Back to work after a scorching bank holiday, Diary can’t help but cast an envious eye towards the residents of Embassy Gardens in Nine Elms, SW8, whose splendid Sky Pool has been captured in all its glory by aerial photographer Jason Hawkes (jasonhawkes.com). From an AS355 helicopter (something else to be jealous of), Hawkes grabbed the perfect overhead shot of the world’s first floating swimming pool. With summer finally here, Diary is craving some holiday fun – with our favourite vacation activities typically including the high-octane thrill of a towering rollercoaster and the zen-like relaxation of lazing in a sun-drenched pool. Suspended by glass 10 storeys above the street below, those lucky folks at Embassy Gardens can defy death and enjoy life at the same time.
Next slide, please
How to encourage the next generation of great thinkers who will shape the built environment? Sit down and Diary will tell you a story. Well, Esri, a California-based company that makes geospatial software, will at any rate. The company has published a children’s book to spark six-to-11-year olds’ interest in mapping, distance and spatial pattern analysis. In The Playground Problem, David and Emma find their favourite playground closed and set out to find the best location for a new one. With their neighbour Kayla and her dog Blazer – presumably the new playground will be pet-friendly – they “apply introductory mapping and basic spatial analysis to solve several puzzles and narrow the best place” for swings and slides and so on. “Mapping for kids has never been this much fun!” Esri promises. The story even shows the youngsters presenting their proposals to their local council, although Diary is not convinced that will necessarily ignite any passions for planning…
That’s not what they’ll be called…
Flexible workspace provider Orega has been in touch with the findings of its “in-depth study of the future of work and the office”. On its behalf, Survation polled 2,000 office workers and 500 business leaders, and the survey has revealed “the rise of the TWTs”. That’s people who only work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the office. And we know you’re already thinking what we’re thinking. There’s no way anybody is taking the trouble to pronounce TWTs, when an alternative is available that is not only faster to say, but doesn’t omit the word “and” from the acronym. Flexible worker designations could, of course, be worse. Pity those who elect to only spend the second day of the week in the office, especially if they sign off to resentful colleagues with a cheery “see you next Tuesday”.
Let the train take the strain
Diary prides itself on delivering cutting-edge real estate insights to our loyal readers, such as the latest research from our regular correspondents at Benham and Reeves. A longer commute can, it seems, cut the cost of home ownership. Fancy that. B&R reports that “a slow but steady return to normality puts the London commuter belt back in vogue with homebuyers”, and has crunched the numbers on exactly which hole in that belt forms the sweet spot. You don’t want a 20-29-minute commute – for that you’ll be paying a 19.2% premium on top of the average £500,000 house price in London. Instead, be 30-39 minutes away and save 7.7% on your gaff – or, better still, 40-49 minutes and be quids in with a 12% discount. Only complete mugs would move 10 minutes further afield, as in that bracket house prices go back up, and you only save 5.6%. But if you adore trains and have plenty of time to kill, nudging yourself more than an hour outside London (60-69 minutes specifically) you can take a whopping 36.2% off your dream home – more than enough to cover your travel (especially if you’re a TWT).
The surreal deal
Diary knows you have been on tenterhooks since March, when we passed on news of SyFy’s forthcoming property horror drama SurrealEstate. Well, since you have all been so good, now we have a trailer to share. And we’ll leave it to you to decide whether we are in so-bad-its-good territory, or just plain bad. The Roman Agency and its boss Luke Roman “sell the houses that no one else can”, and this teaser includes some hair-raising dialogue. For example, this interchange between property’s answer to Mulder and his Scully-esque foil, Susan Ireland: “You’re some kind of ghost hunter?” “No ma’am – I’m a real estate agent.” Or how about this from Roman: “Some agencies help their clients by putting vanilla extract on a hot lightbulb for that fresh baked cookie smell. We help them by stopping the walls from bleeding.” But it’s the payoff that will leave you wanting more. “I don’t believe in ghosts,” says Ireland. “Neither do I,” growls Roman in retort, “I just work with them.” Get excited for your next small screen obsession at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWRy8PlthBI
Contact diary@egi.co.uk
