Soho Square in London is the epicentre of media land. The British Board of Film Classification, 20th Century Fox and Paul McCartney’s MPL Communications all live here and, until recently, so did the Football Association. Notoriously stuffy, the FA’s presence jarred with the dynamic environment. In a rare bout of self-consciousness, the organisation moved out in 2009 leaving behind a building that, although only 15 years old, was in dire need of an overhaul. Enter…

In its more traditional form, corporate art was often ineffectual decoration, bought to fill a gap or as an investment intended to reaffirm status. Now, developments in workplace design have loosened the reins on creativity in workplace art. Architects, designers and clients alike are realising its potential as a more expressive outlet for brand identity and an intrinsic part of an inspiring working environment. A recent report by International Art Consultants (IAC) titled Making Art…

Like any huge trade show, Orgatec is great for doing a lot of business in a short time all under one roof – but it’s a hard slog. Miles of artificially lit exhibition halls are enough to drive anyone loopy. Luckily just over the road from the Koelnmesse exhibition centre is Design Post, a year-round showroom for cool design brands such as Moroso, Kvadrat, Moooi and Magis, and a welcome escape for more and more…

In a perfect world, every workplace would fit, hand in glove, with its workers: desks would be occupied in an optimally efficient way; meeting rooms would never be under- or over-booked; no one would be too hot or too cold; and yes, that statement staircase would produce those “chance encounters” to boost the productivity of collaboration-hungry knowledge workers. Nice idea. But life is messy. Outcomes don’t always match expectations, and people don’t always use buildings…

For many designers, UK copyright law has never been fit for purpose. Unsurprising, when you consider it was never drawn up with them in mind in the first place. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 was formulated to prevent car manufacturers wielding a monopoly on spare parts and thus ensure the industry remained competitive. Sadly, the car industry spluttered and died not long after, hoisted by a petard of head-gasket failures and rusty bodywork,…