The Workspace of the Future @DACBeachcroft DAC Beachcroft LLP www.dacbeachcroft.com/realestate
@DACBeachcroft DAC Beachcroft LLP www.dacbeachcroft.com/realestate
Future workspace is about flexible, responsive, energy conscious buildings that are an integrated part of the urban infrastructure. It s all facilitated by new technology - PropTech - which promises to deliver greater efficiency and greater productivity. In order to deliver on its potential, it s also critical that these advances are congruent with what people want from their workplace. Top talent will be aligned with top specifications and employers will be relying on developers, owners and landlords to create this environment for them. In this extract are some highlights from the answers Ann Clarke - Joint Managing Director at Claremont Group Interiors, gave to Tim Ryan - Head of Technology Law at DAC Beachcroft. The interview explored the elements that are driving the evolution of the workplace of the future. Would you give me a vision of the future? Although workplace changes have been well-documented and the emergence of a new breed of transient, collaborative and agile employees widely discussed, it is clear the revolution is far from over. A new era of technological advancement is swelling, and the next wave is about to break. It s the era of a building with a brain. The next wave of visual collaboration technologies allows the sharing of multiple streams of visual data to accelerate decision making in real time, across numerous devices, regardless of location. Traditional meeting room technologies with their hard-to-use systems and unreliable function are outdated. At a time when the speed of business is increasing, it is more immersive and intuitive experiences that will improve decision making and dramatically enhance business process efficiency. Augmented reality (AR) will change how and where we interact with others, share information and complete our daily tasks. Already familiar with AR, thanks to Google Glass and apps and games such as Snapchat and Pokémon Go, this technology combines the physical and the digital by overlaying what you can see with computer-generated graphics, information and data. AR will streamline working processes, creative immersive experiences and vastly improve communication, with a particular focus on meeting, learning and collaboration. Imagine a workplace where presentations are truly interactive, where taking on a new task could be supported with step by step instructions displayed on an AR headset and where collaboration can be achieved uniquely through either face-to-face or remote experiences.
What do you think is one of the greatest challenges we face in embracing this vision? These technologies are already within touching distance and are expected to bring new opportunities and efficiencies to progressive, early adopters. However, for every business leader that s quick to embrace tech-rich and choice-led work experiences, there is another lagging dangerously far behind. Such is the pace of advancement that organisations are now faced with an ultimatum - to fully embrace technology to drive efficiency, unlock productivity and improve the workplace experience or, to ignore the pace of change, render working practices and values obsolete and damage their chances of commercial survival. What do you think will be the impact of this technology? In increasing numbers of organisation we are seeing more engagement with clients through technology than face to face, with new technology giving geographically distant teams new ways to come together. At the other end of the scale, you have the increasingly need for actual interaction in a digital age. The office is becoming less important as a client gateway; it s increasingly about its appeal to employees. The office will become a place of gathering and sharing; less of a production line and more of a laboratory; a place of belonging not of transaction. And the office of the future is less hierarchical, with a strengthening of peer-to-peer, adult-to-adult leadership trend, away from command and control. Co-creation is the direction of travel.
Let s talk a little more about these smart buildings - buildings with a brain. Smart buildings will make use of The Internet of Things (IoT). This is the ability to give everyday objects digital connectivity, by sending and receiving data via the internet and it will change how we interact with the environments around us. Already at work in some of the world s smartest office buildings, IoT applications are very varied. For example; printers that know when they re low on ink or paper and can automatically order more; air conditioning and lighting that detects employees individual preferences; and scanners than can transfer text to computer in record time. Smart buildings, such as Deloitte s The Edge in Amsterdam, show the full potential for IoT. Technology has been instrumental in improving employee engagement and reducing absence, halving the amount of space a business of its size would normally occupy and dramatically reducing its energy consumption. The Edge decommissions unused floors on quiet days to reduce heating, lighting and maintenance costs; identifies when facilities are ready for cleaning or maintenance; allocates workspaces and even loads employees individual training programmes in the on-site gym. And then you have ambient technology (Aml), which uses IoT as the infrastructure through which it operates. Aml relies on environments fitted with sensors and intelligent systems to deliver personalised services in anticipation of user needs. By monitoring the presence of people, recognising their identities and context, acknowledging activities and adapting to changing needs, AmI will make it possible to automatically rebook meeting resources if one meeting overruns and allocate workspaces based on users needs, diary commitments and task lists. We have talked about smart buildings. What are your views on healthy buildings? The world is becoming increasingly urban and our cities much more dense. Good buildings will be those that recognise the importance of mental and physical well-being. They will be attuned to circadian rhythms for example and provide greater access to fresh air. A variety of settings will allow people to move around more, in a way that acknowledges the difference between tasks requiring high engagement and collaboration, and those for deep concentration, deep chamber working with few visual and aural disruptions.
PropTech at DAC Beachcroft We bring a wide-ranging service that helps manage the response to change. At the heart of this is a nationwide team of property and technology experts that can address the risks in this rapidly changing environment. 140 real estate lawyers who work in every part of the property lifecycle for organisations whose property assets are at the heart of their business. The team has the breadth and depth to have dedicated experts in offices, retail destinations, residential, leisure and health. A 50-strong Technology Law team, acting for both creators and users of technology. Our work is at the leading edge of technological innovation and informs our work for users and owners of property assets, ensuring that IT is aligned with core commercial objectives. The integration of specialists into the main project team - procurement, litigation, construction, IP - is a particular point of difference that brings efficiency in communication and excellence.
Our PropTech Team Alison Key Partner: Real Estate North +44 (0)161 934 3166 +44 (0)7775 533 406 akey@dacbeachcroft.com James Ross Partner: Property +44 (0)20 7894 6402 +44 (0)7738 348 375 jaross@dacbeachcroft.com David Manifould Partner: Corporate and Commercial +44 (0)20 7894 6996 +44 (0)7771 725 531 dmanifould@dacbeachcroft.com Tim Ryan Partner: Head of Technology +44 (0)20 7894 6978 +44 (0)7789 435 915 tryan@dacbeachcroft.com Andrew Rankin Legal Director: Technology North +44 (0)161 934 3220 +44 (0)7894 708 522 arankin@dacbeachcroft.com
@DACBeachcroft DAC Beachcroft LLP www.dacbeachcroft.com/realestate