Free Thinking
January 14, 2022
So many surveys. So many workplace prophets. Still so much uncertainty… Call me an old cynic but everywhere I turn there’s a continuous stream of webinars extolling the virtues of stripping out desks from the workplace in favour of turning empty space into a huge greenhouse or living wall with lounge chairs and on tap […]
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March 7, 2021
RIP ICT
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RIP ICT Labs. Predicting the future of technology remains as difficult and unexpected as ever. As Bill Gates famously said, ‘We always over-estimate the change that will occur in the next two years and under-estimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction’. Over the last ten […]
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October 21, 2020
Pain in the Assets
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Pain in the Assets. As I sit on my sofa for the 212th consecutive day of Lockdown and having had to put up with an increased level of usage that has seen it prematurely age, I notice that its looking crushed, lop sided and tired. It is still a good sofa with many years of […]
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October 20, 2020
What’s In A Name
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What’s happened to job titles? Once upon a time they were purely descriptive and about positioning within an internal structure but now it seems we are undertaking some bizarre word association game and trying to avoid telling others exactly what we actually do. I have over the last couple of years noticed that standard design […]
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June 24, 2020
Culture of flattery is insidiously pervasive. So on this the 93rd day of lockdown and isolation, we have finally been given a date for some business re-openings and a relaxation of distancing rules, which seems to have focussed primarily, on those two seemingly socially important, cant live without services, the purveyors of alcohol and stylists […]
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May 27, 2020
Pawing the Pages
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One of the few benefits of this protracted period of Covid-19 induced lockdown has been the opportunity to sit quietly and read. As a former endurance commuter, (that being 6 hours a day, on a good day), I did have the chance to read regularly. So reading is something I did intermittently as a way […]
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April 30, 2020
I Have a Problem
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I have a problem. No, not the lay back and tell me all about it or keep applying the ointment type of problem. More a concerned teacher realising the class aren’t fully grasping the exercise they’ve been set, type of problem… and it’s been annoying me for the entire duration of the lockdown. Working within […]
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April 22, 2020
Watch It!
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Watch it! During this time in isolation I have realised I have not worn a watch… And I’ve not really needed to. I seem to wake up naturally pretty much around 7am which for me constitutes a massive lay in of some two hours. Then my laptop reminds me at 7:45 I have 15 minutes […]
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April 22, 2020
RESILIENT WORKPLACES AND BEYOND
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Resilient Workplaces and Beyond. A Draft White Paper on the Post Covid19 Way of Working
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April 21, 2020
A Word Of Caution
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A word of caution. No matter where you look, there are a multitude of online posts, whitepapers and general press coverage outlining the future of the post Covid-19 work environment. I would like to offer a word of caution to all the knee jerk reactions and prophecies being churned out by every man and his […]
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April 16, 2020
No more…
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Please. Please. Please. No more LinkedIn posts of cheesy grinned, videoconferencing screen grabs. I get it. You’re working from home. The technology works and, yes, these are strange times. But you’re just like everyone else. The amount of repetition and unoriginal posts on social media is staggering. Have we truly lost the ability to […]
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April 12, 2020
21 Today
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Observations on day 21 of lock down (or 35 for those of us who got ill earlier). The cashless society will be here quicker than anticipated. Unless your Sainsbury’s supermarket who still require you to put a pound coin in the slot to release a trolley. Hashtag, impromptu supermarket workout, hashtag, how to balance two […]
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April 9, 2020
The Reset Workplace Part 03
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Webinar Transcript. Welcome to this the third part of the Woodalls webinar series on the workplace reset. I’m Shaun Baker, Design Principal at Woodalls Design and with me today I have Tara Hack Senior Associate at Woodalls and Neil Usher chief partnerships officer at GoSpace. In the first event we spoke about the initial thoughts […]
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April 6, 2020
For most people this is the end of week two of isolation. I got ill quite early in the process. This is the end of week four and boy am I beginning to feel it now. And yet, I am luckier than many as I have space. I am located far from the madding crowd. […]
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April 1, 2020
Cleanliness in the Workplace
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Cleanliness in the Workplace. Put down that biscuit, push away that mug and take your hand off your computer mouse. This is going to be uncomfortable but compelling reading…. Considering the current situation and the worldwide lock down based around the spread of a certain virus, I thought I would take a protective […]
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March 31, 2020
What will the workplace look like after COVID-19? While we await the all clear to emerge from isolation enforced through the global spread of the covid19 coronavirus, it is important to recognise that the idea of a ‘normal’ workplace may never be the same again. The big question is, will there be a new […]
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October 6, 2019
Seminar Transcript Workplace Design Trends 2020 01 Destination workplaceThe experiential workplaceEntertaining / Captivating / Inviting / blend home with workplaceCulture in a snapshot / Instagram wall 02 Free range workers The Co Working ShadowCollaboration / Sharing / Tech IntegrationFlexibility / Efficiency / Creativity / Dynamism 03 The renewReuse Recycle RenewOld meets newCelebrating craftsmanship by injecting […]
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February 1, 2019
Once upon a time
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Once upon a time … not so long ago, in a design land known as workplace, I used to regularly write blogs, whitepapers and attend round table events as a guest speaker, where the good people of the land would gather to hear the tales of offices past and of dreams for workplace futures. During […]
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March 19, 2018
Seminar Transcript for Clerkenwell Design Week, London. The Science of Creating Awesome Workspace Wellbeing = (Data + Perception + Activity Based Working) x Culture /Technology x Effectiveness Efficiency Environment
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November 14, 2016
The Death of Email
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BUSINESSES ARE TURNING THEIR BACK ON TRADITIONAL WAYS OF COMMUNICATING IN NEW AGILE ERA. BRITAIN’S OFFICES COULD BE SET FOR A REVOLUTION ACCORDING TO WORKPLACE DESIGN EXPERTS – THANKS TO THE IMPENDING DEATH OF EMAIL. A NEW AGE OF FLEXIBLE AND AGILE WORKING IS ALREADY SWEEPING THE COUNTRY AS EMPLOYEES DEMAND THE ABILITY TO WORK REMOTELY – CHANGES WHICH MEAN TRADITIONAL WORKPLACES NEED TO ADAPT
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January 22, 2016
January 2016 Comment from Shaun Baker, Creative Director at Oktra: “The perception that co-working spaces have become the work / plaything of the millennials has proven to be inaccurate. Surveys conducted on co-worker demographics identified that the average age of the user was 34, two-thirds are men, one third are women, more than half of […]
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