Mix Interiors 173

Mix Interiors 173

April 2017

Introducing the world’s sleekest monitor arm.

The award-winning EVO monitor arm is getting everyone’s attention. ®

Its sleek design will complement any workspace.

Distributed in the UK by:

source Source | info@source-london.co.uk | www.source-london.co.uk

Innovative Europe ApS | LCDarms.com/evo

UPFRONT 11 20 Seven...

Inside 74

22 Perspective 24 Forward Thinking 27 Material Matters 28 Desert Island Desks

SPOTLIGHT 31 32 The Big Question 35 Education Report

THE ROUND TABLE 60

82

CASE STUDIES 82

PROFILE 66

82 AMC

66 Skansen

90 Eden McCallum

74 Spacelab

FOCUS 98 31

98 Workplace Art

66

REVIEW 100 100 MIPIM

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The logo Working with this issue’s cover image, our logo mirrors the contrast between the grid-like positioning of samples with the fluid texture of the natural materials. The logo in itself is a swatch. The fluid hand drawing is imposed over coloured lines and reflects the multitude of personalities and spaces in the workplace. www.spacelab.co.uk The cover image Level Set is Interface’s first Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) collection and integrates with Interface’s carpet tiles to create beautiful, functional flooring. The LVT collection can be used by designers to introduce the look and feel of distressed, reclaimed and exposed natural materials into a space. www.interface.com This stylish monitor arm, arguably one of the slimmest of its type on the market today, is available in silver, black and white and comes complete with quick release VESA, C clamp and through desk fixing kits as standard.

MIX INTERIORS 173

Mix Interiors 173

April 2017

A Word

from Mick Following our latest brilliant Round Table debate (on the subject of whether client expectations have increased), it struck me that there’s something incredibly ironic about the way the current design process has ‘developed’.

The vast majority of our guests felt that client expectations have indeed increased – although many thought that this is symptomatic of today’s society, where everything has to be quicker.

This, of course, can put massive pressure on the design chain – from the architects through to the furniture suppliers and manufacturers. In fact, if you were to dissect

a typical design programme, you’d probably have to by-pass tears, tantrums, unreasonable demands, changes of minds, more tantrums, blood, sweat and, yes, more tears. To what end? Well, here’s the irony. All of this has occurred because the client wants to increase wellbeing, to be more open, flexible, agile, democratic, cool and to show what great people they are to work for. Furthermore, much of the stress and pressure you’re being forced to endure might well be because the client wants to provide a working environment of tranquility and peace for their staff. Do any of you remember tranquility and peace?

AMC NETWORKS EDEN MCCALLUM SKANSEN SPACELAB THE EDUCATION REPORT

Get in touch

APRIL 2017

Back issues 11/04/2017 09:29

Contact us to buy back issues: rebecca@mixinteriors.com

Editor Mick Jordan mick@mixinteriors.com

Contributors Steve Gale

Editorial support Rebecca Sabato rebecca@mixinteriors.com Director David Smalley david@mixinteriors.com Designer Georgina Nicklin georgina@mixinteriors.com

Chip is a new 4A USB charging module set to revolutionise the way we use on desk power. With more and more devices using USB the demand for traditional sockets on the desk is falling. This stylish and fully in integrated module simply connects to your under desk power using a Wieland or plug to offer 2 USB power supplies capable of charging all leading phones and tablets.

MIX INTERIORS 170

p

The cover

Mix Interiors 170

January 2017

UCL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AVALARA

Managing director Marcie Incarico marcie@mixinteriors.com

DAVID DREWS

Founding publisher Henry Pugh

Address Mix Media Limited 2 Abito 85 Greengate Manchester M3 7NA Telephone 0161 946 6262 e-mail editorial@mixinteriors.com Website www.mixinteriors.com Twitter @mixinteriors

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

Instagram @mix.interiors

JANUARY 2017 17/01/2017 16:36

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23-25 MAY 2017

Clerkenwell Design Week is the UK’s leading independent design festival, presenting a unique mix of showroom activity, exhibitions and installations hosted across Clerkenwell’s distinctive spaces. Experience a subterranean Victorian prison, two historic churches and the world famous Fabric nightclub, home of Icon House of Culture.

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Four Us ®

Designed by Anders Nørgaard

London Showroom 20 Old Street Clerkenwell London, EC1V 9AB t. 01604 674674 f. 01604 674673 www.oceedesign.com sales@oceedesign.com @OceeDesign

Four®Us Wall

Four®Us Booth 10

Four®Us Booth with Pivot Table

Upfront

GROUNDS FOR GROWTH You've just won a new scheme, with your new client being the the largest and fastest growing coffee shop chain in the UK – so no prizes for guessing where the first pencil strokes or celebratory clinkings were made by the design team!

Costa Coffee has invested £38 million into its new Basildon roaster, increasing its coffee production to 45,000 tonnes a year – over four times the amount produced at its old site in Lambeth. Part of the overall plan has been the creation of a 16,860 sq ft office across three floors – a place to collaborate, create and reflect for its employees and visitors.

Morgan Lovell took the honours of completing the design and build of Costa’s new office facility. 'An exceptional place to roast, blend and prepare coffee was non-negotiable,' says Morgan Lovell Senior Designer, Nathan Watson, 'but so was an inspiring office.'

All amenities are centred around the roasting plant. The boardroom, reception area, laboratories and new product development area have been designed to overlook the new roasters, placing focus on the science behind the coffee-making process.

OPENING TIME AT THE TRUMAN BREWERY The end of March saw the launch of the BCFA's (British Contract Furniture Association) latest exhibition, at the Old Truman Brewery in Shoreditch. 40 members from the hospitality, office, healthcare and education sectors were presnt to showcase their wares to the design world.

Wayne Hemingway enthralled a seminar audience, discussing the foundations of his creativity; his inspirational journey into design and the beauty of thrift in a consumer driven world. Wayne was joined by our own David Smalley, who chaired a conversation on creativity, overseeing a panel that included forpeople's Richard Stevens, Map Project Office's Scott Barwick, Gensler's Claire Richmond and Adrian Weidmann from Foster+Partners.

Our friends from the West, Chris and Susanne Carpenter from Patternistas, delivered a fantastic talk and hands-on session about how pattern is within every aspect of our lives.

And we shouldn't forget that Colebrook Bosson Saunders’ Ollin Arm took 1st prize at the in-show Innovation Awards.

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Upfront

NEW EDITION Mixology winner Isomi is at it again. Known for its statement pieces that adorn better dressed receptions, the company now has a new collection of tables which have been christened Edition and Outline. The tables are scalable to the point where they can be specified as an individual workstation right through to a multi-tasking table of any size.

The Edition table is a continuation of Isomi’s acclaimed work in concrete. Cast in lightweight stain-resistant concrete, they are rooted in Design Director Paul Crofts’ enduring interest in béton brut — the smooth concrete surface popularised by the brutalist architecture of the 1960's and '70s.

The Outline table, in solid surface, combines a lightweight, fluid appearance with a durable, repairable, long-lasting finish. Once the table has been specified from a choice of modular parts, the quality of design leads to a seamlessly finished form with no visible joints.

OFF WE GO TO NEO Bruntwood has been a big name in the Manchester office scene for as long as we can remember. It stays ahead of the market by being innovative and not being afraid to lead. The latest incarnation is the Neo – the £8m redevelopment of Manchester’s former 12-storey Bank House building and arguably Bruntwood’s most evolved collaborative workspace to date.

Penketh Group was in the driving seat as it was commissioned by Bruntwood to design and create Neo’s collaborative shared spaces on the first floor of the building. Penketh Group also transformed the whole of the 4,700 sq ft eighth floor as the spectacular Worklife Showroom.

Mark Penketh, Managing Director of Penketh Group, said: 'We’re delighted to open our Worklife Showroom at Neo. It allows us to showcase the many creative ways that North West companies can do business.'

Chris Oglesby, CEO of Bruntwood, added: 'We are delighted to officially launch this new evolved workspace and to have attracted such a wealth of creative customers. Neo has been specifically designed to encourage development in creatively-minded businesses of all sizes. We have actively developed the health and wellbeing benefits for our Neo customers, and are incredibly excited to see the community grow.'

STYLE COUNCIL One key aim of product manufacturers is to help make the job of designers a little easier. Karndean Designflooring is the latest supplier on a quest to help by launching the new online Style Finder and Moodboard tools.

Style Finder is designed to help architects, interior designers and contractors narrow down their choices when specifying a wood or stone design to suit their project. It enables users, through a few step-by-step questions, to discover their ideal flooring options.

Karndean has also released an additional feature on its site alongside the Style Finder where, like Pinterest, designers can create personal moodboards – which they can share with the client.

As we discussed in this month’s roundtable on page 60, technology is changing the game for designers; clients are becoming more knowledgeable and increasingly more demanding. With more than 200 designs to consider and time-pressed specifiers, this sounds like a welcome addition to the designers’ tool kit.

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Where form and function go hand in hand.

Oculus train station, New York, 2016. Designed by Santiago Calatrava Architects & Engineers.

Occo chair, launched in 2016. Designed by jehs + laub. Beauty meets comfort and versatility.

More information on outstanding furniture at www.wilkhahn.com 13

Ollin from CBS The next chapter in ergonomic refinement.

Ollin, our revolutionary new monitor arm, supports the screen technology of today and helps you prepare for the screen technology of the future.

Its unique technical cord supports weights from 0kg up to 9kg, helping you stay in touch as technology advances, and screens become lighter and more mobile.

As you adopt and adapt your workspace to accommodate new technologies, Ollin can grow with you and evolve how you work.

info@cbsproducts.co.uk +44 (0)207 940 4266 www.colebrookbossonsaunders.com

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Upfront

SPACE ZERO COMPLETES HQ AT ZENITH Just before we went to press we paid a visit to the new offices of Space Zero – the Manchester headquartered design practice led by the charismatic Wayne Taylor and now boasting some 36 staff. It's fair to say we were impressed.

Space Zero completed the fit-out of the Zenith Building in Manchester, with the firm's previous home being on Lloyd Street.

The company’s relocation was motivated by feedback from its people satisfaction team – ‘YourVoice’ – expressing a need for an environment more conducive to the brand and supportive of employee wellbeing.

Delivered by an in-house team, the stylish design has transformed a blank canvas mezzanine suite with little direct access to daylight into a bright, flexible and stunning workspace.

Wayne told us: 'We saw this move as a real opportunity to show our quality and capabilities. We didn’t just want to create a nice office that suited our collective requirements today, it needed to embrace future trends, styles and technologies so that every visitor leaves feeling inspired about the possibilities for their own workspace.'

100% PROOF Last October we held a hotel sector focused roundtable in Clerkenwell.

One of our delightful guests was David Morris, Creative Director at Studio PROOF, who enthralled us about an amazing project the team had just finished at the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam.

London-based Studio PROOF recently completed the redesign of all public areas at the legendary Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, now part of the NH Collection of five star hotels across Europe. Its newly rationalised spaces and design concept combine cosmopolitan style with gentle references to the glamourous 1920's, resulting in the grand hotel being selected as one of four MIPIM Awards 2017 finalists in the category of Best Hotel & Tourism Resort. David Morris tells us: 'We are thrilled that our renovation of the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky led to it being shortlisted for such a prestigious award. We look forward to doing many such projects and are excited to be completing the full refurbishment of The Lancaster London by the end of the year.'

NO LIMITS, JUST GO FOR IT Our friends from the North, Flexiform, are gearing up for CDW, where they will launch a variety of new products. We're going to be encouraged to 'try and test our new height adjustable meeting tables, incorporating both wireless and Nano technology'. Flexiform will also showing off the new work/play flip meeting room tables (pictured) as well as meeting pods 'laden with technology and innovation'.

The Ferro industrial range, which we see regularly on our travels, appears to going from strength-to-strength, and we are told to expect to see new additions, including an exciting sounding media centre.

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Flexiform's marketing department doing a bit of 'product testing'

Upfront

ECOLABEL SUCCESS Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the EU Ecolabel, Camira’s latest wool and polyester product launches have recently been awarded the EU Ecolabel.

NEW TIBOR COLLABORATION Tibor Reich was one of Britain’s pioneering post-war textile designers, famous for revolutionising surface pattern design, and particularly in developing many cutting-edge design techniques still relevant today. Flooring giant, Forbo, has just launched a collaboration with said icon, named Flotex

Launched in February, Patina is Camira’s newest performance wool and flax blend and is available in 43 different colourways.

Synergy, meanwhile, is made from premium New Zealand wool and is available in 75 shades. Rivet is made from 100% REPREVE, a brand of recycled polyester made from used plastic bottles, and is available in 33 colourways.

Texture was the defining feature of Tibor’s textiles, which were showcased through his groundbreaking 1957 'Fotexur' designs.

Some of the timeless patterns have been reproduced using the outstanding digital printing possibilities offered by Flotex flocked flooring, to provide specifiers with a premium floorcovering for high-end, design led projects.

The EU Ecolabel is an independent label administered by the European Union that accredits the environmental sensitivity of products throughout their lifecycle. Camira’s first EU Ecolabel accreditation came back in 2011.

The collection consists of eight designs: Ziggurat, Mosaic, Quartz, Tessello, Onyx, Tweedy, Arbor and Atomic – all of which were inspired by photographs of various natural objects and textures, such as straw, rocks and pebbles, cracked mud and the bark of a tree.

Indeed, Tibor’s uniquely innovative design style enabled him to capture the beauty in everyday items.

NBS TURN TO DESSO AND WARD ROBINSON FOR THEIR (POST) OFFICE For over 40 years, NBS (formally the National Building Specification for the UK) has provided specification products for the building construction, engineering services and landscape design Today NBS is at the forefront of BIM development and adoption. In December 2016, the company set about investing over £5.8m redeveloping its home – The Old Post Office, a Grade ll listed building in Newcastle.

Dating back to the 1870’s, the building was originally built as the main post office in Newcastle and needed a full refurbishment. Ward Robinson Ltd was appointed to design the interiors of the project and turned to Desso to supply the flooring.

Desso’s Fuse and Fields carpet tiles were selected to create a bold and vibrant design, which would allow the character of the listed building to shine through, rather than competing with it. 'Working with listed buildings can be challenging, however blending the character of the old building with a new, fresh and contemporary interior scheme was incredibly rewarding,' comments Jackie Dent, Director at Ward Robinson.

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Upfront

New ILK ranges launching at:

ILK Lounge Two Seater

ILK Lounge

ILK Lounge

ILK Lounge

ILK Chair Two Seater

ILK Chair

ILK Chair

ILK Chair

4 leg

Swivel 4-star

4 leg

Sled

4 leg

Swivel 4-star

4 leg

Sled

ILK Family

Furniture for social spaces

frovi.co.uk 01608 652411 sales@frovi.co.uk Showroom_Broad Yard Turnmill Street Clerkenwell EC1M 5RR 17

Upfront

WHAT IS THE RED DOT?

DOT TO DOT – DAUPHIN

The Red Dot is a globally recognised seal of quality for outstanding design, which is presented by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Germany, one of the oldest and most distinguished design institutions in Europe. It is aimed at anyone looking to qualify their business activities with the help of design. Expert juries judge the products not only according to their degree of innovation, functionality and design quality but also on the basis of eight further assessment criteria.

Another company celebrating Red Dots is German seating master, Dauphin. Two products impressed both visitors to the Orgatec last year and, more recently, the Red Dot jury.

The two products from the Dauphin HumanDesign Group, for their outstanding design quality, were the Züco Bonito wooden shell chair designed by Martin Ballendat and the Dauphin Fiore seminar chair from Jessica Engelhardt.

Züco Bonito is the latest creation from the successful Züco/Ballendat partneship. It is the ideal partner for conferences, seminars, meetings, cafeterias and restaurants. We are told that the jury was particularly impressed by the Dauphin Fiore meeting chair – a swivelling wooden model with a four-point base and castors. The delicate meeting chair cuts a good figure in a variety of environments, from the manager’s office through to conference areas.

ARMS LENGTH – RED DOT WINNER It's perhaps not surprising that we are featuring two monitor arms in our Red Dot roundup. We have noticed that in virtually every workplace we visit, everyone seems to have two screens!

Danish manufacturer Innovative has been in existence for nearly 30 years, beginning life as a family-owned business, and now a global business with headquarters in the US. The third generation EVO Articulating Monitor Arm has received the 2017 Red Dot Product Design Award. You won’t be surprised that this award winner has high levels of functionality and sleek design, which include attributes designed for ergonomic comfort and saving space. Powered by Better Balance technology, EVO supports the monitor with constant force, meaning a smooth movement across the arm’s range of motion.

Züco Bonito

Dauphin Fiore

OLLIN WINS COLEBROOK BOSSON SAUNDERS ITS FOURTH RED DOT AWARD There is news abound from Red Dot winners! Colebrook Bosson Saunders’ (CBS) latest monitor arm, Ollin, was the proud recipient of a Red Dot Design Award 2017 in the Product Design category.

With a revolutionary design, Ollin is designed to support the screen technology of today and aims to help users prepare for the screen technology of the future. It’s unique technical cord supports weights from 0Kg up to 9Kg, helping users stay in touch as technology advances, and screens become lighter and more mobile.

Well done to CBS, once again demonstrating a ground-breaking approach in design and innovation. Ollin is the fourth success for CBS following Rodney in 2009, Flo in 2011 and Cubert, which won an honourable mention in 2015. Incidentally, Ollin also won product of the show at BCFA’s inaugural BCFA Open.

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Upfront

The Gong Show We're not ones for self-publicity, but every now and again we can't help but be a tiny bit boastful about Mixology16. We had Basement Jaxx filling the dance floor, it didn't rain (so guests could enjoy a bit of al fresco bubbles) and our awards winners read like a Who's Who of corporate interior design. We've gone back in time and highlighted winners and asked them what a Mixology award meant to their businesses.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Customer Engagement Centre HLW partnered with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to create a unique, collaborative and immersive experience for the first Customer Engagement Centre in Europe.

HLW brought the brand to life through elegant, innovative and bold design. Using British and European design elements, the result is a technologically advanced, welcoming, and flexible environment that showcases the best of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and creates an excellent platform for engaging their clients in strategic discussions to advance their business objectives.

What was the highlight from winning your Mixology award?

'A great way to celebrate the team’s efforts both externally and internally, to receive recognition for the project.'

Global Mining & Resources Company Headquarters, London Creating an uplifting workplace for this organisation’s staff that reflected the brand values of respect, integrity, teamwork and accountability was a priority. The client wanted to increase connections between staff with a variety of amenities, informal meeting spaces and break out areas. The final sense of the workplace is more that of a private home than a corporate office.

The finished aesthetic draws upon the company’s heritage and the site’s location in West End London. As the global flagship of the organisation, the workplace stands as

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Alder Hey Children’s Healthpark and Royal Pharmaceutical Society HQ What was the highlight from winning your Mixology award?

'BDP has won this prestigious design award 10 times now and each time it has enhanced our industry profile and brought us greater public recognition. This enables us to constantly up our game and push boundaries, building on our impressive portfolio of socially progressive and cutting edge projects to keep us at the top of our game and stand out from our competitors.'

the embodiment of a world-class business to staff and visitors, blending brand, history and culture to set a precedent for its workplaces around the world.

What was the highlight from winning your Mixology award?

'Since winning the award, the HASSELL London studio has gone on to complete one of the largest agile workplaces in the UK for Sky. The UK studio moved to a new home in Shoreditch and has doubled in size over the past 12 months as we continue to work with some of the world’s leading commercial and workplace clients.'

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Upfront

Iconic Album Sleeves

What do the Velvet Underground’s 'The Velvet Underground & Nico', The Clash's 'London Calling', Kraftwerk’s 'Man Machine', Suede's 'Coming Up' and Salt-n-Pepa's 'Hot, Cool and Vicious' have in common? The answer is that they were not chosen by the lovely people at Heatons in this month’s Seven! They did however choose some corking album covers. You be the judge and let us know which ones we missed out – editorial@mixinteriors.com

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1. NEVERMIND – NIRVANA Four month old baby Spencer Elden features in this underwater photograph. There was some concern about it because Elden's circumcised penis was visible in the image. An alternative cover without the penis was produced, as they were afraid that it would offend people, but Cobain made it clear that the only compromise he would accept was a sticker covering the penis that would say, 'If you're offended by this, you must be a closet paedophile'.

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2. BORN IN THE USA – BRUCE SPRINGSTEIN Blue jeans, white t-shirt, rock’n’roll stance, the stars and stripes, Annie Liebowitz photographed and captured the very essence of what being born in the USA symbolised – attitude, confidence, and cool. The Boss must go down as having one of the most famous backsides in the business!

3. ABBEY ROAD – THE BEATLES Arguably the most recognisable album cover of all time. Since 1969 thousands of fans have disrupted traffic trying to replicate this photo on the zebra crossing in NW8. Then there’s Paul’s bare feet – if you believe the conspiracy theorists then this picture depicts his funeral procession!

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4. NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS – THE SEX PISTOLS The album cover for the Sex Pistols' first (and only) studio album landed them in a London courtroom on obscenity charges.

The judge threw out all charges, explaining the definition of the word in question was 'nonsense' and not a part of the human anatomy. Sleeve designer Jamie Reed claimed that the colour design derived from a series of stickers that the press made in ’72 reading 'This Store Welcomes Shoplifters'. 'They were gaudy and fluorescent – pink and yellow dayglo in your face' – quite apt for the image the band was portraying.

Upfront 5. SIGNING OFF – UB40 The front and back covers of this album are a replica of the yellow British UB40 unemployment benefit attendance card from which the band took their name, emphatically stamped with the words SIGNING OFF in capital letters. It was a statement by the band of leaving behind the world of unemployment and of their arrival on the music scene. The artwork was created by brothers Geoffrey and David Tristram.

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6. PARALLEL LINES – BLONDIE Although Parallel Lines is now viewed as one of the great album covers, on probably their greatest album, the band were opposed to the photograph used in the final design and singer Debbie Harry is documented as saying: 'I don’t think it’s a great design, personally.' In the end, the artwork caused so much bad feeling that it saw Blondie parting company with their manager, Peter Leeds. Today, the fashion and the hairstyles date the photograph but the striking simplicity is what makes this sleeve a classic.

7. THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON – PINK FLOYD This iconic sleeve, designed by Storm Thorgerson, depicts a prism spectrum dispersing light into colour and represents the band's lighting, the record's thematic material, and keyboardist Richard Wright's 'simple and bold' design request. Ever since the mid'90s, stoners, trippers and the extraordinarily bored have been blowing their own minds by syncing up Dark Side with MGM's classic The Wizard of Oz film and watching a few coincidental synchronicities occur, including the Scarecrow's brainless dance during 'Brain Damage'.

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yuno The smart alternative to the folding table.

ing k c a t S hout

wit ! folding

“Stacking without folding” – yuno retains all the benefits of a folding table and avoids its weaknesses. wiesner-hager.com 21

Sam Sahni

Upfront

The industry is brisling with ideas on what the best workplace should look like, perhaps like never before, the flourish of ideas, definitions and principles seems endless.

This workplace revolution is only beginning to scratch the surface of the UK knowledge sector. We asked Sam about his perspective on the future of the workplace.

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Perspective

Sam Sahni is Workplace Strategy and Change Management Leader at Morgan Lovell. His LinkedIn title goes on to say 'helping you make most of physical workspace through evidence led design’. Pretty much sums up the challenge in this sector, we'd say. organisations that are each building a dynamic workplace culture, it’s important to bear in mind.

WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE? We believe businesses should consider 'The power of the place' and, as such, create a buzz. Our research into staff motivations shows that some employees really struggle to motivate themselves and therefore, are not engaged.

In order to succeed in supporting and developing a high performing workforce, businesses need to create a culture that engages employees and importantly, provide a workplace where they want to be.

must be somewhere they WANT to be, not NEED to be.

ISN’T THERE A DANGER OF BEING GIMMICKY? There is, and this is something we at Morgan Lovell strive to work against. When done in the right way, a workplace can be designed to encourage interaction in a natural and positive way. If a business genuinely cares about employee wellbeing, they shouldn’t just think about cycle racks but also the quality and healthiness of their food. Therefore, companies need to reinforce the strength of the brand through the environment they provide.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIG THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED IN THE WORKPLACE IN RECENT YEARS? Technology has had one of the biggest impacts on the agile nature of the office. This has allowed new ways of working so colleagues can collaborate more effectively.

Historically, the hours of 9-5 were the norm but this is changing dramatically thanks to technology, showing a clear trend towards a more flexible way of working.

DO MOST CLIENTS HAVE STAFF WORKING REMOTELY? Many of our clients at Morgan Lovell have employees who work 'out of the office' . Research shows that almost 40% of the global workforce now works remotely.

WHAT HAS DRIVEN THIS? Often, the client’s belief in what they should be doing, as well as the increased real estate costs.

YOU DON’T NECESSARILY THINK THIS IS A GOOD THING? We believe that work is a collaborative event and that a good workplace bonds people together. The workplace can often be seen as an extension of the client’s brand and culture.

DOES EVERY ORGANISATION BELIEVE IN THESE GUIDING PRINCIPLES? Unfortunately many don’t, but when there are a lot of

HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO OTHER INDUSTRIES? In general, the sport and entertainment sectors are experiencing a decline in numbers. This is partly to do with the ability to engage without being at a live performance. What the industry is focusing on is the brand, creating a community and, importantly, finding ways to engage with the fans.

ARE YOU SAYING COMPANIES SHOULD TREAT EMPLOYEES LIKE FANS? Yes. The key question is 'do you believe in the brand?' At Morgan Lovell, we call it a 'Destination Workplace'.

Incorporating a Destination Workplace does not only mean giving people autonomy and letting them get on with the job. Companies also need to provide memorable moments, staff need to understand how they fit into the bigger picture and, crucially, the environment

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BUT ISN’T EVERY ORGANISATION DIFFERENT? Yes, no one organisation is the same. Our approach is a space utilisation and workplace study before we start. Part of this is to understand the culture of the business, identify different work styles and monitor movement at regular intervals. This builds a picture of what the client’s current work patterns are and its drivers, which helps to create a space that suits them.

DO YOU BELIEVE WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON PRODUCTIVITY IN THE WORKPLACE? Productivity has been a common theme in recent years; however, my question is how many knowledge-based businesses can define what productivity is and, more importantly, how can it be measured? My prediction is that in the next three to five years, productivity will not be discussed.

WORD

This month we take a less than serious look at the subject of flexibility. It’s been at the forefront of design innovation since before we all got our first Nokia bricks – and it’s not going away. Today, flexibility is built into our work, our lives and even our (pause) television schedules.

Flexible WHAT CAN BE USED AS A MEASURE OF SUCCESS? I believe that it is a feeling rather than a measurement, because it means different things to different people. Retention of staff, for example, is a common measure of success but healthy businesses also need a degree of staff turnover to remain at the optimum – what is the right level?

HOW IMPORTANT IS FLEXIBILITY IN THE WORKPLACE? This is something very close to my heart. Flexibility is fundamental in the design education sector and, increasingly, clients are starting to understand that there are some similarities drawn from this sector on how the corporate workplace should be designed. No organisation stands still – they employ new people or downsize. I see it as a 'Lego approach' – the ability to change an environment as head count and requirements change. The form filling way of design has long gone, with many companies now prioritising bespoke furnishings, for example, as their objective.

DO YOU THINK WE COULD LEARN FROM THE RETAIL SECTOR BY FOCUSING ON THE 'EXPERIENCE?' Absolutely. A recent client is Superdrug. They set out to treat their staff as clients. They understand the basic principle that if they create something fresh and different, they are more likely to have a happy workforce.

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End User

Dealer Flexibility? Well, we can be incredibly flexible with our terms. When clients start talking about flexibility to us that normally means that those ‘fixed’ dates and budgets have suddenly become flexible – and we’ve got to perform some David Blaine magic trick by producing a shedload of kit in under a day, at half list price. Tada!

Designer Everything we do has flexibility built into it.

By day you’ll have a storage cupboard, but by night it will transform into an IMAX cinema!

That gender non-specific bathroom will, in mere minutes, become a shisha bar or Montessori school. When the CEO’s out of town, bang, his office becomes an assault course.

Manufacturer Oh no – not again. All we want to do is to produce and flog some desks and chairs!

Flexibility always means fewer desks – and therefore fewer chairs. Sit/Stand desks? Ooh, there’s an idea – they’re flexible. Excuse me – I just need to have a quick chat with our design team.

Our new (and incredibly expensive) HQ is in central London and we’re going to need the most flexible workspace possible. Every room, zone, piece of furniture, wall and windowsill absolutely must be able to perform at least 12 different functions – at the same time if possible. And if you could get that up to 18 or 19 we might be able to sub-let one of our cupboards!

Mix Flexible working is now the norm. We’ve moved on from hot desking and hotelling (not flexible enough) and on to agile working. The current crop of graduates readying themselves for a taste of the real world are armed with just a lightweight laptop and a smartphone. The last thing they want/expect is to be tied to a desk for hours if not days and weeks on end. A windowsill will do for them.

go@spatial.co.uk / 0161 260 0050 23

Upfront

Are We Still Building Dark Satanic Mills?

We still haven’t reached 'peak oil' but Steve Gale thinks we could be a bit nearer to 'peak office'.

In three words William Blake really nailed the foreboding presence of a workplace (quite literally) from hell. Rebellious and romantic, he captured the worst of the industrial revolution.

Over time the mills became a bit less dark, and a bit less satanic, but now that 80% of us are employed in 'services' whose natural habitat is offices, are we still building dark satanic mills?

Although our output consists of weightless words, images and numbers that can travel at the speed of light, most of us still get up every morning, travel to an assigned spot and work long hours before fighting our way home again.

So no more undesirable Victorian mills – they’ve gone – but have we substituted them with a modern equivalent? What drove Julian Birkinshaw, a professor at the London Business School, to write 'the vast majority of workplaces

The way we use offices is costly and inconvenient for both employers and employees are stultifyingly dull. The physical surroundings are drab'? Has he got a valid point and, if so, what can we do about it?

Perhaps the current model has run its course and service jobs don’t need the old version anymore? There is a chance that the wrong question is being asked, so although we tweak the old way of working, we end up with a familiar format with some subtle rearrangements, addons or extensions to make life more bearable.

It’s not just better communication

technology, it’s the spiralling office rents, irregular career expectations and the cost and time invested in traveling which add up to a new hierarchy of needs for knowledge workers, demanding a different fit and a better allocation of scarce resources of money and space.

The way we use offices is costly and inconvenient for both employers and employees.

A viable alternative would be worth a second look. Perhaps there is a mainstream solution that will maintain (or increase) productivity, reduce commuting, promote a home life and make people happier at the same time.

The station car parks are half empty on Fridays, and all the tools I have on my desk can be picked up and carried anywhere. This is not a global bid for fewer desks, although that is probably inevitable, but a suggestion that workers might trade their current office for one with more character, charm, scale, interest, personality and variety – if it were to be offered. We can convince ourselves that functional requirements are the Holy Grail, like the demand for meeting space, connectivity and quiet working, and these define the main design issues, but this is actually just the starting position.

Take, for example, the experience of a close friend who recently spent a day in a co-working space to do some serious writing and loved it, not because of any particularly efficient offer of meeting rooms or desks, but because it was a 'lovely space' and 'felt friendly' with a 'good atmosphere'. Try putting those words into a design brief.

There must be something in this. Co-working outfits and similar spaces are mushrooming everywhere, and it’s not just for short term tenure. If you look at any of the spaces currently operating, you will notice the coffee shop ambience, the choice of settings, the non-

Steve Gale is Head of Business Intelligence at M Moser Associates. SteveG@mmoser.com

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corporate materials, plants, wood, rugs and sofas. The services and technology all work as they should, but the space has been humanised.

If people like less corporate architecture and more warmth, texture and choice, then why should they settle for less? This unoriginal idea has caught on anew. How about letting designers do what they are good at and create engaging spaces that people love?

Production tools and office environments are now almost completely decoupled thanks to technology. The one essential activity that cannot be done elsewhere is human interaction, so maybe this can take pole position. The emphasis can now shift away from an evenly lit production layout, to one that better suits the primordial needs of a knowledge business, offering a centre for the culture to crystallise around, and for discussions and sharing ideas. I bet that looks different to most offices we are currently developing.

Employers and their staff save money, the rush hour dissolves, and the result will attract good people and make them happy and feel valued. If we invest in these different priorities we will have reached 'peak office', and the pressure to build more neutral office space will abate. If demand really tails off, maybe we can repurpose the unused real estate for other things, like living accommodation. I think that is what they call a double whammy.

Upfront

RENDEZVOUS design: JASON LANSDALE

mANUFActURiNg

LONDON_ShOwROOm

cONtAct_&_FOLLOw

Pledge Office Chairs Ltd Mill Road Leighton Buzzard Bedfordshire LU7 1BA

First Floor 21-22 Great Sutton Street Clerkenwell London EC1V 0DY

e: sales@pledgechairs.co.uk www.pledgechairs.co.uk

t: +44 (0) 1525 376181

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Upfront

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Upfront

Material Matters

In this month’s Material Matters, the team of experts at Material Lab explores surfaces that revolutionise the most humble of materials. www.material-lab.co.uk Cork Fabric by Granorte transforms a humble material into something truly unique Granorte is a Portuguese company, founded in 1972 to recycle the cork waste from the cork stopper manufacturing industry. Its innovative Cork Fabric is just one of the many ways it transforms the humble material into something truly different. It also offers a complete range of cork products, from granulated to agglomerated cork, wall and floor coverings. Cork itself is a natural, renewable and environmentally friendly material that has stellar sound and thermal insulating properties. www.granorte.pt

INDI promotes responsible design through 90% recyclables INDI is a Lithuanian design studio that creates original lighting and decorative objects. Its key mission is to encourage designers to foster green design and responsible consumption. Created from sustainable material, INDI contains 90% recycled paper. INDI design is distinguished by its visual illusion, sustainability, and minimal and pure style. The resulting material appears as though it has been made of concrete, however its lightness provides the freedom to experiment with shapes and forms for which common concrete would be too heavy. www.indi.lt

Kaleidoscope

by Karndean Designflooring boasts over 100 colourways for individuality The launch of the new Kaleidoscope collection

by Karndean Designflooring promises the brand’s most innovative and intricate designs to date.

With geometric design still very much ontrend, the collection has been created with architects, interior designers and flooring contractors in mind. Offering complete flexibility, Kaleidoscope features six designs as standard, and over 100 colour options.

The range also introduces block colourways, which give designers the ability to specify bright colours against authentic wood and stone vinyl designs. www.karndean.com/en-gb/floors

KOURASANIT UK offers an alternative option for surface design through its colourful terrazzo Through a daring combination of materials, KOURASANIT’s terrazzo combines colourful cobbles with crushed aggregates of varied grain sizes, before mixing with coloured hydraulic mortars, hydrated lime and non-alkaline cement, to create highquality floors, bespoke countertops, washbasins and washbasin benches.

Suitable for both indoor and outdoor spaces, and specifically designed for areas with high footfall, KOURASANIT breaks the mould of surface design. info@kourasanit.co.uk

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Upfront

Desert Island Desks

This month’s desert island castaway is Debbie Drake, Associate Director and Head of Graphic Design at KSS

Stationery

A supply of sketchbooks and notepads, from Moleskine and Smythson, to the humble envelope and everything in between. I could not exist without paper; to sketch, doodle, make lists, write a diary or even start that book. When thoughts and ideas clarify, pencil and paper is still my immediate go to. With time on my hands, I could even get around to making my own paper to maintain supplies, foraging for, and trialling the best natural materials available on the island.

Deckchair

As a graphic designer working in the built environment, I am ashamed to admit that it took me too many years to appreciate the importance of a well-designed chair. I apologise on behalf of all of my fellow creatives who have ever claimed that they are all just the same. A Lafuma sun lounger and footstool has been my favourite find for my usual place in the sun in the South of France.

Camera

Armed with a solar power charger, so that electricity is not an issue, my compact system camera or smartphone would not leave my side.

I would be quite happy to record every day of my stay. There is a simple beauty in the variety of patterns formed by nature on the coast that I never tire of being impressed by and wanting to record for eternity. I promise not to upload them all to Instagram though!

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Art

In my spare time I’ve recently embraced my passion for art history and it would be interesting to create an art gallery on the beach. To start my collection perhaps I could acquire a luxury item and take a collage by Peter Blake which would be both inspirational and with plenty of interest to peruse.

Puzzle

My biggest problem might be how to survive on a desert island, especially since I am not taking anything to eat or cook with, but I would still need a daily puzzle to resolve. Finding creative solutions to a client’s brief and seeing a project come together is the part of my job that I most enjoy, so problems to keep the creative juices flowing and my mind working would be great.

Swingball

To relax I love playing and watching sport. Whilst this seems to be the perfect time to learn to surf, tennis is the sport closest to my heart. Assuming that a full size practice wall is out of the question, I wonder if my old Swingball would fit in my bag for a bit of nostalgia – wearing my favourite graphic tee in my personal ode to everything Wimbledon – and at least I would win every time.

The Gallery 21-22 Great Sutton St. EC1V 0DY / Project Garden of St. James, EC1R 0EA

www.sixteen3.co.uk

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Spotlight

The Big Question

The Education Report

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Q

THE BIG UESTION

Is t h e e d u c a t i o n s e cto r a h e a d o f t h e co rp o ra t e w o rk p l a c e re vo l u t i o n?

CRAIG WHITTET, GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART

WAYNE TAYLOR, SPACE ZERO

TIM FORSTER, APLEONA

In my experience, I would say no. This is based on a Health and Safety culture that tends to separate core activities, for example studios are becoming less like workshops and workshops are becoming less like studios. We only have to look at the success or ‘makerspaces’ to see how the removal of ‘barriers' improves the culture and process of designing.

I don’t think it would be fair to say that educational interiors are leading workplace design trends entirely, or vice versa, it’s just not that clean cut. Both sectors are actively developing and exploring future thinking that can easily transfer and be useful in other environments, but there is definitely crosspollination and mutual learning, featuring common design strategies and products.

I believe that historically, the education sector has been a driving force for the workplace revolution. The workplace had been moving in the same direction but generally at a slower pace. The education sector has been a catalyst to push the workplace design forward faster, this is partly to accommodate the learning styles of millennials moving into the corporate workforce. Both environments are designed to enrich the working experience, and this is why they have become joined up in their thinking.

GAVIN KING, SPACEINVADER

DAVID, ITEC CONTRACT FLOORS

ALAN WARD, NCS BISLEY

We’ve found that the answer depends on specific organisations’ appetites to embrace potential. While some are very forward thinking in how they provide supportive learning environments, the education sector has a conservative tendency as the costs of failure are so high. However, the way that students adopt advances in technology drives change. They will expect to carry modern methods into the workplace, so employers will ignore this at their peril.

Umbrella editorial banner Mix Interiors April 2017 copy.pdf 1

There has certainly been a shift towards more considered aesthetics for interior finishes and how they impact on the learning environment within education, but I don’t think you could say it is ahead of the workplace. For flooring finishes, the workplace still drives aesthetic principles, primarily because of favourable budgets leading to higher specification products, and as these trickle-down, education spaces benefit. That said, certain functional aspects, such as acoustics, have been driven by the education sector, with the corporate workplace benefitting.

03/04/2017 09:56:45

Workplace design is unique to the organisation in order to meet the demands of the individual business, whereas all primary education environments need to be conducive to the transfer of knowledge.

Therefore, the major construction companies that control the process are able to build to a formula, that works but is unchallenged by the design community.

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23-25 MAY 2017

Umbrella Furniture will be participating this year at CDW why not come down for a drink and a chat.

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trinetic.com 33

Spotlight

Kaleid

SCOPE

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Spotlight - Education

Pay Attention It has long been recognised by educationalists that passively receiving knowledge does not create learning in the same way that actively researching and working together does.

The recently introduced Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) focuses university attention on teaching quality, which the government whitepaper defines as '...teaching practices which provide an appropriate level of contact, stimulation and challenge, encourage student effort and engagement, and which are effective in developing the knowledge, skills, attributes and work readiness for students.'

As these new standards can’t be achieved in traditional classrooms or lecture theatres, there has been a massive drive on campuses right across the UK to transform rooms and buildings to enable small group active learning, so that the highest levels of both student satisfaction and the teaching quality that the TEF assesses are attained.

Transforming campuses with better learning spaces where students can excel is not only creating income streams, but is also providing opportunities for designers and architects to truly innovate and set themselves apart.

So what’s this got to do with you? We think the focus on learning and collaboration is a vital part in any successful corporate business and whilst there are more and more great corporate examples, we feel

the business world can learn a lot from education.

We posed the question: Is the education sector ahead of the corporate workplace revolution? (page 32) to give you a taste of what the end user thinks.

We recently visited The Hut Group, an e-commerce company with headquarters in Northwich, Cheshire.

The group operates over 100 international websites that sell premium FMCG direct to consumer in the health and beauty markets through its own proprietary technology and operating platform.

In each of the departments we visited, whether technology, marketing or sales, they were working in teams, learning and co-operating.

We all know that a key challenge for corporate leaders is securing top talent and creating a culture that attracts the best their money can buy. We also know that education is driven by agile working and a central reliance on high levels of IT support. It is no surprise to us that designers are taking inspiration from some of the best higher and further education (HE/FE).

The following pages show a great range of education projects from different perspectives – designers, property professionals and manufacturers.

What is the Teaching Excellence Framework? (TEF) You may not have heard of it, but it’s the most talked about issue in higher education. The NUS are up in arms, most doubt its value, some say its going to cost a fortune, but it's here and it will have a major impact on higher education and we think on education design schemes Here are the key bits: • The TEF will see the government monitoring and assessing the quality of teaching in England’s universities.

• It is created to make sure all students receive an excellent experience that encourages original thinking, drives up engagement and prepares them for the world of work.

• Designed to build a culture where teaching has higher status and enjoys the same professional recognition and opportunities for career and pay progression as great researchers.

• To recognise institutions that do the most to welcome students from a range of backgrounds and support their retention and progression Andrew Gunn, from the Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law at the University of Leeds, recently made the point that the TEF was not just about monitoring teaching standards in the classroom but the 'entire teaching function of a university', going on to say, 'It is assessing everything that goes on before admission – from outreach, choosing candidates and interviews – to the actual teaching environment and then everything that students do after graduation.'

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Designer Kay Bridge & Pam Chapman, The Fairhursts Design Group Project size 130,000 sq ft Date completed Dec 2016 List of key suppliers Connection, Orangebox, Spacestor, Broadstock, Desso

The Materials Innovation Factory at the University of Liverpool The Materials Innovation Factory (MIF) is a unique public/private partnership between the University and Unilever, aiming to revolutionise materials chemistry research and development.

Designed to reflect the creative processes involved in discovery and innovation, the MIF building contains a variety of laboratories, from large, flexible spaces through to smaller areas for task specific work. Offices are situated around a large, full height central atrium providing natural light, a feature staircase and exhibition/event space. Central collaboration areas on each floor allow PHD students, the University and Unilever to interact and share knowledge in a relaxed, informal setting.

'We are excited about the opportunities this building presents...it is fantastic to see the building complete. MIF is going to be a worldclass research institute that will further help to develop our relationships with industry.It has been designed specifically to our requirements with collaboration baked into the building, which supports a community of like-minded researchers.

It reflects our ambition to provide inspirational spaces for our research teams to discover and innovate.'

Dr Simon Longden, Managing Director of the Materials Innovation Factory

London Metropolitan University, Aldgate

Designer Willmot Dixon Project size 43,000 sq ft

Willmott Dixon Interiors (WDI) were selected to improve student facilities for London Metropolitan University’s (LMU) Calcutta House campus based in Aldgate.

The ÂŁ4.3 million project represents the longer term strategy for the LMU to develop and to make the most of their built environment.

As part of the refurbishment under the SCAPE Framework, WDI completed the refit of five floors, which included space

Refurb of wood workshop

Refurb of classroom space

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for a metal workshop, a wood workshop and a basement accommodating a film and animation studio, a rapid prototyping and digital print workshop, a finishing workshop, and the on-site hire shop.

The works were conducted within 23 weeks across 43,000 sq ft in a live environment. The client was satisfied with the delivery team's enthusiasm to get the project completed on time and was pleased with the end result.

Spotlight - Education Designer Scott Brownrigg Project size 10,000 sq m Date completed May 2016 List of key suppliers: Contractor – Interserve Civil, Structural and Highways Engineers – Scott White & Hookins QS/Cost Consultant – Faithful & Gould Project Managers – Gleeds Furniture Consultant – Broadstock Acoustic Consultant – Hann Tucker Associates Services Engineers – WSP (pre-contract) / ARUP (postcontract) Planning Consultant – Turley Associates

Spark Building, Southampton Solent University The Spark is a showcase for excellence in learning, teaching, research and educational spaces. With 35 classrooms, five lecture rooms, two lecture theatres, a café, conference centre and an atrium ‘heart-space’ with a stunning red pod, it supports peer-to-peer learning, discussion, interdisciplinary activity and collaboration. It has revolutionised space management, monitoring and utilisation to define a new education experience.

'You won't find a building quite like it across the sector – it reflects Southampton Solent University's ambition. It is youthful and futuristic combining legacy and history and placing it in a modern context.'

Professor Graham Baldwin, SSU Vice Chancellor 'The Spark has transformed the campus, significantly enhancing the student experience and defining Southampton Solent University within the city and much further beyond on both national and international levels. The bold, ambitious and innovative design encapsulates the University’s strategy and vision and has set the benchmark for future development.'

David Corless, SSU Director of Estates and Facilities.

Atrium showing multiple work settings

University of Salford A theme of ‘The Library in the Park’ celebrates the fact that the library overlooks the historic Peel Park, the UK’s first ever municipal park. The project, through colour coding, zoning and some tongue-in-cheek graphics, has successfully transformed a neglected space into a series of diverse learning environments.

Designer Fuse (Scott Ryalls) Project size 60,000 sq ft Date completed Dec 2016 (Phase 1) List of key suppliers: Armstrong Ceilings Interface Carpets Muuto Lighting – feature lighting Ultrafabrics Camira Fabrics

Uni of Salford Focus group learning

Recycled book light

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Spotlight

As the world’s leading manufacturer of specialist education furniture, our seating sets the benchmark for design innovation, quality and comfort. Our long-established global expertise gives you unparalleled confidence when investing in our products.

Offering excellent value for money, our chairs have been proven to create optimised, modern learning environments - enhancing the entire learning experience to maximise outcomes for students.

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Spotlight

WORLD’S #1

EDUCATION SOLUTIONS PROVIDER KI’s furniture is used by millions of students every day, all over the world. Voted the number one preferred furniture supplier for educational solutions by Contract Magazine every year since 2004, our reputation for quality and innovation is backed by extensive warranties and outstanding performance.

KI Europe New Fetter Place 8-10 New Fetter Lane London EC4A 1AZ E: education@kieurope.com 39 W: www.kieurope.com/education

Prifysgol Bangor, Menai Science Parc Ltd, Anglesey Menai Science Parc Ltd (M-SParc) links Bangor University’s academic research with commercial expertise to create a space that will house and grow companies focused on energy and clean technology. The first building is centred around Tanio, a communal innovation space that aims to excite and inspire, fostering a network to support knowledge sharing.

Designer FaulknerBrowns Architects Project size Approx 53,800 sq ft Date complete Jan 2018

'This project, funded through the Wales European Funding Office, will assist to grow companies in the region, boosting the economy. Having a building which reflects our ambition was extremely important.'

Emily Roberts, Project Administrator, Bangor University

Designer Louise Dean, Senior Designer & Team Leader, Godfrey Syrett Project size Approx 53,800 sq ft Date complete Sept 2016 List of key suppliers Godfrey Syrett

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Seaham High School, County Durham Part of the Priority School Building Programme, Seaham High School is a new-build secondary school, built over two floors. The school’s vision was to create a vibrant school where every child matters; creating new surroundings and a fresh and engaging learning environment for their pupils.

'Having waited for 26 years to have a new school built we worked with Godfrey Syrett to create a ‘wow’ factor for the students As such it was essential that an impact was made within the dining area and the Learning and Resource Centre, which we successfully achieved. We are absolutely delighted with the result.'

Janette Robbins, Business Manager, Seaham High School

Spotlight - Education

Refurb of student IT faculty

Designer Willmot Dixon Project size 45,208 sq ft

University of Sussex, Chichester Building, Brighton Willmott Dixon Interiors (WDI) were selected to refurbish the University of Sussex's Chichester Building – the home of its engineering and informatics.

The refurbishment of the Grade II listed building, designed by architect Sir Basil Spence and constructed in the early 1960's, involved the restoration of the external envelope, including external fabric repairs, roofing, and replacement to the ground floor to provide new facilities.

WDI also completed the full refurbishment of the internal space, which involved upgrading the building's mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. The project was secured through the Scape framework, a popular procurement route for the higher education sector, which includes time and cost saving benefits. The ÂŁ7.1 million project was delivered in 55 weeks.

precision The Aeron Remastered from Herman Miller Delivered with Precision by Wellworking in 1 Hour Time Slots, within 72 Hours

www.wellworking.co.uk

t: 020 3110 0610

Spotlight

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Spotlight - Education

Designer Willmot Dixon Date complete Sept 2017

Coventry University London Campus, Dagenham, London Willmott Dixon Interiors (WDI) has been chosen by Coventry University to create its new CU London campus at the Civic Centre in Dagenham, breathing a new lease of life into the building.

The £4.5 Million project will see WDI transform the current Grade II listed Civic Centre into a cutting-edge learning environment for students undertaking a range of full- and part-time courses.

In the modern campus, students migrate to shared, informal spaces

Based upon the high-quality and low-cost career-focused model of higher education pioneered by Coventry University through its CU Coventry model, CU London will offer lower fees and more flexible learning options.

The University worked with Barking and Dagenham Council to develop plans for the new campus, which will open in September 2017 and applications are now being accepted, with open events being held for potential students twice a month until July.

Templeman Library, University of Kent The design team for the Templeman project were keen to ensure that the flooring would contribute to creating a calm and quiet environment for the Library. Milliken’s cushion backed modular carpet was chosen in part for its impressive acoustic properties. The carpet helps reduce impact noise and absorb ambient sound.

Designer Penoyre & Prasad Project size 6,000 sq m Date complete Ongoing

Designer Willmot Dixon Project size 42,538 sq ft Date complete Sept 2017

Imperial College – Dyson Building, South Kensington, London

As part of the on-going works at Imperial College London, Willmott Dixon Interiors has been awarded its second project to refurbish the Dyson Building, School of Design Engineering.

The £14 million project, part-funded by the Dyson Foundation, includes CAT B fit-out and refurbishment of 42,538 sq ft. The project will deliver teaching and research facilities for the Dyson School, which will include workshops, design studios, presentation space, office space, formal meeting space, café, research studios, design laboratories and much more.

Delivered to BIM Level 1, this scheme will embody the overarching principles for the Dyson School’s space: open plan and flexible space wherever possible, whilst preserving key original features – e.g. Exhibition presentation room/ central vaulted ceiling space/daylight access for studio activity.

The school has a fast growing population of both staff and students, including fractional staff actively working in industry. The school, currently located in 10 Princes Gardens, South Kensington, expects to grow by 100 people a year for the next four years.

78%

Of clients indicated there are NO similarities in how students on campus achieved their daily tasks versus how recently hired graduates work in their respective companies source: KI, AECOM 43

Spotlight

Positive spaces Multichrome is the latest addition to Interface’s modular flooring system. It features a geometric pattern using neutral or bold colours, grounded with grey tones. Combine with the texture of its sibling product, Monochrome, to transform your space into a positive space.

See Multichrome at Interface.com

Multichrome - Millstone Chrome Monochrome - Millstone 44

Spotlight - Education

Cheetham CofE Community Academy, Manchester Working closely with the school, office refurbishment consultancy firm Whitespace was briefed to transform the blank space of a new building into an inspiring, modern interior, all with the help of approximately 250 of KI’s Postura+ chairs in complementary colours of Lime Zest, Jet Black, Iron Grey, Slate Grey and Grape Crush.

Designer Whitespace Chairs KI

The Royal Institution, Young Scientists Centre, London This project was not turned into reality but we still felt it deserved its place as we loved the concept.

New ways of learning and more advanced methods of teaching have had a significant impact on the approach to designing the learning environment.

Designer Lisa Deering, Glancy Nicholls Architects List of key suppliers Couch Perry Wilkes Mechanical & Electrical Engineer Couch Consulting - Structural & Civil Engineer Steven Barnsley Associates - CDM Coordinator Quantity SurveyorQ.M.P

Flexibility, collaboration and mobile planning initiatives have become the norm in the study of many main stream subjects, such as English, Maths and History – whereas more of the practical/science based subjects have historically been less innovative in their design.

A different approach was demonstrated in the concept design Billfinger's Tim Forster developed for a science lab at RI. Here a mobile system was used to address the requirements of each specified lesson.

The Learning Centre refurbishment transformed an existing facility into a contemporary and progressive learning environment to support multiple faculties with the resultant spaces, providing an IT rich environment to support student needs, be visually explicit, comfortable to use and make the facility evident as a resource for the whole campus.

Learning Centre ground floor

Allowing flexibility of use and configuration, a classic form of an activity based setting; the reconfigurable and hydraulically adjusted units were easily modified to suit a variety of different age group and study needs.

Adaptability, practicality and the supporting environment were also enhanced with the introduction of high level storage, faced with whiteboards for students to display their thinking.

The Learning Centre, University of Birmingham

Learning Centre study area

Designer Tim Forster, Bilfinger Project size 1,076 sq ft Date complete Concept only

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Spotlight - Education

Designer Overbury Date completed Nov 2016

University of Warwick One of the University of Warwick’s key buildings has received a dramatic facelift, providing a new, modern working environment for both students and staff. Completed by Overbury, University House now boasts an executive suite, private office spaces, meeting areas and a new breakout area for staff.

It also houses the Learning Grid – an impressive workspace available to all, as well as a flexible environment for students to learn with the use of plasma screens, PCs, film and audio editing software and more than 10,000 text books.

David Johnson, Account Manager for Overbury’s Birminghambased team, said: 'As the curriculum evolves, so do the needs of both students and staff. It’s important that higher education institutions, such as the University of Warwick, continue to invest in their facilities to ensure they are providing the best service. It was a pleasure to undertake this project, and work with the university’s in-house design team to develop and define the fit out.'

University House is located between central campus and Westwood, and is the main hub for the centre’s administration.

Departments include human resources, finance and global engagement.

Robert Gamble, Senior Project Manager at Warwick University, said: 'Overbury successfully completed this challenging phased internal refurbishment of University House, which involved engaging with multiple stakeholders and adopting a flexible approach to work in an occupied building. Its professional approach to all aspects of the project ensured that the works were completed to time, to the desired quality and to the complete satisfaction of the client.'

In 2015, a survey of university vice-chancellors concluded that the majority believed the UK lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to technology usage, and 50% determined that their own university required more digital innovation.

The refurbishment keeps up with the evolving methods of both working and learning at the university and was inspired by biophilia. The theme of nature was incorporated by using as many natural materials as possible, including the wall art, organic carpets and natural timber finishes.

source: KI, AECOM

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Spotlight

SOCIAL SPACES FURNITURE FOR BREAKOUT AREAS

NEW ALBAN POD

“A quiet meeting space for open plan offices”

Designed & manufactured in the UK by 47

Yo u r O f f i c e F u r n i t u r e W h o l e s a l e r

Medical School Foyer & Barnes Library, University of Birmingham The Medical School Foyer and Barnes Library is a major international centre for research and education in medicine. The new space needed to be adaptable for student study, social learning and provide a coherence and legibility to a previously underwhelming space. The new design has transformed the area into a light, efficient space with a contemporary style that supports social and individual study methods.

Designer Patrick Nicholls, Glancy Nicholls Architects List of key suppliers Mechanical & Electrical Engineer - Couch Perry Wilkes Nolan Associates Structural Engineer Cyril Sweet - Cost Consultant SVM - Lift Consultant Steven Barnsley Associates - CDM Coordinator Hoare Lead Acoustics Acoustic Consultant

Medical School research and learning space

Medical School foyer

Designer David Lambert, GA Studio Project size 725 sq m

Rhyl High School, Denbighshire Rhyl High School’s £25m facilities opened after years of planning.

Godfrey Syrett and KI created a custom purple range of Postura+ chairs, task chairs and stools. Postura+ EN5 chairs were provided in three colours – over 1,500 in custom purple, along with ash grey and ink blue.

'The chairs set the theme of our school. The colour allowed us to really engage with our plan to rebrand our school. The chairs are light, easily stacked and comfortable – and cheaply and easily gave us an identity.'

Claire Armitstead, Head Teacher, Rhyl High School Designer Godfrey Syrett Datecompleted April 2016

Cheadle Hulme High School exterior

Cheadle Hulme High School, Manchester The proposal for Cheadle Hulme High School Sixth Form Centre has been generated from key pedestrian flows from the roadway to the main entrance of the school.

The sinuous curved wall at ground floor level draws students in and provides visibility through a glazed wall to the cafe/breakout space.

The classrooms are stacked above the ground floor zone connected by an ETFE foil roof atria.

Part of the learning space cantilevers out towards the road to announce the school in the hours of darkness.

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Spotlight - Education

Designer Architecture PLB List of key suppliers Couch Perry Wilkes Project size 20,000 sq ft Date completed Sept 2016

London School of Economics (LSE), London LSE workspace

The £2.1 million project for the London School of Economics – LSE Life – is a fit-for-purpose academic, personal and professional development centre. The main objective of the project – the first of its kind – was to design and build a facility that would showcase LSE Life as a centre, and establish a central hub that would connect thousands of LSE students to LSE’s services.

Architecture PLB was tasked with developing a design that provided a mix of social, quiet and collaborative areas, which reflect new ways of learning and approaches to education, while Overbury was contracted to bring these plans to life around the busy schedules of LSE staff and students.

LSE quiet hubs

'LSE Life’s home took three months to build and was split into two phases because the library needed to stay open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The entire project team pulled together to find innovative ways to limit disruption to students and staff. Delivering any project in an occupied building is always a challenge, so working collaboratively is the key. If we weren’t able to use acoustic hoarding – which blocks out construction noise – we worked late at night, in the early hours and on weekends.'

Bob Banister, Overbury Managing Director, London

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After months of planning, designing and construction, LSE Life opened its doors in late September 2016 and has received positive feedback. Its first big event was a careers fair that hosted over 900 students and, since then, it has been used for numerous seminars, workshops and lectures. Everything from individual study to a 200-seated lecture can be accommodated in the space. The focus on flexibility and multi-functionality means that the centre, and its intricate tessellating furniture, can be configured to support the needs of students. The Wi-Fi enabled building also has upgraded mechanical and electrical infrastructure with new ‘power towers’ and AV facilities.

Not only did LSE’s students – who come from all over the world – need a place to go, they needed to know that the LSE is committed to their professional and personal development. The space represents LSE and was designed with them in mind.

'We’re proud to have been part of the team who overcame a number of challenges to deliver this great student facility,' Bob concludes.

'We’ve built an entirely flexible space that will bring LSE closer to its students, and we hope they will enjoy the centre for many years to come.'

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Spotlight

LEARNING CURVES

University of Lincoln

Knowledge has always been at the centre of all learning. And despite decades of continuous change across all sectors of education, that premise hasn’t changed. What has changed are the current opportunities for architects and designers to provide higher education with far more than just four walls and enough space for PowerPoint slides to appear. Now is the time for architects, and the universities that commission their expertise, to step outside comfort zones and put the student first.

Why? Because alongside developments in academic delivery, a new statutory assessment of both teaching quality and learning spaces has come into place. Think of it as Ofsted for universities, and you now understand why not all universities are comfortable with this change. So why this need for change?

that were not previously possible. For this to be effective, for this to enable learning to take place in different ways, learning spaces must support a wide range of learning activities. Think of a traditional lecture space. How else can it be used effectively other than for the didactic transmission of information (not knowledge) from one to many?

Learning not teaching New learning space designs, facilitating students to work actively together in small teams enabled by wireless digital technologies, are changing the way in which curriculums are designed and delivered.

Throughout all levels of education, improved learning outcomes occur when students are in smaller groups. Developing larger spaces to act like smaller spaces will not only produce these better educational outcomes, but will help combat current low levels of room occupancy and raise average capacity usage. Creating new environments that improve on existing models will find many willing commissions and grateful students.

If such a concept as the ‘average student’ exists, then the experiences and abilities of today’s ‘average student’ bears no resemblance to just two generations ago. Consequently, the needs of today’s students are massively different and we now expect a university education to equip students for both their working lives and to be valuable citizens. This starts with students taking responsibility for their own learning, to learn how to learn, and to create their own knowledge that will provide them with a deeper subject understanding and give them the opportunities to apply that knowledge in many other scenarios.

Digital Capabilities

Understand – Innovate – Build

Wireless digital technology is enabling undergraduates to learn from a new curriculum delivery that inspires and engages them in ways

The TEF assessment of university teaching quality and learning spaces will require the build and refurbishment of learning spaces for many

Size Matters

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years to come. Universities are at the stage of experimenting with new implementations, and those providers who better understand the back-story to this will be able to offer critical advice.

The same socially and emotionally inclusive facilities for small group learning are required across the campus. These spaces must be enabled with the same technology, irrespective of their location, so that the process between thinking and doing is not interrupted.

Going for gold Whilst traditional classrooms and lecture theatres only support one front-of-class usage within their walls, universities now want any space on campus to support collaborative learning, and from 2017 onwards their effectiveness is subject to this new rigorous independent assessment that will grade them as Gold, Silver or Bronze.

Does this matter? Students will naturally be attracted to universities with ‘Gold’ status for teaching as their own employment prospects are more likely to benefit. The belief is that universities with ‘Gold’ status will also attract higher levels of government funding, and will also be able to raise their levels of student fees.

For those architects and designers able to meet or exceed these new educational expectations, the future looks very bright indeed.

Duncan Peberdy www.digitalclassroomroadshow.co.uk

Spotlight

NEW LIBERTY SIT/STAND

WORK BETTER & SMARTER FOR LESS Introducing Liberty, a new electric height adjustable desk from Century Office that helps keep users active and productive at work. The Liberty desk is yet another high quality addition to the market from Century Office, unique in its affordable price point and quality. The Liberty desk is a cost efficient option available for sit/stand desking, revolutionising the way people in the UK work.

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Spotlight

T F A Tarkett Company

DESERT AIRMASTER® CLEARS THE AIR® www.desso-airmaster.com

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Spotlight - Education

ASFC Entrance Building Reception

Ashton Sixth Form College Reception This new entrance building for Ashton Sixth Form College utilises the translation of the college’s ‘graphic’ logo in a simple extraction of geometry.

Through rationalisation and re-order, the graphic skeleton provides the basis of the new form for the project. A series of dramatic fins announce the new point of arrival, suggesting a kinetic energy; a progressive movement forward. The entry axis from the main road brings visitors into a transitional zone between ‘old’ and ‘new’ architecture, expressing contrasting textures of brickwork and Hi-macs acrylic stone.

Designer Martin James Gibson, GA Studio Project size 355 sq m Key suppliers Cladding – Marley Eternit, Equitone Tectiva, Mineral Black Curtain Walling – Comar Architectural Aluminium System Reception Desk – Lomax Interiors, Hi-macs acrylic stone

Ashton Sixth Form College Art Building The proposed art building aimed to collate the existing art and design facilities into a single facility at the heart of the college campus. The building was designed around a cruciform circulation route, which addresses key flows around the campus.

The large 3D and textiles classrooms were placed on the ground floor, locating the classrooms with the heavier equipment on the lower level. The large art classrooms and photography and graphics studios were located on the first floor enabling the rooms to be lit with north-facing roof lights.

Designer Martin James Gibson, GA Studio Project size 806 sq m

ASFC Student Hub ground floor breakout area

Ashton Sixth Form Student Centre, Manchester A hub for student socialising and dining, the new student centre at Ashton Sixth Form College includes a cafe, areas for private study and a roof top terrace. The simple box form is surrounded by vertical fins that shade and conceal the spaces within, giving the students an element of privacy that is separated from the rest of the college.

36%

Clients recognise that recent graduates carry collegiate work styles into the workplace

25%

ASFC Student Hub first floor café area

Designer Martin James Gibson, GA Studio Project size 550 sq m Key suppliers Anodised Aluminum Fins – Controsol Ltd Glazing – Comar Render – Sto Flooring – Forbo Concrete Flooring – Topfloor (smw) Ltd

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Feel new hires like to work 'everywhere'

100%

Agreed newly hired graduates like to work in groups

Glasgow Caledonian University The aim of the project was to refresh the University’s library in order to create a bright and inviting space for students to socialise and study within. Forbo Flooring Systems’ Marmoleum Modular Lines in a plank format, combined with Marmoleum Marbled, were installed throughout the building, as they provided the contemporary, yet practical finish required.

'The combination of Forbo’s products installed throughout the library has provided the floor with graphic definition, while offering a practical solution for defining spaces and walkways. The students seem to really enjoy the new space as it is a relaxing place to socialise, eat and study.'

Pauline McDonald, Project Co-ordinator, Glasgow Caledonian University

Designer Toby Paterson - Artist Project size Approx. 1,500 sq m Date completed 2016 Flooring Forbo Flooring Systems

South Essex College reception

Designer Lee Nightingale, Director, KSS Project size 15,000 sq m

South Essex College, Thurrock Campus A complete design solution of architecture, interior and graphic design has successfully created a learning environment that represents the college’s ambition to provide an inspiring and effective training experience for students and the local community. The abstract and boldly coloured design highlights the creativity and diversity imbuing a modern educational facility for the College.

'Thurrock Campus is spacious and modern. KSS kept to the brief and created a contemporary yet functional space. The design appeals to young people and also works well as an educational establishment because it’s very practical.'

Anthony McGarel, Deputy Principal and Chief Executive of South Essex College

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Spotlight - Education

Designer Stacey Roberts, Space Zero Project size 9,233 sq ft Date completed Sept 2016 List of key suppliers VS, Naughtone, Connection, Mercol

The Holywell Learning Campus, Flintshire The Holywell Learning Campus is a showcase of considered, methodical design principals, strategically delivered to result in enhanced learning experiences and outcomes for students and teachers alike.

Identified as one of the key projects in Wales in 2016 and demonstrating exemplary performance of BIM, the project has generated new jobs and created a sustainable community environment.

Holywell Learning Campus

Holywell Learning Campus

The Naylor Library – St. Mary’s University, Twickenham

Designer Jonathan Hawkins from FG Library & Learning List of key suppliers FG Library & Learning, Frem Screens, FG3N, Ocee Design

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FG Library & Learning, part of the Frem Group, were asked to provide a modern and innovative furniture layout for St. Mary’s University. The space needed to include collaborative work areas, individual study, oneto-one and group study rooms, computer and laptop space, comfortable study seating, café seating, flexible teaching spaces, a technology enhanced learning suite as well as shelving.

'The Naylor Library is a fantastic investment in the future of the Library and Learning Technology provision at the University and we can’t wait to see students making use of their new facilities.'

Martin Scarrott, Director of Library and Learning Technology

Spotlight

THE DESIGNER'S VIEW

International School of Kuala Lumpar

Wayne Taylor, CEO at Space Zero, explores the emerging trends of education interiors.

An idea we are developing, supported by various professors, doctorates and industry specialists, is the desire to create experiential learning environments. Delivering a modern, hitech, flexible teaching space no-longer exceeds our clients’ expectations; they are operating in a competitive marketplace and are looking to steal a march on their peers by providing world-class facilities and a style of learning space that has not been seen before.

Experiential learning environments is a concept that addresses the sensorial needs of the learner, it embraces sight, sound, touch, smell and even taste.

These are spaces that use colour and texture

through wallcoverings, furniture and equipment, as well as acoustic treatment to help focus and engage students in the learning process, while also providing connected areas to relax, eat and socialise.

It’s also about creating multiple typologies of spaces within the campus, each designed to improve or encourage aspects such as wellbeing, collaboration, concentration or connectivity. As with commercial interiors, where we have seen the positive impact on productivity of adopting agile working practices and providing a variety of work settings, the education sector has a similar drive to offer a selection of environments that gives staff and students an opportunity to choose the most appropriate teaching space for a particular lesson or individual task. This is

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resulting in improved learning outcomes, and a more content and relaxed student body.

While technological advances continue to revolutionise our lives outside the classroom, the places in which we learn must also adapt and evolve. Learning spaces are becoming more liquid, core locations are being designed to be easier to adapt and are sited in strategic centres throughout the campus. As technology drives this shift, connectivity is fast becoming the fourth utility, as essential as electricity and water.

Although in its infancy, this strategy is already being implemented by our designers for a project being delivered at the International School of Kuala Lumpur which is due for completion in 2019 – so watch this space!

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Spotlight

ME E TIN G , EATIN G OR WORK I NG.

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Spotlight

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Spotlight - Education

University College of Estate Management, Reading University College of Estate Management (UCEM) has created one of the most sustainable educational buildings in the UK, with support from modular flooring specialist and sustainability champion, Interface.

UCEM requested that the design incorporated flooring products supplied by Interface, after being inspired by the organisation’s commitment to sustainable manufacturing.

Designer Mark von der Heide, Director, Schema Studio Date completed July 2016

'We train professionals across the construction industry about building sustainably every day.

Refurbishing our own offices with this goal in mind helps us to demonstrate to students how even an existing building can be transformed to reduce its impact on the environment.

'We’ve had an incredible response from everyone visiting Horizons. The refurbishment has given us a bright, fresh environment that really inspires team members, giving them a workplace they can really feel proud of. Most importantly, as one of the most sustainable education buildings in the UK, the building is a fantastic demonstration of what can be achieved, even with existing properties. Our team members are already using it as a learning tool for trainees, providing them with the knowledge they need to achieve similar success on their own projects in future.'

Rob Callaghan, UCEM’s Sustainability Officer

Drill Hall Library

Project size 2,000 sq m Date completed June 2016 Flooring Desso

Drill Hall Library, University of Greenwich, the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent For the refurbishment of the striking Drill Hall Library – a spacious and light space, complete with metal beams and exposed brick – Elite Flooring installed 2,000 sq m of DESSO AirMaster Blend 9980.

The dynamic carpet tiles contrast its industrial image and provide the perfect backdrop for breakout spaces, where collaboration is encouraged.

'The DESSO AirMaster Blend has been great in our very busy Drill Hall Library. Its modern look has been very well received with our student population. For a library full of books and computer equipment that tend to attract dust, installing a carpet tile that would improve indoor air quality was paramount, particularly due to the large open plan layout.

We chose DESSO AirMaster for its ability to reduce the concentration of fine dust indoors eight times more effectively than hard flooring, and four times better than standard carpet.'

Sourced: Mix Research, Duncan Peberdy – DroitwichNet, KI, AECOM, TES, Collegiate Design, The New Driver for Workplace Design by KI & Aecom

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PITCH TO PERFECT

D E L I V E R I N G O N E V E R - I N C R E A S I N G C L I E N T E X P E C TAT I O N S

ELENA PANAGIOTIDIS, PERKINS+WILL Elena moved to London from Australia in June 2006. Before joining Perkins+Will in January 2007, she worked for a boutique firm in Melbourne – studio dp p/l – as a Senior Concept Designer. Elena studied Design (Hons. Interior Design) at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, and Building Design & Construction at RMIT. Elena is currently working on key corporate client projects in Switzerland and London.

JUKE BOX: Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson

GURVINDER KHURANA, ALIGN Gurvinder Khurana is a Director of align, the consultancy she cofounded in 2014 with Nigel Tresise.

The company’s award-winning workplace portfolio includes projects for Cathay Pacific, Reed Elsevier, Eden McCallum and BrandOpus, with other commercial work including Omeara, a live music venue in Southwark, for Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons.

JUKE BOX: Closer by The Chainsmokers

DAVID WALKER, BDG Born in New Zealand and a big supporter of NZ wines, David settled in London after various adventures and travels. A qualified architect, he was a partner in an award winning Old Sreet studio for 19 years. A year with ID:SR followed – and he is now bringing experience, design excellence and fun to BDG. JUKE BOX: Something good by Utah Saints

LAURA WARHOLIC, GENSLER With over 15 years of experience, Laura is a Senior Technical Coordinator and Design Manager within the Workplace studio. Her experience has seen her deliver large and complex commercial projects throughout London and Europe for a wide range of clients.

She has a passion for detail and innovation in design.

JUKE BOX: Billie Jean by Michael

CHIARA CANTILENA, LOM ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN Chiara has been an architect and nterior designer at LOM Architecture and Design for over seven years. She has developed a special interest in materials and their innovative application in order to enhance user experience.

With a background in architecture, interiors and visual arts, she focuses on a careful study of details and perception of spaces that allows her to produce environments with a strong identity.

JUKE BOX: Come on Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners

JASON STUBBS, AECOM Jason Stubbs is Head of Interiors for UK & Ireland at AECOM with a 17 year career spanning across a mix of market sectors which include residential, healthcare but notably commercial office interiors.

Jason has extensive international experience on large scale new build projects, and is a problem solver and critical thinker.

JUKE BOX: Long Tall Sally by Little Richard

NICK HOFFMAN, COMO Nick has been with Como for over nine years and is currently overseeing projects for Adobe, Expedia and Tishman Speyer. Nick is heavily involved in all aspects of the project lifecycle – leading the bidding and preconstruction process, as well as supporting his teams through delivery and aftercare - ensuring a series of happy clients and resulting in a string of repeat business projects.

JUKE BOX: Juicy by Notorious B.I.G.

STEVE MAKRIS, ISG For over 16 years Steve worked at Overbury, with his final role being a Project Manager, before joining ISG in 2013 as Construction Director.

For over two years now Steve has been in the position of Divisional Director at ISG. JUKE BOX: Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana

Jackson

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

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The Roundtable

We are all sales people at heart and when the client says ‘Yes’ to your proposal, we suspect there is a frisson of excitement in anticipation of all the good things to follow. So, once you have told your boss, colleagues, family and Twitter followers the good news, you now must settle down to deliver.

Our latest roundtable assesses how clients are changing and are becoming ever more demanding. We look at the increased pressure on the whole of the project team to work together to go above and beyond for their client.

The big question is; has it ever been more difficult to deliver a scheme from pitch to perfectly happy client? In other words, have client expectations changed over the past few years?

Here's just a snippet of the fascinating session.

CHIARA: Technology has changed – it has moved forward – and clients now have access to media and all sorts of things that allow them to be much better informed.

They know what they want and when they have a space they often have a vision for it – whether that’s the right or the wrong vision.

This makes it easier in one way.

ELENA: I think it depends on the sector – especially the commercial sector that we work in. I think client expectations have been relatively similar over the past few years – I don’t think they have dramatically changed.

It comes down to money. What can they expect for the money they want to spend?

That’s the driving factor for a lot of our commercial clients.

ASHA GENAT: But they do want more bang for their buck. A big part of the demanding aspect here is that clients often want everything, regardless of what the budget might be. u

We are all demanding more within a compressed period of time – and something’s eventually got to give. There’s always someone who will say that they can do it faster and cheaper.

Steve Makris

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I do think clients are more demanding – and they’re more demanding because they’re more educated and they’re also more exposed to design through technology.

David Walker

ELENA: I’m not sure client expectations have changed – but they are certainly more demanding; more demanding not only in terms of your vision for a project but also more demanding of your time. You become more of a hand-holder than a service provider.

GURVINDER: I think hand-holding is part of the service. You’re offering a premium service – a top-notch design service – and most of the people around this table are working for big, global firms who are at the top of their game.

Therefore you have to be able to offer that.

Elena: You do – but that level of service is not factored into the price that the client wants to pay.

JASON: I think that’s quite interesting. I think global companies like ourselves are finding that the global footprint of our client has spread. The demand now is that they expect us to service the London market today – and tomorrow they expect us to be somewhere in the Middle East, where the level of expertise that a business like the Specialist Joinery Group could bring, simply isn’t there. The speed at which clients want us to turn

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things around has changed – going back to the media and being fed information almost instantaneously – but actually it’s a lot of effort to create something. It’s not an easy process and you often can’t put a time limit on that. So are clients more demanding? I’d say yes – but rightly so. Clients come to you because they believe that you’re the best that you can be.

CHIARA: You do come across some kinds of companies – like tech companies – who have a completely different way of dealing with designers. I think, typically as designers, we’re used to being around the table producing fantastic visions and we can offer an idea of what the final product will be. But when you’re dealing with tech companies, they’re often one step ahead of you – so you really do have to make that extra effort to meet their expectations. Otherwise you find that they’re not necessarily wowed by what you have produced for them.

STEVE: I do agree that sectors play a big part in this. I think we’re always trying to connect with ‘what’s next’ – we need to be

The Roundtable

can’t just throw out the solution that’s visually enticing and looks amazing on that Pinterest page. You have to make that bespoke effort for each client – so they get what they want but they get it just for them. Speaking of delivery, we need to use technology but we also need to fine-tune our decision making process.

because we’re always up against firms who are all looking to bring something different to the table. And that doesn’t come with a charge. We are all demanding more within a compressed period of time – and something’s eventually got to give. There’s always someone who will say that they can do it faster and cheaper. When are we going to say, ‘Right, enough is enough’?

DAVID: I do think clients are more demanding – and they’re more demanding because they’re more educated and they’re also more exposed to design through technology. They see things more – through Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest – it’s all out there. Even if they’re not fully educated, they’re visually educated. They see a lot of things that they like or that they don’t like and they are able to make judgements on these things. Sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes that’s different – because they see something and they say, ‘I like this, why won’t this work, why can’t we have this?’

You then have to spend the time and your knowledge and your experience to tell them, ‘Well it works in this case, but it may not work for you’. The important point here is that you

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LAURA: I agree with that education point.

Clients sometimes think they are educated on a lot of things – but in reality they are not as educated as they think and we then have to spend more time explaining why or why not we may or may not be able to do something. Trying to convince them of these things takes time. It also takes time for them to value our opinion and to trust us – to trust that we’re doing the right thing.

NICK: A lot of people have touched on this already but I think the speed at which clients want things done now is not necessarily a u

There have always been demanding clients. There’s always been that one client who wants to be there through every single detail and though every step of the way.

Chiara Cantilena

reflection of the clients, it is a reflection of society. We’re now living in this instant society where you can press a button and have a cab in front of you in three minutes rather than waiting half an hour for one to come down from the train station! It is all moving in that direction. There’s little patience any more, whether that’s clients or society as a whole; everyone wants everything now – and they want it cheaper.

ASHA GENAT: There have always been demanding clients. There’s always been that one client who wants to be there through every single detail and though every step of the way. I think the onus is on us as designers to manage them in a different way – to make the best use of their time and our time.

There’s little patience any more, whether that’s clients or society as a whole; everyone wants everything now – and they want it cheaper.

Nick Hoffman

ELENA: In a lot of our work we have a filter between us and the client, which is the project management arm. The project manager can offer the world to the client – but they don’t factor in the amount of time it takes for us to deliver that. So we are being pushed not only by the client, but also by the PM’s to get it done quickly – and the PM’s simply don’t care about the details! It’s a discussion we have with project managers all the time.

DAVID: It’s not just about speed of delivery.

I think a lot of clients –and I’ve experienced this a lot – leave decisions until the very last minute. It’s not us leaving the decision until the very last minute – we’re led by the client.

GURVINDER: Again this is systematic of society. They don’t give you what you need but they still expect that the timescales won’t change. We tend to deal with MD’s and CEO’s and we’re constantly asking for their time – and they're trying to deliver their own business strategies. So it becomes a real tussle – and because of technology and everything now being instant, you can’t see any respite from

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The Roundtable

this. It does make a difference when your client understands the process – in other words working with creative companies.

People who have that creative background will – sometimes – cut you more slack because they understand the pressure of deadlines.

CIARAN: Going back to the original point of whether expectations have changed over the past five years, of course they have changed.

If it hadn’t changed, we’d all be out of a job essentially. Things are changing constantly.

Design creativity has always been a major catalyst for Specialist Joinery Group’s growth and development. When you push the boundaries in design, we respond with investment in our people and manufacturing capability to ensure that we can continue to deliver innovative solutions that achieve the vision. It’s exciting to think of the potential for change over the next 50 years and the role that we can play in that.

SEAN: At this level, when you’re ‘at the coalface’ actually manufacturing products, you have to react. You have to constantly react and evolve. We have all agreed that towards the end of a project timescales are always pushed, but as specialists we can never compromise on the quality of the finished product. At the end of the programme, there can be a lot of congestion and we have to be able to respond by resourcing the project all over again – ensuring that perfect delivery and finish that we set out to achieve.

CONCLUSION: We often talk about how technology and information enhance our work and our lives – but it clearly comes with a cost. Creativity takes time – whether you’re a designer, a contractor or a manufacturer.

These skills shouldn’t be taken for granted or treated as commodities. And this should come from the top – from the end user. Have expectations changed? Definitely. It is crucial that, as technology continues to evolve, these expectations don’t become so great that they break the creative process. l Thanks to our friends and at Specialist Joinery Group for their support in this Round Table and their welcome hospitality after. Our thanks also go to AECOM for hosting the Round Table.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

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Spotlight

In Short Incorporated in 2001.

Award-winning service provider of office renovation and interior construction services.

All projects delivered to a minimum standard of SKA Bronze.

Clients include American Express, Hewlett Packard, GlaxoSmithKline, Ernst & Young, PwC, JP Morgan and Virgin.

Ian and MArck, Soho Square

Skansen Group comprises Skansen (traditional), Skapare (D&B), Dalen (sustainability assessment and consultancy) and Teknik Solutions (M&E).

Until we were sat chatting with Skansen Group Chief Executive Ian PigdenBennett and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatam, we had no idea where the name of the business originated. Okay, we could have guessed that it was of Scandinavian origin (that clearly doesn’t take a mastermind!) and maybe that it was Swedish and linked with Stockholm, but we wouldn’t have got any further than that.

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Profile - Skansen ‘The name actually comes from the owner’s favourite childhood place – Skansen Zoo in Stockholm,’ Ian informs us. For those (like us) who don’t know, Skansen was the first openair museum and zoo in Sweden and is located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm.

The Skansen that we are really interested in right now though is an interior construction company that aims to set new standards in the high-quality refurbishment and fit-out of commercial properties.

As a leading office fit-out contractor and Design & Build company in London, Skansen is dedicated to creating outstanding working environments that inspire motivation, creativity and confidence in its clients and employees – and, as an award winning fit-out company, we want to know more about not just the business, but the people behind it.

As Group Chief Executive, Ian PigdenBennett is responsible for driving the vision of the business and achieving sustained growth.

His background and experience is in both large corporate FTSE 100 businesses and in mid-market Private Equity backed businesses working within consultancy, construction, engineering and support services sectors.

Mark Tatam has over 25 years’ experience in the construction industry with a successful

track record of both refurbishment and fit-out projects. He has a very good understanding of all aspects of the industry and by focusing on and exceeding client expectations, is also able to take pride in securing repeat business opportunities on a consistent basis.

‘Skansen was founded in 2001,’ Ian tells us.

‘We have a Swedish heritage and the company went on to do really well until around 2010 – at the end of the recession – when it had a bit of rough time. I came in as Chief Exec in 2014 to restructure and rebuild the business.

‘What Skansen is known for in the UK is largely traditional work but, along the way, did a lot of work towards sustainability and is actually the founder of the SKA rating – an environmental assessment tool for sustainable fit-outs. That is very much part of our DNA and is critical to our heritage and for us going

forward with sustainable projects for our clients.

‘When we started to turn the business around and got it heading in the right direction again, we looked to enter into some new markets – predominantly Design & Build – and this is where Mark came in with his real skill of running such a business. We also started up a Mechanical & Electrical business – so we were in charge of our own destiny and offered a unique selling point.

‘So now as Skansen Group we offer Skansen – traditional, Skapare (Swedish for Creator) – Design & Build, Dalen (Swedish for Valley) – our in-house sustainability assessment and consultancy business and Teknik Solutions (Swedish for Engineering Solutions) – our own in-house design and delivery of Mechanical & Electrical solutions – which all hooks into u

The design capabilities of most of the leading D&B firms are now equal to those of a lot of the architects – if not better.

Firms like ourselves attract great talent as they get to be hands-on with major projects.

Kambi UK HQ in Hammersmith

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Spotlight

ROK by Jim Hamliton

INTRODUCING THE NEW EXCLUSIVE DESIGNER FURNITURE COLLECTION FROM KNIGHTSBRIDGE. The ROK relies on quality craftsmanship and precise detailing to create structured corners and junctions. This collection uses simplistic design, to create a robust furniture range perfect for an ofďŹ ce environment. www.knightsbridge-furniture.co.uk 68

Profile - Skansen

St Andrew’s Street Reception EC4A

St Andrew’s Street Reception EC4A

the brand and heritage of the group. That has all worked very well.

'We’ve won some very good D&B projects – some of which we’ll be entering into the Mixology awards!

‘The business started well last year but we did experience procrastination in decision making as we approached Brexit. It felt as though a lot of our clients who had international presence or larger investment funds took a deep breath before committing.

Then, after Brexit, I remember there was a deathly silence in London. I think the timing of it really did impact – we saw huge delays as the aftershock rolled into the summer holiday season. We saw jobs that we were told were going to be awarded put on hold until September.

‘It did have an immediate effect on us – but the vast majority of those jobs hadn’t gone away, they’d just been put on hold. We lost three or four months of procurement initially, but that’s now catching up.’ u

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Profile - Skansen ‘Out of eight or nine jobs we were negotiating, there were only a few jobs that didn’t happen,’ Mark admits, ‘but the other five or six did go ahead.’

‘I’d say it’s a fairly buoyant market with just a touch of hesitancy right now,’ Ian adds.

Without wishing to disagree with our gracious, open and honest hosts, we’re not sure every business feels that way right now.

The Skansen model is clearly an attractive proposition for prospective clients. ‘As Ian has already said, we are able to produce a tailormade package, depending on what the client wants to do,’ Mark considers. ‘I think D&B as a phrase has morphed, depending on who you’re talking to. I’ve been in D&B since 1991 – so a long time now – and it very much was what it said; you took the project from cradle to grave. D&B today can be much more project management and architect led – and to a certain degree is then often thrown into the contractor’s lap with all the risk attached!

‘From the pure end user’s point of view we’re very happy to say that we design and build. We have our in-house design team, so we have the option to work alongside others or do the entire design package in-house.

‘The design capabilities of most of the leading D&B firms are now equal to those of a lot of the architects – if not better. Firms like ourselves attract great talent as they get to be hands-on with major projects. As an example, one of our talented designers, who is now part of our team, was working with one of the major architects and initially did not join us – some months later we had a drink and she said that all she’d been doing for the last six months was detailing small areas – the rest is history!

‘The D&B world has certainly moved on massively.’

How much of an impact does the addition of the M&E division have on the group’s offering?

‘It’s a huge USP for me – nobody else is really doing it,’ Mark enthuses. ‘It almost harks back to D&B in the 1990’s when firms would say that they have in-house design and clients were a bit skeptical.

‘Having the in-house M&E has been a real job winner. The biggest issues that you generally have with any fit-out project is with the M&E and we’re able to respond and react immediately and with complete confidence in our team.’ u

PizzaExpress, London HQ in Fitzrovia, London

The biggest issues that you generally have with any fit-out project is with the M&E and we’re able to respond and react immediately and with complete confidence in our team.

PizzaExpress, London HQ in Fitzrovia, London

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Spotlight

SIMPLICITY I S T H E U L T I M AT E FORM OF S O P H I S T I C AT I O N

T H E G C 1 S I T / S TA N D E L E C T R I C H E I G H T A D J U S TA B L E T I L T T O P TA B L E

www.gof.co.uk

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Profile - Skansen

‘It makes us even more sustainable, more efficient and more cost-effective,’ Ian continues. ‘We do a lot more value engineering – and this certainly gives us much more of a competitive edge.’

So, what are the major challenges facing the modern, leading D&B firm? ‘I think what has crept into D&B is the arrival of unqualified consultants that now try to ‘sit inbetween' the D&B firms and the client,’ Mark reveals.

‘There is a type of consultant who lets the D&B business do all the work – exactly as they would have done if the D&B company was left to their own devices. They are there to give the client comfort, but to be honest, they’re not really offering real value – I think this is the

Whereas we used to be almost exclusively central London, we now see London as being anywhere inside the M25...

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biggest issue we’ve got in this market. They’re simply trying to facilitate the D&B experience but adding very little.’

Before we say our farewells, we ask our hosts where they see both the business and the market heading in the next 12-24 months. ‘I can see continued growth in the market – both in the traditional and D&B/ turnkey marketplace,’ Ian tells us. ‘For us as a business, we’re seeing some of our work coming from outside of London now. Whereas we used to be almost exclusively central London, we now see London as being anywhere inside the M25 and we’re also seeing much more work in the towns outside of there – anywhere from the A3 round to the M40.’

Help to fund your innovations With a wave of innovation taking place in the world of interiors, companies developing new products or techniques need to be aware of the support available, say R&D tax relief experts Jumpstart A revolution is underway in the world of commercial interiors. Traditional methods and materials are giving way to new technologies. Architects and specifiers are increasingly pushing the boundaries and product manufacturers too are looking to innovate to reduce cost and meet demand.

Developing new designs and products inevitably incurs an element of risk and may require major investment.

The good news is that in many cases, companies can claim significant amounts in R&D tax credits to help offset the cost.

Kambi UK HQ in Hammersmith

What is driving change?

Until now the architecture and construction sectors have understandably preferred to stick to the tried and tested. Innovations have focused more on the look and style, rather than the underlying techniques.

Now a range of pressures is driving innovation.

They include the need to deliver more units at lower cost, the rising price of raw materials, the need to improve sustainability and reduce carbon use, and the shortage of skilled labour which is likely to get worse after the UK’s departure from the EU. New materials and technologies could offer solutions.

Companies involved in innovation need to ensure that they claim their full entitlement in R&D tax credits.

What projects would qualify?

While the rules are complex, typical projects may include developing new or improved building materials or modular construction techniques, substituting one material for another, new energy efficiency systems, acoustic dampening within a building and so on.

In general, they are those which are beyond the bounds of existing knowledge, where the existing data and design rules do not apply, or which involve experimenting or prototyping. It is best to get expert advice in each case.

‘We have seen projects emerging in other areas and the work might be out there, but it is still generated by London-based property companies,’ Mark adds. ‘If you talk to investment agents at the moment, there’s a real lack of deals being done. There’s quite a lot of stock that’s come to the market in the City in the last couple of years that’s still not full, therefore people aren’t spending as much on speculative work.

‘Over those past few years there hasn’t been a lot of speculative work done out in the regions. That stock is now getting tired and needs refreshing. They desperately need to do something to let it.’

We know a firm who can help with that! l

Jumpstart is the UK’s leading R&D tax credits expert with in-depth experience in architecture and construction.

Ian Wolfendale Business Development Manager

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tel: 0131 240 2900 | mob: 07531 448 053 tel: 0370 218 5414 www.jumpstartuk.co.uk

Profile - Spacelab

When leading architecture and design firm Spacelab kicked off its 15th anniversary celebrations in style, inviting friends and partners to join the team in King’s Cross for a party likely to be remembered for the next 15 years, it got us reminiscing.

Space Exploration

In Short Founded in 2002.

Founders Andrew Budgen and Nathan Lonsdale first met at college.

London-based team of 50 architects, designers and workplace consultants.

Group comprises Spacelab, Urbanlab and the Lab Foundation.

The people behind Spacelab’s vision, founding partners, Nathan Lonsdale and Andrew Budgen

Multi-award winning firm, picking up RIBA, BCO and BD Interior Architect of the Year awards.

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Despite these teething problems, more success was to follow, and soon they were up to four RIBA Design Awards – one awarded for the design of Great Ormond Street Hospital’s The Orangery in 2005. ‘At the time, we couldn't believe (and still can’t) that such a young company would be selected for the award,’ Nathan recalls.

The project was also shortlisted for the prestigious Stephen Lawrence Award and mid-listed for Britain’s top architectural accolade, the Stirling Prize.

Other highlights of this 15 year journey include scooping the national BCO Award for best refurbished/recycled workplace in 2012 for the transformation of Virgin Money’s HQ in Edinburgh and the BD Interior Architect of the Year Award in 2014.

The story behind Andrew and Nathan’s friendship and working partnership goes back further still. ‘We first met at college in Birmingham. After that I was working u Spacelab’s design studio in London has 50 people working in an agile way

Spacelab are working with ASOS to develop their new London headquarters in Greater London House, Camden.

Moving 2,500 people to a much more fluid and collaborative way of working

We’ve been fortunate enough to know Spacelab’s founding partners Andrew Budgen and Nathan Lonsdale for some time now and, thinking back, aside from reveling in each other’s trials and triumphs in our shared love of football*, it’s when we’ve been able to celebrate each other’s professional successes that’s brought us together over the years.

This night was one such occasion.

During that fantastic 15th birthday event, Andrew and Nathan took their guests on their own trip down ‘memory lane’, looking back at the highlights of the past decade and a half.

In 2002, Spacelab’s first project, Westlake House, was featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs programme, with the project picking up a RIBA Design Award the following year.

‘It was a little box in the middle of a field,’ Nathan grins. ‘I remember Kevin McLeod asking us, ‘So boys, in your commercial life, are you always on time and on budget?’ We then stand there, really seriously, and say, ‘Kevin, we’re always on time and always on budget!’

‘Then, if you fast forward, there’s Kevin saying, ‘So, we’re now two months late into the project and £100,000 over budget!’’

*Just for the record – and remaining purely unbiased – Nathan is a huge fan of the mighty Liverpool FC. Andrew likes some other team called ‘Manchester City’.

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Spotlight

ENGINEERING EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION SINCE 1946 Helping you work better anywhere

www.bisley.com 76

Profile - Spacelab

Spacelab worked with Haymarket Media Group to successfully wrap space around their business strategy. This resulted in 1,000 people accommodated in 46,000sqft.

All working in an agile way

I still remember the two of us sitting in the pub one day and Andy suddenly said, ‘Our kid, I’ve got it – I’ve got the name: Spacelab!

for a company called Cunningham Associates,’ Nathan tells us. ‘My main client was EMAP – and the Head of Property there was leaving to set up an estates business within Anglian Water. I was asked to come along with them and, about three months in, I phoned Andy and said, ‘We’ve got a great opportunity to start up our own little business here’. He said, ‘You’ve got to be joking – I’m working on the Urbis project in Manchester!’

I really did see this as a great opportunity to start our own business within Anglian Water and then, eventually, to head off on our own.

‘So, after a little bit of persuading, Andy came up and joined me. We spent more time in public toilets in the Anglian region, picking out wall colours, than we did anything else!

We eventually changed things and by 2002 we found that about 80% of our work was coming from outside of the group – and we decided it was time to fly the nest.

‘I still remember the two of us sitting in the pub one day and Andy suddenly said, ‘Our kid, I’ve got it – I’ve got the name: Spacelab!’

‘I thought, ‘That’s a little bit different!’

We’ve always believed that architecture is not

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about egos, it’s about people. We didn’t want to go down that Budgen Lonsdale & Partners route.

‘We wanted to create something different – to create a real brand. Today we’re 50-strong.

Two years ago, when we moved into our space, we were 20. We’ve not got ‘new business’ people – we never have. We never thought we needed it. Our philosophy is that if we just do good work, then that will naturally bring us more work. We just want to do the right thing and trust people – and it’s also about respect.

You have to respect the people you work with.

One of the big beliefs that Andy and myself have always had is that Spacelab is not about us – it is about the people we work with, and it’s about the team. We have a young, talented team and they are so good – we’re really proud of them.’

‘I think we’ve always tried to be really honest,’ Andrew considers, ‘and I believe the people we work with find that appealing. The culture starts with us, but our guys have that same belief and ethos; it’s about breaking the status quo. We all believe the research-backed nature of our work does this. We all believe u

Profile - Spacelab

Weslake House

The Lab Foundation’s first project, working with Homerton Baptist Church, is to deliver a number of spaces back to the local community

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it creates great spaces which both work for people and look good.’

And as they stand and talk in front of their (many) friends and partners in the industry, you can genuinely feel the connection between the current team around the room.

They’re all present; they know their roots, but more than that, they know the part they play in the next chapter. And, like their leaders before them, they seem to actually really like each other.

The warmth and emotion even gets to the two guys; at certain points both find their voices cracking, ever so slightly of course, (and going against the grain of their northern DNA) as they acknowledge the close-knit team’s support and successes.

To mark the 15th birthday, Spacelab have launched an exciting new brand identity, together with a new website, however, the firm’s mission remains the same today as it did back in 2002 – to create spaces for people to feel good and be great.

‘But we don’t want to stop there,’ Nathan tells us. ‘We want to revolutionise how people use and view space. It’s not about the designer. We’re here to design great spaces that solve problems, support individuals and help them achieve more.’

Which brings us nicely to the big announcement of the night – the launch of the Lab Foundation. u

Spotlight

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The Lab Foundation’s latest project in Rochester Square, Camden is giving an art space back to the local community

The culture starts with us, but our guys have that same belief and ethos; it’s about breaking the status quo.

Under this new banner, the firm will donate 10% of their profits – in time and skills as well as cash – to projects that strive to empower individuals and communities within the arts, housing, education and social welfare. ‘We’ve been thinking about this for the last 18 months,’ Andrew tells us. ‘It really stems from the fact that we started to look back at the business and what we’ve done over the past 15 years. We thought, ‘What are we going to do next?’

‘We’ve been very lucky in our careers and we wanted to do something where we could give back – giving back space to those who don’t have those opportunities.’

‘We wanted this to be at the heart of everything,’ Nathan continues, ‘at the heart of Spacelab and also at the heart of Urbanlab – our development company.

‘We’re now on site with a new build development in Hackney, where we are working with the local Baptist church to provide 24 flats. We’re giving them back a new church, a new community centre to support the local area and a café so that they are selfsufficient – and they’ve not paid a penny.

‘We’re also doing a development project in

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Stratford for 17 flats and we’ve just gone into planning for nine flats and a new Community Use Space in Camden, which will provide 3,000 sq ft of community arts space,’ Andrew explains.

‘About a third of it is studios with subsidised rent for artists to use and then two thirds is community arts space, which might be used by kids from local schools or by yoga groups or for community events.

‘The idea is that the artists will have a studio space at an affordable rent but will give a few of hours of their time to get involved in the management of the events or to run workshops for the homeless or to work directly with the local schools.

‘We do have all these amazing skill sets within the business and we feel that this is a great way to utilise those – rather than just giving money. Giving some of our time and those skills just made sense to us. The idea is that the Lab Foundation is given the space by Urbanlab – the developer – at half the cost of its value and then, over 15 years, the mortgage is paid off by the rent from the studios, and then it’s granted in perpetuity to the Foundation. So the real goal is to make everything the Lab Foundation does self-sustainable.’ l

Profile - Spacelab

‘I would love to see the Foundation grow and go from strength to strength,’ Nathan enthuses. ‘The more spaces we can bring into the Foundation, the more opportunity we’re going to be able to give everybody to better themselves. It’s quite a simple formula really – and everyone is on board. Our guys love it.

They are so up for it. We’re all aiming for the same goal.’

‘The idea is that the Lab Foundation becomes self-sustainable – and ultimately makes a profit, which then goes straight back in,’ Andrew explains. ‘Therefore, it’s not reliant on third-party donations – however, if someone wanted to make a donation with a community interest company that’s been set up here, then they can. Obviously, we’d be more than happy to accept donations to develop it further – whether that’s time or money.’

And so the Spacelab story continues. From humble beginnings (naturally, in the pub), to being in the enviable position of using their success to give back to others. It’s clear the Spacelab movement, like the inspiration for its name, knows few boundaries.

Watch this Space(lab).l

The Orangery

Design

Management

Delivery

creating great places for people to work since 1996 T: 0161 402 3340

W: www.opus-4.com 81

E: hello@opus-4.com

BREAKING NEWS Since we launched this fine tome some 17 and a bit years ago, we’ve racked up thousands and thousands of miles, many of which have been achieved thanks to London Underground. We’ve never counted, but the number of underground stations we’ve emerged from must now be close to three figures.

In Short AMC Networks is an international media company and distributor of channels, content and video services.

Originally named Chellomedia and was part of Liberty Global.

In 2013, it was sold to AMC Networks and was renamed AMC Networks International.

Channels and feeds reach more than 380 million homes.

Hit TV shows include Fear the Walking Dead, Mad Men and Breaking Bad.

A new impressive entrance worthy of the AMC brand

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Case Study - AMC Networks

New staircase and 'Times Square' reference video wall

Main reception area and banquette seating

The on-site cinema allows AMC to screen their new launches both to staff and clients. Staff also use it for presentations and after-hours film clubs

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The latest station to add to our list is NW6’s Queen’s Park – and we have to say that we’re impressed. This is very clearly one of those London boroughs on the up, with its artisan bakeries, coffee shops and gastropubs.

Indeed, following just a short walk past these tempting merchants, we find our destination – the new home of AMC Networks.

The televisual amongst you will recognise the name. And so you should. This is the company that brings us some of the most loved and critically acclaimed TV shows of the past 20 years, including Fear the Walking Dead, Mad Men and Breaking Bad. When AMC bought Zone Media a few years ago, the decision was made to consolidate its staff from three different sites in Queen’s Park into one building in the area – 111 Salusbury Road.

The business now works across three floors (a total of 23,000 sq ft) on the site, which boasts a dramatic central atrium, state-of-the-art technology and a number of facilities previously unavailable to the staff.

Speaking of staff, AMC had a number of people who had been with the business for up to 12 years, but also a number of newer staff members and freelancers. Having been split across the different sites, they were divided across the three silos, with some nervous about the move and changes it would bring.

‘They are incredibly caring people and a warm group to be involved with, however they were all concerned for ‘their family’s’ u

Case Study - AMC Networks wellbeing,’ Morgan Lovell’s Marianne Paulsen tells us as we approach 111.

As Marianne points out, the original signage for what is the middle of the three original AMC buildings, we’re suddenly made fully aware of just how great a transformation this is for her client. The new signage is bold and contemporary, and leads visitors into a bright, open space that boasts a smart reception desk, a dramatic central staircase and cool breakout/café space.

‘Formerly, you walked in a side door into a lobby, while glazing closed off the atrium,’ Marianne explains. ‘It was originally developed for shared residency. There was a fishpond in the middle and no staircase.

The idea behind this is to say ‘Welcome to AMC – come in and be part of our story’. We wanted everyone to be able to come in and immediately be ‘in it’ – and because we’re bringing together three buildings, this is about being part of the one group.’

We’re joined by no less than four of the AMC team – Jay Hunter, VP of Information Technology, Chief Financial Officer Rob Stewart, Facilities Manager Darius Dodd and IT Manager Nigel Proctor – who are happy to tell us more about this amazing transformation.

We’re kindly offered coffee and, taking a perch in the café area, begin by asking about this impressive new facility. ‘It’s a big difference from what we did have,’ Rob tells us. ‘We didn’t have anything like this previously.’

‘We didn’t have a canteen at all in the old office,’ Jay smiles. ‘It’s amazing how having good coffee really does oil the wheels.

Essentials Client AMC Networks Interior Design Morgan Lovell Project Manager Cushman Wakefield Systems Furniture Techo Task Seating Orangebox Soft Seating Naughtone Meeting/Breakout Furniture Vitra, ICF Joinery Manufactured by Design Flooring Milliken, Forbo, Bolon

We had quite a few aims; we wanted to attract the right talent and create the right spaces for our people, and

we also wanted somewhere we could bring our clients into.

Staff and visitors are all encouraged to use the ground floor teapoint both for informal meetings and as a breakout space

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view from middle of staircase to ground floor

It’s little things like this that make all the difference.

‘This is all about improving productivity and about retaining the talent – we’re very dependent on getting the right pool of people.

‘We previously had a set of three quite traditional buildings and I have to say that it wasn’t as presentable as we’d like for our clients – and that’s putting it mildly.

We had quite a few aims; we wanted to attract the right talent and create the right spaces for our people, and we also wanted somewhere we could bring our clients into.

First impressions do count and what we had previously is not how we wanted to start a business relationship.’

‘I think Marianne has done a great job in achieving that initial impression,’ Rob agrees, ‘and the flow of the space works really well here. We’ve already been able to recruit u www.kinnarps.co.uk 69 Turnmill Street, London, EC1M 5RR

Case Study

max_

Simple to specify, Simple to use_ www.verco.co.uk Head Office: Chapel Lane, High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HP12 4BG Verco London Hub: 67 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1R 5BL

At the heart of the Max task chair lies a sophisticated synchronised mechanism with automatic tension adjustment. Recognising that we are all individuals, we aim to take the complexity out of selecting the right task chair. Simple, versatile and adaptable seating should be the standard for all ergonomically designed chairs.

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Case Study - AMC Networks

new people, including someone very senior from this industry – who walked into here and was actually very pleasantly surprised that he’d come from a decent office into this space.’

Jay tells us that, as little as four years ago, AMC was a US-only business that had a studio, made content and had a series of channels in the US. ‘It also had a distribution business that sent the content up to the satellites,’ he explains. ‘Like a lot of other major businesses, AMC then looked to expand internationally and acquired five international businesses – four in Europe, of which this is one. So what we’ve been doing over those past few years is to leverage the brand and come out to the market and bring our content and channels to a wider audience.

‘This office is about us resetting the way we operate really. Aside from the aesthetics, it really had to be super functional. We really wanted to design out a lot of the friction – not just the IT, but the way the whole business functions. We needed it to be really lean and also easy for our people to use.’

Morgan Lovell took AMC through a detailed workplace consultancy, including time utilisation studies, surveys, interviews and workshops, before undertaking a vigorous design process, starting on site in June 2016, after six months of collaboration.

Marianne reveals that the project was phased, as AMC was already occupying the ground floor. The team completed Phase 1 (1st and 2nd floors) between June and November, before moving staff up onto these floors and commencing the ground floor works in November, and finally handing over at the end of January.

The project has increased the overall capacity – with the original three buildings providing just over 20,000 sq ft. This, together with smart space planning, has enabled AMC to introduce a number of exciting new facilities for the 190 staff and visitors alike. ‘Some of that space is for the cinema, canteen, teapoints, IT helpdesk and breakout space,’ Rob tells us. ‘It was very difficult for people to mix and to do business together. If you looked at how our ground floor used to be, people sat back-to-back and if two people were to exit their seats at the same time they would clash – it was so tight. Even though the footprint, excluding those added facilities, is about the same, we now have so much space – and that’s the byproduct of using a designer who can help us achieve that.’

‘We kept shoving desks in, as it were, and that worked for the business at the u

A new intention to avoid eating at desks has resulted in most of the staff coming together at lunchtime to eat

Colours, textures and patterns add depth and interest to the whole project

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Teapoint on first floor

Ground floor teapoint and breakfast bar

Case Study - AMC Networks

It’s amazing how having good coffee really does oil the wheels. It’s little things like this that make all the difference.

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UK LEADING FURNITURE MANUFACTURER t +44 (0)1685 352222 sales@triumphfurniture.com www.triumphfurniture.com

Teapoint on first floor

time,’ Darius reveals, ‘but people weren’t interacting very well, the space didn’t flow and nobody knew where we were. It’s so much better now.’

AMC has also invested heavily in its IT provision, including laptop rollouts to increase mobility, and easy-interface AV in every meeting room and several of the open collaboration spaces.

The amazing cinema, which sits alongside the ground floor café space, boats a Dolby Atmos Cinema with 3m screen, over 1,000 Watts of audio power and 4K Blu-ray Playback, allowing the team here to host programme launches and staff viewings inhouse, as opposed to renting space off site.

Two quad video walls on the lift shaft in the main atrium, along with more than 50 TV screens dotted throughout the floors, ensure all staff can watch AMC shows all day, everyday. This, we’re told, has already helped the team spot continuity issues and other problems before shows are aired.

Nigel, meanwhile, is more than happy to show us the new plant facilities and back-up generator. This is serious stuff – and vital to what this business does.

Heading up the central staircase, we find smart breakout/teapoints and spacious circulatory open floorplates. There are a couple of particularly interesting elements here, including ‘max security’ editing suites (the last thing AMC needs is new shows being leaked before release) and a series of black desks. This isn’t simply a décor choice; due to the fact that there are staff here constantly checking and editing TV shows, the black desks – together with lowered lighting levels – reduces glare and provides far better conditions for this dedicated work.

Black desks? Our Editor is already searching online for one of his own! l

@triumph1946

PHONIC

Visit our London Show-Space G17, 31 Clerkenwell Close, EC1R 0AT

Photo credit: Kate Berry

Reception lobby area

Something

in the Air It’s amazing where you can find

inspiration. We’ve just sat down to

consider an opening for this feature

when a radio advert in the background

proclaims, ‘Escape to the tranquility…’

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Strangely, tranquility is a word already going around our heads. We’ll set the scene for you; it’s 24 hours earlier and we’re in the West End, walking up Regent Street from Piccadilly Circus. Needless to say, the streets are full of people, with local workers keen to make the most of their lunch hours mingling with tourists. Hardly tranquil, we can almost hear you say.

Well, thankfully, we quickly take a turn into Air Street, which feels like an oasis. There are a few ‘locals’ here, but the tourists are suddenly either ahead or behind us. This is about as quiet and as tranquil as you’ll find on the streets of the West End. In fact, such is the reduction of human traffic here, we’re able to spot align Director and Co-founder Gurvinder Khurana approaching from some way off.

Following their multi-award-winning office project for BrandOpus and their colourful Tech City scheme for scientific-info rising stars Mendeley, Gurvinder and the busy align team have now completed a very different style of project for Eden McCallum. The new scheme responds to a brief to design a ‘quiet,

Case Studies - Eden McCallum

In Short

The fourth small meeting room has one wall covered in Barneby Gates 'Fresco Bird' paper

Serving 300+ clients globally, with 1,500+ international consultants.

Founding Partners are Liann Eden and Dena McCallum.

Clients include a third of the FTSE100, a third of the world’s largest private equity firms, and 50 of the global Fortune 500.

Eden McCallum has delivered more than 1,800 projects in strategy, operations, transformation and organisation, working in all major sectors and regions of the world.

The manifestation film applied to the outer glass of the corridor wall was designed in-house by align

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understated and sophisticated’ environment, which would serve as the new London HQ for these leading management consultants.

‘After the exuberance of our last two workplace schemes, it was really interesting to engage with such a contrasting brief,’ Gurvinder tells us. ‘The challenge was to create a suite of offices that were full of subtle statements and which met the requirement for a ‘fresh, interesting, human-scale and unregimented’ space.’

Eden McCallum is a highly successful, pioneering management consultancy firm, formed in 2000 by Founding Partners Liann Eden and Dena McCallum, with offices in London, Amsterdam and Zürich. Clients include a third of the FTSE 100; a third of the world’s largest private equity firms and 50 of the global Fortune 500 companies. Formerly based in offices in Kensington Church Street, the move to the new space represents a launch pad for the next stage of Eden McCallum’s corporate development.

The location for the new offices is a 8,715 sq ft single-storey space on the 5th floor of a newly-redeveloped Crown Estates building.

The premises benefit from great natural light, with windows the full length of both sides, plus a sympathetic base build delivered by the landlord’s architects, featuring limed oak and good quality architectural lighting.

Eden McCallum required an unregimented workspace that worked at a human-scale.

Therefore, the heart of the scheme here is all about smart space planning and the creation of a range of different-sized meeting rooms, each with its own subtly different design treatment.

The space plan includes an open plan office area with integrated meeting zones, breakout spaces and private phone booth areas for discreet conversations with clients and consultants. These are particularly important because Eden McCallum’s business model is all about offering the very best independent consultants, with only one in ten applicants making the grade, meaning discreet and rigorous interviewing plays a major role in the hiring process.

The scheme features a deliberate and considered choice of materials, balancing a respect for the base build detailing with the integration of the client’s needs for a human, sophisticated and warm spatial experience.

‘We were asked to pitch relatively late on in the process, as part of a three-way pitch,’ Gurvinder recalls. ‘This was a design and build contract but the service is still as if traditional and without compromise. We find that u

Case Study

Science is beautiful.

Vessel by Todd Bracher.

Launching at Clerkenwell Design Week 2017 92

Case Study - Eden McCallum people get a really tailored solution when they work in this way.

‘This is quite a transformation for Eden McCallum. Moving more central, this is about them letting their own clients know that they are really stepping up.’

As we’ve already mentioned, this entire area of the West End feels as though it has stepped up – and Gurvinder took inspiration from this journey into the new Eden McCallum space. ‘As a user experience, you come into a building – especially a multi-tenanted building – and there is often little or no relationship between the spaces. We like to give consideration to that relationship as people journey through from arrival to destination – and that’s why we picked subtle detailing in the timber as you enter the space here. It subliminally connects the experience.

‘We were also involved in helping dress the space – so we went the whole hog and went shopping with the client, bringing in all the cushions and lamps.’

The scheme begins with simplicity and calm via a neutral, off-white base palette. Interest

Essentials Client Eden McCallum Interior Architects and Designers align Main Contractor Virtus Workstations Knoll Task Seating Interstuhl Meeting Booths Verco Meeting Room Seating Vitra Meeting Room Tables Orangebox Reception Visitor Furniture Stua

After the exuberance of our last two workplace schemes, it was really interesting to engage with

Visito seating area featuring Nuba seats and Eclipse tables

Flooring Bolon, Shaw Contract Group, Chroma Writable Wallcoverings Tektura

such a contrasting brief.

Break-out hub and kitchen

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is added by subtle interjections of texture and colour in a range of pale, oceanic blues and greens, as well as a wall of individual feature wallpaper in the majority of the meeting rooms, along with an impressive range of furniture, quirky accessories and the odd touch of vintage.

‘The flow of the varied-size meeting spaces, arranged around two-thirds of the perimeter, prevents the overall environment having any feeling of regimentation,’ Gurvinder tells us as we begin a tour of the scheme. ‘Their previous space was a little bit soulless. We wanted to inject a more personal, human but still professional ambience. Everything’s been extremely considered in that respect. We’ve really tried to consider that journey all the way through – so each element works with each other. The nature-inspired manifestations, for example, are subtle and relatively conservative and yet bring flow and energy – and energy was something that we really wanted to bring to this space.’

The journey here starts with the lift delivering visitors directly into reception, where a bespoke Corian desk, with Eden McCallum branding set into the front in antiqued bronze lettering, gives the immediate impression of a company that is solid and established, yet contemporary.

The backdrop to the desk is a wall of white, semi-transparent panel blinds whilst, to the left, a smoked oak feature wall has thin, inset bronze strips, adding warmth, linking to u

Case Study - Eden McCallum

The booth allows for discreet conversation in the heart of the open-plan space

the bronze reception desk lettering and also subtly referencing the antique bronze that, as previously mentioned, visitors first see in the building’s downstairs reception.

The flooring is a considered mix of finishes and styles, which are used to demarcate different zones and include woven grey vinyl from Bolon for the meeting area circulation corridor, plus a sophisticated, darkerpatterned carpet by Shaw Contract for the meeting rooms. The open plan office space is laid with Shaw’s Jazz carpet tile, which helps maintain a sense of fluidity in the main open plan area. ‘The flooring and finishes are understated, but still add personality and flow – plus a little bit of colour, along with a lot of the furniture choices,’ Gruvinder tells us.

The adjacent meeting suite, which takes up around half of the overall space, is made up of a six-person meeting room to each side of reception, plus a series of further rooms immediately beyond on the southern side of the space.

The sweeping geometry of the meeting suite, with the boardroom following on and

Limed oak flooring

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then a number of smaller, more individual rooms, creates an effortless flow of calm and considered spaces for staff and visitors.

The boardroom is a spacious, peaceful room, painted in two complementary colours of Farrow & Ball green. Beyond lies a series of much smaller, more informal and open meeting rooms, suitable for two to three people, each with its own individual feel, giving users plenty of scope to match the right room and ambience to the right visitor.

The smaller meeting rooms each feature a highly individual treatment, with striking furniture, new and vintage accessories and a brilliant feature wall in each.

Opposite, on the inner curve of the corridor, a series of dedicated telephone booths ensures quiet and confidential conversations with clients and consultants. The booths are clad in white oak (picking up on and working with the base build design), with a tall, thin ‘vision panel’ on each door.

The final zoned area, at the end of this row, is a breakout ‘hub’ kitchen and dining space, for use by staff, consultants and visitors alike. u

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Case Study - Eden McCallum

This is quite a transformation for Eden McCallum.

Moving more central, this is about them letting their own clients know that they are really stepping up.

The brief asked for interesting and human-scale treatments

Each of the smaller meeting rooms features a highly individual design treatment

Generous and bright open plan space

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This spacious area features a limed oak vinyl floor, Louis Poulsen feature lights and smart Vitra furniture.

The open working area features Knoll desking and is both generous and professional in nature. A feature ‘snug’ seat – the Verco Jensen informal meeting booth – adds interest, whilst also allowing discreet ad-hoc conversations. Natural light floods into the space, making it a bright, inviting place for dedicated work – especially on a sunny London day like today!

‘Gurvinder was great and we really trusted her opinion on what would work,’ Liann Eden, Founding Partner of Eden McCallum commented. ‘I appreciated that she was so thoughtful about every aspect of the design and able to articulate to non-designers how elements of the design on paper would translate into the feel of the new workspace when built.’

‘We couldn’t be happier with the design of our new office’, Kathryn Whinney, Operations Director for Eden McCallum adds. ‘We wanted the experience of visiting them to be really impressive and we were on a tight timescale, but Gurvinder wasn’t fazed by this and worked extremely closely with us ensuring we got what we asked for and in incredible detail.

Overall the experience was made far easier by align and the rest of the firm is very happy to be working in such an attractive and enjoyable space. Not only that, but visitors always comment and say what a fabulous workspace it is too!’ l

Jamie Livingstone is Architecture & Design Manager of art consultancy ARTIQ

Paintings, prints and sculpture in the workplace can do so much more than just fill space. If you get it right, workplace art can be truly inspirational, helping to engage staff, attract talent, promote a creative and productive environment and make a powerful and unique statement about your company and its values and ethos.

Here are Jamie's top tips for getting the most out of your workplace art:

Art of the Matter 1

Involve your team in the selection process • Realistically, artwork is the only feasible way that staff can have a say in the aesthetics of their workplace environment.

• Some art consultancies offer a voting tool which can survey every employee, asking which parts of the office they spend their time during the day and which pieces from a carefully selected shortlist they would like to see in their area.

• This not only involves staff, but also prevents any feeling of artwork being ‘imposed’ by management.

2

Art collections should have a narrative • Your selection is instantly more impressive if there is some sort of curatorial focal point tying them together. This could be something as tangible as the fact that it has all come from local artists or something more enigmatic – such as a particular theme, as is common in exhibitions • Plaques that explain that narrative in greater detail make people feel involved and more certain of themselves when they talk about and comment on the collection.

• In the case of companies with global reach, something that really relates to each individual location ensures differentiation and opens up a new channel of communication and even competition between offices.

3

Don’t be afraid to take risks • There’s always a temptation to choose art that’s safe. Whilst no one’s suggesting companies should adorn the walls with in-your-face, Jake and Dinos Chapman-style art, there’s a fairly sizeable middle ground between that and black and white photos of Big Ben or the London Eye! • Often the point of art is to stimulate and encourage different perspective on things we take for granted. In a corporate environment it’s the subtle messages that leave a lasting impact.

• Even when familiar comments like ‘My nephew could have done that’ arise, art has drawn people in and created a dialogue.

4

Getting the right mix • An impressive art collection will contain enough variety to make it interesting and slowto-reveal-all, whilst retaining a core narrative.

• Original paintings and sculpture by established artists can be mixed with work by emerging artists or prints to create a collection that’s both cohesive and unique.

• The end result will be a collection more akin to one in a domestic environment, in that it gives the impression it has been acquired over time.

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Focus - Workplace Art

5

Making the most out of your current collection • Many companies first engage with art consultancies in order to catalogue and value an existing collection to take stock of what they have and decide what they’d like to keep, sell, insure, store or have reframed.

• The sale of existing pieces can free up capital towards the purchase or rental of new art.

6

Consider renting • It’s often possible to lease art rather than purchase it outright. In most cases this allows you to ‘try before you buy’. Many companies rent a collection initially and, if they decide to keep a few pieces, can offset some of the cost of the purchase against the money already paid in rental.

• The rental model allows collections to be changed every six months or so, refreshing and reinvigorating spaces and providing a talking point for staff, clients and prospects.

• It’s considerably less expensive than purchasing outright.

7

Use specialist technicians for art handling • Most companies with long-standing corporate art collections have at least one horror story involving a piece of artwork getting badly damaged. Most of the time it could have been easily avoided. Pictures have fallen off walls, sculptures have been knocked over and smashed and expensive paintings have been damaged by exposure to sunlight, for example.

• Even when art collections have been sourced internally, the need for expert installation remains.

• Specialist technicians also provide advice with art placement, lighting and structural issues, as well as ensuring that art is installed correctly.

9

Realise art’s potential to affect your team’s behaviour • Factors such as creativity and productivity are notoriously difficult to measure. However, the lion’s share of current research by leading figures such as Leesman suggests that an uninspiring workplace environment definitely impacts the productivity of employees in a negative way.

• It’s not too much of a leap to suggest a drab workplace will also not help attract the best staff to a company or do anything for the morale of its current employees.

• In receptions, boardrooms and every other area of the workplace, carefullyselected art can inspire and uplift and send a clear, yet subtle message to those who see it, expressing and reinforcing brand values if appropriate.

10

Use art to express change • When companies change their corporate identity, merge or come under new ownership or direction, there are many ways to express change beyond new letterheads and logos.

• Whilst re-designing a whole environment is a highly expensive undertaking, expressing a new focus, commitment or set of brand values via artwork can be swift, expressive and relatively inexpensive, especially via a rental model.

• There is little else that compares to art to encapsulate a new attitude to business or life.

8

Make the most of Corporate Social Responsibility opportunities • There is a good reason why so many large companies sponsor galleries, art initiatives and community projects – being a Patron of the Arts sends a clear message that you embrace and support the local artistic community, as well as operating in a socially responsible way.

• Organisations can also host showcase events and invite artists to speak about their work, or hold competitions, such as an emerging artist prize or a photography competition.

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POST BREXIT, POST TRUMP A mere 24,200 real estate and city leaders from 100 countries, including 5,000 investors and financial institutions, came together at the world’s leading property market event, MIPIM, in Cannes this year.

There was a distinct calm in the air and much to consider for the property world . MIPIM wisely used ‘The New Deal for Real Estate’ as its central ‘catch-all’ theme, to provide attendees the opportunity to discuss the plethora of evolving real estate strategies.

High on the agenda was the housing crisis in the UK and an accelerating global urban population, the unstoppable influence of tech innovation as well the enduring need to be sustainable and responsible. Plenty to keep us on our toes!

The British Government, led by the Department of International Trade (DIT), in partnership with the British Property Federation, made an inaugural appearance with a strong ‘Invest in Great’ campaign, adding further support to the plethora of busy and upbeat regional stands from all the major UK cities.

Major real estate projects were on show from around the world. Dubai-based developer

Nakheel’s pavilion showcased €1.5 billion worth of real estate investment, as Dubai Holding unveiled a 20-year masterplan for a new Jumeirah Central. Semer Investment Group (Emirates/Senegal) and Dubai-based architects FSS Consult unveiled Diamniadio Lake City – a residential business and leisure destination billed as the largest urban masterplan in subSaharan Africa. Meanwhile, Russia’s Regions Group brought its Dream Island entertainment and retail complex, located south of Moscow on a 100-hectare site.

The MIPIM Innovation Forum has been going for five years now, and this year moved to the centre of the exhibition hall to host 70 exhibitors across 1,500 sq m. Investment in real estate related technology was another subject of lengthy discussions as institutional investors sat together at this year’s RE-Invest Summit.

MIPIM 2017 - ATMOSPHERE - EXHIBITION AREA - CROISETTE ZONE Credit: V. DESJARDINS - IMAGE & CO

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MIPIM was quieter than last year but all the better for it in my view,’ Gill Parker, CEO of BDG architecture + design, considered. ‘There was a more senior delegation, which led to more meaning ful discussions.

Yes, there is uncertainty around Brexit but also a determination to succeed, address the challenges it will no doubt produce whilst continuing to seek out the – as yet unknown – opportunities.

Review - MIPIM

MIPIM IN A MINUTE Here is a quick glimpse into just some of the emerging stories that visitors to this year's Cannes superfair were no doubt discussing over their 'value for money' cups of coffee.

Jules Pipe, Deputy Mayor of London, commented that the UK capital will continue to attract major investment.

Referring to Brexit, Pipe noted, 'Whatever happens, London will come through this.'

He predicted that if real estate investors seek alternative destinations to London, they are likely to look at New York, Singapore or Hong Kong rather than European capitals.

Eric van der Burg, Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam, argued that his city’s highly skilled, multi-lingual workforce and excellent infrastructure would attract international companies from the UK to Amsterdam.

Cushman & Wakefield identified the United States as the leading target for investors, followed by China and the United Kingdom. Real Capital Analytics reported that, in 2016, some €30.15 billion of Asian capital headed to the US.

Birmingham is in the ascendancy, with HS2 now in its new Snow Hill home – and staff numbers approaching 1,000. Simon Bedford of Deloitte said: 'The stats are likely to keep getting better for Birmingham.'

Cllr Patrick Farrington, leader of Stafford Borough Council, added: 'We are seeing tremendous growth in Stafford borough and investment recently delivered...in our borough is in excess of £1.2bn.'

Leeds, pushing hard for the Capital of Culture in 2023, has lots to extol.

Victoria Gate beat off stiff international competition to win the Best Shopping Centre at the MIPIM Awards. The scheme, which is adjacent to owner Hammerson's Victoria Quarter arcade and forms part of the new Victoria Leeds shopping destination, is anchored by a flagship John Lewis – the first in Leeds and the largest outside London.

Property company Rushbond unveiled plans to transform the landmark Ma jestic building in Leeds. The 65,000 sq ft development is due to start this summer, prov iding Grade A office floorspace, incorporati ng new office space over six floors.

Everton FC appear to be moving closer to a move from their Goodison Park home. Everton have confirmed a site, part of Peel Group's £5.5bn Liverpool Waters regeneration scheme, is their preferred option to house a new stadium. Peel Development Director Lindsey Ashworth was reported to say: 'It is fair to say we are optimistic, we will agree heads of terms shortly to allow a state-ofthe-art football stadium to be located at the north of Liverpool Waters known as Bramley Moore Dock – maybe even a Commonwealth Games.'

There is a 'long way to go' in Manchester’s business and property success story, suggested the former city council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein. Referring to the Manchester stand presentations: 'Nobody could spend any time on the stand and not get a clear sense of direction about where the city is trying to get to.'

Gary Neville addressed recent challenges and criticism targeted at the St. Michael development in Manchester city centre, highlighting that the currently underused and dilapidated space, which employs just four people, is often blighted by antisocial behaviour and will be transformed into a unique and modern 700,000 sq ft space.

Quarter, burgh Bio ct, The Edin 0m proje ssive £85 e th an impre gether ught to to in has bro spitals s and ho f universitie vanced o ad e most .

K U one of th e s in th ar project any simil

Sourced: Mix research, Simon Bedford, Deloitte, MIPIM, insider media

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Case Study

We’ve got a cunning plan...

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... the mystery will be revealed next month 102

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FORBO CELEBRATES MID-CENTURY DESIGN WITH NEW TIBOR COLLABORATION

MODULEO CLICK MAKES QUICK WORK OF RUSH TRAMPOLINE PARK REFURB

Flotex by Tibor Reich is the latest creative collaboration by Forbo and

Almost 1,500 sq m of luxury flooring from Moduleo has been installed in

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RUSH Trampoline Park, Birmingham.

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celebrates this icon with the new Tibor collection.

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The Last Word

You may recall that we had a piece from Andy Kendall-Jones in last month’s issue of Mix. We got so excited to hear the news from Southerns that we managed to omit some of the key points. We apologise to Andy and the team and are more than happy to provide an updated version of events from one of the UK's fastest growing businesses.

Andy Kendall-Jones is CEO of the Southerns Group. Widely known as one of the biggest furniture dealers (furniture providers) Southerns has now been transformed into something quite different – and has everyone talking. In 2015 Ralph Capper Interiors (Manchester) was acquired, along with Southerns (Bolton), putting back together the company that separated in the 1990's. Then in late 2016 we saw two more acquisitions that really got the market on high alert, with Broadstock (Macclesfield manufacturer) and SpaceInvader (Manchester, design practice) joining the Group.

In the last 12 months, we have had a couple of 'did you hear that' moments. Herman Miller taking over naughtone, Dovetail ending its run.

Beyond Southerns, our sources tell us more is likely in 2017; in the meantime let’s hear from Andy Kendall-Jones.

WHAT WAS THE CATALYST THAT STARTED THE WAVE OF ACQUISITION IN 2015?

I could see that there was a real opportunity to offer customers more than a single, standalone service – I wanted to create something revolutionary, something that had never been done before. So I’d worked for a while on my ideas, but everything really kicked into gear after a football match. I’m a massive Leeds United fan and so is my mate, Steve Parkin, and we would often have a chat about business after the game. After one particular match I was talking with him about my expansion plans and how I could see the future for the company mapping out, and he said to me: 'Do you want me to get involved?' From that moment on, with his investment and invaluable business advice, we’ve set ourselves on a path of genuine strategic growth.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELVES IN THE DEALER HIERARCHY? I’d say we don’t see ourselves as dealers. Our offering is unique.

WHAT’S NEXT? We currently number 220 staff and a projected £45m turnover and in the next 18 months we will triple that – very possibly sooner, in fact.

DOES THAT MEAN MORE ACQUISITIONS? You’ll have to wait and see; obviously our business strategy is confidential. However I will say this; expect to see something very soon and be aware that whatever we do, everything complements our current position through the design and fit-out chain. And whilst we have been active on the acquisition trail, don’t underestimate how much of the growth will be organic.

WHAT ARE YOUR AMBITIONS FROM A GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE? We are a national company with offices in Yorkshire, north-west England and London; our clients are located both across the UK and internationally. We’re excited to be creating what might be termed a Group showcase in Leeds, which will be located in the very heart of the city and will comprise a number of the brands within the Group.

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO SOME WHO HAS JUST JOINED SPACEINVADER, EXPECTING TO BE JOINING A DESIGN PRACTICE IN MANCHESTER? It still is a design practice in Manchester. It remains completely independent, with the freedom to specify from, and work with, any supplier. The difference is it is now backed by the Southerns Group.

WHAT DO YOU WANT SOUTHERNS TO BE KNOWN FOR? Being best in class. We’re a trailblazing business made up of world-class companies, each with its own unique offering, all of which makes the Southerns Group something that has never been seen before. It’s important to stress here that there is a carefully considered strategy underpinning everything we do. We know exactly where we want to get to, how we’ll get there, and who with. And being best in class is key to it all.

WHAT IS THE KEY MESSAGE TO THE MARKET? Every element of everything we do is driven by the determination to be best in class; the brands under the Southerns Group umbrella are, the people involved in each brand are, the clients we work with are. We’ve created something very special here and we’ve got big plans for the future.

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE QUESTION OF SPECIFYING ONLY YOUR OWN PRODUCTS/ SERVICES? We have very good relationships with key suppliers and don’t expect that to change.

OTHER THAN YOUR CURRENT, WHAT WAS YOUR BEST/MOST UNUSUAL JOB? I’d say flying around the world with the RAF was pretty memorable – especially during the Falklands War.

WHAT ABOUT SOME OF THE BIGGER FURNITURE SUPPLIERS, SHOULD THEY BE WORRIED? Far from it. We have good relationships with companies like Senator and Orangebox and we don’t expect that to change.

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WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL END GAME? I love what I do – and I’ve no intention of stopping.

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