The Commute
05/03/21
The Commute
by Kevin Goldsmith
So, who is looking forward to the return to the office and the commute?
This was supposed to be around 200-250 words but as I thought of my commute it just seemed wrong not to include a little about the normal journey as comparison.
Some may say its long overdue, others too soon, I personally will be looking forward to the face-to-face exchanges with colleagues, the incidental interactions with others, physical meetings and seeing more life, animation on the streets. However, to get to this there is the question of the travelling to get there, at least for most of us. When the call does go out from the Government will we see the floodgates open and the rush to get back on trains, tubes and buses or will we all be cautious and want to try alternate forms. Will this be the rise of people walking, something the lockdown seems to have made popular again?
WILL ACADEMY: Design Prize 2020
18/08/20
The WILL+PARTNERS DESIGN PRIZE was formulated on our beliefs and main theme of Wellness and Sustainability, a design prize that recognises and rewards outstanding design skills found in Brighton University Students- specifically Final year MArch Architecture and Final year Masters in Interior Design. It focuses on our effect as human beings within our architectural environment through our behaviour and wellbeing. One that enhances our quality of living and wellbeing through innovative and great design.
BLACK LIVES MATTER: Making a change
05/06/20
These past two weeks have been extremely tragic with the murder of George Floyd. His tragic death due to unfair police brutality has brought about an uproar from not only black Americans but people from all ethnicities globally. This unfortunately also served as a reminder of the racial injustice many experience and endure throughout the world and moreover racism as a whole. Read further to find out how we begin to make a change and tackle racism.
NEWSLETTER - MAY 2020
COVID-19 & Workplace wellness Webinar
04/05/20
Thank you to all those that were able to join us for the The IG|VISION COVID-19 + Workplace Wellness which William co-presented last Thrusday. We had a terrific response with over 900+ people joing the webinair including members from Public Health England!
Please follow the link below for the Webinar and to download the deck.
NEWSLETTER - APRIL 2020
The Office of Tomorrow, Today
06/04/20
Preparing for Business environments post Sars-Coronavirus 2 (Covid-19) – your distancing and density plans
Buildings give messages, and in the last 25 years there have been clear messages from the workplace and cultural centres that are particularly relevant to how we get back to work and culture in the current environment. Densities, absenteeism, and presenteeism have increased and with correlation, now we have evidence for cause. Above all how we get back to peak performance.
FINDING YOUR HAPPY SPACE
30/03/2020
Happy Birthday to our brilliant Managing Director- Mr Will Poole-Wilson. Thank you for creating a happy environment that we can effectively work in whilst also developing ourselves.
At WILL+Partners, we believe in finding something or place that makes you happy, particularly with our current state of COVID-19. We went around in our office before the lock-down asking everyone what makes them happy. Could it be your personal space, walks on the beach or spending quality time with your family?
Watch the video to find out what makes our team happy.
#Findyourhappyspace
DESIGN FOR KEYWORKERS
27/03/2020
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic we’re all facing, it’s important to keep our heads up high whilst we fight this together. Our main priority adhering to social distancing guidelines, we know it’s important to protect those who are at the forefront during this time- key workers, whether it be NHS, supermarket, utility and etc. Today we have come up with a design for supermarket staff. We should have a big shout out to them too. 8pm tonight?
We designed this protective Perspex screen to further enforce social distancing guidelines particularly with food stores and supermarkets.
They can be installed and fixed onto the till desk protecting the store assistant whilst serving customers purchasing groceries. Serving as a subtle but effective reminder to all. In the future this protective screen will help reduce the spread of infections not just the corona virus.
Here’s to all our key workers keeping the UK going. Can you think of something to design for them?
NEWSLETTER - MARCH 2020
Stay Connected: The Flexible Workplace
24/03/20
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, many companies are asking their staff to work from home, having the meetings online and making use of programs like Microsoft Teams, E-mail or Skype. These increase the benefits of remote working, allowing us to stay connected. Also, many companies have been forced to use remote working strategies more than ever before. Though this may seem complicated, it is a good opportunity to test ways of using new technology that will change the way we work in the future.
NEWSLETTER - JANUARY 2020
Mental Health in the Workplace
22/01/20
With Blue Monday just gone; the most depressing day of the year, it is said that suicide rates are at its peak particularly on this day. This is as a result of a number of variables. Our infamous British grey skies, the debt of Christmas and past year expenditures, general loneliness and depression. Knowing this, it should be our concern not only as employers and employees but as mankind to find solutions to not only counteract Blue Monday but ill mental health in general. Click below to find out how we can ignite a change starting with our workplaces.
NEWSLETTER - JANUARY 2020
Flexibility in the Workplace
14/01/20
As the workplace continues to transform into spaces that are now user defined and relative , it's a clear demonstration of fast changing times. A concept that is here to stay along with that transformation, is flexibility in the workplace. Many myths and perceptions have been conjured up when it comes to flexible working but we are here to explain why it's crucial and needed more than ever.
FC & A MAGAZINE INTERVIEW
Architect in Profile: Rob Price
02/01/20
Happy New Year once again! We hope you had a brilliant Christmas and New Year's spent with loved ones, joining in all the joyous festivities and of course indulging in countless Christmas dinners! We have already had an amazing start to the year, having one of our directors featured in the December issue of Future Constructor and Architects magazine(FC & A). Here Rob Price gives a little insight into his experience in the industry.
www.issuu.com/chrislilly/docs/fc_a_december_2019
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM WILL+PARTNERS!
01/01/2019
Happy New Year!
Already off to an amazing start this year with new projects underway, it can undoubtedly be said that 2019 was a brilliant year. We are very much looking forward to 2020. Maintaining a positive perspective and outlook is what really counts. That is what continually drives us forward. Our team has grown in experience as well as numbers, with fabulous new additions already proving themselves. Our new projects allow us to utilize our wealth of knowledge from our experienced design team. An enormous thank you to our wonderful clients from Confidential corporate clients, (you know who you are!) Confidential satellite communication clients, British Red Cross, Competitions Appeal Tribunal, Fortius Clinic, Thomas Miller, Victory house and News Corp UK. We just want to say a massive thank you once again for choosing to work with us, believing in our ethos and work ethic. Because without our clients, we wouldn’t get very far now would we! We appreciate you and look forward to a deeper relationship in the 2020. Here’s to an amazing year! Full of Health and Wellbeing with great Design.
SEASON'S GREETINGS FROM WILL+PARTNERS: 2019 - 2020
18/12/19
2019 has been an amazing year. With some wonderful new additions, our team is going from strength to strength, great projects completed, and new ones started. It is time to say thank you to our fabulous clients and colleagues deepening our relationships with new friendships in 2020. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone from Will+Partners.
NEWSLETTER - NOVEMBER 2019
Pets challenge and opportunities
05/11/19
PETS! We have them, we care for them and we adore them. Introducing the first Issue of our Newsletter, it is only right that we talk about taking your little friends into work. At WILL+ PARTNERS we highly recommend having pets in the office environment, click below to find out why.
DESIGN PRIZE 2019: Winner Announced!
07/06/19
Already off an to amazing and eventful year, we took the initiative to introduce the WILL + PARTNERS Design Prize this year. A little something we've been planning, we had entries from Brighton’s innovative architecture students. There was one particular project that caught our attention and won us over. Let’s not forget how great all the submissions were.
SEASON'S GREETINGS FROM WILL+PARTNERS: 2018 - 2019
14/12/18
2018 has been an amazing year. We have laid our first footprints and followed our course, trusting the stars in the night. Our new team is going from strength to strength, great projects completed, and new ones started. It is time to say thank you to our fabulous clients and colleagues deepening our relationships with new friendships in 2019. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone from Will+Partners.
WELLNESS MATTERS: Health and Wellbeing in offices and what to do about it
18/06/18
This groundbreaking research project provides definitive guidance on how to enable Health and Wellbeing across an office building’s lifecycle. Our founder William Poole-Wilson has spent much of the last year working on the study as one of the select team of authors, drawn from the construction industry and academia.
WELLNESS MATTERS: Health and Wellbeing in offices and what to do about it
06/02/18
The rise to prominence of health and wellbeing as a priority within the office sector has been met with loud public enthusiasm and quiet confusion in private. Our experience is that decision makers at all points in a building’s lifecycle are intuitively convinced of the need for action but fundamentally unsure of the necessary inputs, and the achievable or desirable outcomes.
There is no doubt that health and wellbeing trends will be disruptive to the entire office value chain. Emerging occupant demands, new performance standards, and third party wellness ratings have the potential reshape notions of value within the sector. It needs to equip itself for this change.
To help all stakeholders to make informed decisions and to capture the benefits for occupants and society at large, a simple ‘go to’ resource is urgently needed. “Wellness Matters” is the BCO’s unique opportunity to apply research and practical guidance to address this knowledge gap:
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Providing a framework for incorporating health and wellbeing considerations at all points in the building lifecycle.
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Establishing a simple step-by-step design guide offering teams a health and wellbeing roadmap with roles and responsibilities pre-design, during design, in construction, commissioning, operation and ongoing maintenance
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Explaining how to set focused, achievable and evidence-based goals that can be applied to every office building, of all ages, in any location
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Enabling decision makers to maximise the impact of health and wellbeing investment based on a review of the strength of medical and behavioural research
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Maximising potential return on investment by connecting health and wellbeing considerations to the evidence base on productivity benefits
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Helping stakeholders to make an informed choice between competing third party assessment and rating tools, or deciding to incorporate high impact elements of these standards into their buildings without seeking certification.
For the BCO with Perkins+Will, Elementa, and Sentinel RPI, we are working on this guide to be launched in May 2018