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NEF's "five ways to wellbeing" - equally relevant in and out of work|Nic Marks (left) and Tony Hseih (right) launch the happiness survey||

Happiness in the workplace

The New Economics Foundation’s Happy Planet Index taught us that income and wellbeing are not intrinsically linked – and now…
Features
24 Jul 2012
The Olympics versus the commute|PodTime is marketing sleep pods, so workers can stay on site|TfL's "heat map" of the capital showing potential Olympic flashpoints||

Mobile working and the Olympics

There won’t be any gold medals for commuters who make it in to work despite the Olympic transport chaos.  Despite…
Features
24 Jul 2012
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Keep taking the tablets

With new technology comes new working postures, many of them less than favourable. Add to that a certain loosening of…
Features
13 Apr 2012
Localised design offers an edge in the fiercely competitive Gulf market|Abu Dhabi's vast central plaza: every detail is designed to capture local flavour|Angular, cave-like interior's distinguish Wellington's The Rock|Low-slung seating makes the interior "loungey, but not groovy loungey"|The Rock's stratified exterior takes its cues from Wellington's rugged coastline|Breath of fresh air: Maurice Mentjens' overhauled waiting area at Schiphol|"Recognisably Dutch, but still surprising": Tjep's Schiphol retail unit||

In the ascent

Local identity is never harder to find than inside an international airport, but emphasis is shifting away from the generic…
Features
15 Feb 2012
Dense planting at 18 Kowloon East is claimed to absorb noise and pollution|Does green on the outside mean green on the inside?|High-rise in paradise: the Sky Garden at Aedus's 18 Kowloon East, Hong Kong|Solar shading and renewable energy make Ken Yeang's Solaris truly green|With the right plants, sky gardens work anywhere: Yeang's Spire Edge, India|Yeang's Malaysian HQ for tech company DiGi, with its insulating living wall|CGI of Stefano Boeri's Bosco Verticale project, Milan, to be finished in late 2012|Bosco Verticale under construction, with deep balconies to hold the planting|MDRDV's oversized greenhouse of a hotel in the heart of Dutch tulip country||

Go green: Sustainable design or just a leafy facade?

With their lush terraces stretching up to the heavens, skyscrapers are looking greener these days – but is it really…
Features
16 Jan 2012
"Wood has gone up 50% over the last five years"|"Either we don't have a wood panel or sawmilling industry in the UK and we import all our wood products, or we survive and people pay a huge amount for their products"||

Up in smoke?

UK timber manufacturing says that it can’t compete with government subsidies offered to the biomass industry to buy wood –…
Features
06 Dec 2011
Picture-perfect Ålesund on the west coast|Dina, a chair from Stryn Møbelindustri that edges away from traditional Scandi influences|L-R: Espen Voll and Torbjørn Anderssen. Lurking/working in background, L-R: Petter Skogstad and Hallgeir Homstvedt|Eva, a design based on a kubbestol (a traditional chair carved from a tree trunk)|A crop of Kikut mushroom containers|Hallgeir Homstvedt’s Undercover light|Risør, where seafaring is more important than speaking to journos|Hødnebø’s Relax chair, still looking good at nearly 50 years old|Tor Arne Skjævestad from Hødnebø with a Spinnaker chair, upholstered with sailcloth|Alf Sture’s Chair 1036 for Tonning, an archetype of traditional Norwegian furniture-making skills|Your editor, flanked by (L) Stryn Møbelindustri's Svein Nore and (R) designer Olav Eldøy|Traditional skills endure at Tonning, including hand-finishing|Juvet Landscape Hotel (which is full of Norwegian design, if you can tear your eyes away from the view)|In between the chocolate ice cream and the cured moose meat, there was some nature to be admired|Made in the forest: Variér’s just-launched chair, Pause|The game-changing Balans Variable office chair, by Peter Opsvik|LK Hjelle’s Break sofa, designed by Norway Says||

Norwegian new wave

It’s never hogged the spotlight like its Scandi neighbours, but Norway has its own design traditions to shout about. onoffice…
Features
22 Jul 2011
Nooks and crannies may look good, but they can attract the wrong sort|Tamir Addadi’s Nairobi office complex wont be behind gates and fences|A lack of “dead areas” mean that crime is much harder to commit|At Heron Tower, an enormous fish tank disguises scary X-ray equipment|In the event of a blast, Heron Tower’s facade will act like a net|“Sentry planters” with steel frames can withstand the force of a car|Planters in situ at Canary Wharf – the friendly face of defensive space|St Helier’s new Esplanade Quarter, masterplanned by Hopkins Architects|Depite its appealing looks, terrorism is seen as a genuine threat to the safety of the Jersey development||

Siege mentality

As building security moves higher up the agenda, how can architects find ways to create environments that are safe, without…
Features
17 May 2011
Regeneration by growth: Corby’s 30 year-plan from above|Corby’s new train station is pivotal in attracting people to the town|Hawkins/Brown’s gleaming Corby Cube: a symbol of the town’s new aspirations|The £8.3m Corby Enterprise Centre houses flexible office and studio space for start-ups|A station plaza is part of the plans for the Surrey Canal site|A bird’s eye view of the planned Lewisham development|Sittingbourne’s new civic square by Studio Egret West|Studio Egret West worked with Renewal and LB Lewisham|One of the most successful regen projects of recent times, Bermondsey Square.|Regeneration fund Igloo worked hard to create a sense of place|A map of the Stratford Metropolitan scheme in London||

Regeneration game: picking up the pieces

Economic boomtimes brought with them a wave of regeneration schemes across the country. But now the party is over –…
Features
16 Mar 2011

Green rinse: Exploring eco-friendly claims

With seemingly every furniture company making bold claims about sustainability and their eco-credentials it can be tricky to separate the…
Features
16 Feb 2011
Developers Hammerson kept the charnel house on view to the public after the building was complete|Ahead of work on Allen & Overy’s offices in Spital Square a charnel, or bone storage, house was found|The well-preserved south tower structure meant a delay to the project and increased costs|Developers knew the remains of Bermondsey Abbey were below the Bermondsey Square development|The Spital Square development was built on the site of the well-documented St Mary Spital complex|The St Mary Spital complex included an Augustinian priory, an infirmary, a church and a cemetery|Along with the south tower of Bermondsey Abbey, parts of a Tudor mansion were found before work began|The south tower of Bermondsey Abbey, part of which is now on display at the Del’Aziz eatery|Archaeology costs added £2m to the price of the Bermondsey Square project before lost rent was factored in|The public can even go into the 14th-century charnel house itself on Open House Day in London||

Archaeology in London: What lies beneath

Ancient ruins found below sites that have been earmarked for building projects can throw up fascinating insights into how our…
Features
16 Feb 2011

Raising the bar: Office bars

Workplace bars at media and ad agencies helps employees relax, have fun – and even do a bit of business,…
Features
18 Oct 2010
Solar glazing on 7 More London helped Foster & Partners achieve a BREEAM outstanding rating|Skidmore Owings Merrill’s Hamilton House uses a coated outer glass layer to protect against solar gain, while the inner pane is laminated sheet glass|Black Architecture used external solar shading and a punctuated brick facade on their Fitzpatrick project|Bennetts Associates’ Potterrow development. The facade responds according to orientation and features movable external shades|Black Architecture’s hypothetical alternative to the glass office tower. The concept features a number of green measures illustrated by the neighbouring diagram|Concept design by Sheppard Robson: the practice used Abu Dhabi as a theoretical location for a glass office tower. Designed using parametrics, the project features photovoltaics and borehole cooling and is streamlined to minimise wind loads|Heron Tower at night|10 Triton Street|The Gherkin|Renzo Piano's Shard||

Rethinking the glass box

The city is awash with new glass office developments, but with tougher green building regulations on the way is it…
Features
18 Aug 2010
Masdar’s roof garden by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture|The world’s first (and only) Ferrari theme park is due to open in 2010|Doubts remain over the future of Masdar zero-carbon city masterplanned by Foster + Partners|Under construction: the Corniche district is being peppered with high-rise buildings|Abu Dhabi marine operating headquarters|Yas Marina hotel, part of the Yas Island entertainment district|Abu Dhabi’s World Trade Centre||

Abu Dhabi: the new jewel of the Middle East

Abu Dhabi has replaced Dubai as the booming centre for construction of office and commercial space. Michael Willoughby explains why …
Features
18 May 2010
Passivhaus-accredited office in Beechwood Business Park, Dover by Dudley Marsh and Grießbach and Grießbach Architects|A Passivhaus office interior in St Gerold, Austria, completed last year by CN-Architekten. It combines excellent insulation, stringent air tightness and minimal thermal bridging to create environments that naturally control temperature|The Passivhaus office stays toasty even when it’s snowing|Rendering of a Passivhaus school, by sustainableBYdesign, unique because of the internal light quality and natural ventilation|The discipline relies on sensible principles, on making the most of natural resources and insulating, like this school project|The school would save the eventual occupiers a lot of money on light and heating bills|R-House, winner of an Innovative Green Homes competition by NY architects Della Valle Bernheimer & Architecture Research Office||

The rise of Passivehaus in the UK

Passivhaus, the utopian benchmark of low-carbon building design is finally finding roots in the UK. Rachel Calton looks at those…
Features
18 May 2010
Central St Giles: A palette of six shades were inspired by surrounding shop fronts and red-brick buildings||

UK's most striking cladding

From primary-coloured facades and walls with eyes in the heart of London to the pigeon-repelling surface of a “jewellery box”…
Features
16 Apr 2010
80% cut in emissions by 2050|Wind turbines at Lion House, an ultra low-emissions office building designed for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|Lion House uses photovoltaic panels integrated into its brise soleil; its biomass boiler uses locally sourced woodchips||

Carbon emission cutting gets serious

The new mandatory emissions trading scheme is giving carbon cutting a clear place on company agendas, Rachel Calton discovers With…
Features
12 Mar 2010

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