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A decade after its last conference in Birmingham, the British Council for Offices (BCO) returned to the city on Wednesday last week. The three-day event, attended by around 800 participants, began with the announcement of a snap general election and the arrival of 52 intrepid cyclists who had completed a tough 270-mile journey from Newcastle to Birmingham.

Before the conference officially kicked off, the BCO鈥檚 NextGen group hosted a brunch at the Mailbox, one of Birmingham鈥檚 grade A office spaces, where several dozen under-35s gathered to network and discuss their work in the sector. Topics of conversation included the flexibility of office spaces due to hybrid working and the importance of office developments incorporating amenities such as museums and cafes.

In his opening speech, Peter Crowther, vice president and soon-to-be president of the BCO, welcomed the fact that there were 200 NextGen delegates in attendance, double the number from last year. The future is looking bright!

Vibrant cities

The theme of this year鈥檚 conference was creating vibrancy. Crowther said that in the 10 years since the BCO was last in Birmingham, there had been some  鈥渞emarkable changes鈥�.

鈥淭he city famously known as the workshop of the world, now has sizeable commercial office developments,鈥� he said, reeling off 103 Colmore Row, the tallest office tower in Birmingham, Three Snowhill and Paradise Birmingham, where Arup has its third largest office worldwide.  

Crowther emphasised how offices 鈥減lay a big part in making cities vibrant places that people want to come to鈥�, which creates 鈥渁 symbiotic relationship鈥� between the workplace and the cityscape. 

Speaking to Crowther ahead of the conference, he had noted that people were attending 鈥渢o learn and be challenged, it鈥檚 an agitation to do what we do better鈥�.

While last year鈥檚 event had focused on the 鈥渘ew normal鈥� of hybrid working, this year delegates were challenged to think about retrofitting and sustainability and the impact of technology and AI on construction and the management of office buildings.

鈥�The moment for Britain to choose its future鈥�

Rishi Sunak鈥檚 announcement on Wednesday afternoon that the general election is to be held on 4 July was followed by the opening drinks reception at the shiny Dutch-designed Library of Birmingham. While some questioned the peculiar PR move of making the announcement in the pouring rain, the overall reaction was one of relief.

Richard Kauntze, chief executive of the BCO, said that, while he had not met anyone who was expecting Sunak鈥檚 announcement on Wednesday, having an election in early July instead of, say, October, was 鈥渘ot a dealbreaker鈥�. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a clich茅, but business likes certainty and it鈥檚 a duty upon government to produce stability and certainty,鈥� Kauntze added.

He compared this with 鈥渢he chaos we have had in recent times, with a revolving door of ministers, not least the prime minister鈥�. This was 鈥渘ot helpful 鈥� and you can see the market reaction to that鈥�.

Looking to the future, Kauntze said that for any government the job is about 鈥渇acilitating an environment in which business can thrive and how the government can pull the levers available to it to try and ensure that鈥�.

Harry Cliffe-Roberts, studio director in London鈥檚 Gensler office, said the election was welcome and that he expects that, by 5 July, 鈥渓ower inflation and interest rates will help improve land values and enable projects currently stalled at the feasibility stage to progress鈥�.

Oliver Hall, the BCO NextGen chair for London and the South East, said: 鈥淲e need a better focus on the built environment and a clearer planning policy process.鈥� He expressed uncertainty about adopting the US zoning system but added: 鈥淐urrently, we have to seek permission from planning authorities, whereas they should be asking us what we鈥檙e building.鈥�

Tech and AI: 鈥楢 massive period of learning鈥�

The panellists who took part in Friday morning鈥檚 session on 鈥渢he impact of the tech and the creative sector on future workspace鈥� seemed unanimous in their agreement that a 鈥渘ew normal鈥� since the pandemic had not yet been reached, despite the prediction back in 2020 that 2024 would be the year when everything finally settled down. 

Tim Oldman, founder and chief executive at Leesman, a data service which measures employees鈥� workplace experience, noted that the post-covid experiment continues, and that organisations are still analysing and understanding what is going on.

Leah Jones, interim deputy director of workplace experience at the Government Property Agency (GPA), said the body was still in 鈥渁 learning and testing stage鈥�. The GPA had expected that the office would be the place for collaboration, while the home would be where employees did the bulk of their 鈥渃oncentrated鈥� work. 

Instead, what they have found is that people still need private spaces in offices to concentrate. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 the bit we got wrong,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淲e were thinking we wouldn鈥檛 need the desks so much, but that it was going to be those collaborative spaces.鈥� 

In the opening lines of his presentation on the impact of AI in the office construction sector, Zachary Denning, head of product sustainability at JLL Hank, said: 鈥淎I is not new, our industry has refused to evolve for decades.鈥� He added that it had taken 鈥渁lmost 30 years to standardise smart buildings systems鈥�. 

Denning noted that AI is often viewed from the perspective of construction and design, rather than in terms of occupancy and management of buildings. Yet, he emphasised that occupiers, property and facilities managers were the people who spend the most time in a building 鈥� assuming it lasts for between 20 and 40 years. 

鈥淲hy haven鈥檛 we used AI enough [to shape how our buildings are managed and operated],鈥� he asked?

Denning attributed this to a lack of technological evolution in building operation over the past 40 years, since the shift from pneumatic controls to electronic systems in the 1980s. He argued that software was simply being used to replicate what the pneumatics system had done in buildings 鈥� to turn the building on and off. 

Denning emphasised there was a need to start again and move away from using AI on top of what is already there. To create Hank, the AI-powered  engineering platform used to optimise the performance of commercial buildings, he had to revamp the smart building process by integrating AI as he produced the new software, rather than treating it as a 鈥渂olt-on鈥�.

Hannah Critchlow, a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge, discussed how neuroscience could enhance AI鈥檚 potential in office environments. She highlighted the pandemic鈥檚 impact, noting that isolation not only affects physical and mental health but also decreases IQ.

In addition, she explained that, when groups of people work together, electroencephalograms (EEG), which map electrical activity in the brain, show that people鈥檚 brains become synchronised, allowing ideas to emerge more easily.

She also outlined how certain environments help human intelligence to flourish. She referenced a study of 4,000 students which found that access to green space significantly improved children鈥檚 IQ levels. 

Retrofit or refurbishment causing 鈥榓 real stir鈥�

The legal battle over M&S鈥檚 planning application to demolish its art deco flagship store on Oxford Street 鈥渉as caused a real stir鈥�, Katy Lightbody, senior director of heritage and townscape at Turley and panel chair of the retrofit versus redevelopment seminar, said.

She used this timely example as a springboard for initiating the discussion on whether commercial buildings should be demolished or refurbished.

Anna Hollyman, senior sustainability advisor at the UK Green 好色先生TV Council (UKGBC) delved into the findings of the membership organisation鈥檚 recent report, 好色先生TV the Case for Net Zero: Retrofitting Office 好色先生TVs.

According to the report, 23% of emissions in the built environment stem from non-domestic operational activities, with offices being the largest electricity consumers, accounting for 15.5% of all non-domestic buildings.

鈥淯nless we deal with those issues by retrofitting existing buildings, then we鈥檙e not going to meet our targets鈥�

Anna Hollyman, senior sustainability advisor at UKGBC 

Hollyman emphasised that the sector would need to reduce office buildings鈥� emissions by 60% to meet net zero targets, noting that 80% of existing buildings will continue to be in use until 2050.

Put simply, Hollyman said: 鈥淯nless we deal with those issues by retrofitting existing buildings, then we鈥檙e not going to meet our targets.鈥�

Alongside the government-mandated targets for all buildings to reach net-zero by 2050, Mike Gosling, partner in building services at engineering firm Cundall, said that building owners were very aware that they need to be looking at their buildings to avoid them becoming 鈥渟tranded assets鈥�. 

However, one of the challenges for building owners is knowing at what point in their lease cycle to do the necessary work on a building. 鈥淭he best way of getting buildings decarbonised and taking a fabric-first approach is generally by doing work to the facade, and that鈥檚 quite difficult to do if you鈥檝e got rolling lease cycles and existing tenants,鈥� he said. 

He recommended doing intermediate interventions and also building a longer-term plan 鈥渢o work out a 鈥榙own-time鈥� period when you can move tenants out of the building and actually do some work on the susbtantial building fabric鈥�. 

Next year鈥檚 conference

After three days packed with networking, tours of the city and office buildings and stimulating seminars and panel sessions, Helen Hare, junior vice president of the BCO and organiser of the conference next year, took to the stage to announce the location of the event in 2025.

Hare hinted to the audience that the destination鈥檚 name started with an 鈥淢鈥�, but ruled out Manchester and Milton Keynes. She painted a vivid picture of a 鈥渂ustling metropolis鈥� rich in cultural heritage and art.

She referenced its strong reputation in the life sciences and fintech, with over 13,000 financial service firms in the city. Hare said the city had a prominent position as one of the world鈥檚 leading exporters of pharmaceuticals and that it stands as the second-largest research hub for the pharmaceutical industry.

鈥淚t has long been said but smart, healthy office buildings and workplaces create stronger working communities and a happier workforce,鈥� Hare said. The clues all seemed to point to one European city, but it was a video, beginning with an enticing opening shot of an ice cream, to the soundtrack of 鈥淭hat鈥檚 Amore鈥� which really gave the game away: next year鈥檚 conference will take place in Milan.