Dry Cleaners operate from a hidey hole behind the main reception desk every morning and afternoon, offering a full range of cleaning and mending services. CONCIERGE SERVICES Our dedicated and professional team can arrange and book a selection of services, including hotels, taxis, private car services, corporate hospitality packages, holiday packages, flights, tickets to shows and events, and catering services to name but a few. HOW DO I BOOK SERVICES OR MAKE APPOINTMENTS? Just contact our reception management team on 020 7256 4997/8/9 or by email at rropemaker@broadgateestates.co.uk
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK We want to make our Lifestyle Services as useful, flexible and convenient as possible, and also make sure that we’re offering the services that you want. With this in mind, we’d appreciate any feedback you might have on questions such as: Have you been made aware of the Lifestyle Services on offer? Are the services we’re currently offering meeting your needs? Are there any services you would like us to consider adding? Where would you prefer to have services delivered; in our meeting room, on your floor, at your desk, in reception? If you’re not using the services, is there anything we could do differently to make them more attractive?
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TOGETHER
ROPEMAKER
Pulling
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Our Latest CSR Activity
Japan Tsunami Appeal We have continued, in conjunction with Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Limited, to collect funds for the Japan Tsunami Appeal. The total amount raised continues to grow, and our thanks go out to all those who have made kind and generous donations.
Fairbridge In the last Ropemaker Review, we introduced you to Fairbridge, a charity that works with young people aged 13-25, giving them the motivation, self-confidence and skills they need to change their lives. In April, Ropemaker’s Stuart Ball and Kelly Marwaha were invited to their Hackney facility, touring the premises, experiencing the programmes and spending time with some of the young people. “We were impressed and touched”, says Stuart, “by some wonderful young people helped by Fairbridge to overcome some pretty awful circumstances and who now have both the skills and the positive attitude to begin to carve a future for themselves. We were privileged to interact with a group of positive, happy, kids, with some even looking to become youth workers themselves and start helping others.” The visit culminated in a 3-course lunch prepared by some of the young people who had recently completed a catering course run by Fairbridge, and needless to say a good time (and curry) was had by all. During the course of the year, we’ll be bringing a number of the young people for a tour through Ropemaker Place to give them the opportunity to experience a working building.
In June,Fairbridge came and introduced themselves to the occupiers, and grateful thanks from Fairbridge and ourselves go to all those who took the time to meet them. Here’s hoping that we’ll be able to help raise funds for a charity that makes a real difference in the lives of local young people. As part of this initiative, we continue to host Monsieur Baron shirt sales and book sales, and once again were able to present 2 cheques representing 10% of turnover to Fairbridge. We are always looking for new ways to help this fantastic cause, so if anyone has any ideas for fundraising initiatives, please do let the team know.
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ROPEMAKER
Future Plans We’re currently planning two events aimed at local young people. The first is a photographic competition to be run in conjunction with local schools, in which local kids will be asked to take photographs of sustainability or green initiatives (note the sustainability link!) within the City. The photographs will then be submitted, judged by a panel of Ropemaker occupiers, with a prize awarded for the best photograph. We’d like to award a snazzy camera as the prize and we’d also like to try to arrange some mentoring of the entrants by a professional photographer. This is still in the planning stage and we’re currently exploring ways of engaging with the schools and funding the competition. The second is a careers event aimed at introducing local young people to a working environment, spending time helping them understand how to prepare for job interviews and staging mock
Place
interviews with ourselves and some of our service partners. This is also in the planning stage and it would be great to have your input on how we could add value to this event. Even better would be if some of our occupiers could help with the interview skills training and mock interviews. Please do let us know if this is something in which you think you could get involved.
The Big City Climb We have been asked if we will host a leg of The Big City Climb this year, an event being organised as part of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal. Due to be run on Sunday 9 October, The Big City Climb is a challenge in which teams reach the equivalent in height of the 3 Peaks Challenge (3407m), by climbing the most iconic and tallest buildings in London within 12 hours. (Climbing in this case means running up one of the stair cores). Teams will be given the buildings they are able to climb at registration and will need to work out the quickest route to climb 3407m within the race rules and return to the base camp. Navigating their way around London will also be part of the challenge. While not the tallest building in London, we are certainly one of the most iconic and one of the reasons we’ve been asked
to be part of the challenge is that we’re one of the “greenest”. The Lord Mayor’s Appeal, called ‘Bear Necessities – Building Better Lives’, is aimed at helping children in London access education and have greater life opportunities as well as supporting international disaster relief. It unites Coram (the UK’s first ever children’s charity to offer better chances in life to children and young people in London and across the country), and RedR UK, a charity that trains and provides engineers and other relief workers to respond to worldwide emergencies. Logistics meetings will commence shortly and we’ll discuss the arrangements with all occupiers. For anyone wanting to participate, entry is available online at www.thelordmayorsappeal.org.uk/climb
Liberum Charity Abseil Our 12th floor occupier, Liberum Capital, has recently registered its very own charity - the Liberum Foundation. On 8th September, they will be hosting a charity abseil in support of its anchor charities Tiny
Tickers, St. Giles Trust and School Home Support. Limited spaces are available so if you’re interested, please contact Dean Butterfield at Dean. Butterfield@Liberumcapital.com
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HISTORY TRIVIA
ROPEMAKER
Stuart’s
Place
Are You Sitting Comfortably?
Recently, Stuart Ball decided to have a look at the history of Ropemaker Street, and so took to trawling the Internet (not during working hours, of course) for historic references. This aforementioned trawling turned up some interesting and somewhat surprising facts. In 1527, for example, when the moor which lay just outside the London city walls (and after which the Moorfields area of the city is named) was drained, Ropemaker Street was known as “Roape Maker’s Ally”. The “Ally” was home to, you guessed it, makers of rope, and appears to have contained a number of “ropewalks” or “ropesheds”, which were long sheds used to lay out the rope during the manufacturing process.
Stuart also discovered that Ropemaker Street was once home to a famous resident. Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, died “at his lodging on Rope-Maker’s Alley” on 24 April 1731, aged 72. He was buried at what is now Bunhill Fields Cemetery, where his memorial still stands. The most obscure reference unearthed, however, is contained in an advert published in New Zealand’s Poverty Bay Herald dated Thursday 2 July 1885. The advert, for a revolutionary device called the Harden Star Hand Grenade Fire Extinguisher, contains a testimonial to its use on a fire of “alarming dimensions” by the fine gentlemen of A & W Flatau and Co. of Ropemaker Street, Finsbury.
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