The Third Workplace
art space
ART SPACE
27th March 2013 – 24th May 2013
Art Space is an exciting collaboration between The Other Art Fair and The Office Group that celebrates the work of emerging artists.
With each edition of the fair, The Other Art Fair supports 100 of the best emerging artists working in London and beyond. Many exhibitors, all who have been selected by a committee of art experts, are yet to gain gallery representation, and hence the fair is a unique chance for artists to present their work to the key protagonists of the contemporary art world as well as the general public. Each artist is free to independently curate their space in a style most fitting to their work and ideas
Art Space celebrates this opportunity for unrepresented artists. In keeping with The Office Group’s dedication to providing innovative spaces for every way of working, the Art Space judges considered which artists had best presented their work within their stand. Three artists exhibiting at The Other Art Fair 2012 were selected by fair curator Dave Charlesworth, co-CEO of The Office Group, Olly Olsen and director of Acrylicize, James Burke.
Dan Hillier: Acclaimed for his black line engravings that embody the ‘Steampunk’ aesthetic, Dan Hillier’s work is characterized by depictions of fantastical human/animal hybrids, spliced together from late-1800s imagery.
Alberto Fusco: The dynamic free-standing paper sculptures of Neapolitan artist, Alberto Fusco, combine unusual materials with a strong sense of colour and form in order to reflect the volatility and the power of human emotions.
Damla Tokcan Faro: Inspired by childhood fairytales, stories and myths, the photographs of Damla Tokcan Faro come to life through an interaction of these tales and realities of daily life.
This exhibition showcases their work within The Office Group’s ‘7 Stratford Place’, where elegant Georgian architecture, combined with a modern 1970s design, generates a classic yet fresh space for working.
If you are interested in purchasing any of the work, please contact ryan@theotherartfair.com or 0207 886 3062.
Building Focus: Part 2
In this month’s building focus, we introduce The Euston Office one of the newest additions to our portfolio located on the forecourt of Euston Station.
The Dual (Branding)
Stepping away from occupying a full building for the first time, The Euston Office is set over four floors and offers over 30,000sqft of unique design-led flexible office, meeting and ClubRoom spaces.
The building was designed by the original ‘Marmite’ architect, Richard Seifert and the vibrant green reception certainly perpetuates this love it/hate it feel. We don’t have a say in that bit though. As a whole tower, the building is called One Euston Square and is managed by Lambert Smith Hampton. The name causes a little confusion as it isn’t actually in Euston Square . . . it’s in the forecourt of Euston Station on Melton Street. So if you’re coming to visit please bear that in mind. Art and literature lovers should look for the statue of Robert Stephenson or the sculpture by Eduardo Paolozzi to find us.
We’ve got the run of the first 4 floors and have gutted the whole place from top to toe. Check out our progress shots:
Flooded with natural light, owing to the lack of columns, and offering panoramic views the building has a clean, fresh and almost raw feel to it. The interior design by the excellent architects March and White combines existing concrete soffits with new joinery, which has been inspired by many of the elements of Seifert’s original work.
The first floor is dedicated to ClubRooms & Meetings. It’s a fantastic mix of semi-private, private and open spaces carefully developed for meetings, coffee-drinking, focused work as well as using the spaces as a full time office. The energy is second to none and our client list is becoming more and more interesting by the week. There’s definitely some entrepreneurial and creative osmosis going on.
The other three floors are offices from 2 – 80, all depending on how you work of course. They’ve great light kitchens, lounge and meeting points with furniture to help you stretch out that bad posture – curious? You’ll just have to come see it for yourself.
The (Architectural) Scandal
Seifert brought around 600 buildings to the capital and dramatically altered the London skyline. He was responsible for many of the iconic buildings including Centrepoint and Tower 42.
The demolition of the original Euston Station from 1961-62 was cloaked in controversy and there much public outcry, so much so that the Victorian Society, co-founded by the poet laureate John Betjeman, fought but failed to save it.
Places to eat, drink, ponder and wander
The Somers Town Coffee House
It’s not actually a coffee house but in fact a good old English boozer. With pub food galore, a Shhhh Secret supper club and hog roasts on a Friday this is just a short walk away on Charlton Street.
The Wellcome Collection is just opposite the station on Euston Road and is free venue with a mixture of exhibitions, collections, love events, a café and a bookshop. Exploring and exposing the connections between medicine, art and life you can have wander around on your lunch break.
Tapas – The Norfolk Arms
Indian – Generally the whole of Drummond Street, if you’ve any tips let us know as we’re still bambozzled
St Pancras Station
Completely revamped and renovated, not only can you pop on a train to Paris but there is a plethora of eateries, shops and a must visit Champagne bar and it’s great for people watching. Our favourites include, Peyton and Byrne, the Booking Office Bar and Sourced Market.
Closer to home, the usual suspects including M&S, Pret, Costa and Ed’s Diner can be found in the station. Coffee wise it’s a little tricky to get a cup of non-corporate coffee so if you have any tips near by we’re dying to know.
Brought to you by Lucy Phillips.
Lucy’s specialist subjects are Ways of Working, design, food, typography and all things communication.
Follow her knowledge and thoughts on Twitter
Keeping Up With the Jones’
We’re delighted that Google have announced they are to develop new UK headquarters at King’s Cross in one of London’s most significant property transactions of recent years.
Pancras Square itself will also be home to the new headquarters of BNP Paribas Real Estate, a new office building for Camden Council containing a customer contact centre, public sport and leisure facilities and flexible office space managed by… The Office Group.
The industry stats:
- Google UK Ltd (Google) complete purchase from King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP) of 2.4 acres at King’s Cross for 1,000,000 (gross) sq ft new UK headquarters
- The move is a major boost to the transformation of King’s Cross and is one of the biggest ever commercial acquisitions in the UK. It confirms the importance of King’s Cross as one of the largest development schemes in London
- The new headquarters will provide a state of the art, flexible working environment for Google staff with the move targeted for 2016
- The acquisition means that 4.5 million sq ft of the total 8 million square feet and over 50% of the commercial space at King’s Cross is now completed or committed Google and KCCLP have reached an agreement that will see Google acquire a 2.4 acre plot at the 67 acre King’s Cross development, in what is considered to be the most significant occupational transaction in London in recent years.
- Subject to reserved matters approval being received from Camden Council, construction will start on the new UK headquarters in late 2013.
- The building, which ranges in height from 7 to 11 storeys, is scheduled for completion in 2016, enabling Google employees to relocate from current premises in Victoria and Holborn.
- The plot (known as Zone A), is located immediately to the north of the new concourse at King’s Cross station and sits to the east of King’s Boulevard and south of the Regent’s Canal (see image attached), in the best connected location in Europe.
- Google’s headquarters faces One and Two Pancras Square, two office buildings currently under construction by KCCLP, which will be available for occupation from the end of 2013 and mid -2014 respectively.
- Architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) have developed high quality, sustainable design concepts for the new Google headquarters that will provide a dynamic and flexible working environment for employees. The building will sit above retail units providing a diverse range of shops, cafes and restaurants.
Commenting on Google’s decision to locate their UK headquarters at King’s Cross, Matt Brittin, Vice President for Northern and Central Europe said:
“This is a big investment by Google, we’re committing further to the UK – where computing and the web were invented. It’s good news for Google, for London and for the UK.”
Commenting on the agreement, Sir David Clementi, Chairman of the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership said:
“We are absolutely delighted that Google will be building their new UK headquarters at King’s Cross. This is fantastic news for London, for Camden and of course for King’s Cross. Google is one of the world’s leading companies, a dynamic, innovative and forward thinking business. It fits perfectly with our vision of King’s Cross as a creative commercial centre for London.
“King’s Cross is now recognised as a superb office location. With One and Two Pancras Square under construction, providing around 200,000 square feet of grade A flexible space, we expect to make further announcements of new lettings at King’s Cross soon.
“I would like to thank the whole team involved in this agreement.”
Delivery of the building will be managed by Argent (King’s Cross) Ltd on behalf of Google and the KCCLP.
David Partridge, Director at Argent (King’s Cross) Ltd said today:
“It is a great privilege to take forward what we believe is London’s largest office requirement in recent years. The team led by Nick Searl have done a brilliant job to get this over the line and are very excited by the opportunity to design and build a world class, sustainable HQ for one of the world’s leading companies.
“This is clearly a major step in delivering our vision for King’s Cross and will provide a catalyst for developing the next phase of this unique 67 acre central London location, which will create around 35,000 jobs and deliver over 1,900 new homes.”
Cllr Sarah Hayward, Leader of Camden Council said today:
‘’This is excellent news for Camden and a great way to start 2013. I’m looking forward to welcoming Google to King’s Cross and to working with them to ensure this investment by a global brand directly delivers local jobs and supports the local economy in Camden.’’
The commercial elements of the King’s Cross development are being brought forward together with new residential properties, to create a new and rapidly evolving place. This investment by Google is a further catalyst for the generation of around 35,000 jobs and the delivery of some 1,900 new homes at King’s Cross.
Simon Allford of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris said today:
“Working with Google is a special opportunity to create an innovative new headquarters of scale and significance that both builds on King Cross’s rich tradition of heroic construction and contributes to the fulfilment of the development’s visionary masterplan. The proposal for a campus within a building that engages with a new, yet historical piece of London is a very exciting one that we look forward to developing further as the project moves through planning and onto site.”
Property advisers were John Forrester of DTZ for KCCLP and Simon Calvert of CBRE for Google UK Ltd. Savills and DTZ act as joint agents for KCCLP. Legal advice was provided by Nabarro for Google UK Ltd and Berwin Leighton Paisner and Hogan Lovells for KCCLP.
About King’s Cross
King’s Cross is flourishing – after five years of construction across the 67-acre development the first premises opened in September 2011 and now, with Google UK Ltd’s investment, nearly half of the 8 million sq ft is now committed.
In total, the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership project is delivering over 1,900 new homes, 3.4m sq ft net of office space and 500,000 sq ft of retail space. There will be 20 new streets, 10 major public spaces and 20 historic buildings and structures are being restored and refurbished across the site.
In June 2012 Granary Square, a new public square for London, opened in front of the Granary Complex, with steps leading down to the Regent’s Canal.
In July our first residents in Rubicon Court, joined 5,000 staff and students of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design who moved to a new campus in the Grade II- listed Granary Complex in September 2011. Caravan, which opened last August, is the first permanent restaurant in the same building, fronting onto Granary Square and joined Shrimpy’s in the King’s Cross Filling Station and street food market KERB, on King’s Boulevard.
For more information, visit www.kingscross.co.uk or follow on Twitter @kingscrossN1C
For the latest news about King’s Cross visit http://blog.kingscross.co.uk
Power to the People
Acrylicize’s bespoke piece for 19 Eastbourne Terrace, our building inside Paddington Station, has made it onto the pages of Londonist. It’s hangs proudly on the wall of one of the lounges so unfortunately it’s not accessible to the public.
Unless you know (or bribe…) one of the clients, check it out here instead: http://londonist.com/2013/01/londonist-underground-a-wall-of-train-tickets.php
We’re Hiring
We are currently recruiting for a Customer Service/Sales Role/Product Specialist here at The Office Group. Seeking an enthusiastic, friendly, organised individual willing to work in a fast paced environment within a small team of 5. You will be responsible for coordinating new business by liaising with brokers and potential clients on a daily basis, matching the customer to the right location, product and price. No cold calling!
Experience in happily handling a high volume of calls is preferable but not essential.
Please send all CVs through to Kate@theofficegroup.co.uk by 18 January.
Thanks!
The Office Group
Building Focus No. 1
Building Focus is our series of meanderings through some of our buildings, their heritage, character and the best bits about being in that area. Read on for some top London facts and local tips and generally our advice on where to get a decent cup of coffee…
Warnford Court
The first in our Building Focus series is the wonderful Warnford Court, our building in the heart of the City. Think of City office space and the stereotypical images of tall glass towers, stale and stuffy boardrooms and not-so-great coffee usually spring to mind. But right in the heart of it all there is an alternative with all the heritage and design focus you could ever ask for.
Steeped in history, surrounded by sumptuousness and smack bang in the heart of the City, our building on Throgmorton Street offers flexible office space ideal for everyone no matter how big, small, corporate or creative (you know we’re just 10 minutes walk to creative and tech hub Shoreditch, right?).
Shirking the shackles of traditional City office space and combining the old with the new, Warnford Court is a design-fuelled breath of fresh air.
Location, location, location
Just a hop, skip and a jump from Bank Station and a short stroll from Moorgate and Liverpool Street Stations, the building is one of the largest in our portfolio. Although the area around Bank and Moorgate has always been full of bars, cafes and restaurants there used to be only a few places you’d really want to go to. We’re not quite sure when, but this has started to change.
After a surprising amount of debate these are our favourites for eating and drinking:
Coffee
Simply the best coffee in the City: Taylor Street Baristas they also do sandwichy lunch, great cakes and music to inspire a City soul.
Sit Down Food
Right on our front door is L’Entrecôte, something of an institution this no-frills traditional French steak restaurant is a master of simplicity. Salad starter, steak, frîtes, red wine et voila. Veggies need not apply.
Hawksmoor. You’ll forget you’re in the City. Great cocktails, great service, booths. They really know their steaks.
Sushi Samba. It’s all about the view, the experience and the service. If you want to impress it won’t let you down, although be warned as it will most certainly empty your wallet.
Duck and Waffle. Ok, so we haven’t actually been yet but we’re itching to go. Open 24 hours so there isn’t really an excuse. Any takers?
Pick up and Run Lunches
Farm . Great British Food. Comfort food that doesn’t make you need a siesta. Hot, tasty, lots of gravy, sausages and pies. Great coffee.
Birley’s. If you haven’t tried the Corn Chowder you have yet to live.
Do
Shopping at the Royal Exchange, or One New Change gives you pretty much all you need. It’s also just a 15-minute walk from the Barbican, so you can work late and have cinema dates or quench any cultural thirst.
Hidden history
Throgmorton Street and the surrounding area have a very colourful history; the building itself was once the home of the London Stock Exchange and is directly opposite Drapers Hall, which was once the home of Thomas Cromwell and is now home to The Drapers Company.
Thoroughly modernised and revamped by architects Scott Brownrigg, the building still retains many of the original 19th century features. The clock that adorns the front of the building was erected in 1905, in memory of George Parameter Brown, a stockbroker who worked in the area. The imposing staircase at the front of the building still maintains an air of 19th Century grandeur with intricate ironmongery all the way up the stairs, yet this is starkly contrasted by the vast multi-coloured lighting feature which runs the length of the building and constantly changes colour.
Modern day mobile working
It’s not just the old versus in the new in terms of the interiors but also the office spaces. There are offices suitable for companies large and small, Warnford Court is home to our original ClubRooms. A brand new way of working with flexible working space, lounge-style rooms and private areas for those all important business calls and times when you just need to focus. Kind of like a really well designed business lounge, but with wifi that actually works.
Next up is our latest building in Euston Station, The Euston Office. We’re pretty new to the area so if you’ve got any recommendations we’d love to hear them.
Ways of Working, Part 1
Making the most of your space
The cubicles of the mad men era are over. We all know that we need space outside the desk to get away, clear our heads and muster up productive energy. A change of scenery but with all the bits and pieces needed to accommodate modern working:
But with the increasing technology in laptops, tablets and mobile working, your desk doesn’t have to be a fixed space. In fact, setting out your office space so that it works for you and your colleagues can really boost productivity.
Open plan working spaces no longer have to be unchanging in structure or format, whether you abandon desks altogether like Microsoft have done in their Schiphol office by Sevil Peach (above) in the Netherlands. Here the whole office is open plan and colleagues move freely between desks. Or all join together on a big 8ft wide bench like Mother agency in London, the set up of your office doesn’t have to be the fixed desks, frayed carpets and horrid lighting of David Brent’s ship.
Indeed with all our spaces, you can really make yourself feel at home whether you’d like to paint your walls, knock them down or bring in your own furniture, the space is yours to customise. Here are some our clients made earlier:
One way to make the office work for you is to dedicate different spaces to the different activities that make up working life. Here are a few of our suggested ways of working:
Shhh be quiet
A quiet zone where you can stick your headphones in, put your ‘red card’ up and just get your head down can provide a little sanctuary for productivity.
To-do now table
Another good trick is to set up an action table, where things that have to be done are placed, every time someone walks past they have to action something, whether it is posting letters or filling out their timesheet (sweeties on the table are always a good bribe). That way those small annoying thins that need to be done becoming part of the routine of working in the office.
Write on the wall
A creativity corner in your office can add a bit of colour, think of it as your own physical Pinterest board where you can put up anything, from photos to inspirational quotes, from moodboards to ideas for the next team social. You could even paint a whole wall with blackboard or whiteboard paint so you’ve got a big space to get drawing.
Space saving
That old adage ‘tidy desk, tidy mind’ really does ring true, and can extend to the whole office. So grab the nearest recycling bin, sift through that paper pile that has been mounting up on your desk and bring some order to your personal working space. Do it as a team, pick up a duster and have a good old spring clean!
Yet, it’s not just about how you sit together and how your space is set out, a big part of making your office work well is how you work together. In our next post we’ll offer some suggestions as to how to bring a little feng shui into your every day ways of working.
Brought to you by Lucy Phillips.
Lucy’s specialist subjects are Ways of Working, design, food, typography and all things communication.
Follow her knowledge and thoughts on Twitter
ART SPACE | Judge at The Other Art Fair
We are delighted to announce a brand new collaboration with The Other Art Fair. Win a chance to exhibit your art and membership to the ClubRooms.
The Other Art Fair was set up by Ryan Stanier in 2011, to provide an opportunity for new and emerging artists to sell directly to buyers and provide a platform for them to gain recognition. The first fair took place on the Southbank in 2011 and showcased the work of over 80 artists, attracting more than 4400 visitors. This year’s fair takes place from 22 – 25 November at Ambika P3.
The Prize
We’ve teamed up with them to offer three lucky winners the chance to exhibit their work in our brand new location in the West End for four weeks from January 2013.
The winning artists will also win membership to our ClubRooms, a network of design-led flexible spaces throughout London where you can work, meet, network and base your business. With locations across London including the City, the West End, Euston Station and Paddington Station, each space is set up to fit with the way you want to work. Whether you need a little privacy in one of our booths, a place to meet your clients or simply a central London business address our ClubRooms provide a fantastic flexible way of working.
How to enter
To be in with a chance to win, all you need to do is tell us why you are up for the challenge. Send your application to space@theofficegroup.co.uk by 19 November 2012.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
TIME: THE MOST PRECIOUS OF RESOURCES
“A man who dares to waste one hour of life has not discovered the value of life.” Charles Darwin
This point is so simple and easy that anybody can do it. Do it properly, and it will deliver great results for you.
Everybody has the same 24 hours each day – the big difference is that some people use that time better! People who manage their time well have better control over their lives – and are usually more successful at what they do.
Do you know how you are currently spending your time? If not, it’s difficult to know what to do to better to utilize your time: the most precious of resources.
Let’s look at the balance of your life. Here’s a very practical exercise, adapted from David Carter’s book ‘Breakthrough’ to help you visualise how much of your time you spend on various areas of your life, and get things in perspective. You need 7 or 8 containers (choose whatever you like: cups, wine glasses, or bowls), 12 identical items (choose from marbles, champagne corks, pebbles, etc), and some post-it notes.
- Take containers, and label each one with a post-it note to signify a different area of your life: family, friends, business, health, hobbies, adventure, spirituality, learning… whatever is appropriate for your lifestyle.
- Think of how you’re spending your time in general. Distribute the marbles (or other items) around the containers to reflect how you’re spending your time and energy. Use all of the marbles.
- Reflect upon how satisfied you are with that distribution, and the balance you’re achieving.
- What changes in your life can you make, to improve things?
- Share the marbles around the containers to reflect your ideal, improved life.
- Plan to achieve that greater balance.
- Take action now to make that happen.
This test gets you to see the big picture and make more strategic choices about your use of time. This gives you the ‘why’ – the purpose of making changes, to achieve greater balance. Then you can work on the ‘how’. For example, you may decide that you need to spend more time on leisure or family, so you commit to only going into the office 3 days per week, or to triple the amount of holiday time you take. These are the really important long term decisions that enable you to achieve your ideal, well-balanced, happy life.
If you’re really serious about managing your time, try the six month diary exercise. This looks at your working time in general areas over the past six months. We’ve found it scarily revealing… Find it at:
http://www.theviewinside.me/2012/10/know-where-your-time-goes-and-make-it.html