Creativity. One concept. One huge impact. As an industry it accounts for 5.2% of GDP, but as a catalyst for change its influence is limitless. It is ?the source of originality, innovation and ingenuity. Welcome to the creative issue.
In short, it is everything that makes the UK a world business leader and everything we are striving to achieve in our working lives. And what better reason to dedicate this issue to the sector that underpins our success as a global powerhouse?
From Apple’s appointment of designer Marc Newson earlier this month, to a stark warning from BBC portfolio director Chris Kane at this week’s Corenet conference in Berlin that developers who dismiss the power of design must adapt or die, a strong focus on creative influences is at the forefront of future strategies across a wide range of sectors.
While the shift has been fuelled, in part, by the digital revolution, the impact will have a wider reach – one that the property sector would be foolish to ignore.
Because it’s not just tech start-ups who want well-designed workspaces, just as it is not only graphic designers living in Shoreditch loft conversions who want creative living spaces. As AHMM’s Simon Allford says (see below for link) we live in a “Creative City”, a place where bankers and lawyers can be just as creative as their entrepreneurial counterparts. And once the misconception that creativity and property can coexist only in certain sectors and areas is dispelled, the links between the two become much clearer.
When leading developers are joining forces with the world’s best-known names in style on major new projects, it is clear that attitudes are catching up. Legendary British designer Sir Terence Conran puts it neatly (Interview, see below for link) as he talks about Conran + Partners’ work on Almacantar’s modernised Centrepoint: “Developers are sufficiently intelligent to know they want to build buildings that will look good way into the future and are knowledgeable enough to brief designers to encourage them to deliver.”
And it’s not just about the developer/designer relationship. The impact of Britain’s £71.4bn creative industry – both on property and the wider world – should not be underestimated. The art, film, dance, music and fashion sectors make up an increasingly important occupier market (The Report, see below for link) and upcoming projects at the new Design Museum and Royal Academy of Arts could have the power to create entire new creative quarters in London’s most traditional districts (see below for link). The world, not least the world of property, is changing fast.
¦ This week we publish the shortlist for the Estates Gazette Awards. It reveals an industry in good shape, and one with real strength in depth. JLL leads by sheer number of shortlistings, but many advisers, developers and investors have multiple berths, too.
This year we have introduced new categories for the very biggest in the sector (Global Property Brand) and for emerging businesses (the specialist adviser and company categories). But each of the 59 businesses shortlisted across the 19 categories demonstrates success, commitment and, yes, creativity.
The winners will, of course, be kept under wraps until the awards ceremony on 11 December at the London Hilton Park Lane. And we have exciting plans for the night itself, of which more soon.
¦ By now I’m sure you will be aware of the ridiculous (her words, not mine) challenge being undertaken by EG deputy editor Sam McClary in the run-up to next month’s MIPIM UK. Between 1 and 15 October she is running and cycling 1,100 miles from Edinburgh to the event venue at Olympia in west London, to raise money for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Coram. She has already raised £50,000 for the charities thanks to the generous sponsorship of many in the property industry.
She is hoping to take that total to £75,000. To help reach the target, you can sponsor (and join) one of the legs of the challenge for £5,000 or donate £500 and run the last mile. For more information, e-mail samantha.mcclary@estatesgazette.com or click here to donate.
emily.wright@estatesgazette.com
Creative issue special
• Briefing: graffiti gains value for property
• Simon Allford: Creative City – home to imagination
• David Rosen: London creatives seek authenticity
• Peter Bill: colours make the brand
• Terence Conran: a designer for life
• The Report: alternative viewings
• The Royal Academy of Arts: the art of expansion
• South West Focus: creative comforts
