Would you shower with, ahem, all on display at the top of Israel’s largest tower? Amazon and Facebook bigwigs could have been doing just that. The Teddy Sagi Group’s Labs shared office workspace company has leased several of the floors in the Azrieli Sarona Tower in Tel Aviv, where the tech firms are current tenants. And Labs chief operating officer Dotan Weiner told Diary that he had a role to play in getting execs to exhibit their assets in front of passing planes. Revealing all, he said: “I designed a gym on the 60th floor with four showers opposite the window, and you have a remote with the option to have the shades open or closed. I was working with the architects and told them, this is what I want, make it happen.” But sadly, the visionary initiative proved to be at odds with the structure of the building, which is a grand 238.5m (782 ft) high. As Weiner explained: “It turns out a building this high moves. The shower broke because the drainage wasn’t built for movement, so we had to rebuild it again.”
A whole lot of lanyards
When you work in an industry like real estate, you are going to attend a certain number of conferences over the years. It turns out that the same is true in the world of technology. And, for some, the volume of conferences they have been to is an accolade worth sharing – even displaying. Don’t believe us? Take a look at Re-imagining Cities Foundation chair Chunga Cha’s amazing lanyard display. Forget a trophy cabinet, this is how the real winners roll.
Promises, promises
In troubled times for the high street, we need household names to stand firm and demonstrate their dedication to the Great British public. Kudos then to the Nationwide Building Society for its new advertising strategy, offering a clear commitment to its customer base… for the minute, anyway. “We promise,” it boldly declares, “that every town and city with a Nationwide branch today, will still have one for at least the next two years.” Oh well, it’s better than nothing – and at least that means one thing will still be open in 2021.
Marks sparks fury
On a similar theme, Marks & Spencer has famously failed to offer a Nationwide-esque promise, and certain branches are now beginning to follow through on the announced closures. The chain is seemingly keen to maintain its customers, though, even if they have to go through a little extra inconvenience to do their shopping, as demonstrated by the poster in the window at the Deal branch in Kent. “It’s not goodbye,” it reads. “This store may be closing, but you can still find us nearby.” Not close enough for one shopper, who the Daily Mail branded the country’s “most middle class vandal”. The unknown individual scrawled their wonderfully British response – “Absolute rubbish” – before pointing out that Dover is 5.5 miles away and Canterbury a whopping 16. It wasn’t long before the Mail’s coverage drew the obvious response below the line: “Down with this sort of thing.”
I’m loving it
Strange things are going on at Sedgemoor District Council in Somerset. A routine check of planning applications on its online portal led Diary to open up the design and access statement for a proposed convenience store on an industrial site in Highbridge. So far, so boringly normal – until we download the document and its title is revealed: “I love you but I do not like you.” Some planning officer’s oddly conflicted thoughts on the development? An errant message typed in the wrong place, offering a tantalising glimpse into a stranger’s complicated romantic life? Or an innovative new council filing system at work?
Keeping things hai-cool
Diary has been contacted by its new favourite brand – one that cuts to the chase, and tells you right there in the name what they are all about: Big Ass Fans. Get your minds out of the gutter, they’re in the temperature control business – and thankfully, the firm’s missive made it through our spam filters. It is excited to announce its “newest integration offering”, Haiku, which is apparently the “world’s smartest ceiling fan” and interacts with home assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. But, considering the poetic name of the line, we’re disappointed they went with a wordy press release rather than simply relying on the sparingly-syllabled Japanese art form to sell some fans. Naturally, we thought we’d do it for them. Want integration/That’s sure to blow you away?/Get a Big Ass Fan.
Two of a ’kind
Word reaches us from commercial agency Richard Susskind of how the firm’s name can sometimes lead to confusion in London development circles. It is shared with IT expert, author and futurologist Professor Richard Susskind, whose books include Tomorrow’s Lawyers – An Introduction to your Future. This was recently noted by the Law Society Gazette’s distant cousin of Diary (which carries the splendid name of Obiter). It is, of course, more familiar with the prof, and so was amused to see his name on a “for rent” sign over a favourite pub. The two Susskinds do move in the same circles from time to time, the agent tells us. Whether its very own actual Richard Susskind has his own views on the future of the legal system in a world of AI, it declines to mention.
