facilities management

Interview Special - Workspace Design Show 2026 London

Interview Special - Workspace Design Show 2026 London

At The Workspace Design Show at the Business Design Centre in London this year, I had the privilege of chairing a dynamic panel featuring industry leaders Nicola Tomkins Head of Design for Major Projects at Overbury,  Lidia Johansen Associate Environmental Consultant at chapmanbdsp and Paulo Ribeiro Head of Interior Design at  Aecom. It was a lively and dynamic discussion to a full house at the show. We looked at how we could reframe Biophilia, moving from Aesthetic to a Performance System. We explored how through collaboration, sourcing and configuring the brief early we can accelerate biophilic design specification.

 

After the panel I took my camera and mic and interviews other biophilic design experts visiting the show to ask them to share their insights on the show and biophilic design, emphasising its critical role in modern architecture and interior spaces.

 

Biophilic Design reconnects us back to nature, to our roots, to what makes us truly human. If you've ever wondered why natural elements in our spaces feel so vital, or how design can heal and inspire us, here’s what you’ll discover: how biophilic design transforms spaces, the science proving its benefits, and the urgent need to rethink our environments for mental, physical, and planetary health.

Biophilic Design and Net Zero targets in the Workplace

Biophilic Design and Net Zero targets in the Workplace

So how do we design workplaces and maybe more importantly maintain our workspaces and offices during the course of the building’s life span and use to help create happy, healthy and also sustainable places to be? We speak with Ian Baker, Head of Workplace and Jeremy Campbell, Executive Director Marketing and Business Development for Emcor UK to find out their direct experience as facility managers just what is happening in workplaces, and also how we can improve what we’re doing now to also hit that NetZero target.

We talk about how worried they are about climate change and the IPCC report. We are at a turning point, there is no Planet B, if we carry on as we are doing there aren’t going to be future generations, we have moral obligations as business leaders to solve these problems So how can business owners start to address the issue of trying to reach Net Zero? A recent survey Emcor carried out revealed that 50% of business owners were not ready or not yet on a journey to meet their Net Zero targets.