What’s an office of the future without a cuddle puddle? Ask the team working out of the Edge Olympic in Amsterdam, which Diary had the pleasure of checking out last week.
A feat in smart, sustainable designs and innovation with a dash of “Dutch rule-breaking”, according to Edge Technologies’ founder Coen van Oostrom, the retrofitted office is something to behold.
As for that cuddle puddle – literally a room full of cuddly toys for tenants to hug – it is apparently a proven concentration aid. Who knew fluffy rhinos could play such a huge part (or any part) in upping productivity?
Upside Down investment
Netflix’s hit show Stranger Things is not exactly famous for depicting the property world, but its corporate real estate deal activity has been dialled up to Eleven in its just-released third season.
At the heart of the plot is the town of Hawkins’ shiny new shopping centre, Starcourt Mall, which houses a sinister secret. And without revealing too many spoilers, it soon transpires that its stereotypically shady Soviet owners have been bribing the mayor to approve a string of resi and land acquisitions – for top-secret purposes, of course.
Diary does not recall the US property market being so thrillingly barmy in the ‘80s… but does this mean we can carry on binge-watching in office hours and call it work?
Manchester keeps its options open
EG’s rapturously received Future of Manchester event last week coincided with the opening night of the Manchester International Festival. So we were especially grateful that festival creative director Mark Ball found time to talk about how the city has built a globally recognised brand and would continue to grow its cultural offer.
He was disarmingly frank too when asked how the city sells itself: “What would Manchester’s bio be if it had Tinder? As it’s opportunistic, it would be on Grindr at the same time.”
Well, there we go. Any other cities seeking guidance on how to emulate Manchester’s success on the world stage, look no further.
Shed a tear
Diary has previously noted the enthusiasm of our Twitter friend @shedspotters, a community of “shed heads” who we’re happy to count among EG’s followers. Not everyone shares this view, alas. It seems Andrew Teacher, founder of property PR firm Blackstock, is not a fan.
“Does anyone know @andrewjteacher?” asks @shedspotters. “I am so upset. I’ve never been blocked before and I have no idea what I’ve done. Andrew, forgive me for whatever unintended slight I have incurred with you. And you are such an important man too, what with your television appearances.”
Flattery – will it get @shedspotters anywhere?
Offline shopping
In these troubled times for the high street, is any bricks-and-mortar retailer safe from the inexorable rise of online shopping? Possibly, if the results of online marketplace OnBuy.com’s survey on “the items Brits would never buy online” are to be believed.
Topping the list? Bras. Apparently, 85% of respondents said they would rather try them in-store than buy them on the web. The percentage seems high, considering that a fair chunk of the British public probably doesn’t do either, but we’ll go with it.
Next, 81% of people said they would be more comfortable purchasing beauty products from a physical shop, and in third place, 73% are worried about buying perfume online.
There must be a few department stores out there surprised to hear such loyalty to B&M in these areas. OnBuy also asked the opposite question, to find the items people would not rush out to a physical shop to get. There’s a clear winner there, which a whopping 92% said they would rather buy online, but Diary isn’t sure it can mention “sex toys” in a family magazine…
Destination retail
If there’s one shop built to survive, its Birmingham’s gargantuan new Primark. And it seems people are flocking from far and wide to visit, judging by this coach trip poster on the “Spotted Coventry City” Facebook page.
Scunthorpe bus station is 120 miles away from the five-storey, 160,000 sq ft Primark, so you’re talking a round trip of more than five hours.
As a child, Diary used to catch a bus in to Scunthorpe with its Nan – now locals are paying £20 to get way out of town to Birmingham. Progress?
