Posted on December 2, 2011 by Peter Watts
Ever since the financial collapse of 2008, London has had more empty office space than it knows what to do with. Or at least, more than most people know what to do with. On November 19th, however, one empty office block was put to imaginative use by members of the headline-grabbing Occupy movement, who walked in to a building just north of Liverpool Street and immediately set to work turning it into the Bank of Ideas, a community space for London.
The Bank of Ideas now occupies the entirety of a huge building on Sun Street that is owned by the UBS bank and had been empty since 2009. Pay a visit and you’ll be struck by the warmth of the welcome and the relentlessness of the activity. Notices on every wall advertise upcoming talks, marches and film screenings, and when a shout goes out that it’s time to give the building a community clean, yet more bustle results. It’s energising and impressive.
Bryn Phillips, 28, is one of 20 ‘caretakers’ who help run the initiative, having moved into the building when discovering it was empty while staying at the nearby Occupy campsite on Finsbury Square. “There was a list of 100 empty buildings we could target in the City of London and this was top of the list,” he says, although the building is actually just outside the City in the neighbouring borough of Hackney.
“It was empty and open. People had been inside to strip the copper out which left it quite vulnerable. We discovered it was owned by UBS, and after researching UBS they seemed the perfect target for a Situationist critique of the finance industry. However, the idea wasn’t to make a protest, it was to create a community centre. This is a huge space and we wanted to welcome some of the community groups that had lost funding for various reasons, usually related to austerity measures. There are a lot of homeless charities that have been badly affected and we can house them and make the sort of Big Society statement the Tories would never be capable of.”
The building is indeed vast and it is all been put to use. There’s a family centre, meditation room, banner-making workshops, art room, a screening room, a Free University and countless meeting rooms for debates on everything from ‘Do We Need Education?’ to ‘Overcoming Ethnic Segregation: A Workshop on Post-Colonialism In Practice’. The website keeps people informed about what is going on and anybody is welcome to drop in. The occupiers are mainly young, but with an even mix of genders, race, class and nationalities – this isn’t quite as simple as a talking shop for rich, white middle-class drop-outs. It’s also impressively organised. The front door is open to all, but the media are asked to sign in and everywhere you can see flowcharts, whiteboards and timetables. This is no chaotic hippie commune; the organisation owes as much to the methods of middle management as it does the spirit of the co-operative.
All those involved are giving up their time for free, whether that is the electricians that helped them rewire the building or the lecturers that come by to give talks. ‘We try to run everything free and we exist solely on donations and skill-sharing,’ says Phillips. ‘We get donations from visitors and we also have people coming by to help – so we had health and safety inspectors come round to ensure everything was up to the correct standard.’
Phillips estimates around 100 people sleep in the building – there are tents and sleeping bags in just about every room – and hopes the Bank of Ideas will stay open for business for some time yet. “It’s difficult to say how long we can keep it open because ultimately that is a matter for the courts but any repossession order will be appealed,” he says. “We can’t go into detail, but we have legal argument that we think gives us a claim to the building.”
There is history here, thanks to London’s long history of protest and counterculture which has thrown up many examples of street-led community-focused protest from the Anti-University of the 1960s to the homeless charity Centrepoint. This began in the 1970s when homeless activists occupied Centre Point, a West End skyscraper that had been built and then left empty because rising land value meant the owners felt no need to fill it.
Phillips embraces this precedent. “We’re aware at how Centre Point started,” says Phillips, before adding in a sign of the boldness of the enterprise and the determination of the organisers. “In some ways we aspire to become just as established an institution in the future.”
Bank of Ideas, 29 Sun Street, EC2M 2PS
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Posted on December 1, 2011 by Rob Powell
MEDICAL technology firm, Stryker UK, has moved into its new flagship office in Newbury, Berkshire.
The 200-strong company have a brand new, three storey office building designed by ESA, now part of Capita Symonds.
The new building in the east of the town offers more than twice the amount of floor space of their previous Newbury offices, and offers staff comfortable offices, breakout areas, a gym and a 100-cover first floor restaurant.
Handed an “Excellent” BREEAM rating, the new office development sits within landscaped grounds and incorporates alternative energy systems to reduce carbon emissions.
Paul Jackson from West Berks Council said: “The Stryker building is a real design triumph and demonstrates what is possible when ambition is matched by delivery. This building creates a new idiom for the design of the area.”
Stryker UK is the British arm of a worldwide corporation that is a leader in the orthopaedic market and is one of the world’s largest medical device companies.
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Posted on November 25, 2011 by Rob Powell
A NEW survey has revealed for the first time that the majority of offices in the City of London have foreign owners.
The report, ‘Who Owns The City?’, undertaken by Development Securities has found that 52% of office space in the Square Mile has owners from overseas.
Germany owners account for 16% of City of London offices, followed by the USA with 10%. Middle-eastern owners have 6%, and continental Europe excluding Germany controls 5% of the offices in the City.
The rise in foreign ownership of office space at the heart of London’s financial district has been rapid over the past thirty years: in 1980, foreign owners had control of just 8% of offices.
The report is the fourth time that Development Securities, a property development company, has carried out the research. In his foreword to the report, company Chief Executive Michael Marx commented:
“Fundamental to its continuing appeal is the City of London’s intrinsic ability to attract occupiers – financial businesses that sustain the value of the Square Mile’s office stock.”
Read ‘Who Owns The City?’ by Development Securities
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Posted on November 24, 2011 by Rob Powell
OFFICE furniture was flung from a 10th floor window in Bristol on Tuesday evening.
Desks, computers and a fire extinguisher were among the items hurled by a man from high in the Castlemead Tower building, near Castle Park. Debris from the incident collected on a first floor terrace.
The man’s motives for throwing the furniture from the window are as yet unknown but reports suggest he may have been a digruntled worker.
See coverage and photos in the Daily Mail and ThisIsBristol.co.uk
Castlemead, in Lower Castle Street, is a 17 storey tower built in 1981.
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Posted on November 24, 2011 by Rob Powell
WORKERS have been encouraged by David Cameron to take their children to work during next week’s public sector strikes.
Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday during Prime Minister’s Questions, he said:
“When it is safe for people to take their children to work, organisations should allow them to do so.”
Around three million public sector workers are expected to take part in the nationwide strikes on November 30th which are in response to changes to pensions.
Unison General Secretary Dave Prentis said:
“We are fighting for a fair pensions deal – not for gold plated pensions, but to give members dignity in their retirement.”
David Cameron’s comments were a response to a question from Corby MP Louise Mensch, who said “one of most disruptive impacts of next week’s strikes will be on mums and dads with children in school.”
Will your office be encouraging workers to bring children to work rather than stay at home to look after them?
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Posted on November 18, 2011 by Rob Powell
A SERVICED office provider is giving businesses the chance to design bespoke offices.
MWB Business Exchange has unveiled its Signature Office range of distinct designs that can be deployed to offices within their business centres.
Tenant businesses can mix and match the styles to come up with offices that have their own unique look and feel.
MWB Business Exchange is initially offering the style options at its 33 Cavendish Square business centre in London.
MWB Business Exchange Chief Executive John Spencer said: “The Signature Offices concept really is a revolutionary one. It grew out of us listening to our clients. They told us that they want more control over the design of their space.
“They want to wow their clients and feel it’s their space. That’s why unlike our rivals, we don’t cover our centres with our brand name. The Signature Office option will offer an unparalleled level of bespoke excellence that will allow companies to feel it really is their space.”
Cavendish Square General manager Frankie Chrysanthou added: “If a client wants a magenta pink office, we will get him magenta pink. We’ve even put in a whole wall of chalk board for one of our clients which gets scribbled on by the staff every day.”
The service will be rolled out to the rest of the company’s London business centres and then go UK-wide.
Enquire about office space at 33 Cavendish Square
MWB issues Management Statement
An Interim Management Statement from parent company MWB Group Holdings said that revenue for the serviced office provider was up 6% for the four months to 31 October, compared with the previous year.
Occupancy at its office also rose, with the company “optimistic that market conditions will continue to improve and reflect positively on occupancy”
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Posted on November 18, 2011 by Rob Powell
AN OFFICE block belonging to UBS has been taken over by protesters in London.
The empty four-storey office block in Sun Street, close to the City, is now in the hands of the Occupy London movement who already have a camp site outside St Paul’s Cathedral.
The group announced earlier this afternoon that the building would be reopening tomorrow (Saturday) as a “Bank of Ideas”
Sarah Layler of Occupy London added: “The Bank of Ideas will host a full events programme where people will be able to trade in creativity rather than cash. We will also make space available for those that have lost their nurseries, community centres and youth clubs to savage Government spending cuts.”
Banners have been attached to the building, saying “The Bank of Ideas” and “UBS You Owe Us.”
22-29 Sun Street is owned by Sun Street Properties, which in turn is owned by UBS.
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Posted on November 17, 2011 by Rob Powell
AON, the risk management company, has pre-let almost 200,000 sq ft of office space in the City’s new Leadenhall Building.
Already nicknamed the “cheesegrater”, the new skyscraper at 122 Leadenhall Street, London, will reach 47 storeys when built – with ten of them taken by AON.
The Richard Rogers-designed Leadenhall Building is a joint venture between British Land and Oxford Properties and will stand opposite the famous Lloyd’s of London building.
Chris Grigg, Chief Executive of British Land said, “This significant letting to a leading global business is good news for the City and demonstrates the success of our commitment to creating well located world class buildings that provide long term value to occupiers. I am very pleased to welcome Aon to The Leadenhall Building and continuing our well established relationship with them.
Robert Brown, CEO Aon Limited said, “We are delighted to have chosen The Leadenhall Building as our new London headquarters. The Aon Centre at The Leadenhall Building places us at the heart of the City’s insurance sector and the building’s impressive location and offices reflect our standing as the leading global professional services firm focused on risk and human capital management.
Construction of the 224m-high office building in the City of London is currently under way.
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Posted on November 16, 2011 by Rob Powell
MOBILE phone giant Nokia is to turn an iconic London office block into the canvas for a spectacular show.
The 800 windows of Millbank Tower will light up as video is projected onto them while deadmau5 provides the audio backdrop.
Described as a 4D experience, deadmau5 commented:
“I’ve got to play some awesome shows but never from the roof of a building. Wait until you see the scale of this production.”
The 30 minute performance on the skyscraper will take place on November 28th and is a publicity stunt for Nokia’s new Lumia smartphone range.
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Posted on November 11, 2011 by Rob Powell
A PILOT scheme aims to boost the number of “work hubs” in the county of Devon.
Devon County Council are looking for proposals to come forward to convert existing space in Totnes and Barnstaple into new work hubs.
The hubs, a network of which are emerging around the country, offer flexible hot desks to home workers and micro-enterprises that only have an occasional need for professional office space with high speed internet.
The council, along with the Department of Transport, have a £180,000 funding pool with grants of up to £90,000 available to successful tenders.
Councillor Will Mumford, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Economy, Enterprise and Employment, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for organisations to secure financial and business support to help in the development of innovative work hubs.
“We believe that work hubs should be locally owned and operated, so we’re keen to hear from organisations in the public, private or voluntary sector who believe they have what it takes to turn our vision for work hubs in Devon into a reality.”
The deadline for applications to get work hub funding is Friday 6th January. More information is available at DevonWorkHubs.co.uk
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