Smart Spaces & Places
A blog brought to you by Chris Kane
Latest Articles
How can we get the best out of the industry?
During recent months I have made a number of remarks, (for example, see Building Magazine, 12 March), about the difficulty of getting the best out of the construction and property industry. I was heartened to see that other people agree with me and that there are some...
Why is rent paid on quarter days??
I was chatting to Ian Coull Chief Executive of SEGRO today about the need for the property industry to shift a gear or two. The conversation covered lots of topics but a key insight for me was his remark that some of today's leasing practices are 600 years old! Ian...
MediaCityUK at Salford is world leader in sustainability
MediaCityUK is the first development scheme in the world to become a BREEAM approved sustainable community incorporating techniques to make it as sustainable as possible. Read more information about the development and the BREEAM approval here
Future of Work – do we need an office?
I was interviewed recently on the question of how new ways of working are developing and functioning in practice; I attach a link to the article. It did provoke thought about how we have approached work historically; mostly you could say that we all come to an office...
Dawn at Maseru
All this talk about our sometimes hot, sometimes not summer, reminded me of a remarkable experience I had when I made my trip to Lesotho in February 2009. On the last day of our visit I was up in time to catch the dawning of a new day. Looking back on that morning...
BBC Worldwide’s new home at The Media Centre
The Focus for the 2009 DEGW Founders' Lecture When thinking about the future of the Workplace, I tend to consider who else is doing interesting stuff. However, one should never overlook what were achieving ourselves and what's going on under our noses. This was truly...
Chris Kane’s interview with Property Week
I was interviewed recently by Mark Shepherd of Property Week about the move of parts of the BBC to MediaCityUK in Salford. We talked about the thinking behind the move - how the BBC has a responsibility to serve all licence fee payers across the UK; what it means for...