Apparently inspired by a jewellery box to reflect the second city’s industrial past, the building was designed by architect Ken Shuttleworth – creator of such landmarks as the London Gherkin and 55 Baker Street.

Already signed up for office space at The Cube are the Highways Agency and the IBI Group, a design consultancy firm. The interior of the offices has been rated BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and are due to be completed in time for opening in summer 2012.

The centrally-located offices will provide The Law Society with space for 700 employees.

“We’ve taken time to view a range of options which best fit our criteria before deciding on The Cube,” says Desmond Hudson, CEO of The Law Society. “Consolidating our four current Midlands building and all our Midlands-based staff together in one building will reduce our costs, make us more effective and more efficient and support the provision of high quality services for our members.

“The Cube offers us a better, greener and more centrally located working environment for our staff topped with first-class transport links.”

Find out more about Birmingham office space through the officebroker.com website.

Elsewhere on the Blog...

• Birmingham: Expansion for Orega Following 100% Occupancy

• Birmingham MIPIM Bound in 2012

• UFO Jibe Halts Birmingham Office Development

As advances in technology are providing us with the opportunity to work remotely from any location in the world, could we witness a rise in businesses turning to serviced offices as they look for a flexible alternative to conventional office space?

The office space of the future is open to many predictions, but as companies continue to promote and develop flexible working options, change is already on the horizon. In a recent BBC article, technology giants Microsoft and Dell have predicted changes based on both the changing attitudes to the working day and the flexibility that new technological advancements enable.

Microsoft have introduced a forward thinking approach in their Amsterdam office as an example of the networking products they are promoting. Staff can choose where to sit depending on the current project and tasks that they are working on. They are encouraged to work from home when possible and have reported positive results including “a happier workforce” and “increased productivity”.

Dell have outlined their thoughts on future working habits with Director Bryan Jones telling the BBC that an employee of the future will be “less bound by physical location, by conventional work hours” and that “the performance of that employee is judged more by the output and indexed towards quality of output rather than the number of hours worked."

Home working is on the rise, but perhaps there is a limit as concerns over productivity and the sensitivity of private data arise. In a survey by Unwork.com 71% of respondents turned their back on working from home with a fear of isolation being a key factor. It seems that people prefer to be in an office environment where they can ‘show face’ and be amongst their colleagues.

Perhaps a serviced office is the office of the future. Co-workers can turn up to a shared workspace and utlise technologies such as cloud computing and ultra-fast internet. Businesses aren’t required to commit to long term rental leases, with serviced offices offering short term licence agreements that allow for companies to either expand or contract the space they have taken whilst adding on features such as meeting rooms and reception services at their convenience. Companies would be able to have a hub of smaller offices rather than a central, and often costly head office, allowing for staff to reduce commuting times whilst still maintaining that office experience.

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The 15-year lease has been signed for the fifth and sixth floors of the Brown Street offices, located central to Manchester’s business district.

“Manchester was identified as an important target for us to establish an office some time ago,” says Philip Grace, chief executive of i2 Office.

“Given our business, the quality of the building was of paramount importance and Chancery Place quickly became our focus to provide our first Manchester city centre offering.”

The work space opened for use yesterday morning (Feb 20th 2012) at a building that provides a total 102,000 sq.ft. office space to Manchester businesses, complete with stunning views, an iconic design and a range of facilities from state of the art communications to break out areas.

Elsewhere in Manchester, the office space market continues to show growth in 2012 as visual effects company VTR has taken 3,000 sq.ft. office space at a Grade II listed property on John Dalton Street, property investors Invesco buy out office space on New York Street for around £42m, and work has begun on 21,000 sq.ft. Grade A office space in New Islington, led by project managers CR8 Management.

Find out more about the Manchester office market through our Manchester City Focus Report for Q4 11.

Elsewhere on the Blog...

• Manchester’s Imperial Court Wins December Award

• Manchester Office Market Set for Boost

• Further Success and Expansion for Orega in Manchester

In 2011, several robotics companies saw such success that they established new office space all over the world, thanking massive revenue increases due to demand.

The iPad seems to have appeared straight from the pages of ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, once dreamt-of virtual reality games are flying off the shelves, and the likes of automatic doors and escalators are unimpressive features of everyday life.

In so many ways, the sci-fi future predicted in the old days looks to be manifesting itself in the 21st century. But how was the working world envisioned? And how many predictions came true?

1. Your Daily Commute: FALSE

For a brief, fevered moment in the early 1970s, the hover car became a reality in the form of the flying Pinto. Unfortunately, this resulted in the instant fiery deaths of the two pilots at Oxnard, California. Despite the dreams of any of us sat bumper-to-bumper in the early mornings, it doesn’t look like we’ll be literally flying through our commute any time soon.

2. Your Office Clothes: FALSE?

The closest we’ve come to the foreseen fashions of yesteryear is Lady Gaga. Although, somewhere among the all-in-one space suits and – dare we remember – fur bikinis, one common theme stands out above the rest: gender neutral, or androgynous, fashion. Looking around... how wrong were they, really?

3. Your Office Space: TRUE?

There were some awfully strange predictions of future cityscapes floating around (some literally) in the 1930s. These ranged from a monolithic ant-farm Manhattan and ‘walking’ cities (a little out there) to mile-high skyscraper cities and bland, practical housing estates (not at all unusual in the 21st century).

4. Working From Home: TRUE

In a stunning example of future foresight, BT’s previous incarnation, the General Post Office (GPO), once predicted a world of remote-working in which technology removed our full-time reliance on physical office space. We’ve already hailed 2012 the year of the flexible office but it looks like the GPO got there first... in 1969!

Take our office technology survey and tell us if you would prefer to return to a world without tech and which office supplies you think might have lived their last.

Elsewhere on the Blog...

• What If: We Took Your Tech?

• 2012: The Year of the Flexible Office

• Ikea to Assemble Flat Pack City

Major brands are flocking to London to invest in office space for 2012 as the commercial capital rallies against the darker days of recession.

High end fashion brands, business and investment firms and digital media businesses continue to seek out prime locations in the capital, reflecting London’s undeterred commitment to culture, commerce and innovation...

Fashion

• Chanel has secured planning permission to build a Paris-style fashion maison in New Bond Street, which will house the luxury designer’s full collection.

• Following a recent doubling in the size of office space, Burberry is planning to secure new premises on Regent Street later this year.

• Dover Street will see a new Alexander McQueen space in London with the takeover of a Georgian townhouse due to open this year.

Business

• Harvey Nash is an old friend of the City with their current base in Mayfair, but the company will now be reinforcing their London presence by relocating to offices in iconic Heron Tower.

• Al Gore is on the way with multi-billion dollar bank, Generation Investment Management, the offices of which are to be located in Prince Regent Hotel, owned by the crown.

• Real estate investment company, CBRE Global Investors, recently secured a 15-year lease at One New Change in the City, to home thousands of office workers in 330k sq.ft office space.

Digital

• Leading the large-scale tech investment at Silicon Roundabout, Google is due to open its East London ‘Campus’ any day now, providing new office space for digital entrepreneurs.

• LA-based media company, Caviar, is making its big move to London this year in a joint venture with UK Pulse Films which will see their new offices open this week.

• South Florida-based global language website software developer, MotionPoint, recently announced new EMEA headquarters established in London.

Find out more about London office space through the officebroker.com website.

Elsewhere on the Blog...

• The Tragic Tale of Battersea Power Station

• Ventia Opens Central London Office Space

• The Olympic Lockdown: Is Homeworking an Option?

Two Portsmouth-based business centres recently received recognition in the News Business Excellence Awards held on February 10th 2012 at Portsmouth Guildhall.

Gosport Business Centre was ‘Highly Commended’ in the category of ‘Community Contribution’ and Langstone Technology Park owners Fasset came ‘Runner-Up’ in the category of ‘Large Business’.

The Basepoint-operated Gosport Business Centre provides a wide range of flexible office space and was commended for the award thanks to their support of local communities and activity groups.

“2012 has got off to a great start for us with receiving this recognition,” says Andrew Weston, Centre Manager at Gosport Business Centre. “We were up against seven very strong contenders and were amazed when we heard our name called out.

“The fact that the judges were from the local business community makes it even more significant and humbling.”

Based 30 minutes away on the other side Portsmouth, Fasset is currently achieving occupancy levels of approx. 98% at Langstone Technology Park, with over 100 staff working on-site and an estimated £15m investment in the green economy in 2011.

“This award is a fantastic achievement for Fasset and I am delighted to collect this on behalf of the whole team,” says Fasset Managing Director, Gary Medlow. “We were up against some tough competition from local businesses and so it is a real testament to what we have accomplished at Langstone Technology Park as we continue to prove why we are the premier business park in the South today.

“Thanks to the judging panel and our supporters across the region. I believe that Fasset is contributing to the economic and business development of Havant and this year so far the signs are all good.”

Find out more about office space in Portsmouth through the officebroker.com website.

Elsewhere on the Blog...

• Three in a Row for Gosport Centre

• More Good News for Fasset as Microset Moves In

• London Business Centre Recognised for Fundraising Work

Valentine’s Day means different things to different people. February 14th was once a day for martyred Christians in the first and second centuries AD (adorable, we know).

But the day became romantic at some point before the 14th century when courtly lovers decided they needed a dedicated day to get all that mushy stuff out of their systems.

But is that what you want in the workplace?

Tell us where you stand on the Day of Love and whether you think it warrants a celebration at the office...

That’s all very well and good, but what exactly are the rich being so determined and clever about? Where did it all start and, more importantly, how did it end in such big bucks?

Read on to discover 5 different ways to put those bucks in the bank...

1. THE BIG IDEA

Do you have a simple idea that could revolutionise the market?

Perhaps the least reliable way to make a million is the Big Idea. Presumably arriving like a bolt from the blue, the Big Idea could make you a million practically overnight. But it’s not what we’d call the most metrics-driven method.

A regular on many a millionaire list, Sir James Dyson takes our award for the Big Idea with the invention of the Dyson vacuum cleaner.

The fastest-ever selling product of its kind now produces a £1.4bn revenue for the man who was once an interior design student with plans for a slightly faster wheelbarrow.

2. MAKING MISTAKES

Are you willing to lose so you can learn how to win?

‘Made massive mistake’ is likely to appear on the CV of many a millionaire.

An advocate of the highly-emotional business approach, US speaker Bert Martinez made his fortune in marketing before he was 30 years old… and lost it all by 32. Now he encourages others not to fear wealth and the risk of losing it, but to embrace it.

Bert filed for bankruptcy a mere 2 years after reaching the big million – but then he made it all back again by age 35. How did the sales and marketing millionaire land a fortune not just once, but twice? Well, once you’ve made the mistake, it’s probably a lot easier to spot the second time around...

3. MOTIVATION (RAGS TO RICHES)

What skills could you learn to survive abject poverty?

Jessie Conners takes our prize for the most determined millionaire. Jessie taught herself marketing to assist her father’s business and, by age 16, was earning around $80k a year. She used her skills to open a marketing firm at 17 and then invested her wealth in property at 19.

But just a few years earlier Jessie and her family were surviving with no running water or electricity and lived one year in abject poverty in a Mexican orphanage.

She claims to have sold anything from porcupine quills to chicken eggs in her youth; her entrepreneurialism was self-taught out of necessity. Now in her late 20s, Jessie is a multimillionaire business owner.

4. BUILDING A BUSINESS

Are you willing to invest everything in a single business plan?

When it comes to building a business from next-to-nothing, our favourite climber is Bernard Matthews. While earning just £1.50 a week as a livestock auctioneer in the late 1940s, Bernard decided to buy 20 turkey eggs for a shilling each and an incubator to hatch them in for £1.10.

After an initial lack of success, Bernard went to do his 2-year service in the air force and then took a job in insurance. But he used that income to buy a house in 1950 and fill it with turkeys.

It wasn’t until 1980 that we first saw Bernard and his brood on the television but by its owner’s death in 2010, Bernard Matthews Farms Ltd was worth £40m.

5. SENSIBLE SAVING

How much of your income could you save for early retirement?

Todd Tresidder has to be the most sensible man on earth.

Beginning a career as a hedge fund manager helped make Todd a savvy investment and personal wealth expert - but his fortune hasn’t come from big ideas and blow out mistakes. On the contrary, Todd became a millionaire in the simplest way possible - by earning more than he spent.

By focussing on wealth as a process and not a prize, Todd slowly and steadily increased his money by living thriftily and squirrelling away a significant 70% of his income. He retired a millionaire at age 35 and now teaches others how to do just what he’s done.

Elsewhere on the Blog...

• A Billion in the Bank Before 30

• Rise of the eBay Millionaire

• Profile: Donald Trump

How much do you rely on modern-day technology and how would your business survive without it?

Don’t worry; we don’t know anything you don’t.

As far as we’re aware the internet isn’t going to crash and we don’t expect all the satellites to fall out of the sky, either.

But for the purposes of the ‘What If’, we’ve pulled the plug on the digital revolution to take a look at what we’d have to pull out of storage to replace our favourite gadgets...

A DAY IN THE LIFE WITHOUT...

1. Your Computer

Putting aside the communal nervous breakdown we’d all have without internet access, what would you do with no functioning computer? We’re talking about no database, no records, no files...

Your best bet would be a typewriter and a seriously organised filing system. That’s right! You want to type up your meeting agenda? Produce a report? Takes notes during a phone call? You’ll have to do it all with the clackity-clack of this dusty old-school typewriter.

Well, that or a pen and a pad of paper. We’ve still got those, right?

2. Your Smart Phone

No more checking your emails under the table at a meeting or tweeting about your evil boss. No texting your best mate to arrange plans for tonight and no lunchtime phone calls to sort out your banking/insurance/significant other, etc.

Instead, we bring you... The landline! Complete with monitored phone calls and no cool games, apps or entertainment whatsoever. It looks just perfect, right there next to your typewriter, a half-tub of Tipp-Ex, a notepad and pen, and a big stack of files.

We’re not even giving you a little flashy number with transfer buttons and direct dials. Nope, this mean machine’s got one of those circular dial pads that you have to stick your finger in and crank around, digit by digit.

3. Your Tablet

That’s right; we saw you sneaking a peek at your iPad when we took the computers away. And now you’ve made us go and take the internet, too! Without a computer, a smart phone or a tablet, we’re cutting you off from all access to real-time news and instant information.

Your landline’s right there so we don’t know why you’re complaining about not being able to talk to anyone. But as for the news and information?

From now on, the news will have to come from the morning papers and television broadcasts that air four times a day. For information you’ll have to read lots of books, or go find someone who knows more than you do.

TAKE OUR SURVEY

Would you go back to a pre-digital working world?

Once a living legend on the London skyline, Battersea Power Station could fast be losing favour as it approaches its 30th year of disuse and another redevelopment project collapses.

Despite the Grade II listing awarded in 1980, Battersea could well be facing its final days if it can’t find a buyer to bring it back to life.

But the building was once the realised dream of a man who also gave us red telephone boxes and the Tate Modern gallery, and despite the decades of serial disappointment that have passed, the proposals for this London landmark have been many...

• Thames Theme Park

Alton Towers Ltd once pitched the idea of an indoor theme park to celebrate Britain’s industrial past. The site was worked on with this goal in mind for 2 years in the 1980s until the funds ran out. The cost of renovations had exploded from £35m to £230m and would have required a minimum 2 million visitors a year to generate income.

• South Bank Shopping

When a Hong Kong development firm showed interest in Battersea Power Station in the 1990s, there was a dream of a vast 180-strong shopping centre complete with restaurants, cafes, bars, nightclubs, comedy clubs, a cinema, exhibition halls and a riverside path. This was another dream destined for the scrap heap.

• Battersea Office Space

Naturally, we’re interested to learn that Battersea could once have been home to 3.5 million sq.ft. of very central London office space, as well as 3,400 residential apartments. Had these plans gone ahead, around 15,000 jobs could have been created and the area could have been stunningly revitalised as a base for dozens of London businesses.

• Football Club

Just a few years ago, Chelsea FC was reported to consider relocation to the iconic power station for their football grounds. A spokesperson came out against this statement claiming that while designs had been drawn up, the club had not asked for them. However the rumour resurfaced in November 2011, only to vanish again when the latest deal tanked.

There’s never a shortage of suitors for the iconic landmark, but after 30 years we’re beginning to fear the old girl may not be able to go the distance. Is it time to put an end to the tragic tale of the once-beautiful Battersea?

Elsewhere on the Blog...

• Historical Office Space Around the UK

• Revival of the City's 'Cheesegrater' Office Tower

• 'Baby Shard' Planned for London Bridge