Skanska, the global construction company, has been operational for 125 years. The well-established business still has modern commitments to sustainability and their future. Skanska’s regional engineering site in South Yorkshire is demonstrative of the company’s intention to be green and their work towards being carbon-free. The facility has been part
The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea has had a major new extension added to it. The Grade II listed gallery faced a number of challenges while developing a new extension. Primarily the main challenge was how to incorporate a modern extension with a loved historic building and also being
A few weeks ago, RGB Building Supplies announced that they had acquired TecBuild. The Bodmin Builders merchants has been acquired by the Building Supplies company in order to expand their business. RGB Building Supplies is a mixed merchant supplier that offers a range of building materials as well as landscaping
The Swiss developer and provider of cabling systems, R&M has produced a new cabling range that fulfills European and international safety standards. The global developer develops their cabling for high-quality network infrastructures that are based in Wetzikon. This new product will meet the requirements laid out by European Construction Production
A gala film night hosted by the film critic Mark Kermode was held by The British Safety Council. The film night was organized in order to show the contributions it has made over the last 60 years towards improving health and safety. The gala event took place in the Regen
Optimising your office plan today can save you time and money in the future. The layout of your floor plan can affect everything from employee engagement to productivity. Jobs and workplace structures are in a constant state of flux and it’s becoming difficult for companies to predict which job functions
OrderWise have moved into their 14,000 sq. ft. extension. The staff of the company have picked the colour scheme in the new office and have rearranged the desks in the new space located just outside Saxilby. The extension work started in June and has given OrderWise nearly doubled their floor
A new guide for the facilities management of professionals that are working with clients on BIM construction projects. The British Institute of Facilities Management has published the new guide that will act as new guidance for facilities managers. The Employers Information Requirements is a document that will support clients that
Business is becoming more complex and the way we work has been changing at a fast rate. Increasingly, people must work together to create and share information to complete projects and tasks in the most efficient way. Office spaces have evolved and some, such as Google and Facebook, have become
Communication is one of the most important issues in the workplace. Good communication is the key to a successful business because it helps everyone to feel heard and engaged at every level. As a result, everyone benefits from a positive, encouraging and successful environment. Here are four ways that companies
Skanska, the global construction company, has been operational for 125 years. The well-established business still has modern commitments to sustainability and their future. Skanska’s regional engineering site in South Yorkshire is demonstrative of the company’s intention to be green and their work towards being carbon-free. The facility has been part of a four-year project that has led to a zero carbon office facility being produced. This project and the completed facility has managed to achieve a 94.6% BREEAM Outstanding score. The facility, Bentley Works is the engineering and manufacturing facility for Skanska UK. The facility is located 3km north of Doncaster and it is thought that the project costs £14 million. The company acted as both developer and main contractor as part of this project and were involved in the demolition of the buildings that were previously on the site. The new sustainable facility has been developed on the site of some office and workshop buildings, that were torn down in order to make way for the 1,800 sq. m. office building. The floor space for the office building is separated over two floors and the facility also has 3,135 Sq. m. workshop for fabrication and machines. There is a workshop building and a paint shop building that were saved from demolition, which has undergone refurbishment. The buildings on the project are classed as “Deep Green” which essentially means that they have a near zero impact on the environment as well as being designed to be future proof. The environmental rating of this project is the best ratings received by Skanska. The project is also a UK first and was designed in conjunction with BREEAM methodology. The features of the project that made it more sustainable include Skanska not sending any waste to landfill and employing local contractors. Only employing contractors from the Yorkshire area means that they also provided a boost to the local economy.
The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea has had a major new extension added to it. The Grade II listed gallery faced a number of challenges while developing a new extension. Primarily the main challenge was how to incorporate a modern extension with a loved historic building and also being able to create a sensitive link between the two. The architects on this project faced a tough challenge when tackling this project as it also involved the addition of a new gallery, community and education rooms as well as a lecture theatre and a screening room, conservation studios and collection stores. All of these different requirements needed to be added to the existing neo-classical brick and stone building. The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery was completed in 1909 originally but has faced expansion works that would see a new street level entrance as well as a bigger brighter reception in order to welcome the visitors. The designers have created an extension which they hope will preserve the symmetry of the original façade. This means that the designers also had to create a sense of separation externally between the extension and the gallery itself. However, the design also had to create the best experience possible for the visitors by internally connecting the two elements and allowing the visitors to move between the original building and the extension. In total for the extension, 70 sq. m. of glass was used for the project. The outer panes were Pilkington K Glass™ which has a low-emissivity hard coating that would reduce the amount of radiated heat that has been lost from the building which has improved the energy performance of the space. This type of glass was provided by Pilkington United Kingdom. The link created by the low-profile structural glazing connects the two buildings on three levels which makes the extension feel more unified with the original building for the visitors of the Art Gallery.
A few weeks ago, RGB Building Supplies announced that they had acquired TecBuild. The Bodmin Builders merchants has been acquired by the Building Supplies company in order to expand their business. RGB Building Supplies is a mixed merchant supplier that offers a range of building materials as well as landscaping goods and decorating materials and damp proofing products. The business has been working out of the Devon, Cornwall and Somerset areas for the past 160 years. Therefore, RGB has managed to expand in order to become one of the South West’s leading independent builder’s merchants. Now that they can add the Bodmin branch to thei9r collection of locations, the building supplies merchant will now be operating out of 19 different locations in the South West of England. TecBuild was formerly owned by Phil and Jo Northey. The former owners are expected to sill carry on being involved in the business now that is has been acquired by RGB Building Supplies. It was also stated that all the TecBuild staff will be kept on at the branch. This is good news for the Bodmin branch workers, and will mean that the former employees will still be able to have some involvement in the business. The former owners of TecBuild will be working alongside the CEO of RGB Building Supplies, Kevin Fenlon as well as with the Bodmin Branch Manager Steve Best in order to give RGB a boost when expanding into the Bodmin area. TecBuild has previously managed to build a very loyal client base in the area and hopefully this means that RGB will be able to capitalize on that client base in order to succeed in this new location. It has been mentioned that it is important to RGB Building Supplies that the former bosses of TecBuild are still playing an important role in the business, and RGB will be able to offer their larger client base in order to help the Bodmin location flourish.
The Swiss developer and provider of cabling systems, R&M has produced a new cabling range that fulfills European and international safety standards. The global developer develops their cabling for high-quality network infrastructures that are based in Wetzikon. This new product will meet the requirements laid out by European Construction Production Regulation. R&M have managed to meet these requirements ahead of time. The company has been working to label installation cables with the fire protection classification that is defined in the CPR. The pre-terminated cabling systems will also be receiving the appropriate labeling from the 1st July. It is the aim of the CPR to protect people in buildings from the effects of a fire in an emergency. Therefore, the focus of the Construction Production Regulation will be on making sure that the cables that are permanently installed in buildings must be tested and labelled. The fire behavior of these permanently installed cables must be noted from July 1st. Through this regulation, data and communication cable are going to be the most affected. Both copper and fiber optic cables will be impacted by the directive as well as pre-assembled cabling links if they will remain in the building permanently. R&M have already adjusted their cabling range in order to meet European and international safety, fire and health standards earlier than required. This means that the company’s cabling will be able to offer the market products for all fire protection classes. This could give them a competitive edge, having already worked to reach the regulation levels. Using the CPR, the EU makes the fire protection properties of each product comparable. However, each member state has to individually define the minimum fire class required depending on the application. This means that the requirements could still vary widely around Europe. It is advised that planners and installers check the local area requirements before specifying the fire class.
A gala film night hosted by the film critic Mark Kermode was held by The British Safety Council. The film night was organized in order to show the contributions it has made over the last 60 years towards improving health and safety. The gala event took place in the Regen Street cinema and the British Safety Council presented their recent achievements and the plans for the future in the style of a film festival. The event took place on the 23rd March, and is a celebration of the charity and membership organisation. The evening was launched in order to show the film British Safety Council at 60. The film shows the story of the start of the British Safety Council in 1957 as well as the significant growth that has been achieved by the campaigning organisation in order to transform the Health and Safety standards in Britain. The film uses long lost archival footage and focuses on James Tye, the founder of the organisation. The founder was considered charismatic although sometimes thought to be controversial as he attempted to improve health and safety during a period of time where hundreds of people were being killed each year at work, with inadequate and piecemeal laws there to protect the workers in Britain. The film will include footage of James Tye at work with campaigning and training, but will also show photographs of the founder with celebrities including Barbara Windsor. As part of the event, the guests were given a book entitled ‘Beware! Watchdog with fearsome bark’ which holds posters and other documents that have been commissioned over the years by the British Safety Council. The guests at the event also saw the launch of the competition to mark 60 years of the organisation. The guests watched the four finalists’ pieces as well as the winning piece by Juan Cruz-Hernández. The event will also look to the future of the council and how the gig economy and the ageing workforce can impact the future for the British Safety Council.
Optimising your office plan today can save you time and money in the future. The layout of your floor plan can affect everything from employee engagement to productivity. Jobs and workplace structures are in a constant state of flux and it’s becoming difficult for companies to predict which job functions there will be in the next few years. That’s why businesses are responding by creating workspaces with built-in flexibility and optimised office plans. Previously unheard of job roles have developed in response to technological advances, so companies need to optimise office plans and to adapt to new jobs and equipment. Here are some tips for optimising your company’s office plan. 1. Utilise Office Space Effective use of space enables you to reduce accommodation and utility costs, drive down your environmental footprint and improve working conditions. Our Space Planning & Design team can help you plan your space for maximum efficiency and cost control. Analysing how your staff actually use the space is a good step towards designing a workplace that increases staff satisfaction and productivity. In London, space is at a premium and businesses are finding new ways to optimise the space they have by utilising open plan hot-desking, multifunctional rooms with moveable partitions and innovative storage solutions. Integrated technology can really help with saving space and chairs, sofas and desks now feature hidden and discreet power points and wireless technology solves the problem of messy wires placed all over the office. Choose Comfortable Chairs and a Good Seating Plan Good seats designed for back support and mobility, combined with versatile furniture, are great tools for an optimised office space and seating plan. Where you seat people is vital for workplace productivity, so you need to think of this in terms of department, skill sets, personality, competition and the need for mentorship and supervision. Environmental factors, such as lighting and air conditioning, can impede on your perfect seating plan because no one wants to sit under an uncomfortably cold blast of air all day. Mix open and closed office spaces to suit different working styles and make sure you minimise distractions with sound absorbent furnishings and layout. Our award-winning design for Natixis’ Global Asset Management (NGAM) included adaptable furniture using bench desking, finished with acoustic screens. If optimised, the seating plan can be rearranged or adapted at any time, allowing business operations and workflow to proceed smoothly. 3. Encourage a Sense of Community The seating plan should allow for easy communication between staff and different departments. Modern offices are now designed predominantly to encourage collaboration, even in traditionally non-creative industries. Pockets of collaboration whether in private offices or in open spaces now encourage staff interaction. In fact, more office workers than ever now work on a consultancy basis or hot-desk, so workspaces need lots of temporary desks or touchdown spaces to accommodate them. These should be spread around with access to different departments to improve communications and a sense of belonging. The majority of NTT Data UK’s staff consist of consultants, so we designed their office space with hot-desking and collaboration in mind. Our designers used plenty of inviting bright colours, touchdown spaces, meeting rooms with folding walls and a choice of working areas. Create Multipurpose Spaces An innovative floor plan makes use of every single space from hallways to landings, and places furniture where hot-deskers can work and impromptu meetings can take place. Some creative companies strapped for space use open areas in the office to hold large meetings that allow staff to sit and participate from the stairs. Multipurpose spaces are being utilised by employers for everything from multimedia presentations to casual breakout areas. Bristol-based EMO & TRA are marketing and company branding agencies that were relocated under one roof, necessitating good communications. This involved fitting a new spiral staircase to link the companies, booths for group work and an open space with a blackboard that allows for brainstorming and collaborative work. Utilise Natural Light Good lighting in the workplace is vital; both too much and too little can have a negative impact. One thing that experts agree on is that natural light is best. Make sure your office has enough windows and if you don’t have enough windows, natural light can come from other sources such as skylights. Daylight aids our circadian rhythms (our own in-built clocks) to be in sync with our local environments, but today’s artificial environments can block this synchronisation. Therefore, it helps to get as much natural help with the process as possible. Bring Nature Inside The psychological benefits of bringing nature into the office have been well-documented. This can include anything from plenty of sunlight and plants in the office to water features and nature integrated into the office furniture and artwork. Helix Property, UK property management service providers, decided to set a good example to clients by filling their reception area and atrium with live planters, including in the back of seating. The modifications included the installation of a moss wall. If you’d like help with optimising your office plan, please contact Interactive Space.
OrderWise have moved into their 14,000 sq. ft. extension. The staff of the company have picked the colour scheme in the new office and have rearranged the desks in the new space located just outside Saxilby. The extension work started in June and has given OrderWise nearly doubled their floor space of their premises. The office is situated in Newton Court, and staff that are part of the business intelligence and software specialists have moved back in to the premises. The £1.3 million building has been completed and has welcomed the sales, marketing, client services and reports teams from OrderWise. The extension was carried out by Kuno Jackson Building Limited and has occurred after the business intelligence company has had a bust period for recruitment. The number of employees in the company has expanded from 80 in 2015 to over 165 currently. Due to this rapid expansion OrderWise needed more space to accommodate the staff, and have moved into the new building that links to the rest of the office. The land that is located opposite the businesses premises has also been purchased with a view to develop a car park for their expanding workforce. The intelligence and software company also have a larger mock warehouse as part of the extension which acts as a simulation area that has been designed to train new staff and improve the existing software. This warehouse also has the possibility of being used to show potential clients how OrderWise’s products work in real time and practical situations. Therefore, the extra space will be beneficial to the growing company and could lead to future expansion. The new extension was built to accommodate the growth in staff but also to create more comfortable and productive working conditions for the workforce at OrderWise. These new and bright offices will be followed by a new staff canteen that will be added to the building later this year.
A new guide for the facilities management of professionals that are working with clients on BIM construction projects. The British Institute of Facilities Management has published the new guide that will act as new guidance for facilities managers. The Employers Information Requirements is a document that will support clients that use Building Information Modelling. The document is 47 pages long and presents the information in a user-friendly way. The Employer’s Information Requirements shows the user how to specify their exact requirements for the design and the construction phase of a build. The document also provides advice for expressing their requirements throughout a full life-time operation. The intention behind the Employer’s Information Requirements documents will be the support of Facilities Managing professionals as well as their clients that can provide a template that will allow clients and the facilities managers to meet any individual requirements that there may be for the project. This template provided by The British Institute of Facilities Management can be tailored for both the client and the facilities manager in order to get the most benefit out of the information. This new document follows previous advice published by the BIFM in Operational Readiness Guide for Facilities Managers which has been out in circulation since April 2016. Since last April, the Central Government has been commissioning construction projects that would require the BIM in order to procure and deliver the project. It is thought that the BIM will be able to streamline the construction process which means that projects will be able to deliver improvements in cost as well as carbon reduction. It is thought that BIM is being used by a wide variety of private sector clients and across a wide range of built assets. The Employer’s Information Requirements has been published to complement the other guidance that has been published by the BIFM and will continue the support of facilities management professionals as they work to understand their role within the BIM process.
Business is becoming more complex and the way we work has been changing at a fast rate. Increasingly, people must work together to create and share information to complete projects and tasks in the most efficient way. Office spaces have evolved and some, such as Google and Facebook, have become famous for their fun layouts and collaborative areas. However, there is a motive behind these innovative office designs beyond looking chic or ‘cool’. The bosses at these companies know that a collaborative workforce is motivated, socially-engaged, productive and has an increased desire to help the company achieve its goals. We’ve outlined seven ways you can make your office more collaborative by changing its design. Invest in open plan offices The first and most obvious step in encouraging collaboration in the workplace is to implement an open plan office. Not only will it break down the physical barriers that disrupt communication between employees, but it will also psychologically open up employees to the option of working together. This should even include management by at least installing glass windows in their offices if they are to remain separate. Creating an open plan space for your company, with fewer private offices and lowered partitions, will encourage more interactions to occur in the workplace. However, some people also need their own private space for confidential phone calls or to focus on specific tasks like writing reports, so make sure you also provide some private spaces dedicated to this purpose. Natixis’ Global Asset Management (NGAM) wanted to encourage communication between different teams and the installation of bench desking helped with this goal. The acoustic screens allow for collaboration and privacy, while the company’s private offices also have small round meeting tables for group work. 2. Remove assigned desks Desk assignment is becoming outdated now that hot-desking and other flexible working practices are emerging. By removing assigned seating, you are encouraging people from different teams to interact. This improves internal communications, makes staff aware of the work that other people in the company do and discourages teams from just sticking to their own groups as a matter of habit. Collaboration can further thrive by placing information walls near areas of work and meeting spaces; it opens teams to suggestions from other departments. 3. Create dedicated spaces for specific tasks A collaborative office space incorporates areas for small teams to freely share knowledge and ideas. These could be pockets such as padded cubicles and pods or corners for teleconferences where employees can concentrate. Also, since the best ideas come when the mind is relaxed or when the person is on a break doing something else, collaborative break spaces are also a great feature. These spaces can be meditation areas, a pool table or even a chill-out area with bean bags, comfortable cushions and magazines. Marketing company Arnold KLP recently moved into an office designed to reflect the creative nature of the company. A modern design studio space, client meeting rooms, and a bar and breakout area with a pool table were part of the final interior. Make use of every single space Some of the best exchanges of information and insights occur during unplanned interactions in hallways, lobbies, cafes and shared office spaces, so these spaces should be made as accessible as possible. By creating public spaces where interaction is unavoidable, you create virtual collisions and staff are more likely to interact. Chance meetings with people in other teams can spark some of the most creative ideas and collaborations. Another option for collaboration spaces that increase interaction is to install them in public spaces like hallways, gardens, dining areas, or even next to snack and beverage machines. Businesses are installing power sockets, whiteboards and other equipment in easily accessible places so that staff can charge laptops, smartphones and other devices, and it also gives them the perfect opportunity to collaborate on the move. Create a dedicated dining area Make sure your workplace kitchen has an area for dining or at least provide one nearby. All too often, employees fall into the habit of having lunch at their desks, but it is much better for them to properly take a break or have casual conversations with their co-workers. Innovation is nurtured through informal, social and creative interactions and this usually happens away from desks. Providing free good quality coffee and other drinks is a good way to encourage staff to go to these areas. Salamanca Group is an investment bank that wanted to encourage employees to relax in a common area during their breaks. A breakfast bar consisting of a 9-metre stone counter has proven popular with staff and has become a collaboration point. Use integrated technology Technology allows us to enjoy much more flexible working conditions. By integrating minimal, wireless technology you can allow employees to be portable and move around the workspace without being restricted to their desks. Office interior designers can install powered furniture with built-in power adapters and multimedia capabilities. For example, touch tables which are like giant iPad tables can be useful for brainstorming and displaying information in meetings. Foster a culture of collaboration Despite all your best efforts to design a collaborative workspace, if the company culture itself isn’t open to collaboration at all levels, the outcome might seem hollow and ineffectual. The company should encourage collaboration everywhere, including online. Other practices such as an open door policy can create trust and transparency between management and employees. It’s worth noting that open door policies should be applied with clear boundaries otherwise staff can use it as an opportunity to complain, so regular open door meetings might be a better alternative. A truly functional culture of collaboration is a vehicle for senior managers to understand what is on the minds of employees with whom they don’t regularly interact. This coupled with appropriate office design can create a positive environment of collaboration at every level.
Communication is one of the most important issues in the workplace. Good communication is the key to a successful business because it helps everyone to feel heard and engaged at every level. As a result, everyone benefits from a positive, encouraging and successful environment. Here are four ways that companies can boost communication through office design. Design Seating with Collaboration in Mind Open-plan offices help with communication and the flow of ideas amongst employees. This is particularly true when senior staff are part of the open floor plan since it helps all staff tune in to the office vibe and makes teams more cohesive. It also makes people seem more approachable and arrangements like cluster desks and bench seating where people face each other can help with collaboration. However, some staff don’t appreciate the lack of privacy and the open plan layout can be seen as intrusive by more introverted employees, leading to a reduction in concentration. In this case, it’s a good idea to create some separate private spaces for quiet work or adopt a policy for allowing people to work from home when they need to work undisturbed. Online collaboration platforms like Slack, Trello and Basecamp are good at keeping teams connected and up to date with projects. Allocate a Dedicated Communication Area A special area dedicated to teamwork doesn’t necessarily have to be within the confines of a meeting room. It could be an island or shared table in an open-plan office, independent of the normal work environment, yet centrally placed and defined as a ‘communication lounge’ for brainstorming, informal team meetings and project coordination. High padded seating, shelving units or moveable partitions can create an effective acoustic barrier if necessary. Synergy Vision, a medical Communications agency, installed breakout spaces in their new premises when they relocated. The padded and cushioned seats are part of the open plan seating area but high-backed and enclosed to create privacy. Consider Every Space a Workspace In modern offices, hallways and staircases can function as extensions of the workspace. Studies have shown that people are more innovative and open to ideas when in motion. This means effort should be put into the design of every single space, particularly hallways and landings where employees can think from a fresh perspective away from their desks. They can have chance meetings, allowing them the welcome opportunity for face-to-face contact with colleagues, which can create more of a bond as well as aiding inter-team communication. Hallways are being made wider and furnished with sofas, whiteboards and other places to encourage conversation. EDC, a communications group, moved six creative businesses under one roof in London’s West End. A new structural opening and new staircase were constructed between the two floors to allow the companies to easily come together around the central meeting areas and meeting rooms. The interior designers gave the space a shabby chic vibe and created lots of inspiring breakout areas in the walkways and open spaces. Embrace New Technology Phones are becoming a thing of the past in the office as we now rely more heavily on digital technology. Work is becoming more collaborative and video-conferencing from a variety of locations around the world is the main way to communicate between international offices. Encourage this by setting up the best facilities you can for your staff and make it easy for them to communicate by providing the best Wi-Fi connection, webcams and other amenities. Companies are now adding nooks and crannies with seats and a place to plug in and charge your smartphone where filing cabinets would have existed before. Helix Property fitted a bespoke new seating area that included wireless charging points. Verisk Analytics installed a comprehensive audio visual system including interactive screens with full laptop connectivity. This was complemented by meeting rooms fitted with a room booking system to allow for a simple and efficient procedure to managing meetings between teams. Their Training Room provided an interactive whiteboard and repeater screens to cater for the larger open planned teaching area. As you can see, wireless connectivity enables staff to work anywhere, giving them an excellent way to change their scenery and have impromptu meetings using a laptop. This is aided by an increasing emphasis on digital storage and online collaboration, as well as interior design that complements these trends and boosts workplace communication.
