Health and wellbeing
Hitachi Europe has joined forces with the British Standards Institute to produce an Industry Code of Practice on improving the health and wellbeing within an organisation. The PAS:2018 document is a fascinating insight into how multinational organisations develop and implement their wellbeing strategy.
Bluevoice was delighted to provide one of their project case studies which highlighted its wellbeing approach to an organisation.
Design for wellbeing
Bluevoice specialises in CPD presentations for companies and UK architectural practices requiring a practical guide to wellbeing in the design and planning of their environments. Our presentations also highlight the benefits of post occupancy data and user surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of our project outcomes, enabling organisations to make informed decisions about changes and adaptations to their spaces in the future.
Research and development
A campaign to improve the quality of seating for the education sector culminated in the launch of the EN 1729 ‘Safe Seats of Learning’ at the Royal Society of Arts.
An audience and panel presenters, including ergonomist Levent Caglar and the team leaders at Bluevoice, discussed the importance of good seating in educational environments which would be comparable with seating standards for offices.
The event was endorsed by Ty Goddard, reformer, writer, and director at The Education Foundation and cited by the Evening Standard ‘as one of the most influential people in education and reform’.
“Environmental factors have significant effects on pupil and teacher wellbeing. Poor quality lighting, ventilation, acoustics and furniture all have a negative effect on student achievement and health. What we wouldn’t accept in our workplaces, should not be part of our schools. We must ensure that money spent on furniture is fit for purpose. The UK has suppliers willing to innovate and we must continue to invest in and design fit-for-purpose and flexible furniture. Poor ergonomic design of classroom chairs can affect concentration, handwriting and general well-being. We welcome the work of FIRA and this landmark document, ‘Safe Seats of Learning’.” Ty Goddard
The Sorrell Foundation
The foundation was established in 1999 by Frances and John Sorrell with the aim of inspiring creativity in young people. The foundation creates and prototypes new ideas, then joins up with public sector organisations and the UK’s design community. It aims to deliver immediate benefits while creating models with long-term value. ‘Joinedupdesign’ is one of the initiatives which gives the client a voice in the design process; developing skills, problem solving, reasoning, communication and teamwork.
Circular Economy
Bluevoice was commissioned by the Furniture Industries Research Association (FIRA) to produce a sustainability kitemark scheme to represent the values of the circular economy. This endorsement of materials, products and interior layouts gives an assurance by manufacturers and suppliers that a high standard of specification and responsibility for our environment has been met.
We are specialists in legacy review and asset itemisation.