Designing for Neurodiversity: Research shows that members of the neurodivergent community continue to face struggles with disabling workspaces, with the British Council for Offices calling on landlords and occupiers to urgently design more inclusive office spaces. One in seven individuals in the UK is classed as neurodivergent, yet these individuals’ needs continue to be neglected by businesses. Those who belong to the neurodiversity community are currently underserved by and often...

In a 15-minute rapid-fire episode, Mike Burton (Director, AECOM) and BCO NextGen's Chris Radley (Associate, Fletcher Priest) chat about lessons learned from the pandemic, resilient buildings, tech and staying creative in the field of architecture.   Mike leads AECOM's London Building Engineering team and is responsible for major UK and international projects. Mike has over 22 years of experience in sustainable design and delivery.   Chris commenced with Fletcher Priest in 2011 and has...

In episode 4, 2021's NextGen Rising Star Midlands Award Winner Conor Nolan speaks to Nigel Miller, MD of Cordless Consultants and author of BCO research report, ‘Impact of technology on the Covid-19 workplace.’ They discuss which tech trends are dominating regions the UK, barriers to adoption of smart tech in buildings and how H.R, I.T & FM in commercial real estate are having to work closer together than ever.   #bconextgen

In the latest episode of Talking Shop, Clare Bailey, author of the BCO Research report, 'Affordable Workspace: A Solution, Not a Problem' (undertaken by Savills) speaks to NextGen's Hannah Buxton.  "Productivity is up, but innovation is down." The two discuss affordable workspace at length, SME's, building reuse, social sustainability, community and the recent workplace challenges Gen Z and Millennials have faced #remoteworking

In a varied discussion and debate, Ken Giannini (Director, MCM) and one of NextGen's Rising Stars Yohance Harper (Associate Partner, Quadrant) chat about the work they're doing, and share their thoughts on architecture, sustainability, mentoring and purpose. They also share all things inspiration, career journeys and future industry trends.   “As a young architect, a previous boss told me to always challenge solutions from the past” – Ken Giannini   Yohance reminds us that great...

In the first episode of Talking Shop with the NextGen: Gillian Stewart (BCO Scotland's Chair and MLA Director) speaks to Savannah de Savary, Founder & CEO of Built_ID + Forbes 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneur and one of BCO Nextgen’s PropTech Company of the Year Award winners. They discuss the commercial real estate industry at large, PropTech, and how we get more young people a step up the construction career ladder and more.

SHOW LESSCOVID-19 has changed the way we work. For the first time ever, the nation is working from home en masse. Office desks have been swapped for kitchen tables, meetings for video calls and suits for sweatpants.  Already, this shift is posing new questions about the future of work and, in particular, the office.  Will working from home become the ‘new normal’? If so many people can do their jobs from home, do firms really need to take out so much office space? How can the ‘future office’...

To what extent will working from home become the new normal? Richard Kauntze, Chief Executive of the BCO speaks with BCO Research Chair, Elaine Rossall, UK head of offices research at JLL about how we might work post-Covid-19, and the pandemic’s impact on infrastructure and the office sector.

To what extent will working from home become the new normal? Richard Kauntze, Chief Executive of the BCO speaks with 2017/18 BCO President, and founder of Make Architects, Ken Shuttleworth about how workplace designs may change as a result of Covid-19, whether there will still be an appetite for major workplace projects and the economic shock's impact on the industry.   Shuttleworth joined Foster and Partners in 1986 and worked on some of the world's most iconic buildings, including The...

"I have not had a desk in 25 years."   In this episode of The New Normal, BCO's Chief Exec speaks to Cushman & Wakefield's Head of Occupier Business Performance, Despina Katsikakis about the impact of the lockdown on the wellbeing and productivity of employees, how this period of working from home will impact the future of work and how the demands and expectations of occupiers might be changed by COVID-19.

Head of Real Estate at PwC & Board Member at British Council for Offices, Chris Richmond discusses the shift to mass working from home, and what he thinks workers most miss out on by not being in an office.

How will COVID-19 impact the relationship between tenants and landlords?   In the latest episode, Richard Kauntze discusses this and more with head of Savills UK and European commercial property research team, Mat Oakley.  Mat specialises in the office, leisure and retail sectors.  Mat's experience includes work on a variety of topics including various office markets, the impact of major infrastructure developments, advising on tenant mix for both in and out-of-town retail and leisure...

As City Planning Officer for the City of London, Peter Rees led the planning and regeneration of this world’s business and financial centre from 1985 to 2014.  Today, Peter is Professor of Places and City Planning at UCL. He lectures internationally and advises developers and cities around the world on urban planning and design.  Peter is a founder member and director of the British Council for Offices and received the President’s Award in 2003 for “presiding over one of the most extensive...

Bill Price is a director at WSP and a structural engineer by background. His career has included buildings across many sectors usually delivering multidisciplinary engineering services. He was responsible for the early design development stages of the Shard and associated with all the projects at London Bridge helping to raise the profile of tall buildings in London especially around transport nodes.    Since 2012 Bill has been closely associated with the delivery and thought leadership...

Clare Ashmore has been at Parkeray for 20 years, a main board member for 14 years and was promoted to Group Board | Chief Operating Officer in January of this year. Her role covers all aspects of that of a COO (spinning plates) but has a keen drive on wellbeing, brand and ethos experience.  Clare has always focused on developing young people within our industry being on one of the first committees for Young Entrepreneurs in Property from 2002 and as board member at Women in Property, ran...

Paul Finch is Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival (WAF) and Editorial Director of The Architectural Review/Architects’ Journal. He started professional life as a journalist in the early 1970s. He became Deputy Editor of Estates Times (now Property Week), and subsequently edited Building Design, Architects’ Journal and Architectural Review, where he launched WAF in 2008.    He has been co-editor of Planning in London since 1994. He was a founder commissioner at CABE...

We hear from Lindsey Barrett, Chair of the London NextGen Committee on the legal impacts COVID-19 is having on the market and what we might expect from corporate occupiers. We also cover her ambitions for the NextGen, advice for today's grads and what could be done to improve diversity in the CRE sector.

In the final episode of the New Normal series, we hear from Danny Parmar, Chair of the BCO Midlands and East Anglia region. Danny is Business Development Manager with Overbury, with a major focus on Birmingham and Cambridge. In 2015, Danny built a BCO sub-chapter from scratch in Cambridge to harness its vibrant office sector.

Sir Craig Oliver was the former British Prime Minister, David Cameron’s Director of Politics and Communications for over six years, responsible for the Government’s strategy and messaging.  During that time he was Director of Communications on a number of political campaign teams, including the 2015 General Election (winning an unexpected overall majority).  His day-to-day work in this role included a radical overhaul of government communications, making them fit for the digital age.  In...

"Big businesses and small have been helpful, ingenious, inventive, innovative, they have come up with lots of solutions” – Martin Vander Weyer, Spectator business editor, discusses the economy, Brexit and capitalism in the time of COVID-19 in our latest #NewNormal

The United States is Britain’s closest ally. Richard Kauntze asks Sir Christopher Meyer how he thinks it currently stands and whether he thinks Trump will be re-elected for a second term this November.   Richard also says that following Britain’s departure from the EU, there has been much talk of the benefits of a comprehensive trade deal with the US, but America fights hard in trade negotiations and asks Sir Christopher what he thinks the chances of a good deal are for both sides, and much...