What do Google and Chanel have in common?
The smart building leads for these iconic brands will both be talking to me about why they’ve put human resources in the driving seat when it comes to choosing and implementing their smart building systems, along with Tomas Mac Eoin, Chief Executive of Hereworks, at the Smart Buildings show on Thursday afternoon.
I’ll be finding out from Katherine Farrington, Google’s Digital Buildings Portfolio Manager and Deploy Lead, and Florian Guillaume, Chanel’s IT Real Estate Senior Programme Manager, what that means for the way they lead projects within their very different cultures, whether that decision pays off for the business (and what metrics they use) and why they think most companies only ask people what they want long after key decisions have been made.
We’ll be talking about how this approach is reflected in recent flagship projects, including the new Chanel Global Headquarters in Mayfair and Google’s flagship offices in King’s Cross and what advice they would give to professionals in their position, navigating the Wild West of the digital building sector.
I’ll also be asking Tomas if he’s seeing a shift towards greater integration, beyond data to cross-functional dialogue within client teams, driving a joined-up approach to people-first places.
Control counts
Unsurprisingly, a degree of control over the lighting and heating in the spaces where we work makes us feel more satisfied, linked to reduced levels of stress and improved productivity – The impacts of building characteristics, social psychological and cultural factors on indoor environment quality productivity belief, Meeting User Needs through Building Automation and Control Systems: A Review of Impacts and Benefits in Office Environments. Being able to access the light switches comes top of the list when it comes to the link between perceived IEQ (Interior Environmental Quality) and productivity belief – The impacts of building characteristics, social psychological and cultural factors on indoor environment quality productivity belief.
The same principles apply to healthcare facilities – increased zoning and control boosts nurse perception of lighting quality, reducing patient complaints and the need for extra lights – Nurses’ Satisfaction With Patient Room Lighting Conditions: A Study of Nurses in Four Hospitals With Differences in the Environment of Care, saving energy too (‘small power’ accounts for up to 10% of a hospital’s electricity bill.) – Hospitals. Being able to adjust the lighting for older eyes could even help to cut life-threatening prescription errors, with a boost from 150 to 500 lux, reducing mistakes by 28% – The Impact of Lighting and Typography on Medication Prescription Reading Errors: An Experimental Study.
The need for meaningful control is even more critical when we move into supported living or residential care, where so many other small yet life-affirming acts of personal choice are lost overnight – The impacts of building characteristics, social psychological and cultural factors on indoor environment quality productivity belief. Organising the space to build a sense of familiarity and ‘home’ – Habitual Activities for People with Dementia: The Role of Interiors in Supporting Their Development after Relocating to a Care Environment, as well as designing spaces to optimise connection to the outside world, including access to daylight and outside views can help to build that vital sense of autonomy – as well as the power to switch off the lights and close the door to get some sleep at night – Older people’s perceived autonomy in residential care: An integrative review.
Death, taxes and the clocks going back…
On Sunday in the UK, the clocks will go back by one hour.
I’m delighted because it will be light again when I pedal down to the bay for the early-morning swim.
But I know my body clock will not be best pleased as this bi-annual experiment in social jet-lag reminds me just what a powerful mechanism this really is.
Expect more accidents on the road as we adjust to driving home in the dark – What is the impact on road safety when
the clocks change for British Summer
Time? and, although a recent large-scale study found no significant link between the clock change and heart attacks – Daylight Savings Time and Acute Myocardial Infarction, there is a clear link between irregular sleep patterns and heart disease – perhaps even more important than the amount of time asleep – Sleep Irregularity, Circadian Disruption, and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk.
Many scientists have been calling for a ban on the Winter-time change for years.
Until that happens, what can you do?
Aim to have dinner and get everyone to bed 20 minutes earlier this evening and tomorrow/Saturday night – as the evenings get darker, an early night snuggled up with a book might even be something to look forward to.
That way, you’ll only be 20 minutes out on Sunday morning and back on track by Monday.
Just like saving up for the inevitable tax bill, you’ll avoid that nasty shock and keep your family safe too.
National No-Beard Day – if you’re happy and you want others to know it, shave your beard!
Facial hair may be the new make-up for men, increasing perceived attractiveness and trustworthiness, similar to the effect of light make-up among women – Faces with Light Makeup Are Better Recognized than Faces with Heavy Makeup, (although it depends on the type – light stubble gives younger males the biggest boost) – Is beard the male makeup? An experimental study on trust perception based on appearance. It could even boost how intelligent, fertile and famous you look – The role of facial hair in women’s perceptions of men’s attractiveness, health, masculinity and parenting abilities.
But…
A beard may make you look angrier, even when you’re smiling according to this research – Facial hair may slow detection of happy facial expressions in the face in the crowd paradigm.
And it will also be harder for people to hear what you have to say because facial hair, especially a moustache, hides some of the critical lip-reading cues – Time for a shave? Does facial hair interfere with visual speech intelligibility?
And what about female facial hair? A billion-dollar industry thrives on keeping our whiskers in check, as some women experience extreme social anxiety and even depression as a result of this perfectly natural growth that can become more pronounced with age and some conditions – Women living with facial hair: the psychological and behavioral burden.
As this article from Dazed points out, while our menfolk may want to shave their beards, perhaps it’s time for women to celebrate ours!