The Arc Show will be discussing the latest lighting industry trends at the Business Centre in February next year, including the lighting masterplan for the Olympic Park. Among those speaking will be Mark Sutton Vane of Sutton Vane Associates Lighting Design, Arfon Davies from Arup and Julie Greer of Greer Pritchard. In addition, a groundbreaking new lighting technology will be unveiled. Spectral Equalisation by Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) allows a white or coloured light to be tuned to vibrate different colour wavelengths…

Global architects HOK has designed a 18,600 sq m North American headquarters for Porsche that includes offices, training centre, test track and restaurant. The facility will be at the heart of an extensive commercial development, Aerotropolis, next to Atlanta airport. It will house 400 employees and HOK is aiming for a LEED silver rating.  Image credit: HOK

Coming up to Christmas, onoffice would like to offer you an early treat. Enter online to be in with a chance to win 4 tickets to Office Party at The Pleasance Theatre in Islington.  All you have to do is leave your suggestion for a great place to throw an office party this Christmas in the comment box below. On 1 December we will be selecting and contacting the winner with the best idea as decided by our editorial team. About the…

The latest offering to the "private space in public environment" trend is from industrial designer David Tsai, who has created the rather intense 1:1 Box at Houston Community College, Texas. Located in a large hallway on the campus, the timber construction is lined with soft acoustic materials to drown out noise, and was commissioned as part of an artist-in-residence programme. “Our attention is easily fractured by constant updates, tweets, alerts and texts,” says Tsai. “Short bursts of text can be useful, but serve…

The construction of a new office building by shigeru ban architects for Swiss media company Tamedia is underway in Zurich. The Japanese practice has designed the structure for a 1,000sq m site in the city centre, overlooking the Sihl canal. An elongated glass façade will showcase an interlocking timber post and beam system free of nails and screws.   

Luxury brand Minimalux has launched its first writing instrument, called Ballpoint. The “indestructible” solid brass tube is an answer to the disposable nature of the classic Biro pen. Ballpoint uses replaceable refills like the plastic version, but cuts down on waste. The pen is not plated or lacquered so the surface will develop a natural patina with age. Onoffice is curious to try out what the company touts to be an “effortless and noteworthy writing experience.” Available with blue or…

Spanish company STUA has introduced new pebble-shaped acoustic wall panels by Jon Gasca. The decorative noise reduction system, called Satellite, comes in four different shapes and colours. The panels are made of fabric-covered foam on a wooden base, and fix to the wall at different depths.