Bach of the bikeshed
The trouble with having a penthouse as part of your new office, complete with rooftop garden, is there is sometimes no accounting for the bird’s eye view.
When trendy workspace company the Office Group set about redeveloping the rundown Henry Wood House – the former home of the BBC in Langham Place, W1 – a bike shed was a must. Obviously. Unfortunately, the corrugated iron roof rather ruined the view from the sky garden.
Not to be beaten, and with a little imagination, company founders Olly Olsen and Charlie Green turned it from miserable to musical. Chopin would be so proud…
Falling asleep on the job
And speaking of the Office Group penthouse (see story above), could bedrooms at work be the start of a new trend? The company founders think so.
Their new Henry Wood House property, W1, which opened in February, comes with office space, co-working desks, a gym – complete with an ex-cage-fighter personal trainer – a device-free library and, perhaps most unusual of the lot, a studio flat which workers can book for a night, a weekend or even a midweek nap in-between meetings.
In “The Penthouse” tenants will find a pair of purple dressing gowns, a huge bed, shower facilities and views of the London skyline.
Diary wonders how many people are allowed to check in at a time – particularly on one of those hungover Fridays. Corporate duvet days somehow don’t sound quite right…
Hip to be Square?
Any developer will be familiar with the perils of public consultation, even when going above and beyond to involve the man and woman on the street.
The Co-operative Group and Hermes have been out canvassing for a name for the new public square they are creating at their iconic NOMA development in Manchester and, as ever with such competitions, the public has been getting creative.
Among the witty references to Manchester’s rich cultural and literary heritage the duo have received were a few less palatable suggestions, including “Hipsters Square”, “Spongebob Square” and “Red Square”.
Diary’s personal favourite was “Square One” – as in, “Let’s go back to Square One.”
Worse things happen at sea
Few companies recognise the importance of brand perception better than advertising giant Ogilvy and Mather.
So it will come as no small irritation that the company has had to backtrack on mail-outs to clients which said it would be moving to slick new offices at Sea Containers House, SE1, this year.
A hiccup with the building works has delayed the move until the new year, according to chief executive Annette King, who put a good spin on the delay by recognising that “some things take a little longer than anticipated”.
Something tells Diary that the PR department for Balfour Beatty, the beleaguered builder which did the mechanical and electrical works at Sea Containers House, may need to spin the story even harder given its six recent profit warnings.
Sofa so good for Ingall
Diary reported earlier this month coming across Mike Ingall’s personal liquor cabinet at the trendy Spinningfields drinking spot Manchester House.But it’s not just his favourite tipples he is stashing in public places.
The Allied London chief executive is taking full advantage of the yawning dimensions of the soon-to-be-redeveloped Old Granada Studios by using it as a storage space for his personal furniture collection.
On a tour of the site, Diary’s guide waved nonchalantly at sofas and an assortment of chairs arranged haphazardly about the various studios, uttering dismissively: “Oh, that’s Mike’s.”
We think this could be the start of Ingall’s Manchester treasure hunt.
Brum’s hottest ticket
Diary would never normally describe a formal event by Historic England as being hot and steamy, but guests at a soirée held at Birmingham’s vacant, 177-year-old Curzon Street Station last week were melting in the heat.
Dozens of attendees packed into a small upper room in the historic Grade I listed building – the original railway station from London to Birmingham, which sits next to the proposed HS2 terminus – to hear the recently launched government body (previously known as English Heritage) unveil plans for various West Midlands heritage projects.
The trouble was, on one of the hottest days of the year so far, an unused building with boarded up windows is not the best of venues. Cue lack of sunlight but sweltering heat.
One guest quipped: “It’s like being stuck on the Tube, with no ventilation and extreme temperatures.” Oops.
