New developments, companies, start-ups in the real estate industry are transforming perceptions and needs around home ownership and rental experiences. In a society where home ownership is attributed to personal success, innovations in the residential rental market seek to enhance the appeal of renting. Evolving consumer needs are resulting in a trend of exclusive, community-focused living models. This shift is redefining how people view their living spaces, interact with their communities, and perceive the value of their homes.
Professionals in the AEC industry are well aware of the issues that grapple the built environment. That the construction industry is the largest consumer of materials and is responsible for 40% of all carbon emissions is a commonplace fact. Construction work is also a large waste generator and could greatly benefit from circular design principles. Almost three-quarters of all construction projects tend to be over budget, and nearly half of the spending on buildings goes into the overheads. In a fast-paced world with multi-faceted challenges, technology, and digitization seek to deliver significant solutions.
Adam Neumann, the co-founder of co-working company WeWork, is launching Flow, a new venture that hopes to transform the residential rental real estate market. While the details are still unclear, the company seems to be focused on creating a branded product with a focus on community features, as reported by The New York Times. The company received financial support, approximately $350 million, from Andreessen Horowitz, a prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm and one of the early investors in Facebook and Airbnb. Flow is expected to launch in 2023.
As the city continues to evolve and transform, dead edges in the cityscape begin to emerge, subsequently reducing the level of activity in our built environment. These 'dead edges' refer to the areas that lack active engagement, they remain empty and deprived of people, since they no longer present themselves as useful or appealing. As the Covid-19 pandemic draws to an ultimate close, the first issue we may face post-pandemic is to revive our urban environment. A kiss of life into a tired and outdated cityscape...
The focal element in creating an active and healthy urban environment is by increasing vitality through placemaking. Creating diverse and interesting places to reside, thrive, and work. Here are five regenerative strategies that animate the cityscape and ultimately produce resilient, attractive, and flexible environments.
WeWork recently opened its first headquarters in India in the southern city of Bengaluru. The downtown space, called Prestige Central, boasts 8 floors and was in charge of WeWork Chief Creative Officer, Adam Kimmel, Creative Director Francois Gramoli (based in India) and Head of Design Strategy Hayley Slavitt.
Recent years have seen a dramatic transformation in population distribution: today, more than half of the world's population now lives in cities. In parallel fashion, housing and work spaces have all increasingly embraced the communal, resembling the impulse toward public spaces in new cities.
Mexican architect Michel Rojkind has been named the senior vice president of architecture at WeWork. A native of Mexico City, Rojkind founded the Rojkind Arquitectos office in 2002 focusing on design, tactical and experiential innovation, maintaining an architectural vision that will shape integral experiences, connecting the complexities of each project to a deeper level to positively impact society and the environment. This vision was what led him to connect perfectly with the WeWork approach.
Data-driven design has been a holy phrase in architecture for some time now. The ability to refine and apply information on any range of topics, from movement to sun paths to air quality, hold enormous potential to positively impact design not just for one party but for all. Decisions can be made faster, buildings can be built better, inhabitants can be made more comfortable.
https://www.archdaily.com/912919/wework-is-transforming-the-way-architects-use-data-in-designKatherine Allen
No 1 Poultry, the iconic Grade II* listed landmark in London designed by James Stirling, has opened its doors as WeWork’s 28th London location. The Postmodern masterpiece now serves as a WeWork space for 2300 members, as well as shops, a roof garden, and a restaurant.
Bjarke Ingels Group has released new images of their WeGrow micro school in New York. As the first school design of the office-sharing brand WeWork, the project was designed to undo the compartmentalization often found in traditional school environments and reinforce the significance of engaging kids in an interactive environment. The design starts from the premise of a school universe at the level of the child. This first WeGrow project is now open in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood.
Sou Fujimoto, Michel Rojkind, Jeanne Gang, Assemble, MINI Living, Airbnb, WeWork/WeLive and OMA’s Reinier de Graaf are among the confirmed speakers at reSITE 2018 ACCOMMODATE, one of Europe’s top annual international forums showcasing top solutions for cities and attended by the region’s top design, business, and civic leaders, happening in Prague.
WeWork has announced that Bjarke Ingels will be its new Chief Architect. Ingels, who has taken the architecture world by storm since founding BIG in 2005, will continue in his role as Founding Partner and Creative Director of his firm, however in his new role at WeWork he also "will offer his insights and ideas to extend and help us push the boundaries of architecture, real estate, technology, and design," explained WeWork today in a press statement.
https://www.archdaily.com/894060/bjarke-ingels-takes-role-as-chief-architect-at-weworkAD Editorial Team
According to urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg, people need three types of places to live fulfilled, connected lives: Their “first place” (home) for private respite; their “second place” (work) for economic engagement; and their “third place,” a more amorphous arena used for reaffirming social bonds and community identities.
This third place can be a barbershop, neighborhood bar, community center, or even a public square. The desire for these three separate spheres drives how human environments are designed at a bedrock level, but increasing urbanism—as well as geographic and economic mobility—are collapsing these multiple spaces into one. The result is a new hybrid building type: a live-work multiunit dwelling that is home, office, and clubhouse.
In this article, originally published by Metropolis Magazine as "Redefining (and Redesigning) The Way WeWork," Anne Quito visits WeWork's offices in New York to discover how the company is using its own headquarters as the test bed for its future product offering.
In a nondescript building in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, the global headquarters of WeWork buzzes with creative energy. In just a little over six years, the start-up at the forefront of the coworking-space rental boom has created a $16 billion operation with 50,000 members in 28 cities, with 96 locations announced for this year.
Spread across two and a half floors, the 50,000-square-foot headquarters is the home base for WeWork’s almost-700-strong New York–based staff and serves as a laboratory for its designers.
In this article originally published by Archipreneur as "Space as a Service: Business Models that Change How We Live and Work," Lidija Grozdanic looks into the recent proliferation of coworking services - as well as the new kid on the block, coliving - to discuss how the sharing economy is redefining physical space as a highly lucrative part of the service industry.
Some of the most innovative and profitable companies in the world base their business models on commercializing untapped resources. Facebook has relied on its users to generate content and data for years, and organizations are starting to realize the value of gathering, processing, storing and taking action on big data.
In the AEC industry, some companies are discovering the hidden potential of excess energy that is generated by buildings, while others are looking to utilize large roof surfaces of mega-malls and supermarkets for harvesting solar energy. Airbnb has turned underused living units into assets, and allows people to generate additional income by renting out their homes to travelers.
The traditional notions of "private" and "public" space are eroding under the influence of a sharing economy and technological advancement. Space is being recognized as a profitable commodity in itself.
https://www.archdaily.com/785550/how-coworking-and-coliving-are-redefining-space-as-a-serviceLidija Grozdanic for Archipreneur.com
Exterior of WeWork Hollywood in LA. Image Courtesy of WeWork
"Buildings shouldn't just be a place where you go to do stuff. How can we enable the buildings themselves to be a positive contributor to the activities that happen within them?"
This is how David Fano, co-founder of New York consultancy CASE, explained the logic behind their acquisition by WeWork, the company that provides flexible coworking spaces for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Announced today, the merger could potentially mark a new chapter in the field of office design, as CASE proposes to bring their trademark attitude to Building Information Modeling (BIM) and other cutting edge technology to every space developed by WeWork.
Find out how this acquisition could change the face of Office design after the break.
.jpg?1553867953 "WARRIOR 108 / VOX arquitectura + Rojkind Arquitectos. Image © Jaime Navarro")
.jpg?1468332538 "Gathering spaces at WeWork’s headquarters offer a wide range of options in terms of informality and noise levels. The café tends to be fairly energetic. Image © Lauren Kallen")
