BLOG from Howard Chapman, Editor of Buildingtalk
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Clerkenwell is a remarkable area in London. It is home to more architects and interiors designers, per square mile, than any other place on the planet.
Its history includes being home to a large community of French Huguenots including many artisans who were part of the 900k who fled religious persecution 300 years ago. Their talent continues to enrich the area. London is also home to new creative talent from around the world, swelled recently by another generation of young entrepreneurs and professionals from France, some fleeing economic persecution by Franois Hollande, the current French President. London is now said to be the 6th biggest city of France, with more French people living in London than in Bordeaux!
Clerkenwell is just part of a wider regeneration of London that includes new business hubs around Old Street andamp; Kings Cross, now home to technology giants such as Facebook andamp; Google, plus the Olympic park developments and ongoing Docklands area expansion.
CDW is Britains top design festival. It is an opportunity to gain access to the workshops and offices of businesses in the area as they play host to a range of events in 4 main venues and 85 showrooms.
During Clerkenwell Design Week, Buildingtalk visited The Vault, one of the CDW showroom venues, home to 10 interiors specialist companies. The Vault opened its doors during CDW to demonstrate a range interior design products and to host events including a talk by
Wheelerkanik on the impact of the Millennial Generation on interior workplace design.
This was followed by a Buildingtalk interview with Grant Kanik talking about what the office of the future will look like. The interview was streamed live via Periscope, the new online broadcasting technology promoted by Twitter.
Grant Kanik spoke about how the Millennial Generation (the young people born after 1985) will dominate the workforce and are demanding a different interior workplace design that enhances collaboration, communication and inspiration, creating a more productive environment.
Technology is also blurring the distinction between home and office as Millennials use both environments as workspaces.
Grant explained how interior office design needs to provide quirky, informal and attractive spaces if companies want to attract and retain entrepreneurial creative talent.
The office of the future will provide a seamless link to home and other workplaces to enable practical collaboration andamp; networking.
For the past 200 years the office has essential remained unchanged a desk, a chair, a place for the days work. But now it is different with the internet offering total communication and connection.
Personal time and work time boundaries are becoming blurred. The businesses of the future will need less office space but it will need to be able to offer flexible use, especially to facilitate meetings and collaboration in a virtual world.
Zaha Hadid Design hosted a guided tour of their gallery, presenting a special display of design objects by Alessi, as well as design pieces and architecture models by Zaha Hadid Architects. For me it was a great opportunity to lean more about Zaha Hadid and the process of design through various 3D models on show.
Zaha Hadid has provided a unique revolutionary perspective on urbanism, architecture and design for more than 30 years. She received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004, the first woman to do, and the Stirling Prize in 2010 and 2011.
The images demonstrate what a genius she is.
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Atkinson Contract Services is a major value added service provider to property and facilities managers, hotels, office solutions manufacturers and direct end user clients. The services include installation of office furniture; commercial removals/relocation; logistics andamp; storage; archiving, security shredding, clearance, facilities management; reuse and recycle of redundant office furniture andamp; partitioning. ACS also offer specification and procurement of partitioning, furniture and seating ranges, as well as management of design and build projects.
Balma are one of Polands leading office furniture manufacturers offering a comprehensive range of products including executive furniture, reception counters and competitively priced commercial furniture.
CE Solutions provide sustainably built, quality movable acoustic wall and sliding folding partition systems for offices, hotels, churches, schools and colleges, and for commercial, retail and residential developments.
Already well established in the UK Residential and Hospitality sectors, Deccas bespoke furniture manufacturing offers a level of quality that cannot be achieved by using mass-produced components.
Forza Doors are specialists in the preparation of wood veneers and timber utilisedin the production of doors, frames, panels and screens for usein the commercial interior construction market, encompassing office, education, health, hotel and retail.
Imagine is a specialist manufacturer and interior furnishing supplier to the Hospitality Sector having more than 30 years of experience in FFE and Fit-out work on prestigious projects.
James Tobias provide organisations with optimum storage solutions and is the UKs leading StorageWall manufacturer.
Leyform manufactures leather executive chairsfor office and home, operational andtask chairs,stoolsfor bars and home use,stackable tablesand chairsfor auditoriums and lecture hall seating,sofas for waiting areas, conference.
Email: Jo McCauseland [email protected], call +44 (0) 207 566 0446 or visit the Atkinson Contract Services website
Abloy UK is proud to announce its Aperio E100 and SMARTair solutions have successfully achieved PAS 24 certification.
Posted in Access Control & Door Entry Systems, Architectural Ironmongery, Articles, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Regulations & Accreditations, Building Services, Doors, Facility Management & Building Services, Health & Safety, Retrofit & Renovation, Security and Fire ProtectionFor architects and designers looking to avoid traditional skirting boards, architraves and cornices, Renderplas offers its range of PVC plasterboard shadow gap beads for dry lining systems.
Posted in Articles, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Floors, Interior Design & Construction, Interiors, Posts, Render, Restoration & Refurbishment, Retrofit & Renovation, WallsMembers of the MCRMA, the trade association for the metal cladding and roofing industry, had an exclusive opportunity to explore and discuss the changes affecting the construction sector at the first of the association’s roadshow events hosted by Siderise at its HQ and manufacturing facility in South Wales.
Posted in Articles, Building Associations & Institutes, Building Industry Events, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Regulations & Accreditations, Building Services, Cladding, Exhibitions and Conferences, Health & Safety, Restoration & Refurbishment, Retrofit & Renovation, Seminars, WallsThe latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report shows builders’ merchants’ value sales were down -2.1% in January compared to the same month in 2023.
Posted in Articles, Bathrooms & Toilets, Bathrooms, Bedrooms & Washrooms, Bricks & Blocks, Building Associations & Institutes, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Services, Building Systems, Civil Engineering, Concrete, Cement, Admixtures, Doors, Drainage, Drainage Services, Facility Management & Building Services, Glass, Glazing, Hard Landscaping & Walkways, Interior Design & Construction, Interiors, Kitchens, Landscaping, news, Paints, Paints, Coatings & Finishes, Pipes & Fittings, Plumbing, Posts, Restoration & Refurbishment, Retrofit & Renovation, Site Preparation, Sustainability & Energy Efficiency, Timber Buildings and Timber Products, Waste Management & Recycling, Windows