Mix Interiors 208 - January 2021

Mix Interiors 208

January 2021

KLYRO S T Y L I S H . E L E G A N T. I C O N I C .

DESIGNERS & MANUFACTURERS OF WORKSPACE FURNITURE

www.gof.co.uk

Contents INSIGHT 6

UPFRONT

12

SEVEN

14

TIME, TRUST AND TRUTHINESS Steve Gale, Head of Workplace Strategy at M Moser Associates

16

PERSPECTIVE Neil Usher

20

MATERIAL MATTERS

22

DESERT ISLAND DESKS Olga Turner, Ekkist

24

THE BIG QUESTION In terms of its status as a design destination, what does the future hold for Clerkenwell?

44 72

20

WORK 26

PROPERY Meet private equity real estate funds: your new best friend in 2021

32

2021 PROPERTY SUMMARY Deloitte’s Niall Alcock offers his property predictions

36

THE YEAR OF THE EXPERIENTIAL OFFICE LOM Architecture + Design

40

THE POST-PANDEMIC FUTURE OF FURNITURE Christian Grosen Rasmussen, Vitra

44

CASE STUDY Pearson Lloyd’s new East London studio

72

50

CASE STUDY Royal College of Midwives from Adams + Collingwood Architects

CASE STUDY Affinity Living, Manchester from NoChintz

78

HOW BTR OFFERS A TEMPLATE FOR THE WAY AHEAD Michael Swiszczowski, Residential Director, Chapman Taylor

82

MAKING AMENITY SPACES WORK HARDER Commercial residential trends & predictions from Vita Group

84

PROPERTY Is UK property having a senior moment?

88

THE FINAL WORD Mike Walley, Senior Director of Global Real Estate & Workplace Strategy at Criteo

HOSPITALITY 58

CASE STUDY Hilton Frankfurt from THDP

64

THE HOTEL OF THE FUTURE MAY ALREADY BE HERE Says Perkins&Will’s Neil Andrew

68

HOSPITALITY TRENDS & PREDICTIONS FOR 2021 Henry Reeve, Director, Interior Design at IHG

36

58

LIVING

Mix 208 January 2021 | 1

WELCOME

A word from Mick

Get in touch

Happy 2021 to you all. I’ll be honest; this intro took me a long time to write. Under ‘normal’ circumstances I pick up ideas throughout the month and then expand upon one of these subjects.

This month, however, I’ve found it difficult to think of a subject matter without focusing on you-know-what and adding to the spurious guessing game the mainstream media throws at us every day.

I thought that I could rant about the daytime TV shows that have taken a ‘helpful’ look at homeworking – only to spend more time worrying about Zoom backgrounds than ergonomics. I could rage about the presenters who earnestly tell us that ‘We’re all in the same boat’ (we’re not; you’re sat in a studio with real people around you, showing off your Caribbean Christmas tan!). I could even whine about how bored I am of listening to the opinions of some soap actor or reality ‘star’. But I won’t. Instead, I’m going to turn the TV off, hit shuffle on iTunes and read something worthwhile – namely the thoughts, opinions and predictions of people who actually know what they’re talking about.

This issue, I’m delighted to say, is packed full of the ruminations of people who really so know their stuff. For me, this is as much of a tonic as anything right now.

So there you go, intro written – and I haven’t even used the words ‘COVID’, ‘coronavirus’ or ‘pandemic’. Oh, hold on a minute…

EDITOR Mick Jordan mick@mixinteriors.com MANAGING DIRECTOR Martin Mongan martin@mixinteriors.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Kate Borastero kate@mixinteriors.com

The cover THE LOGO

An elegantly designed club chair that offers sumptuous comfort, inviting you to come and recline with a chilled glass of something – what’s not to love? We chose to echo the curvaceous forms with the lightest of touch so as not to compete but instead – like a coat stand – complement it.

WWW.SHEPPARDROBSON.COM

HEAD OF OPERATIONS Lisa Jackson lisa@mixinteriors.com OWNER Marcie Incarico marcie@mixinteriors.com DESIGNER Tammi Bell tamzin@tamzinrosedesigns.com FOUNDING PUBLISHER Henry Pugh CONTRIBUTORS Steve Gale, David Thame Mike Walley

THE COVER IMAGE

Stylish, elegant and iconic. Klyro is a fabulous new addition to the Gresham portfolio. Klyro forms part of an exciting selection of lounge and meeting chairs that, between them, offer an elegant and highquality look, perfect for any environment.

COURTESY OF GRESHAM

ADDRESS Unit 2 Abito, 85 Greengate, Manchester, M3 7NA TELEPHONE 0161 519 4850 EMAIL editorial@mixinteriors.com WEBSITE www.mixinteriors.com TWITTER @mixinteriors INSTAGRAM @mix.interiors LINKEDIN Mix Interiors

Get your own To ensure that a regular copy of Mix Interiors reaches you or to request back issues, call 0161 519 4850 or email lisa@mixinteriors.com ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES UK single £45.50, Europe £135 (airmail), Outside Europe £165 (airmail)

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EDITORIAL EXECUTIVE Chloe Petersen Snell chloe@mixinteriors.com

Printed by S&G Print ISSN 1757-2371

GROOVE

Design: Custom Colour: Flatiron

FIND YOUR GROOVE From neat pinstripes to sweeping curves, Groove transforms our Cube™ panels into refined acoustic artworks. Each notch and furrow is cut to one of five precise angles to create a chiseled pattern that gently bends and distorts light.

From subtle patterns to hinges and joins for 3D sculptures, our Groove customisation allows you to explore the realms of possibility within the world of acoustic panels.

Contact your account manager or call us on +44 01422 418899 to learn more. www.autexglobal.com

UPFRONT

Awning Glory

C

ampers&Dens answers the question Orangebox posed over 12 years ago: why build walls?

It was thinking about campervans and campsites that gave Orangebox their defining idea, providing a template for how we intuitively engage with people in open spaces and also how we can physically define layers in our surroundings so that we’re able to function alongside others.

The Campers&Dens platform delivers five ‘Layers of Privacy’ through pods, awnings and cabins in many different configurations.

‘We intuitively know the rules of a campsite,’ says Campers&Dens designer, Mark Partridge. ‘When you’re in your campervan, you’re off limits – in your own space. Move to the awning and you’re inviting a limited interaction, a wave and walk-on-by.

Move to the open-field and you’re free to talk to anybody. These layers of privacy need to be mirrored in our workspace.’

Campers&Dens

The pod architecture here combines a depth and integrity of engineering and aesthetic architectural beauty – the beautiful box – while core to the overall concept is the idea of 80/20 engineering. 80% of the beautiful box delivers everything we need technically, including great ventilation, lighting, fire safety and acoustic performance.

Clients can have fun with the remaining 20% – outer finishes, flexible architectural extensions and hack-ability have all been built-in to offer a sense of fun and aesthetic flexibility to create a unique design on every project.

‘The fact is, it’s arrogant of us to want our pods to look like ours in every client space.

We want clients to make them look like theirs,’ says Mark.

The hacking possibilities for Campers&Dens are intended to give back vertical real estate to designers and architects. At the core of client’s chance to hack the pods is a clever structure specially designed to attach to the pods and accommodates mounting solutions for slats and stretch fabric.w

Hybrid Theory

A

British Land Storey, Euston

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survey from Gensler has indicated that rumours of the demise of the office (as constantly debunked in this magazine throughout last year) may be greatly exaggerated – with over 67% of UK workers wanting a hybrid model of working, spending between one and four days in the office each week. The survey shows that those in a hybrid model are currently having the best experience and are more likely to feel comfortable experimenting with new ways of working, to feel as if working during the pandemic has had a positive impact on their creativity, and to feel more overall satisfaction with their job. The hybrid model may also have an impact on perception—those in a hybrid model are more likely to believe their workplace offers a great experience, including higher scores rating job satisfaction, personal creativity and wellbeing. Ultimately, the hybrid model allows employees

to match their environment to the work they need to do, creating an optimal mix of work locations.

Detailed in Gensler’s UK Workplace Survey 2020, these new findings track workplace models in the months since the start of the pandemic, with emotional and social engagement key to workers’ needs. As of August 2020, only one quarter of UK professional workers have returned to the office full-time; half continue to work from home full-time as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the vast majority of these workers, the current work model is a result of company or government policy rather than individual flexibility or choice in the style of working. But as those workers look to the future, many would choose a work scenario that is different than their current state, creating an unprecedented demand for change to work as we know it. w

Unity

Brighton Rocks

M

Moser Associates has created a unique and colourful workspace for real-time 3D platform, Unity. The office design acts as an immersive user experience that empowers its creators and wider community. Unity had outgrown its previous spaces, and required a single office that would foster connectivity between staff, while providing an exceptional client-facing experience.

Having occupied multiple buildings in the area since 2009, the interior design honours the company’s longstanding ties to Brighton and reflects its global values. This communitydriven workplace aligns a variety of different spaces and work settings to create a technology-infused brand journey.

The front of house includes an innovative tech suite with multi-purpose virtual reality lounge, games room, training area, boardroom and VC room. Placing the VR lounge in a visible setting enables Unity to showcase new technology as part of the user journey. To customise and create unique experiences, each of the tech suite spaces connects at the arrival area and work experience room.

Supporting workplace culture, guests enter through the reception area into the large events space with on-site hospitality bar, named Seagulls Rest – a nod to Brighton’s notorious feathered friends. Staff and visitors can catch up with a drink, hide away in the booths at the back, or enjoy the lounge for watching events on the high-level screen above the central counter.

The Seagulls Rest caters to Unity’s ‘Users First’ company value, with custom touches that include tiered seating, collaboration benches, and a Polaroid wall that introduces new employees.

The top floor is dedicated to the user experience, featuring a reconfigurable social hub for employee dining, theatrestyle ‘all hands’ meetings and external events. Embracing creativity on each floor, local artists have created bespoke murals to enhance connection between the office and its Brighton location.w

London Showroom 25 Bastwick Street, Clerkenwell, EC1V 3PS

sixteen3.co.uk

UPFRONT

Belong to the World

B

Fintech Hub orking in close collaboration with its fintech client, AIS has created an adaptable and flexible new London space for the company’s rapidly growing team.

Reflecting the client’s business model, the design of the new 48,000 sq ft space was led by the desire for efficiency, creating a workplace for employees to collaborate easily and unwind without leaving the office.

Having worked with the client on several past projects, AIS started with a workplace study to further assess the requirements of the staff.

‘We arranged several design workshops on layouts and finishes and refined the design based on what we could do to make the staff the heart of the space,’ says Dan Martin, Senior Designer at AIS. ‘The client really cares about each and every member of staff. So, making the space work for everyone was always at the heart of every meeting.’

The team’s wellbeing was at the heart of the design. There are a variety of breakout areas and plenty of collaboration space at the end of every row of desks – using a ‘squad space’ format so that each team has a designated area to use for when they want a quick catch-up rather than going to a meeting room. Wellbeing rooms with soft finishes and colours create a hospitality feel, and library spaces provide a quiet place to get away from the open plan, or work as a small team.

A town hall style event space for up to 300 guests is located on the ground floor, complete with its own reception area as well as a catering kitchen and bar area for entertaining.w

W

8 | Mix 208 January 2021

isley has recently introduced Belong – a timely new flexible furniture collection, which transcends both office life and homeworking.

Now more than ever, the workplace is ripe for re-imagination as we all adopt more flexible working patterns. In a swift response to lockdowns and millions of people working from home, Belong offers flexibility with hard working, savvy solutions that don’t compromise on style.

‘I asked our design team to think, if they had free rein over new and different products within our steel and wood factories – that we could sell to our dealers, our on-line shop and to the domestic home worker, what would they be?’ Bisley’s CEO, Richard Costin, comments. ‘They came back with some wonderful ideas, and the result of that is the Belong Collection. It’s times like this that we have the opportunity to thrive; our team has really worked hard and used their fantastic talents and skills to come up with something really beautiful for Bisley.’

The Belong range comprises multiple collections, including: Poise by Bisley – a selection of design-led desking, task tables, coffee tables and sideboards with modernist silhouettes. Each piece is intended to work as either a standalone piece or in conjunction with each other.

Outline by Bisley – a sleek, steel-framed collection of desking and storage that has a strong, minimalist style.

Hideaway Wall Desk – a space-saving, wall-mounted desk that folds down to provide a practical worksurface, as well as somewhere to store desk accessories.

Bridge Home – a stylish system, which brings together storage and display in one seamless unit.

MultiRange – a mix and match collection of desking and accessories that incorporates Bisley’s iconic MultiDrawer cabinet.

Whichever way you want to blend your working week between office and home, Belong by Bisley offers solutions designed to complete the work environment. w Belong Collection

Mix Interiors

16 September 2021 Evolution, London

AWARD ENTRIES OPEN FEBRUARY FIND OUT MORE AT MIXINTERIORS.COM

UPFRONT

Drop the Myke

M Weald of Kent Grammar School

Grammar Class

W

illmott Dixon has been appointed by Kent County Council to build a three-storey satellite facility for Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys in Sevenoaks.

The work to extend the school was procured through the Procurement Hub Major Projects framework and will also see refurbishment work undertaken at the nearby Weald of Kent Grammar School as part of the same contract.

Adam Worrall, Director at Willmott Dixon in London & South comments: ‘Having worked in collaboration with Kent County Council for many years, we are delighted to be working with them once more to deliver the much-needed expansion for the school.

Designed by Bond Bryan Architects, the extension will allow the school to continue to provide an outstanding pupil experience.’

Clare Moore, Client Relationship Manager, Procurement Hub, says: ‘It has been a pleasure to be working alongside Willmott Dixon and Kent County Council on the expansion of Tunbridge Wells Grammar School. We are looking forward to seeing the completed project!’

This is the latest in a series of projects in Sevenoaks for Willmott Dixon. In 2017, the business completed an extensive expansion at the Weald of Kent Grammar School, which followed its role building Trinity Free School. The company had also previously delivered an extension at Knole Academy.w Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys

10 | Mix 208 January 2021

yke is a new stackable seating solution from KI that allows learning spaces to be configured in numerous ways, quickly and easily. The chair can be specified in three ways – without armrests, with armrests, or with armrests and folding writing tablet. When not required, all three versions can be stacked (10 on the floor, 15 on a transport dolly) and stored neatly out of the way, with a minimal footprint.

The perfect addition to a dynamic classroom environment, Myke’s folding tablet arm eliminates the need for tables, facilitating rapid transformation between group and individual activities. Always mounted on the right armrest, the generous proportions of the tablet arm provide a robust worksurface suitable for right- and left-handed users. The optional linking device helps to create tidy and safe rows of seating, whilst the soft rubber glides are suitable for any floor surface.

Available in five sophisticated colours, the chair is constructed with a polypropylene and fibreglass blend, making it light yet strong.

The open area allows plenty of ventilation to the lower back, and the waterfall seat edge relieves pressure on the legs. The seat surface is also textured, reducing slipping for extra comfort. Myke is stocked in the UK for rapid lead times.w Myke, KI

Reina

Here Comes the Reina

R

ising nine storeys on the Queensway in Toronto, every aspect of Reina was led by women, resulting in thoughtful design and a forward-thinking amenity programme, with modern offerings like stroller parking throughout the building. Reina is a condo designed and developed by women, but for everyone.

Urban Capital, Spotlight Developments and BDP Quadrangle assembled a team of female experts from a range of industries, including but not limited to construction management, architecture, engineering, legal, marketing and sales. Every aspect of Reina has been run by a woman in a leadership role with the goal of drawing awareness to the significant gender imbalance that exists in real estate development and providing role models to encourage more women to enter these fields. Once assembled, the team embarked on an extensive, year-long consultation process, garnering feedback from a diverse array of users, including multigenerational families, parents with young or adolescent children, and singles. The resulting design is a striking, contemporary midrise with atypically large, flexible floor plans and an amenity programme geared towards fostering community and familiarity between residents.

With architecture and interiors by BDP Quadrangle, Reina articulates a softer, lighter presence, proving you don’t have to be loud to transform a streetscape. A white brick exterior façade features a ‘quilted’ effect, with soft curves and rounded corners. A series of picketed balconies wrap around Reina, with incredible south facing views overlooking the oasis-like exterior courtyard.

Reina’s light-filled lobby is outfitted in wood finishes and neutral palettes with pops of jewel tones. The double-height windows on the north and south sides create porosity, with inviting glimpses of the courtyard’s impressive landscape beyond. The focus on inclusivity and community is woven throughout the development, punctuated by ground floor, livework suites designed for multigenerational living.w Lobby

Superior usability through engineering finesse Viewprime answers the call from organizations and users for more freedom of movement and adjustment options, while saving as much space as possible. High-quality workmanship and thoughtful design for connoisseurs, superior usability and simplicity for everyone. Viewprime ticks all your boxes.

The benefits of Viewprime • Suitable for every office environment • Precise fingertip height adjustment • Built-in gas spring • Refined design looks great in any setting • Great range of weight capacity

• Height adjustment range makes Viewprime perfect for use with touchscreens • Monitor sliders make the arm perfect for use with partition walls and a great range of screen sizes (dual version only)

www.dataflex-int.com

UPFRONT Seven

7

Myths about the post-crisis workplace

Distributed ways of working aren’t new, but they’ve been accelerated by the pandemic.

Whether you love it or hate it, some of these practices will change the way we work forever.

But as we look toward building our work lives back better, it’s important for us to ditch the assumptions and make smart, data driven decisions. Only then can we ensure that we keep our workforce healthy, happy and connected.

Herman Miller’s workplace specialist, Bertie van Wyk, sheds some light on some common myths dragging down your workplace strategies.

1

2

The office is dead

Removing staff access to offices can greatly damage organisations as people expect their organisations and workplaces to foster culture and community. Gallup states that close work friendships boost employee satisfaction by 50% and people with a best friend at work are seven times more likely to engage fully in their work (1). GWA’s Global Work from Home Experience Survey (2) showed that employees preferred to work from home 2-2.5 days a week.

Offices will now be designed for collaboration only

We know from Leesman’s 800,000+ global respondents that offices designed for collaborative work only greatly underperform in allowing people to do productive work. A day in the office to work with others will most likely also consist of time for you to do head-down focused work.

Just as online collaboration moved into our allocated working from home days, so too should we cater for uninterrupted focused work when we are in the office.

3

Everyone can/wants to work from home permanently

4

The office has no impact on WFH preferences

We can’t assume that everyone has the same home working experience. There is a mammoth 12-point difference in the home working experience (H-Lmi) (3) between having a dedicated work room/office and a non-specific home working location (like a sofa). Not to mention the family members, multiple housemates or other distractions you might have to deal with.

Going into an office gives us that social connection that reconnects us to our organisations and our sense of purpose, even if it’s just 1-3 days a week.

Resources: 1. Christine Riordan, ‘We All Need Friends at Work,’ Harvard Business Review, July 3, 2013, www.hbr.org 2. www.globalworkplaceanalytics.com 3. Leesman Home Working Report – 145k 4. www.linkedin.com 5. www.epa.gov 6. www.employment-studies.co.uk

12 | Mix 208 January 2021

The majority of employees who worked in high performing office buildings pre-pandemic prefer to go back to the office, where the majority of employees from low performing office buildings prefer to work from home permanently (4). This is clearly an indicator to show that the office experience is not equal and that those who invest in their workspace clearly reap the benefit.

5

It is sustainable not going to the office

6

Technology is the silver bullet for collaboration

Electricity and heat production are responsible for 25% of the global greenhouse gas emissions (5).

When staff decide not to go into the office, all the output for the office and public transport stays the same, but greenhouse gases increase due to the additional production of gas and electricity to heat homes or boil kettles.

In the first lockdown, we scurried to fill our calendars with never-ending video calls. Suddenly we were reliant on shiny, new technologies to keep us connected and collaborative. Without the proper training, however, the technology designed to help has become a hindrance - Zoom fatigue is through the roof and multiple platforms, all tracking your activity, have created a new type of digital presenteeism.

In reality, technologies should allow employees to become more unsynchronised – working at a time that suits them, with performance measures based on output (rather than how many video calls they’ve attended, or Asana boards they’ve checked off).

7

My physical health is looked after when working remotely

The Institute of Employment Studies homeworking wellbeing survey (6) reported that, in the first lockdown in the UK, 58% of people complained of new neck pain. We moved into home working with many still hunched over laptops. How you sit today will affect your body forever. You simply can’t be working from your bed or sofa for a whole day. When working remotely, we need to ensure that the monitor or laptop is at the correct height (eyebrow level) and that we are policing our postures to ensure we never slouch, keeping our heads directly over our spines.

Conclusion

People can be productive working elsewhere, but offices still provide value as on-demand resources for individuals and teams. To remain relevant, offices of the future will need to build culture and community, support individual focus, and facilitate intensive teamwork. The work from home experience is different for everyone. Companies should strive to help people stay healthy and productive, no matter where they are working.w

Mix 208 January 2021 | 13

UPFRONT Steve Gale

Time, Trust and Truthiness Steve Gale picks out three lights to guide us through the fog‌

Steve Gale, Head of Workplace Strategy at M Moser Associates.

SteveG@mmoser.com 14 | Mix 208 January 2021

I

t has been a year-long bonfire of expectations and ambitions, and now we have to plan for 2021, even though we might like to avoid it. Are there takeaways from the last year to help us navigate through the fog of ignorance?

The pandemic here in the UK turned up poignant reminders about human nature too revealing to ignore, and they can help us weigh up the options in front of us. Some old truths have been nicely coloured in for us.

Here are three examples.

Time delay. We are particularly bad at anticipating outcomes triggered by earlier events. We all know very well that an infection takes time to become a disease, but we still engage in risky behaviour because nothing happens at the time. Following the simple logic takes real effort and discipline, especially when it concerns a novel and invisible virus. This common weakness is partly why people crowded onto trains out of London to avoid being locked into the new Tier 4 over Christmas. It was a reaction to delayed gratification or, in this case, punishment.

There are obvious implications for managing change, especially when it is not universally requested or understood. People will adapt if they see the change as a longterm, good thing, rather than a short-term inconvenience.

Another reason for the train episode might be to do with trust. Compared to the first lockdown in the spring, recent sanctions have not been so successful. We have had time to

reflect and invent competing scenarios, and now we are seeing confidence in authority erode as decisions are delayed or publicly challenged. If leadership appears to stumble, even when the path ahead is dangerous and uncharted, we naturally look for alternatives, and begin to doubt the direction of travel.

We have been treated to a yearlong TED talk on the fragility of trust in leadership.

When we fear for the future, confidence in our leaders is more than just helpful, it is essential, especially when they ask people to change how they live and work. We will need commitment and consistency from business leaders as we redesign the working environment after the pandemic.

A third lesson has been the reflections on productivity as revealed in the surveys about working from home. Most employees are convinced that they are as productive, or even more productive, at home as when they were in the office. This could be true, but there is no way to easily verify it, and it highlights the conundrum of measuring white-collar productivity.

It is a great example of the difference between data and evidence. The data says the majority of people think they are productive, but unfortunately there is no evidence to show this is true. Living with the pandemic is an ongoing experiment, and the findings will add to our existing knowledge, but the results have not had much time to be tested.

These lessons – and others – garnered from recent experience will help us design the workplaces of the future.w

Perspective Neil Usher is a property, workplace and change professional who has wrestled with complex change issues for nearly 40 years. He has a wealth of client-side management and leadership experience from across the globe. Neil was responsible for the creation of Sky Central and is the author of The Elemental Workplace – and now Elemental Change.

Hi Neil. Congratulations on the new book. Please tell us a little about the (work) essence of Elemental Change (sorry about the pun – couldn’t resist!)

Thanks! First thing to say is – it’s not a workplace book. It’s about leading change in any field, anywhere in the world, any sector, any budget – and so equally applies to workplace. It uses and develops the framework created in the first book, as

16 | Mix 208 January 2021

structure is important – but think of it as an antidote to business school writing about change, where everything works and everyone is brilliant. It’s far more focused on the reality of change, and expects that stuff will go wrong. Because it’s going to. Hopefully, it’s an entertaining read, too. Change books shouldn’t be a form of punishment.

“

All change is proportional to its time, and all change is unprecedented. It’s how evolution works

”

UPFRONT Perspective

Did the pandemic affect the final edit/ publication of the book?

It went back a couple of months, but on balance that was worthwhile. It gave me more time to fret over it and re-live all the self-doubt, and its release date was a bit better timed than while everyone was on their staycation.

I’ve been asked a few times if I started writing it after lockdown, to take advantage of the moment. To get a book written, edited and published in that time would be just about do-able, but I’m sure the rush would show. You do have to live with it for a while.

You talk about the pace of change increasing. Throughout the pandemic we’ve constantly heard businesses talking about ‘holding fire’ or ‘putting on hold’ – is this a dangerous approach?

I’m suggesting it’s something we can’t say for sure. I want to scream when I hear ‘in these times of unprecedented change’ because it’s the sawdust that fills the gaps in conversation. All change is proportional to its time, and all change is unprecedented.

It’s how evolution works.

The actual process of putting things on hold is change. Nothing stands still. Right now, most organisations have too little information to plan, and so instead need to prepare. Which is where the ‘operating system of change’ comes in. It’s the ‘how’ part of the book. While perhaps avoiding decisions they may regret at leisure, they can at least be strengthening their preparation to respond to what they don’t yet know.

You say that change never starts and stops. Do you feel that many businesses are still guilty of undertaking major workplace transformation programmes – and then thinking ‘job done’?

Absolutely. With the exception of FM, our industry is still entirely geared up for largescale interventions – property strategy, transactions, workplace strategy, design, fit-out – and not evolution. It’s been a selfperpetuating model for decades. Yet that’s not the way that everything else works, like markets, organisations, technology, people.

Everything else is forever changing, evolving.

The flexible office is the first major challenge to the dominant model, and one

that the whole industry is having to get its head around. Smaller transaction fees, smaller and more frequent projects – but a lot more. Software did that with the Agile Manifesto in 2001, creating an approach that welcomes and embodies change instead of fighting and denying it. We helped ourselves to the term, the easy bit, but not the useful, more difficult part.

I think it’s the industry’s Napster moment. Just as with the music industry, there is potentially a fantastic future ahead for workplace – but it will have to reinvent itself. And fast. Yet I don’t see any sign of that at all right now.

“

I think it’s the industry’s Napster moment. Just as with the music industry, there is potentially a fantastic future ahead for workplace

”

Where does/should change originate? Whose responsibility is it?

Change is everywhere. We are all leaders of change first and foremost, and specialists in our chosen field thereafter. Change shouldn’t be seen as a downstream plug-in where we bring in a consultant to ‘do the change’.

Unfortunately, in many respects, that’s still the way it works. Or at least tries to.

It’s easier to get our head around the fact that we’re living, breathing change when we relate it to our own lives. It’s our essence (that word again). It’s the same on both sides of the revolving door.

Sometimes we lead it formally, as in we’re assigned a role or a project, sometimes we’re just doing it without giving it a grandiose codename and creating any structure around it.

Pandemic aside, are we still all too risk-averse?

I’m not sure we are – the manner in which the workplace industry works right now means that large sums of money are at stake. I think we may be opportunity-averse though. It’s more about identifying, mapping and taking opportunities than ploughing through risk. How many workplace projects involve an opportunity map? I’ve never seen one. Perhaps now we will.

How important is it that businesses plan for ‘day two’?

Massively – and all too rare. Usually the brief expands to fill the space and money available, leaving little or none for post-completion. The organisation will change, as will its needs and priorities.

The workplace will need to respond.

That means the organisation also needs to continue to co-create the evolving workplace with its people, which necessitates an open and continual dialogue. This is perpetual beta. It’s another area in which software is way ahead of workplace; it understands that its product is never complete and it needs constant feedback. A one-off post-occupancy evaluation is way short of what’s needed – as is even an annual evaluation. ‘Day two’ isn’t just a day – it’s the life of the workplace.

What do you think is the most important lesson we’ve learnt in the past 12 months (with regards to the workplace)?

I’d like to mention two if I may.

First, in workplace terms, that flexibility is still massively underrated. It’s still far more talked about than practiced.

Second, in more general terms, we have too much. We need to – and can quite easily – live a simpler life. The endless acquisition of stuff has to stop. It’s no longer sustainable. Translating that back to the workplace, they can be simpler too.

Far more focused on ‘need’ than ‘want’.

Far less expanding to fill the space. Far less indulgence.

Do you think the positive changes and initiatives that have arisen (ie.

WFH, local hubs, flex work) are here to stay – or are businesses likely to return to the ‘bad old ways’?

We won’t put the genie that is effective remote working back in the bottle. So even if organisations decide to return to routine office presence, we’ll all know it isn’t necessary. For a period of time though I think organisations will, in the main, bring their people back before deciding on an operable midway point.

Because that’s the really tricky part – making partial presence work for people, the organisation and the planet. Refocusing the purpose of the workplace rather than automatically thinking it has

Mix 208 January 2021 | 17

UPFRONT Perspective

to do everything. Choice doesn’t solve it. It’s where you need intelligent space allocation software.

If you could implement one new workplace regulation, what would it be?

It would have to be to do with ergonomics. The industry still struggles with it. The trends to ‘workshop chic’ and domestication – which hopefully we’ve seen the back of both of – didn’t help. I imagine Vitruvius is cursing to himself somewhere in the great design studio in the sky. There’s no earthly reason why every worksetting shouldn’t have ergonomic seating, workstations, meeting rooms, even informal spaces. It’s not at odds with the aesthetic. We don’t just have to pick one or the other. We shouldn’t have to go to the office with our osteopath just so the place can look cool.

Describe your working week.

All I could think of were those posts by people who say they get up at 3am and journal and work out and meditate and do their shopping and drink unfiltered pond water and create a bestselling app before anyone sane has woken up.

Imagining we’re out of lockdown – my working week is roughly split three ways – office time with the team (most of it at the whiteboard), thinking time elsewhere and client and BD visits out and about. What I miss more than anything else is not so much my office but other people’s – I’m incredibly nosey.

Speaking of lockdown, we know you’re a big music fan, so what new music have you discovered over these weird few months?

I love listening to new stuff – so Radio 6 every time. Iggy Pop’s show is outstanding. And what a voice the man has. I’d love him to do the audio book of Elemental Change. Might stretch the budget a bit.

18 | Mix 208 January 2021

If I had to pick a band of recent times it would be Fontaines DC. They’ve broken the banality of much of the indie scene of the last decade. It feels like they’re just doing what they want to do.

Finally, you’ve received great acclaim and praise for the ‘difficult second book’, are there any plans for a third – maybe a ‘concept’ book?

There won’t be anything for a little while.

The last one was quite an emotional stretch.

I do have an idea for another. Not so much an indulgent prog-rock concept album with a Roger Dean cover – more a slamming, three-chord, blood-pumping, full-bore three minutes of mayhem. I was formed in the 70s, after all.w

“

We need to – and can quite easily – live a simpler life.

The endless acquisition of stuff has to stop. It’s no longer sustainable

”

Believe in yourself.

Create your space.

Create your future.

www.actiu.com

UPFRONT Material Matters

1

3

2

4

MATERIAL MATTERS In need of some inspiration? Here’s a selection of materials that have caught our eye this month.

1

Low Impact – Magna Glaskeramik A new circular economy material with Cradle to Cradle Gold accreditation and the Solar Impulse Foundation label, Magna Glaskeramilk is a recent addition to the Material Lab. Made entirely from waste glass and produced by Low Impact Ltd, the material is resin and additive free, making it 100% upcycled and 100% recyclable at end of life.

3

Available in four different finishes, the texture of each design depends on the waste itself and the production process. The bricks can be used for both exterior and interior purposes, including flooring, cladding, interior detailing and even furniture.

Suitable for use as façade cladding or as an interior solid surface, the glass slabs are available in a variety of colours and finishes, all reflecting the source material. material-lab.co.uk

2

3form – Varia Varia is a formable resin material with the ability to hold layer upon layer of colour, patterns, images and textiles. The Artisan Collection, designed collaboratively with skilled artisans from around the world, lays handmade, globally inspired patterns within 3form’s translucent Varia panels.

The panels are available in four unique patterns, including Ladder, which features a complex hand-bent wire pattern created by a skilled wireworker in Ndem, Senegal.

3-form.com

20 | Mix 208 January 2021

StoneCycling – WasteBasedBricks WasteBasedBricks are a brick material made from construction waste found at building sites and produced using up to 100% recycled waste.

stonecycling.com

4

Vescom – Furka Plus & Arches Vescom introduces Furka Plus and Arches – two new additions to its vinyl upholstery collection. The recolouring of the Furka Plus collection has brought the popular faux leather range to life, offering a diverse palette for a range of spaces, including workspace, hospitality and healthcare.

Thanks to their coherent colour stories, Furka Plus and Arches work well in unison: Furka Plus providing a base for the structure and texture of Arches, which is inspired by jacquard weaving. vescom.com

UPFRONT Desert Island Desks

Desert Island Desks OLGA TURNER, EKKIST Olga is Managing Director and Co-founder of Ekkist, a design consultancy specialising in advising on health and wellbeing in buildings. She is a Chartered Surveyor, WELL AP and WELL Faculty member and also a member of the RICS Eastern Region Board.

Olga specialises in consulting on the WELL Building Standard and is one of the first consultants in the UK to gain WELL Faculty status. In 2019, she was listed in the Forbes 30 under 30 in the ‘Manufacturing and Industry’ category for her work in health and wellbeing in the built environment. Olga regularly speaks at events and conferences on the topic of health and wellbeing (including our last Mix Roundtable!) and is a member of several thought leadership groups, including the Construction Leadership Council’s health and wellbeing metrics group for smart buildings.

Our huge 8m teepee

Earl grey tea

We bought it expecting to have lots of summer parties and then lockdown happened so it’s only had one outing! It can live its best life on an island rather than being stuck in the shed!

Coffee is overrated!

‘Food from the Fire’

by Niklas Ekstedt I’ve always wanted to learn how to cook on an open fire and to go back to basics –and being stranded on an island would be the ultimate opportunity to try this. I’ve had this cookbook a while and am ashamed to say I haven’t yet attempted anything!

22 | Mix 208 January 2021

Tropical plants To get a garden going! It’s is one of my favourite hobbies and the ultimate escape from the city, laptops and overthinking!

Granby Rock coffee table at LASSCO Brunswick House

UPFRONT Desert Island Desks

The Another Country Pottery Series Black Pitcher

A Granby Workshop recycled Granby Rock dining table I want this for island feasts. I’ve wanted one ever since I saw it in Ballymore’s Mill Harbour development show home – for both its beauty and sustainability credentials!

I’d like this for displaying island flowers. It’s so simple but so beautiful and makes any flowers pop. My husband bought it for my birthday one year and I absolutely love it.

Tracks for the juxebox

Offering leather solutions, plus antibacterial and antifungal faux leathers for seating

‘Hark The Heralds Angels Sing’ Because I couldn’t be stuck on an island with no Christmas songs! I love the festivities so much that we got married on the 12th day of Christmas and had a winter celebration with sheepskins, carols and mulled wine!

Anything rom Metronomy’s album ‘The English Riviera’ Now that we have Christmas sorted, some summer vibes! Very chilled and reminds me of British summers and long days.

Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen The ultimate power anthem for when I need to feel unstoppable!

Runaway (U and I) by Galantis For island jogs (I’d try to keep fit if I was stranded!)

Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen I had to. It reminds me of my best friend’s wedding and great times spent together at university, dancing like no one is watching!

Cola by CamelPhat Finally, a chilled one for island sundowners.w

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Aviation

Healthcare

Hospitality

Marine

Residential

Workspace

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@yarwoodleather

THE BIG QUESTION

THE BIG QUESTION

In terms of its status as a design destination, what does the future hold for Clerkenwell?

Natalie Thomson

Garry Mason

Director, Head of Strategy Buckley Gray Yeoman

Head of A&D Tsunami Axis

24 years ago, our first studio was in Clerkenwell and we still consider it our neighbourhood. Working on projects in Clerkenwell is a privilege – few other London neighbourhoods so nonchalantly balance artistic sensibilities alongside commercial prowess. Clerkenwell is London and the world at once – independent eateries, pubs and old industrial warehouses sit alongside its bounty of furniture and product showrooms that inspire and realise our work.

Clerkenwell’s future is bright because its identity and community is so established in the industry.

Like most industries, design has adapted to the challenges of the past year to broaden its reach – both virtually and through innovative ways of bringing product and client together. Clerkenwell will remain an important hub for design in the foreseeable future, if in a slightly devolved way, seeing activity dissipating beyond EC1A. As a company that has always resided outside of Clerkenwell, Tsunami Axis hopes it will continue to be able to balance Clerkenwell’s rich resource with the wider design world.

Matt Davies

Claire Williams

Sales Director The Furniture Practice Manufacturers will continue to recognise that having a well-located showroom is key to be able to service the design community and to showcase their products. Designers and clients haven’t the time or inclination to cross London, so it continues to make sense to have a design hub. Where better than Clerkenwell? Ideally situated between the West End and the City and with a vibrant social scene that’s waiting to be re-awakened.

24 | Mix 208 January 2021

Annelie Kvick Thompson Partner Grimshaw

We believe progressive and forward focused design can shape a bright future, where innovation thrives through human contact and the exchange of ideas. The vibrancy of Clerkenwell’s businesses and people supports this. At Grimshaw, we have always explored new ways of working and, similarly, Clerkenwell has been adapting to new ideas for decades. By continuing to evolve, it can drive the transformation of our cities and workplaces for the future.

Jonathan Parr

Creative Director Ocee Design

Market Leader UK & Ireland Vitra

Clerkenwell has always been a creative and diverse hub, bringing together an eclectic mix of the best in design and creative thinking. In our opinion, that’s not going to change. We head into 2021 with a real sense of optimism, confident that the streets will be busy and the showrooms buzzing. Having said that, physical spaces will be enhanced and supported by technology. AI, product configurators, virtual spaces and better use of data have been quickly embraced – and this will only carry on.

Clerkenwell is an infamous design destination for architecture, design, media and tech firms. The design culture of this area is unique and has developed over many years. It is for this reason that many refer to Clerkenwell as ‘the heart of the London design community’. I believe this will stay the case. However, London is full of other great design destinations, which together make London a world leading design destination.w

WORK Hospitality Workplace

26 Property: Meet private equity real estate funds - your new best friend in 2021 32 2021 Property Summary - Deloitte’s Niall Alcock offers his property predictions 36 The year of the experiential office - LOM Architecture + Design 40 The post-pandemic future of furniture - Christian Grosen Rasmussen, Vitra 44 Pearson Lloyd’s new East London studio 50 Royal College of Midwives from Adams + Collingwood Architects Mix 208 January 2021 | 25

WORK Property

Meet private equity real estate funds: your new best friend in 2021 Big money is burning a big, big hole in the pockets of private equity funds, and they want to spend it on real estate. It could mean a big surge in 2021 refurbishment work at a time when mainstream developers are sitting on their hands, David Thame reports.

26 | Mix 208 January 2021

WORK Property

Rooftop amenities at Roots in the Sky, London, led by Fabrix and Studio RHE

W

e may not feel much pity but having lots of money – seriously lots – can be a curse. The miseries of the super-rich are daily tabloid fare. The trials faced by super-rich business investors don’t make headlines in the same way, but they are just as real, and they could be what drives the property market in 2021.

How come? Here’s how. Private equity has raised billions from high-net-worth individuals, who are finding it hard to make their money work for them. The 10 largest have raked in $450 billion in the last six years according to data from Statista.

Blackstone (the daddy of them all) raised a cool $96 billion on its own.

Why are the taps on? Because stock markets are too volatile, interest rates are too low, and whilst buying government gilts is at least safe, negative yields mean it is very expensive. Everyone fears the economy is about to take a dip (a recession was overdue before coronavirus) and only a fool buys gold. This all adds up to a problem for the cash-rich who are handing their money over to private equity firms who invest in high growth businesses, and in particular in the ever-safe option of real estate. Yes, it’s a bit riskier, but it promises much better returns. And if you pick your private equity real estate fund carefully, the risks are carefully calibrated.

The private equity guiding rule is buying low, sprucing up the look and the tenant mix, and selling high. This means their real estate funds often work counter-cyclically, buying and refurbishing when the property market is on the floor and selling newly improved asset- managed properties back to more cautious investors as the economy begins to lift off the canvas.

Today, Knight Frank guestimates that as much as £1.25 billion of private equity funding is hunting in Birmingham’s office core, at least as much in Manchester and, across the UK office markets, the sums mount up into tens of billions. Something similar is happening in the student housing, leisure and (mad though it may seem, with the high street looking dead) retail sectors.

Birmingham-based regional property investor, Colmore Capital, is an increasingly big fish in the

pond of UK regional private equity. In the last few weeks of 2020 it expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of the 16-acre Wavendon Business Park from M&G for around £20 million, and was brewing two further buys of £50 million and £100 million respectively.

Colmore Capital Founder, David Corridan, explains why acquiring the 148,000 sq ft Grade A office park in Milton Keynes is perfect for what he is trying to do.

‘The Wavendon site is a perfect example of an environment that should prove extremely attractive for a return to the office, and an end to working from home,’ he says. ‘There’s seven or eight angles to this, the first being to make sure there’s adequate car parking. But the site also needs green spaces and biodiversity and, at least, the level of amenity people get at home. After a year of homeworking, nobody is going to want to be far from a fridge, or a good interesting place to have lunch, and basically this has to be a pleasant place to exist in.’

Colmore, who bought the property from a major fund, will asset-manage and improve the site and then, in four or five years (or less, or more) sell it on, probably to another big fund.

And for private equity operators like David, the bigger the refurbishment project the better, within reason. ‘We want to be able to produce property assets that we think will appeal to, and sell to, the broadest range of investors possible – because those investors themselves think about how saleable the assets will be for them, too.

And, typically, that means a more wholescale refurbishment than something light touch, which will not produce the kind of asset that works today.’

The kind of big interventions David likes produce an element of ‘wow factor’ along with a genuine amenity that cheers people up: roof gardens are a particular favourite, and he cheerfully admits to installing them wherever possible.

It all adds up to counter-cyclical investment and development. ‘That’s certainly the aim,’ says David.

‘If we can find the right buildings to buy.’

This is where the story of private equity involvement in the 2021 office market gets

Mix 208 January 2021 | 27

WORK Property

What Private Capital invested in 2019 36%

26%

13%

Industrial

3% 13%

Senior Housing

8% 1%

Sources: RNA, Knight Frank

Retail

Apartments

“

There will come a change. Banks will begin to foreclose on property loans. That’s when vendors will have to sell and private equity comes into its own

”

55 Colmore Row

28 | Mix 208 January 2021

complicated, because the weight of money looking to buy into UK real estate is vastly greater than the limited volume of buying opportunities coming to the market.

Two factors are worth noting. First, most potential vendors are not yet distress sellers.

So they prefer to sit on their hands, if they can, and wait for property values to recover rather than sell at today’s lowish prices.

Excitement about a coronavirus vaccine gives them additional reasons not to sell today, hoping for a return to some kind of ‘normal’ life in early 2021.

Second, simple market logic dictates that, if you have a lot of money chasing relatively little in the way of potential product, then prices go up. So far there isn’t much evidence of actual price rises but there is evidence that the sale prices of useful UK office stock are holding up very well indeed. Two deals prove the point.

Germany’s Union Investments bought Birmingham’s 55 Colmore Row for £100 million, a yield close to 4.5%, whilst Helical sold a portfolio of Manchester office blocks

Hotels

to private equity funds managed by Pictet Alternative Advisors, S.A. and XLB Property Limited for £119 million, a yield of 5.2%. In both cases, those are hot yields.

Jason Winfield is Head of UK Capital Markets for Business Space at consultants Cushman & Wakefield. He agrees that private equity and their core-plus and value-add funds are looking for places to spend the upwards of £85 billion they raised in the last year, enough to buy every property on the London market twice over.

The difficulty, he says, is the rather impressive yields recorded in the Manchester and Birmingham deals. So long as private equity is telling its investors it can secure 1015% returns, fund managers need to do their maths carefully when buying assets. Yields of 4-5% are just too keen and their maths won’t work. The price is simply too high.

‘We don’t yet have sufficient distress in the market for vendors to let the price drop to the clearing price that begins to attract private equity. Regional offices offer private equity

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WORK Property

WeWork, 55 Colmore Row, Birmingham

great opportunities, but vendors just aren’t yet in sufficient distress to sell, and the approach of a vaccine makes them even more reluctant to sell,’ Jason says.

For now, Jason agrees that the private equity real estate scene is like a well-shaken bottle of Champagne.

There is plenty of cash to spray around once the cork has been popped. And that depends on vendors deciding to sell office buildings at prices that work for private equities’ elevated view of potential returns.

‘There will come a change. Banks will begin to foreclose on property loans.

That’s when vendors will have to sell and private equity comes into its own. But even here it won’t be a flood because interest rates are low, most borrowers are not heavily leveraged, unlike in 2008-12, and so the opportunities to foreclose are fewer.’

‘The result is a hell of a lot of money waiting for opportunities that may never materialise,’ says Jason. Private equities’ hopes of deploying some of its capital reserves in real estate depend on high-

30 | Mix 208 January 2021

level economic variables like Brexit and vaccines, and low level calculations like how soon banks get fed up with bad loans and how much appetite they have for solving the problem by foreclosing.

The difficulty for private equity is knowing when to call the bottom of the market, which is the moment they move into action.

‘I think the private equity markets expect the economy to deteriorate before it improves. They think there will be a hell of a lot of opportunities next year, but I wonder where?’ says a puzzled Winfield.

Many observers say that, by Q2 2021, economic distress will be higher, meaning property prices are lower. At which point some of the people who have been putting money into private equity funds – and watching it go nowhere – may decide to start direct property investment on their own accounts. This could help fire up the market.

2021 is going to be a tricky year in the office market, and it will need all the friends it can find. Private equity could – if the cards fall in the right places – turn out to be one of the best.w

Privates on Parade

Private equity was a big player in UK real estate before coronavirus and was helping to lead the serviced/flexible floorspace revolution.

Blackstone, the US private equity business, and arguably the world’s largest, acquired The Office Group in 2017 in a deal that values the group at about £100 million. The investment was paying off nicely, with revenue up 23% in 2019 – until COVID-19 intervened.

In 2018, Blackstone also made a bid for rivals IWG (Regus), showing that private equity has almost unlimited appetite.

Yet having money isn’t the same as being able to spend it. 3G, one of the biggest names in the PE world, has appealed to investors to allow it to sit on their money for a little longer whilst they find something to buy.

The Brazilian/US investment group, backed by high-net-worth individuals in South America, nicely exemplifies both the international nature of private equity, and the work-a-day problems of the extraordinarily rich. It currently has around $10 billion ready to spend immediately, the Financial Times reports, and if it can’t find somewhere to spend it, the funds will be returned to their original investors.w

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Deloitte’s 800 Manchester-based staff will take over two floors at WeWork within the Grade II listed Hanover Building

WORK Trends

2021: Trends, predictions, insights Niall Alcock, Director at Deloitte Real Estate, gives us some of his predictions and expected trends in the UK commercial property markets for the year ahead.

2

020 was, by all accounts, a unique year. I’m not sure that anyone’s predictions this time last year would have come close to what was to unfold. The full impact of the pandemic and national lockdown on how and where we live, work and socialise will not really be known until we are able to live our lives again without the restrictions we currently find ourselves under.

Nevertheless, activity in the office, residential and leisure sectors has continued throughout 2020. In my view, the market fundamentals underpinning these sectors remain strong, meaning I think we can be optimistic about the year ahead.

Future of the Workplace

Workplaces saw a seismic shift this year, as dedicated office spaces were practically emptied overnight. The ONS suggested that as much as 50% of the UK’s adults were working from home in April, aided by modern sophisticated IT infrastructure. It’s safe to say that many businesses surprised themselves with efficiency of remote working, which has led to predictions that an abandonment of the office and a transition to remote working is to come.

Whilst it’s reasonable to suggest a continued shift in working culture, in my view, these predictions are greatly exaggerated. When restrictions were

“

Occupiers will be getting to grips with their workspace requirements throughout 2021, as restrictions are lifted and longterm working practices emerge.

”

first lowered in mid-summer, research by AlphaWise showed that over a third of white-collar employees returned to the office as soon as they were able.

My own experience is that people miss the social environment and supportive networks the workplace provides, particularly in a time when employee wellbeing has never been higher on a company’s agenda. In addition, the majority of business leaders rely on physical workspace as a place to collaborate with partners and prospective clients. In this context, I anticipate a significant return to the office as soon as it is safe to do so.

Occupiers will be getting to grips with their workspace requirements throughout 2021, as restrictions are lifted and longterm working practices emerge. This will result in an increased focus on the quality and adaptability of workplaces.

Companies competing to attract and retain the best talent will seek to offer a modern, inspiring and flexible working environment as part of their package.

In many ways, this is an acceleration of trends that have been underway for years.

It should be welcomed and embraced by landlords and occupiers.

I expect coworking spaces to enjoy a strong year as they accommodate a hybrid model of remote and in-office working. Deloitte’s announcement that it will relocate its Manchester office to the Hanover Building at NOMA is a clear example of a business that has recognised this and is embracing it to the fullest extent; as COVID-compliant hot desking allows diverse teams to work together effectively in a fantastic, characterful office environment.

Build-to-Rent

We saw significant movement in the residential market when it came to home

Niall Alcock, Director, Deloitte Real Estate

buying in 2020. According to Rightmove, national house sales rose 67% year-onyear in October 2020. This has been fuelled partially by the stamp duty holiday, which ends in March. This boom in house sales is already starting to subside and gains in house prices may reverse in 2021.

The pandemic has led to speculation that we may see a decline in city centre living and the build-to-rent concepts that have emerged through the last cycle; however, the sector has shown remarkable resilience in 2020.

Construction has continued across multiple high profile developments and we continue to receive enquiries for new build-to-rent developments.

Many people, especially those of the younger generations, are looking for an amenity-rich, creative residential product.

In Manchester, for example, recently completed schemes such as Deansgate Square have been continually raising the bar. It includes the tallest building outside of London in the UK and provides residents with concierge, leisure facilities, dining areas and social spaces within the development – as well as a central location. It’s not the only one; 2021 will

Mix 208 January 2021 | 33

WORK Trends

“

Many people, especially those of the younger generations, are looking for an amenity-rich, creative residential product.

”

also see the completion of several more high quality build-to-rent schemes in Manchester, such as Crown Street, Circle Square and Greengate.

City-centre residential markets will continue to evolve and adapt, as they have done over the past 10 years. We will see greater diversity in the marketplace, as innovative residential developers, funders and operators seek out new niches such as co-living, intergenerational living and affordable concepts.

Return of Hospitality

Whilst the pandemic hit all industries, hospitality was particularly devastated.

CGA and UKHospitality estimated a year-on-year fall of some £17bn in revenue, creating a wave of high-profile administrations and closure of independent businesses across the UK. This is, though, very much down to enforced closure, rather than a loss in consumer appetite. We are already seeing this with the reopening of other leisure industries, with football stadiums across England easily selling out their governmentsanctioned allocations.

Pending a lift of event restrictions, hospitality is primed for a revival in 2021, particularly in cities that enjoy a vibrant culture, events and sport scene. According to the 2020 Live Nation Global Impact of

34 | Mix 208 January 2021

COVID-19 on Live Events Benchmark Study, 91% of music goers will return to attend live events when restrictions are lowered, followed closely by cinema (87%), theatre (78%) and sporting events (75%). 91% of live music ticket holders still plan on attending shows they currently hold tickets for and 79% expect a return to live music events within the next four months.

This will also coincide with a bounceback in the hotel sector, but I expect the recovery will extend beyond 2021. 71% of respondents to Deloitte’s Hotel Sector Survey last September were positive about the long-term future of the UK hotel market and expect a rise in both investment activity and profitability over the next five years – although just over half believe it will take more than two years for performance to reach pre-pandemic levels.

Summary

2020 has been as challenging a year as I have known in my career, but I believe we can be optimistic about the year ahead.

Fundamentals of the regional market are strong, there is a joint focus on building back better from the pandemic and this could be an exciting time for innovation as we adapt to the post-COVID world. w

Re-evaluation and experimentation 2021 is the year of the experiential office LOM Director, Simon Marett, and Associate, Chiara Cantilena, discuss the importance of the employee experience and how businesses can benefit from a more experiential workplace.

Santander Unity Place, Milton Keynes

T Simon Marett, Director, LOM. Chiara Cantilena, Associate, LOM.

36 | Mix 208 January 2021

here’s no doubt that 2021 will be a decisive turning point for workplace design. The COVID pandemic continues to influence how we work and its effects will be longer lasting still. Businesses had to adapt rapidly in 2020 – particularly by embracing technology to enable staff to work remotely. Given the overall success of this working from home revolution, many businesses are now revaluating what the future holds for their office portfolios. Lockdown has also highlighted what we lack when working remotely – and has given many a renewed

appreciation of their office space, particularly its facilities and the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues.

Being away from our normal place of work has brought into sharp focus what experiences people have missed. Starting 2021 with renewed positivity and hopes pinned on a successful, expedient vaccine roll out, now is a good time for employers to reflect on what will attract people back to the office and experiment with creating an enhanced workplace experience for their teams.

WORK Trends

“

Now the focus needs to be on enhancing the employee experience – not only to encourage staff back to the office, but also to help employers retain them in the long term.

” The Bunker, London

Re-evaluating the workplace Office design has been undergoing major transformation for many years – moving away from uniform, structured efficiency into more flexible workplaces that offer far greater interest and stimulation. For most businesses, the office still has a strong future in some form. Now the focus needs to be on enhancing the employee experience – not only to encourage staff back to the office, but also to help employers retain them in the long term.

Ahead of efficiency, productivity or technology, overwhelmingly, we find the most significant issue with working remotely has been the loss of the experience of connecting and collaborating with colleagues and with the business, its culture and values. People are motivated in part by the pride in what they do, who they work with and a shared purpose. It’s difficult to maintain these connections from your spare room and – from a business perspective – loss of connection can result in issues with motivation, quality and creative thinking.

Many have enjoyed dodging the grind of the daily commute, spending more time with family or raiding the fridge between Zoom calls. But there are also distractions to deal with – from daily chores to lively children, or the loneliness of working in isolation.

After months of lockdowns, the experience of a shared workplace will have a greater appeal than working from kitchen tables or the spare room.

This year, more than ever, is an opportunity to ensure that employees look forward to travelling

into the office – whether that’s every day or once a month. Most people will be coming into the office to meet, collaborate, access specialist facilities or to soak up the office atmosphere while they work.

It is vital that the focus is on building a sense of community and shared purpose – all wrapped up in a more flexible, higher quality environment.

Winning hearts and minds Creating a positive workplace experience is primarily about behaviours and how the spaces are used. In this sense, while good design is important, function must come before style. This might mean bringing in dedicated ‘branded’ spaces with a unique identity.

For instance, a space to touch base with colleagues around food or coffee, and to celebrate human interaction over digital exchange, while we are back in the office. Not all areas in the workplace should be dedicated to work specifically – there will always be times when people need to separate themselves from their daily tasks.

Our solution to this is to create ‘sanctuary’ spaces – these are fully technology-free, immersive green spaces for calm and respite.

The importance of communication cannot be overstated here. Returning to a different kind of office has the potential to be off-putting. Managing and communicating this change in advance and letting people know how they can use and experience these spaces will help them to feel welcome and comfortable.

WORK Trends

The Living Rooms, London.

38 | Mix 208 January 2021

WORK Trends

“

After months of lockdowns, the experience of a shared workplace will have a greater appeal than working from kitchen tables or the spare room.

” Putting the right building blocks in place A truly experiential office space is a tailored one.

Choice is key. It gives people the opportunity to have a workspace that is perfect for their preferences at any one time – from quiet spaces for concentration and private video calls, to large communal spaces for activities and collaboration. Companies will get the most out of their employees by listening and reacting to their different requirements and preferred ways of working. Beyond this, the best experiential workplaces are sufficiently flexible to accommodate even unpredicted needs. If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that we need to have the freedom to experiment and adapt to new realities and behaviours swiftly.

Wellbeing in its broadest sense is central to the workplace experience, from the look and feel of the workspaces, to the food choices on offer and provision of spaces for other kinds of activities, such as client entertaining and sports. A space that contributes to positive experience is a space that nurtures individuals and makes them feel valued. This extends to feeling included in the business’ brand: a space that embodies the values and the essence of a company and therefore can make us feel part of a higher shared purpose.

2021 – the start of a new chapter Employees that are happy, healthy and fulfilled are also productive and innovative. For businesses, focusing on the experience of the workplace has numerous benefits.

These spaces facilitate collaboration and creativity in a productive environment. They also contribute to staff wellbeing, which by extension leads to workers that are less stressed and more able to focus on quality work.

Beyond this, it also fosters a feeling of common purpose and re-endorses a firm’s brand values and culture – helping the workforce to feel like a team. This can all be achieved while reducing the size of an office portfolio – providing the optimum working environment for employees, while also ensuring the whole space is used effectively. This is a model for 2021 and beyond.w

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The post-pandemic future of furniture When we first sat down to discuss which company we should approach to discuss the changing nature of furniture design and how COVID has changed the thinking of the leading manufacturers, it took literally seconds before the name ‘Vitra’ echoed around our Zoom call! Here, Christian Grosen Rasmussen, Chief Design Officer at Vitra, talks about the post-pandemic future of the world of furniture.

T

he pandemic has made it very clear that agility and rapid adaption to new situations and new needs are key if you want to be part of the future.

When facing a crisis like the pandemic, it makes you reflect on how you live, how you work and how you consume. I believe that in a post-pandemic market we will see customers – private as well as professional – who are much more aware of their choices.

Navigating a new reality is complex and the manufacturers have an important task in helping the consumers make the right choices.

It’s about being credible, collaborative, sharing and acting as a sparring partner and guide rather than just developing a product.

Many questions arise around life in a post-pandemic world. How will we live and how will we work; will we travel and to what extent will our changed living patterns become permanent?

left Vitra Evo-C by Jasper Morrison top Christian Grosen Rasmussen, Chief Design Officer, Vitra

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WORK Trends

“

Navigating a new reality is complex and the manufacturers have an important task in helping the consumers make the right choices.

”

One thing is for sure – yesterday’s solution will not be the answer to tomorrow’s challenges. An innovative mindset with sustainability at the top of our minds is more important than ever. Vitra has implemented a systematic approach to innovation to ensure that new ideas can be cultivated, tested, challenged and supported. These ideas are based on insights derived from research, interviews, observations and experience.

The border between work and home is more blurred than ever. In the last decade we’ve seen a growing need for creating a home atmosphere in the office. The pandemic of 2020 has been an accelerator that has caused a transformation of how and where work is done. Suddenly we work mainly from our homes, which to some extent will remain

an option in many companies, in combination with coworking spaces and cafés when on the road. As a result, the post-pandemic worker will spend more time in their active and multifunctional home, which calls for new solutions. The home office will develop with new typologies and hybrids that can help us solve the challenges we face when combining private and professional life in very little space.

However, we will still go to the office at least a few days a week – obviously, depending on your job function – to breathe in the identity and culture of the company, to meet colleagues, collaborate and to socialise. This will change the layout of the office.

We will see fewer desks and more products that address the growing need for agile meeting spaces, which support easy transformation and adaption to

Studio Hürlemann New Office. photo: dejan jovanovic

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WORK Trends

The Living Rooms designed by LOM.

photo: nicholas worley

constantly changing scenarios, situations and tasks.

Across all new projects, sustainability plays a pivotal role. Designing for low impact materials, optimising manufacturing, efficient distribution, low impact use, optimising lifetime and end of life are important ingredients in every new project from the very beginning.

Sustainability must not become something annoying that comes on top at the very end. If considered carefully from the beginning of the development process, it can become a lever for innovation and drive a new aesthetic language, supporting the use of recycled materials and efficient distribution.

Nobody knows what the future brings.

All we know is that it’s coming and that the best way to prepare for it is to be agile and able to adapt quickly.w

“

We will see fewer desks and more products that address the growing need for agile meeting spaces, which support easy transformation and adaption to constantly changing situations and tasks.

” top Vitra Tip Ton RE Chair left Vitra’s Dancing Walls at Studio Hurlemann’s new offices photo: dejan jovanovic

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The first floor studio space and meeting areas are generously spacious thanks to raised ceilings. photos: Franklin + Franklin

CASE STUDY Pearson Lloyd

Studio Quality You might recall that, a few issues back, we wrote about Bene’s innovative new PORTS furniture collection, designed by Pearson Lloyd. Well, during our meeting with Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd, we took a brief walk through East London to take a look at the (then) under construction site of the duo’s new studio.

N

ow very much complete – thanks to the vision of Pearson Lloyd and Cassion Castle Architects – what was once a dilapidated Victorian block in Hackney has been transformed into a dynamic, modern studio.

This opening represents the studio’s continuing commitment to the city that has been its home for over 20 years, creating new opportunities to engage with the industry and local community.

‘After our two decades in East London, opening Yorkton Workshops is a pivotal moment for Pearson Lloyd,’ Luke tells us. ‘Not only did the restoration give us an opportunity to exercise our design approach both at scale and at a granular level of detail, it has resulted in a truly versatile studio space that will allow us to bring everything under one roof, and which gives us the space and flexibility to conduct experiments and explore bold new ideas in workplace strategy.’

The new studio has enabled Pearson Lloyd to consolidate its office, workshop and design archive onto a single site for the first time in five years.

Because the studio’s projects range from North America to Europe and beyond, London is in a key

strategic position for Pearson Lloyd to serve its international client base.

Spread over two storeys and two wings, Yorkton Workshops encompasses a variety of spaces, including versatile studios, workshops for making and prototyping, meeting rooms and a dedicated area for exhibitions and events.

For Luke and Tom, Yorkton Workshops has presented the perfect opportunity to demonstrate Pearson Lloyd’s design philosophy in action – by applying it to their own workspace.

Over the last 20+ years, the studio has dedicated itself to ‘Making Design Work’ – identifying and building functional, beautiful and efficient products, environments and systems that respond to the challenges of the day and enhance our experience of the world.

Yorkton Workshops reaffirms this commitment.

Although the space is tailor-made to meet the needs of a modern-day design studio, Luke and Tom have ensured it is not locked into that role. For them, the restoration represents not only an investment in Pearson Lloyd’s future as a design practice, but in the creative fabric of London as a whole. Yorkton

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CASE STUDY Pearson Lloyd

Workshops is effectively futureproof: it can accommodate single or multiple tenants, internal spaces can be modified to open plan or enclosed as needs change, and it is readily adaptable to manifold workplace typologies – as the ease with which Pearson Lloyd has been able to make it COVID-secure perfectly demonstrates.

This flexibility, coupled with the sheer size of the building, has proved hugely beneficial in the creation of an effective socially distanced workplace. The Pearson Lloyd team is now spread throughout a building, with scope for up to 30 people. They have developed new desking solutions in-house that make working and collaborating at a distance easier, and, like many organisations emerging from lockdown, Pearson Lloyd has incorporated its learnings into the studio’s modus operandi, with home working and remote meetings now a permanent part of its everyday operations.

Flexibility is also key here. As one of the leading studios in the design of workplace furniture and systems, Pearson Lloyd wanted a space at a scale where they could road-test new design concepts, prototypes and workspace solutions at scale – a real-world lab for their ideas. Featuring a number of their own furniture designs, Yorkton Workshops is in effect the realisation of Pearson Lloyd’s own thinking about ‘People, Place and Product’ – designed workplace strategy in action.

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Having worked with Cassion Castle Architects on several projects over the past 12 years, Luke and Tom knew that it would be the ideal practice to collaborate with to develop their initial design concept, with the experience and creativity necessary to deliver such a complex project, ensuring continuity of design and the refined quality of the final product Cassion Castle has a long history of working with individual designers and studios, and the fact that the practice can perform the role of both architect and contractor simultaneously was critical to the restoration. Because design and construction could happen in parallel, the restoration of the workshops became a continuous, collaborative process.

‘Working on design-led projects with an active and invested client is deeply engaging and rewarding from a design perspective,’ Cassion Castle, Founder of Cassion Castle Architects, reflects. ‘We were blessed with a site that had a lot of existing charm and wonder hidden under the surface, and good enough bones to allow a retrofit rather than a demolition and new-build.

‘Being the architect and main contractor was another luxury, letting us fully probe the potential of the building as we went, reacting and adapting to the complex site as it developed through construction. In the end it was the constraints and complexity of the existing site

left The central entrance lobby features this bespoke industrial steel staircase, painted bold red. right Once a dilapidated Victorian block in Hackney has been transformed into a dynamic, modern studio.

“

We were blessed with a site that had a lot of existing charm and wonder hidden under the surface, and good enough bones to allow a retrofit rather than a demolition and new-build

”

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CASE STUDY Pearson Lloyd

that made the design fly – adding our own chapter to the history of the building rather than rewriting the story from scratch.’

The responsiveness of this approach meant that architect and designer could work together to reconcile the fabric of the building to Pearson Lloyd’s needs, ensuring the finished workspace was tailor-made for the practice.

This has proven especially valuable in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as layouts could be easily adapted to accommodate social distancing and more widely distributed working areas for the Pearson Lloyd design team.

When Pearson Lloyd acquired the building, back in 2017, it was (in Luke and Tom’s words) a mess – a haphazard collision of old and new, with a mishmash of overlaid alterations and adaptations that had been made over the decades. Part of the Victorian building had been replaced with a modern utilitarian structure some time in the 1990s, likely in response to a fire, leaving 6,000 sq ft of usable – but uninspiring – space, ill-suited to the needs of a multi-faceted 21st-century design studio operating internationally.

The easiest approach would have been to knock it down and start from scratch, but it was agreed that restoring and retrofitting the building – although much more challenging and architecturally complex – would be a far more sustainable, low-carbon approach, as it would preserve the embodied carbon in the existing structure.

On average, between a third and a half of a structure’s carbon emissions are concentrated in the construction phase, so the reuse of a building has significantly less impact than a new-build.

This determination to minimise environmental impact influenced the design approach from the outset; Pearson Lloyd and Cassion Castle worked hard to minimise

above Existing materials have been retained or reused wherever possible. right Original brickwork seamlessly intersects with contemporary concrete and smooth sheets of birch plywood.

“

From a material perspective, we were keen to approach the building in an analogous way to our furniture and product design

” 48 | Mix 208 January 2021

CASE STUDY Pearson Lloyd

the demolition needed, the potential landfill generated and the new materials introduced.

They ensured existing materials were retained or reused wherever possible, repurposing bricks, steelwork and timber joists from the demolition phase, supplemented by materials sourced from reclamation yards wherever necessary. The floorboards, for example, were reclaimed from a Victorian factory site in Mile End. The retrofit approach was not only the right environmental choice, it also created the opportunity for a much richer interior. The interplay of existing fabric and new material leads to hundreds of bespoke details for the design team to tackle and celebrate. Original brickwork seamlessly intersects with contemporary concrete and smooth sheets of birch plywood – a balanced and harmonious meeting of old and new at macro and micro scales.

‘From a material perspective, we were keen to approach the building in an analogous way to our furniture and product design,’ Luke says. ‘We wanted the materials to have a quality and directness that was intrinsically integrated to their function. Key choices include the wood fibre acoustic ceiling, the steel stair, the workshop floor (made from the same material as stage floors and haulage trucks) and the reclaimed and refinished pitch pine floor.’

‘Our approach was to try to strip it all back to a few essential characteristics and to include as many existing features as possible,’ Cassion adds. ‘Aside from preserving the embodied energy, this means the interiors of this scheme will be much richer because the project is a refurbishment rather than a new build.

The history of the building will be ever-present.’

‘Having made the decision to work with the existing fabric of the building, the ambition was

to express the old and new in as honest a fashion as possible,’ Tom explains. ‘The interior is quite expressive in its materiality. We have left as much of the original fabric exposed as we can.

We wanted to maintain the sense that we are working in workshops, as this was the original function of the buildings.’

Another priority was to achieve optimal user comfort as passively as possible. To ensure the highest levels of insulation, all retained elements of the external envelope, including the concrete ground-bearing floor slabs, were upgraded to modern standards and new roofs were added throughout. Natural cross-ventilation prevents overheating, whereas north-facing window openings and east- and south-facing roof lights with integral blinds reduce solar gain. The need for air conditioning has been overcome by the inclusion of naturally cooling exposed masonry walls, while low-energy lighting has been installed throughout – powered with renewable energy supplied by a photovoltaic array on the roof The finished building imaginatively matches form to function. The domestic-scale Victorian part has been adapted to house more intimate studio activities, such as meetings and events, whereas the larger and more open 20th-century factory wing holds the Pearson Lloyd workshops and primary studio space. The central entrance lobby features a bespoke industrial steel staircase, painted bold red, which grabs the eye from the moment of entry. This leads up to the first floor studio space and meeting areas – generously spacious thanks to raised ceilings – and to an outdoor garden and roof terrace that act as a bridge between the building’s functions and eras – allowing the two wings to be distinct yet still connected.w

above The new space is tailor-made to meet the needs of a modern-day design studio.

Client Pearson Lloyd Architect Cassion Castle Architects Design Consultant Pearson Lloyd Main Contractor Cassion Castle Architects Structural Engineer Structure Workshop Environmental Consultant Energy Test CAD Software Vectorworks, Solidworks Planning Consultant CMA Planning Furniture Allermuir, SCP, Bene, Walter Knoll, Teknion, Tachini, TAKT, Vitsœ

Mix 208 January 2021 | 49

CASE STUDY Royal College of Midwives

Call the Midwives Contemporary design rubs shoulders with tradition at the new Royal College of Midwives’ new London headquarters.

The impressive Southwark RCM HQ is built around flexible, collaborative and accessible working requirements for what is the oldest midwifery association in the world.

T

he Royal College of Midwives is a British midwifery organisation, which was founded in 1881 by Louisa Hubbard and Zepherina Veitch. It has existed under its present name since 1947, and is the UK’s only trade union or professional organisation for midwives and those that support them.

Multi award-winning London architecture firm, Adams+Collingwood Architects, has delivered this stunning new headquarters for the RCM. The ‘calm and bold’ brief provided the opportunity for the talented team to blend the RCM’s rich history with a state-of-the-art workspace that would promote collaboration and flexibility.

The Adams+Collingwood team has worked with the RCM since 2012, on their previous premises in Mansfield Street.

When the decision was made to move from what were essentially converted terraced houses into an open plan office space in Southwark, Adams+Collingwood was delighted to once again step up to the plate.

‘Our task was to deliver a modern working environment that prioritised light, space and quality, while also respecting budgetary constraints,’ Adams+Collingwood’s Tamsin Bryant explains. ‘The brief was to deliver calm and bold working spaces that were accessible

and functional, while also making all those who used them feel good about the new office. Respecting tradition and professionalism was also key.

‘The client’s previous office was a Grade II listed converted town house in central London. We had previously looked at how we could renovate the cellular rooms it had into more of an open plan office space, but the restrictions meant very little could be done.

The RCM then invited us to look at the building in Union Street to determine whether it was suitable.

‘The design process was in accordance with the RIBA work stages. The client developed an in-house project team, who produced a design brief and schedule of accommodation. From there, we worked closely with the project delivery team to develop ideas.’

In terms of hopes and aspirations, and as Tamsin has already touched upon, the RCM wanted an office space that would reflect the ethos of its organisation.

‘Working through the pandemic made this even more poignant – it felt like we were doing our bit to give back to the midwives going into work every day.’ Tamsin tells us. ‘We have been working with the client for over 10 years – but this is by far our

left A dropped floor delivers the ‘wow factor’ and adds drama to the space.

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CASE STUDY Royal College of Midwives

biggest accomplishment together. The RCM had a deadline, which had contingency, however the COVID pandemic quickly ate into a large portion of the overrun time.

So how was the design team’s concept conceived and subsequently implemented?

‘We listened to the client and delved deep into the type of organisation they wanted to be.’

Tamsin explains. ‘We then modelled the space in 3D and used this to present the ideas to the RCM project delivery team. This allowed us to smooth the decision making process and spend time on bettering the design than on decision making.

‘The resulting design is bright, elegant and contemporary, delivering a range of lightfilled, flexible working spaces. A dropped floor delivers the ‘wow factor’ and adds drama to the space, while also dividing it up practically and providing discreet storage under the higherlevel floor. Identifying whether or not dropping

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the floor would achieve value for money was a key project priority, as doing so involved the addition of structural steel beams to support the new lowered floor.

‘Their existing space had low ceilings, poor lighting levels and a very old air conditioning system. We dropped the floor by over half a metre, creating a dynamic entrance forum and ‘creative working zone’ – this also means the office has a new main entrance with level threshold accessed from the new atrium.

The variety of workspaces provided (at Union Street) range from larger, formal meeting rooms to smaller spaces for confidential conversations, as well as a range of both sitting and standing desks. Seating ranged from lumbar support office chairs to comfortable but practical sofas for causal meetings, whilst wheelchair accessibility was a priority throughout. ‘The furniture was external to the main contract, but we used the

above The scheme offers a range of working environments to include everything from banks of desks to collaborative spaces of varying sizes.

“

Working through the pandemic made this even more poignant – it felt like we were doing our bit to give back to the midwives going into work every day

”

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CASE STUDY Royal College of Midwives

Client Royal College of Midwives Architect Adams + Collingwood Architects Furniture Provider Procured by the client Flooring Milliken, Supagold Ltd Furniture Supplier Senator Surfaces Race Interiors Other Empire Interiors, Londonwall Main Contractor Parkeray

above A mix of traditional and contemporary touches is visible in the colours that flow through the new space. left The space has a new main entrance with level threshold accessed from the new atrium.

3D model to ensure that the furniture layout was fully integrated into the scheme, including lighting layouts, the artwork collection and recycled furniture from the previous office.’

Adams+Collingwood has clearly delivered on all fronts, creating welcoming, contemporary spaces that meet functional needs while exuding an air of calm professionalism.

‘We designed a range of working environments to include everything from banks of desks to collaborative spaces of varying sizes. The environment balances tradition with practical, professional working spaces that allow for flexible use,’ Tamsin tells us.

This mix of traditional and contemporary touches is visible in the colours that flow through the new RCM HQ. Dusky pink pairs with bright blue to reflect midwifery’s core service provision, while deep maroon, orange and copper deliver a sense of warmth and comfort.

The over-arching feel is one of contemporary professionalism. The RCM’s Southwark HQ is a place that permits traditional values to flourish in a modern

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CASE STUDY Royal College of Midwives

world. It is well worth mentioning that the project was completed on time, despite the complication of the COVID-19 pandemic. Site work began on 1 June 2020, meaning that COVID-secure construction was required, with limited numbers of contractors on site and social distancing in place. Site meetings were held over Zoom and progress shared through video updates.

‘Adams+Collingwood understood our brief from the start and supported us through the process,’ Chris Truman, Chief Operating Officer at The Royal College of Midwives, comments.

‘As a result, we have a beautiful new office space that combines a sense of history with a modern outlook, which couldn’t be a better reflection of the Royal College of Midwives.’

‘When I walked into the RCM new offices in Union Street I was quite honestly speechless!’ Gill

Walton, Chief Executive at The Royal College of Midwives, enthuses. ‘It was amazing – so much better than I had envisaged. Working with Tamsin and the team has been an absolute pleasure. They listen, they get to know the organisation, they have great ideas and they made it happen!

Delivering on the project during lockdown did not deter them from creating an exceptional office space fit for the future; flexible and innovative enough to become whatever that future might be.’

Finally, we ask Tamsin about her own favourite elements of the new space. ‘The exposed brickwork is our favourite element – it is a respect to the warehouse building and adds golden, rich and burnt oranges into the scheme, which have been carried through the copper light fittings and choice of artwork in the creative hub.’w

“

We designed a range of working environments to include everything from banks of desks to collaborative spaces of varying sizes

”

below The resulting scheme is elegant, contemporary and flexible.

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HOSPITALITY Hospitality Workplace

58 Hilton Frankfurt from THDP 64 The hotel of the future may already be here, says Perkins&Will’s Neil Andrew 68 IHG: Hospitality trends & predictions for 2021 Mix 208 January 2021 | 57

Main Stay You probably know Frankfurt as the business capital of Germany; home to one of the largest stock markets in the world and impressive economic and creative industries. Sometimes known as Bankfurt, or Mainhattan (a portmanteau of the River Main, on which the city lies, and Manhattan) the city has a New York-esque skyline, the second largest airport in Europe and hosts some of the largest trade fairs in the world – so it’s no surprise that most visitors come here on business.

58 | Mix 208 January 2021

T

aking inspiration from the tastes of these global travellers, THDP has designed the Hilton Frankfurt, referencing the loft living of Manhattan with an eclectic mix of old and new design.

Established in 2004 by Nicholas J. Hickson and Manuela Mannino, THDP is an award-winning firm specialising in beautiful hospitality projects around the globe, combining contemporary design with an irreverent spirit and multidisciplinary approach.

The hotel’s new Hudson Yards Bar resembles a typical, cool New York watering hole, with brass gantry shelving, custom counter lights, brass foot

stops and front facing custom coloured Rancilio Barista Machine. The bar is adaptable, with swing doors separating a daytime café from an evening cocktail bar. The material and colour scheme has a strong sense of heritage – with a focus on natural leathers, marble and brass and a simple palette of just four colours. The lobby has also undergone a refurbishment – which was last to be completed in the project. Although the existing layout could not change significantly, the look and feel of the space now reflects the rest of the hotel and offers a new destination for locals and guests alike, creating a bar, lounge and expanded dining experience.

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HOSPITALITY Frankfurt Hilton

below & opposite: Guestroom all photos: beppe raso

Artwork from Kalisher spans 7 floors

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A new check-in area is created with individual check-in pods; hosts are now more accessible to guests during check-in, with the overall effect purposely resembling a concierge desk at a New York residential high-rise. The check-in pods are rounded in shape, incorporating natural Rosso Levanto marble, copper mesh and walnut veneer, with lighting custom designed by THDP, which floats over the space for a relaxed and comfortable feel.

The contemporary design of the 328 rooms is tailored to the modern business traveller, with a selection of neutral colours and warm timber panelling and flooring, creating a familiar feeling, blended with smart business touches. The palette here is soft and rich; warm rich oak timber flooring, felts and woven fabrics with leather detailing, all in a neutral colour palette continuing the ‘smart-modern’ style chosen by THDP. Modern light fittings and carefully selected artwork give context to the rooms, offering a glimpse into Frankfurt’s rich local culture. The soft furnishings are modern but have the feel of found objects or furnishings that have been re-purposed.

Client Hilton Hotels - Hilton Frankfurt City Centre Architect Manuela Mannino Interior Designer THDP Furniture Hagenauer Group, Saba Italia, Tekhne Italia, Andreu World, Burgess Furniture Flooring Brintons, Havwoods Lighting Imagin Lighting, LEDS-C4, 2F Leutchen, Hagenauer Group Surfaces Cerim, Neolith, Hisbalit Mosaico, Hagenauer, Silestone, Tektura, 3M DiNoc, Delius, Panaz, Anthology & FR One by Syle Library, Kvadrat, Ultrafabric, Romo, Sekers, Dani SpA, Sikkens Bathrooms Grohe, Roca, Monteleone Artwork Kalisher

HOSPITALITY Frankfurt Hilton

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HOSPITALITY Frankfurt Hilton

‘The concept within the guest rooms was to express the idea of design that has evolved over time, as if different furnishings were purchased at different times and different places rather than the whole scheme being designed all at one time,’ THDP’s Nicholas Hickson tells us.

‘The interior expresses the nature of many guests, working and regularly travelling, picking up style cues from different cultures and different places,’ he adds. The choice of artwork was also specifically chosen for its modernist cubism – inspired

by Tamara de Lempicka, the Polish born artist who worked in Los Angeles and New York. These shapes have been continued in the rugs and carpeting, which has a contemporary cubist form – derived from the city and overlapping skyline shapes.

‘Our favourite element of the space is the large art piece in the guest corridors, an area often overlooked but which in this case offered a unique proposition,’ says Nicholas. ‘Our idea was to take advantage of the tall atrium lobby and showcase a single wall artwork over the seven floors – a cubist abstraction created by American art company, Kalisher. Close up, when going to the guest room, the form is abstract, and it is only when you take the main atrium elevator that the whole picture comes together as the skyline of Frankfurt. ‘ We had, as a core objective, to create a place where one can live, rather than just stay, and the guest feedback shows that we accomplished this well. This has motivated us to take this further in the way we approach hospitality – moving from conventional to conversational.’ w

opposite: top & bottom The Hudson Bar & Lounge features brass, marble and a rich colour scheme for a heritage feel

left View across Mainhattan

above Guestroom

“

Bedroom.

photo: beppe raso

The interior expresses the nature of many guests, working and regularly travelling, picking up style cues from different cultures and different places.

” Mix 208 January 2021 | 63

The hotel of the future may already be here Neil Andrew, Head of Hospitality at Perkins&Will, looks at how the hotel market will come to terms with our changing wants and needs.

above Venice Simplon Orient Express

I Neil Andrew, Head of Hospitality at Perkins&Will

64 | Mix 208 January 2021

n terms of the hospitality marketplace, during the first half of the year we’ll continue to see properties changing hands and being converted from one hotel brand to another. We may also see further mergers between the big chains and boutique brands. Once the majority of hotel properties in distress have been converted, the focus will switch back to retail or office buildings. I personally believe in the resilience of the hospitality industry as travelling and being social is at the core of human consciousness.

The pandemic undoubtedly has accelerated pre-existing trends. The majority of hotel operators will attempt to pick up business as usual, but we will also see an emergence of more new, blended models of hospitality. In diversifying one’s revenue stream, a more robust business model can be achieved – coworking has been within hotels since their inception, then purposely implanted over that last 5-10 years, and now it is part of the norm. As retail reinvents itself, we will also see further merging of that into hotel and hospitality spaces. We

HOSPITALITY Trends

“

I personally believe in the resilience of the hospitality industry as travelling and being social is at the core of human consciousness

” below Perkins &Will’s set for Sleep & Eat 2020

will see more of another new building type, focused on community; with coworking, co-living, and hotel guestrooms that can be adapted in times of a pandemic to function as private office spaces housing 2-3 people at a time, or rooms that can be connected via sliding walls to create larger working spaces.

Further blending will happen between healthcare, wellness and hospitality – some luxury brands have already blended the medical spa with resorts, and I believe this trend will continue to grow. Following 2020, the majority of people will seek more ‘space’ when they take a holiday. Cities are overcrowded and suffer from over-tourism in comparison to resorts in rural areas. As the trend for experiential travel grows, guests will seek transformative stays in far-flung locations, and we may see further growth in speciality hospitality, such as agritourism. The luxury segment has been fairly resilient during the pandemic, and in 2021 it will continue to shift further towards experiential hospitality. Other experiential stays will be built around F&B, cooking schools and outdoor activities.

The trend of building a community will become more prevalent and help in driving mid-week business, as business travel may potentially drop off due to an increased trust in online meetings and Zoom calls.

This can lead to a hotel being occupied by coworkers during the week. Exciting programming will be key in building the community, and so the building must be planned properly in order to cater for this – the planning of spaces will be more flexible, and spacious if permitted and outdoor spaces will be seen as more of an advantage than before.

Sustainability will no longer just be a tagline, and we will see this become embedded into big chains’ core principles and design standards.

Future generations will put purpose before profit, happily investing more money in brands that place sustainability at their core and pursue a carbon neutral model – so it’s not only in the interest of the environment but also a brand’s marketing plan.

With this in mind, we will see more emphasis placed on using new sustainable materials – materials

HOSPITALITY Trends

Lanserhof Tegernsee Elysium loft suite

and furniture pieces that are grown, vegan-design approaches and modularisation in design, in line with circular design principles, whilst hotel operators look to run their properties in more sustainable ways. Ultimately, hospitality is still largely dependent upon air travel and, as our awareness of our personal carbon footprints increases, the industry could see a rise in staycationing. We may even see a rise in trains or other modes of transport being converted by hotel brands, as holidaymakers return to embracing the journey as part of the holiday – essentially travelling slower. At Perkins&Will, we explored sustainable hospitality in our 2020 Sleep Set design and are subsequently working towards our Net Zero Pledge for carbon neutral design.

It would seem that the pandemic has lessened the fear that many have for technology and, largely speaking, we now accept it as a means to operate and live better lives. In the luxury

66 | Mix 208 January 2021

segment, self-check-in was historically seen as impersonal as guests would prefer a human face to greet them, but now technology will be synonymous with luxury, offering guests more options in terms of service. If you wish to selfcheck-in, or if you want to receive room service by drone, you will have that option.

Technology will also be present within your room, where circadian lighting systems will set the colour of light to suit your body clock and environment, and sleep technology will monitor your body temperature whilst you sleep to ensure you have the perfect night’s rest. It will also allow a guest to personalise their space with their own artwork, or the hotel app may allow a guest to chose what bedding they would like in the room before they arrive.

In short, hospitality has shown resilience during the pandemic – and 2021 will see it evolve and bounce back via traditional and new models.w

“

The luxury segment has been fairly resilient during the pandemic, and in 2021 it will continue to shift further towards experiential hospitality

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Hotel Indigo, Coventry

Predictions in Hospitality While none of us have a magic crystal ball, Henry Reeve, Director, Interior Design at IHG, Europe, is certainly perfectly placed to look into the future and tell us the directions in which the hospitality market is likely to move, post-pandemic.

68 | Mix 208 January 2021

HOSPITALITY Trends

L

ooking to the future, the impact of the obvious factors, such as cleanliness and the facilitation of social distancing measures, will of course continue to play a significant factor in the design of our hotels. At the outset of the pandemic, IHG Hotels & Resorts moved quickly to introduce new protocols and enhance existing procedures to help keep guests safe.

The rise in staycations will continue, especially as people have discovered so many beautiful parts of our own country, and this gives us an opportunity to create experiences in parts of the country that perhaps are not your typical destinations. IHG Hotels & Resorts’ portfolio of brands has positioned us well to capture demand for domestic travel and it’s something we’ve certainly seen with Hotel Indigo. We have seen a recent boom in expansion into Tier 2/3 cities and towns in the UK, with openings such as Hotel Indigo Bath in September this year, as well

as new Hotel Indigo openings that are in the pipeline in Coventry and Exeter, which are set to open in 2022. These locations are hugely rich in personality yet remain relatively undiscovered by the mainstream. We’ve seen how a boutique hotel in a smaller town or city can really inject a whole new visiting market to an area – a notable example of this is our Hotel Indigo Stratfordupon-Avon, which opened in 2019.

From a design perspective, I expect there to be a short- to mid-term impact on certain material specifications in the future. Hard to clean materials or ones which are notorious at displaying their over-use, such as pale velvets and light-coloured fabrics, will need to be specified with extreme care, as public acceptance of visible dirt or wear and tear will be very low. I hope the industry uses this opportunity to invest in products too, uplifting what is there and encouraging the replacement of items that are showing their age.

“

We’ve seen how a boutique hotel in a smaller town or city can really inject a whole new visiting market to an area

”

Hotel Indigo, Manchester

Mix 208 January 2021 | 69

HOSPITALITY Trends

“

Spaces need to be safe and clean, of course, but also rich in personality and interest to allow people to escape what has been an unprecedented and unforgettable year

”

Hotel Indigo, Manchester

70 | Mix 208 January 2021

There’s a risk with making interiors ‘COVID safe’, with elements of interior design being simply removed and not replaced with any further visual stimuli – and I believe designers will need to work hard to ensure we don’t end up with spaces that risk feeling overly sterile or empty.

Now, more than ever, people are looking for escape, for memorable experiences and essentially for joy, and this is something good design can provide in abundance. Spaces need to be safe and clean, of course, but also rich in personality and interest to allow people to escape what has been an unprecedented and unforgettable year.

Outside hotel environments, I think home offices will no longer be a ‘nice-to-have’ but a necessity for many. I imagine willingness to invest in one’s home work environment will increase hugely, which will in turn impact how hotels create workspaces both in guest rooms and public

spaces. Will the communal worktables of the past still be as popular as once was, or will guests prefer more individual workspaces? What is certain is catering for in-room working will need to be prioritised. I’ve always believed hotels need to be ‘better than home’, so ensuring all aspects of comfort, functionality and aesthetics are catered for to allow for great in-room working will need to be considered.

Putting short-term impacts to one side, I can see, longer term, a potential for an explosion of highly creative more experiential opportunities on the horizon – once COVID is fully under control and, dare I say it, a thing of the past.

The pent-up demand for travel, for experiences, for escape, will, I hope, provide opportunities for really spectacular, immersive, and innovative experiences. Spaces and places that take risks, create impact and memory.w

LIVING

72 Affinity Living, Manchester from NoChintz 78 Chapman Taylor: How BTR offers a template for the way ahead 82 Commercial residential trends & predictions from Vita Group 84 Property: Senior Living Mix 208 January 2021 | 71

CASE STUDY Affinity Living Riverside

Affinity and Beyond

You’ve read it once, you’ve read it a million times: in a postpandemic world we will see a shift in the way we work, play and live.

It’s certainly a challenging time for the residential property sector, however, the many qualities of private residential offerings have emerged as advantageous over the last year, as we have adapted to a new way of living.

Mix 208 January 2021 | 73

CASE STUDY Affinity Living Riverside

CASE STUDY Affinity Living Riverside

Large lounge sets and a soft colour scheme create an inviting space for residents

L

ast year we reported that, by 2028, Manchester will have 70,000 private-rented households (predicted

by CBRE). Of course, a lot has changed since then – but Manchester is still set to expand on all sides, with new commercial and residential neighbourhoods emerging across the city despite the current pandemic.

One of these new offerings, Affinity Living Riverside, welcomed its first residents in January 2020 (Yep, January. In 2020. Just a couple of months before a global pandemic reached the UK, as Affinity notes).

NoChintz has designed the 450 sq m communal space on the ground floor of the private residential scheme for Affinity Living – Select Property Group’s premium purpose-built residential brand.

Briefed to create a space that evoked a sense of community, the Manchester-based practice devised a scheme that took inspiration from the building’s location on the River Irwell, to create fluidity to the space, with a variety of elements designed with a natural connection.

“

The design must feel organic, inviting and familiar in order to be adopted by the residents

” A sense of neighbourhood lies at the heart of the concept. ‘We used the reference to the river, and the lifeblood it brought to cities in the past, to create a pragmatic, yet effortless flow across the communal space, which created moments of pause, calm, interaction, activity and nourishment,’ explains Katie Lea, Head of Design at NoChintz. ‘A strong sense of community helps with the wellbeing of our urban communities and these spaces within residential developments are key to encouraging collaboration between tenants. The design must feel organic, inviting and familiar in order to be adopted by the residents – this is why we turned to nature (the river) for inspiration in how to form the space.’

The communal space is long and thin, with no thoroughfare from the entrance through to the apartments, and so the greatest challenge for the team was to create an environment the residents felt drawn to.

Community walls, large lounge sets, inviting reception desk, communal tables and an island refreshment station with a soft scheme of muted

Mix 208 January 2021 | 75

CASE STUDY Affinity Living Riverside

blue and green tones deliver an inviting and relaxed community space.

This calming palette is carried over to the furniture, which naturally played an important role within the scheme. ‘We were inspired very early on by the Moroso Redondo armchair and its wave-like padded upholstery.

This was a key piece for us as it really resonated with the scheme we were looking to deliver,’ says Katie.

‘We wanted the furniture to be aspirational pieces, yet comfortable and relaxed, not unlike what you would expect in a hotel lobby – so residents felt this was a special space, just for them.’

‘In all of our properties, we look at the materiality and palette of what we use in the interiors,’ Kayleigh Grainger, Group Head of Interiors, tells us. ‘Our scheme on Embankment is on the site of a former railway, so we integrated timber, steel and brick, whereas Riverside looks at the more organic ebb and flow of the water and colours.

‘We’re also taking a bit of a bold move (which came from focus groups) and the secure line isn’t the front door, but at the lift lobby – so we open the whole ground floor amenity to the wider community. We want them to come in and use the coworking spaces and lounges, and work with the residents to shape the life of the space.’

Every corner of the space has been considered, with pieces developed specifically for the narrow space.

above Bespoke lighting made by Northern Lights sits above communal workspace right Flexible private area

“

We want them to come in and use the coworking spaces and lounges, and work with the residents to shape the life of the space

”

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CASE STUDY Affinity Living Riverside

below The refreshment and seating island has been designed specifically for the narrow space

above A bespoke 16 metre hand knotted rug takes inspiration from the River Irwell

A bespoke 16 metre hand-knotted rug brings the various spatial elements together, created in partnership with Studio Knot and manufacturers in India, taking inspiration from the flow of the river on which the building sits. ‘It was really interesting working on the rugs and seeing how they were made with a sustainable manufacturing process, handmade in India – they really are one of a kind,’ Katie adds.

The river theme appears again in the wave acoustic panels, and timber waves that sit above the reception area.

‘The design gives the tenants an extension to their home, which has become increasingly important during the last year,’ says Katie. ‘This is a relaxed space, where they can step out of their apartment to work, meet, socialise and relax – or even enjoy the live music and workshops Affinity Living organise.’

It is undoubtedly this focus on communal spaces and engagement with the wider local community that make BTR and PRS schemes such an attractive proposition – and have made sure that they have remained resilient throughout the toughest of years for the industry. And, here in Manchester, we might just have found the perfect example.w

Client Affinity Living Architect Denton Corker Marshall Interior Designer NoChintz Furniture NoChintz, Moroso, Hay, Santa & Cole, Woud, Muuto, Fritz Hansen Flooring Amtico Surfaces Corian Other Autex

Mix 208 January 2021 | 77

How Build-to-Rent offers a template for the way ahead

Suburban BTR concept, Chapman Taylor

Michael Swiszczowski, Residential Director, Chapman Taylor

78 | Mix 208 January 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown has changed perceptions of the nature of work for many, with more people working from home on a long-term or permanent basis.

The sudden growth of remote working has required developers and designers to think again about the spaces we create, as demand grows for homes equipped to facilitate the phenomenon. Chapman Taylor Residential Director, Michael Swiszczowski, looks at how the Build-toRent format is already well placed to deal with some of the key issues raised by the pandemic, both short- and long-term.

I

n addition, there is increasing interest in how residential design can improve in terms of health security, decreasing the risk of infections being transmitted from person to person, whether this be COVID or any other pathogen. Related to that, questions are being asked about how suitable our residences are for lockdown or quarantine-type situations – particularly when we consider that many people endured the 2020 lockdown in small apartments without outdoor spaces or suitable areas in which to work.

We believe that one residential format – Build-toRent – is ideally placed to provide solutions for the challenges thrown up by the recent pandemic.

The concept behind Build-to-Rent and the requirements of COVID compliance seem on the surface to be contradictory. Build-to-Rent is all about customer engagement, bringing people

LIVING Trends

together, drawing them out of their apartments and breaking down the barriers between landlord and resident, whereas COVID compliance requires barriers to go up.

However, this is not the case – on the contrary. The Build-to-Rent format can provide a great service during times such as the current pandemic precisely because those barriers are going up. The core ethos of Build-to-Rent is about encouraging a sense of community (both digital and physical) and a culture of service – these are vital components at a time when people need to help and look out for each other more than ever.

Here, we look at how Build-to-Rent developments can help their residents to adapt to working from home, lockdown or quarantine situations.

A home office space and capability is now a crucial consideration for many people when

Anchorage Gateway

looking for somewhere to live – working from bedrooms or using ironing boards as desks is not sustainable in the long-term. The challenge for designers and developers is to create suitable home working environments without having much, if any, extra floorspace to play with.

One answer is to provide flexible, easily adapted spaces and furniture. The use of open plan interiors allows people to adapt the spaces in which they live in a way that suits their specific needs. A designated space could be designed to adapt for different uses at different times, using, for example, foldable, built-in desks and chairs which can be simply be ‘put away’ when not in use.

Another approach is to rethink how space is used more generally. At our Flax Place Buildto-Rent development in Leeds, for example, one of the key features will be that residents will be able to easily adapt space to use for

“

The apartments offer bedrooms with walk-in wardrobes, one half of which is configured so that it can remain as wardrobe space, be used for storage or can be a generous office desk space, well-lit and served by electrical sockets.

” remote working if they need it. The apartments offer bedrooms with walk-in wardrobes, one half of which is configured so that it can remain as wardrobe space, be used for storage or can be a generous office desk space, well-lit and served by electrical sockets.

We believe that it is psychologically important to disconnect from work in the evening and, where apartment space is used for remote working, a partition to visually close off the space can be a useful means of marking the transition from workspace to rest/sleep space.

Obviously, a prerequisite for successful remote working is excellent digital connectivity, which requires design that facilitates uninterrupted WiFi signal, good mobile phone signal and well placed electrical sockets, often with USB charging. Providing more sockets adds to the capital cost of the development, but we believe that is well worth it because of the flexibility it gives users in terms of when and how they work – an important consideration for people in the market for a new home if they work remotely even some of the time.

In Build-to-Rent developments, there is shared amenity space, and the above principles can be extended to those. Why not provide shared workspaces dedicated to remote working? This would combine the advantages of remote working while recreating the communal element of being in an office with colleagues, with whom you can chat and share ideas. Placing coworking spaces within the amenity spaces of Build-to-Rent developments is becoming a popular option among developers in the sector and we are currently considering such an arrangement for our Anchorage Gateway development in Manchester, where we are creating a flexible multipurpose space, which could possibly be used for coworking during the day and then as a residents’ lounge in the evening and at weekends.

As a response to the pandemic, shared amenity spaces can be adapted for the short- to medium-term to enable residents to use them as coworking spaces. For the long term, such coworking offers could become a permanent

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LIVING Trends

“

As a response to the pandemic, shared amenity spaces can be adapted for the short- to medium-term to enable residents to use them as coworking spaces.

”

Castle Park View

80 | Mix 208 January 2021

feature, possibly operated by external companies in a branded environment, open to the public as well as residents. Such a move could prove mutually beneficial for residents, operators and the wider community, although it would possibly necessitate a different relationship between the development and the street in terms of branding, entrances and the division of public and private space.

When people have to isolate at home, whether individually or collectively, several aspects of life we take for granted can become difficult or impossible. Fitness, for example, can be hard to maintain when you are forced to stay at home without access to outdoor spaces or commercial gyms in which to work out.

Access to a home gym or a space for exercise can therefore make a crucial difference in such situations. Build-to-Rent developments have a major advantage here because shared amenities, such as gyms, can be accessed and used safely without having to leave the building, so long as rigorous health security protocols are followed.

Our design for the much-anticipated Castle Park View residential development in Bristol city centre, which includes a mix of Build-to-Rent and affordable homes, provides just such a gym for residents to share securely.

In any lockdown-type situation, Build-toRent operators can be in constant contact with residents to ensure they are able to manage, particularly those who are more vulnerable. They can allocate informal spaces where management can interact with residents, with distancing measures in place when necessary. In this way, an aspect of the Build-to-Rent experience which was initially set up for convenience – the digital and physical interfaces between residents and operators – has taken on a much more important function, providing crucial help, security and peace of mind at a difficult time.

Residents can be made to feel connected with each other and with the management as part of one community ecosystem, with a concierge on hand to assist 24-hours-a-day and the use of residents’ apps becoming a norm for many. Whole buildings, if well designed, can be managed by a skeleton crew of as low as three but, when support is needed, it’s there – for example emptying rubbish for isolating residents or bringing food, shopping and deliveries straight to their apartment doors rather than residents coming to the delivery reception area as they normally would (the latter is a convenient function for residents which means that they are not required to be at home to collect deliveries).w

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Hot-desking office space

Making Amenity Spaces Work Harder Vita Group is a market leading developer and operator of student accommodation and build-to-rent residential property. Vita Student has 21 buildings across the UK and Vita Living launches in January with its first 683-unit scheme at Circle Square Manchester. The Group creates connected communities, underpinned by living spaces. The firm challenges convention to re-imagine the way we live, work and socialise. This leading owner/operator holds and operates assets on a long-term basis. Here, David Ancell, Brand and Product Director at Vita Group, explains how and why community is at the heart of exciting new living developments.

T David Ancell, Brand and Product Director, Vita Group

82 | Mix 208 January 2021

he economic pressures caused by the recent pandemic are going to require purpose-built spaces to work harder than ever to justify their value.

In recent years we have seen an amenity arms race amongst student providers, hotels and the office sector.

Gaming areas, cinema rooms and chill-out areas have been common choices, but these decisions are going to need to be quantified as land prices and construction costs remain resilient. How many of these spaces are increasing or influencing decisions to rent? Some will, some won’t, but the extent will be looked at in closer detail.Â

Those spaces that do survive the chop will need to work harder than ever to stand out amongst the competition.

Greater levels of refinement or stand out features that become worthy of Instagram fame are needed. The adaptability of spaces will also be key to ensure their usage can be maximised from day to night. Clever design decisions can ensure that a room can be a study space by day that transforms into a cocktail lounge by night.

The activation of amenity spaces has long been an area the residential and student sectors have struggled with.

Some developers have thought if they build it they will

LIVING Trends

come but the reality is unless these spaces are activated through events and community engagement, they risk becoming empty, soulless spaces with residents preferring to socialise in more vibrant destinations outside their building.

One tactic that has worked well is to make amenity spaces accessible for community use rather than keeping the spaces behind locked doors for residents only. This open-door approach injects more life into the building and becomes a true destination that residents feel lucky to live above.

Working from home One lasting effect of the COVID pandemic will be greater numbers of people working from home. Companies will have realised that productivity in many cases can be maintained remotely and may revaluate expensive citycentre office space and look to downsize.

This has potential implications for office space design… for example will regional offices become purely hot-desks and meeting rooms as staff attend either on rotation or for meetings?

Will businesses look to take spaces in shared workspace rather than opt for dedicated space?

This may also impact the design of residential schemes to include more ‘working from home’ space either in the apartment itself or within shared amenity space.

Integrated retail Developers are increasingly looking at how the inclusion of retail concessions can help off-set the costs of extensive amenity space.

A relevant retail concession can breathe life into communal areas or amenity space, with artisan coffee retailers being the most popular choice. They not only bring in much needed rental income but also help activate the space.

One of the best examples of this is Cultureplex in Manchester (left).

Cultureplex is the ground floor of an aparthotel building and comprises coffee shop, restaurant, gym and casual co-working space open to the public.

I predict gym offerings within PRS and student buildings will increasingly become ‘outsourced’ as more developers opt for partnerships with commercial gym operators.

This approach avoids fit-out costs, generates a rental income and has pre-agreed free access for residents living within the building.

Whatever 2021 serves up, making spaces work harder will be more important than ever.w

Mix 208 January 2021 | 83

LIVING Property

Is UK property having a senior moment?

Senior housing will mushroom from 10,000 units a year to 30,000 by 2025, and growth after that will be exponential. David Thame talks to Phil Bayliss, the Legal & General boss who is leading the sector’s expansion.

I

f ever a property product suffered from misunderstanding, it is senior living.

Specialist housing for later-life hasn’t so much swept into the UK as seeped in, and the slow-motion arrival has left plenty of room for muddle.

‘These are not care homes,’ says Phil Bayliss, the softly spoken Australian who is leading the brace of well-funded senior living business owned by Legal & General, ‘and it’s not quite Build-to-Rent either.’

L&G is anxious to clear the muddy water because their two operations – Inspired Villages and Guild Living – are making a market that could, by 2025, be as talked-about and hyped as the BTR apartment scene. The difficulty is that the handful of developers and operators are having to battle misunderstanding and some profoundly unhelpful government policy. Once those two blockages are removed, an exponentially increasing flow of senior housing development promises to transform the UK housing scene.

So what is senior living? Unlike care homes, these are own-front-door properties in which healthy active people live out their senior years: the emphasis is firmly on health, not nursing. And unlike BTR schemes, this is for sale and is a full-service amenity offer focused on creating and sustaining a full-time community. Where BTR developers assume light-touch amenities for younger and perhaps transient residents, senior living operators assume a great

84 | Mix 208 January 2021

Phil Bayliss, Legal & General

degree of engagement and much longer residency (the typical L&G senior living resident will stay 10 years).

Inspired Villages currently operates six later living communities across the UK and is set to add to the portfolio with a further 2,500 homes over the next six years. Its seventh village, Ledian Gardens in Kent, is set to open in 2021, with construction already underway on an eighth village, Elderswell in Bedfordshire, and works due to start on a further four schemes during the coming year. By 2025 there will be 50 communities.

Today the L&G brands have a modest but appreciable pipeline: soon it will be considerably larger. The Inspired Villages brand has secured 24 sites, ranging from about six to 20 acres, and each capable of between 150-300 homes. The Guild Living brand, which is targeting at a more self-consciously urban demographic, operates closer to the 150-unit limit (the minimum at which economies of scale work for amenity provision) and has four sites. This year, the combined businesses will have created around 250 units but that is expected to double next year, triple the next, and be reaching serious scale by 2025.

L&G’s brands will track a threefold expansion in the entire sector. L&G calculate that there are 12 million over 65s, of whom a quarter are actively looking to downsize. Yet the total annual output of all forms of retirement living, from the managed communities of L&G

“

Where BTR developers assume light-touch amenities for younger and perhaps transient residents, senior living operators assume a great degree of engagement and much longer residency

”

LIVING Property

through to the Macarthy & Stone-style town centre blocks, adds up to barely 10,000 units a year.

‘It’s a yawning gap,’ says Phil. ‘We don’t expect to be delivering 100,000 a year any time soon but a reasonable supply line might be 30,000 a year from the sector, and by 2025 I expect the sector will be reaching that. And we know that’s true because we can already see capital being committed to the sector and investors lining up to buy.’

That, at any rate is the premise for Phil’s plan. Phil is a buyer: he was head of transactions before moving into the hotseat at L&G’s senior living operation.

Feathers in his cap include the funds’ first two BTR schemes and he is bringing the same zingy confidence to senior living.

‘What makes me so confident? The difference I’ve seen to people’s lives. The impact, time and again, when people move into our communities, such as the health and social benefits, the stimulation,’ he says. ‘You hear of residents who, before they moved in with us, didn’t see people for weeks on end.’

Which sounds like the Big Sell, warm words not to be taken too seriously, but

this declaration of the benefits of senior living comes with two big practical spinoffs.

First, L&G really don’t see this as a property venture. They see it is about lifestyle and hence about amenity.

‘That sense of community is the most important thing about our whole offer, which is not a real estate offer, it’s about delivering great services so people are living at their best, and designing a community so people can opt in and opt out as they choose.’

Second, the word ‘design’ is key. As Phil explains, one of his touchstones for success is ‘Can every resident feel like they have a personal trainer?’

The answer depends on having a community big enough to support such expensive amenities, but not so big it stops feeling bespoke, and a physical and social layout that means both the required numbers, and required sense of exclusivity, can be maintained.

Residents benefit from all the facilities on offer at each Inspired Village, which include a Clubhouse with a wellness suite, swimming pool, gym, Pilates studio, treatment rooms and a hairdresser; along

Images: Ledian Gardens, Kent from Inspired Villages

OVER 65

(UK, 2020)

uk POPULATION

RETIREMENT PROPERTIES (UK, 2020)

uk Housing sTOCK

Retirement properties make up just 2% of the UK housing stock, despite over-65s already making up 18% of the population in the UK – a figure expected to double by 2041.

COVID and senior living The coronavirus pandemic, which takes such a disproportionate toll on the elderly, hovers ominously behind the emerging senior living sector.

COVID is both a spur to development (nobody wants to be locked-down in poor quality housing) and a cause for concern (it spreads fast in small communities).

L&G’s Phil Bayliss insists the latter fear is unfounded as far as his developments are concerned. ‘We haven’t had a single case of cross-infection in our communities.

Our infection rates are 5-10 times lower than the wider community, and that is down to design. Residents have their own front door, nobody comes in unless invited, and it’s been a real strength for the sector.

And, of course, if we had to self-isolate a whole community, we could because we have the amenities. The fact is, retirement communities have good health outcomes.’

Meantime, COVID has taught buyers to look for a better-quality housing product.

‘The pandemic has speeded up the process of thinking about where you live, and who you are around,’ Phil says.

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LIVING Property

“

Maybe we could defer fees, or go for part-buy part-rent? And once you change the way this is done, the consumer starts to think less about the transaction, and more about whether they want this property or not

”

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with a restaurant, bar, shop/café, library/ cinema and a craft room.

But several obstacles need to be overcome before growth can accelerate beyond the 30,000 units a year that Phil envisages for the senior living sector.

The first is the indifference, sometimes amounting to hostility, of central and local government planning policy.

Legal & General took a cool view of the planning white paper published by the English government in August 2020. ‘We would also encourage more focus on the UK’s ageing demographic, with one in four of the population being over-65 by 2035,’ a statement said. ‘Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, retirement communities have proven their vital role in ensuring older people are safely and securely provided for and protected. With evidence that they take a huge strain off the NHS, we hope government can align housing with the health and social care agenda to provide a holistic cross-departmental solution.

‘There is a risk that the new ‘growth’ or ‘renewal’ areas would serve as a barrier to new retirement communities and would

be overlooked in favour of traditional development.’

Phil is a little blunter. ‘The policy landscape is unhelpful to our sector, and we’re growing not because but in spite of government policy,’ he says. The National Planning Policy Framework makes no reference to demographics or to elderly housing. At a local level, some local councils do not see elderly housing as an issue at all: they literally do not want it.

The second problem is about the way senior housing is sold and answering it could also help overcome the policy problem. The issue here is that the retirement homes sales process has picked up an unfortunate taint: slightly high pressured, involving high up-front costs, an illiquid asset that may or may not be easy to sell on, and then a bet (which isn’t always fulfilled) that the management company will deliver the promised amenities.

Phil does not mention any of these wellknown problems, but he does suggest a solution, which has been proven to clear the air – and stimulate the market.

LIVING Property

‘I’m looking at examples like the Australian legislation. The UK doesn’t need to copy it, there are other approaches, but they passed a specific Retirement Communities Act which made sure operators delivered on their promises, gave consumers some protection and regulated the sector. That created a big bang in the market because it gave investors a solid legal framework on which to invest – and the sector is in need of that here,’ Phil says.

A new regulatory framework could (and should, says Phil) be combined with a new approach to selling senior living.

‘Suppose you were buying a car, and you were told the dealer only accepted cash and everything had to be paid upfront, you’d think that was out of date, because you know there are other

financial solutions,’ says Phil, with a hint of despair at the upselling models of some in the senior living world. ‘Maybe we could defer fees, or go for part-buy part-rent? And once you change the way this is done, the consumer starts to think less about the transaction, and more about whether they want this property or not. That is a change I want to make.’

Legal & General has already launched homes to rent to the later living sector through Inspired Villages. It’s a sign of the way the market is moving.

If these policy and transactional issues can be overcome, the rate of growth in the senior living sector could accelerate.

For now, this is a slow burn. But there is little doubt that, before the decade is out, it will be a major component of the housing market.w

“

That sense of community is the most important thing about our whole offer

”

Mix 208 January 2021 | 87

THE FINAL WORD

The Theory of Everything There are a lot of people making a living talking about The Future of Work right now, Criteo’s Mike Walley muses.

Mike Walley is Senior Director of Global Real Estate & Workplace Strategy at Criteo 88 | Mix 208 January 2021

A

ctually, they have been doing it for some time. I remember being invited to discuss this topic at a selection of conferences in 2016. Back then it was a little more niche than it is now, and the audience was mostly other people like me, all looking for talking points to use at the next conference.

Of course, since we all stayed at home for 2020, and the great business myth of remote working for all became a stark reality, a lot of what was said in these conferences has been shown to be less than accurate – rather like when detractors of the new-fangled steam railway proclaimed loudly, to anyone who would listen, that a human being could not survive at speeds greater than 15 mph. That lasted right up until Robert Stephenson went hurtling past in The Rocket at an astounding 30 mph, blowing metaphorical raspberries at everyone who was stood on the platform.

I have noticed recently that fewer conference type events (where a speaker will stand up and pontificate on The Future of Work) are happening, and a growing number of roundtable events are taking place – where we are invited, as business leaders, to come and share our thoughts on the subject. Whilst I certainly prefer that kind of event, right now all we can do is share our pet theories and most of mine are getting debunked on a daily basis.

I think the main thing I have learnt lately is that, if anyone tells you they can explain the future of work, they are telling you porkies. The problem is that: 1. The future of work has already arrived. It snuck in right behind COVID without us really noticing.

2. No-one has a clue what it looks like.

An example for you: for a long time, the received wisdom around me was that working from home would not fly in the Asia-Pacific region. It was counter to local business culture; homes are typically smaller than in Europe and so logistically it is more difficult for people to be able to work quietly etc. That all sounded perfectly logical to me. We then conducted two detailed surveys, asking people about their home working experience during COVID lockdowns. The final question asked if they wanted the company to consider allowing more home working in the future. The answer? 98% of the company replied strongly in the affirmative. No surprise there for the US and European offices, but the highest approval rates came from Asia-Pacific. The Tokyo office, for example, although open, hasn’t seen anyone in it for some weeks now. The same goes for our Seoul and Singapore offices. Home working has been embraced wholeheartedly by our Asia-Pac team.

I would not have bet on that outcome nine months ago. Now I have to work out what they do want to come to the office for and therefore what it should look like.

So, what’s my point?

Well, I think it’s time to go make some changes and see what happens, and then we can come back to roundtables and share a little more than theory. To use an apposite turn of phrase, we need to get out of the lab and into the mass testing phase.

Then we will get some data to work with and find out where we are going.

I am looking forward to some terrific stories at future roundtables. w

Max *

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*Out of clutter, find simplicity.

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