В историческом здании Ньюкасла пройдет эксперимент по созданию «живого» рабочего пространства

A historic building in Newcastle city centre is set to provide the base for a live experiment exploring the future of work. The Boiler Shop in Newcastle today hosts countless conferences, gigs and food festivals. But in the late 1820s it was part of Stephenson’s Works, the world’s first locomotive factory which gave us Locomotion No. 1, Rocket and Planet. Later this month more than 300 people, including leading voices from business, design, HR, property, health, wellbeing and performance, will descend upon the building for Work Beyond Walls, a two-day event which aims to create a ‘living workplace’ in an innovative experiment. The venue will be transformed into a real working environment, built by up to 20 of the world’s leading workplace brands, where people work, meet, sit, test, debate, and hear from leaders in workplace design and culture. Companies including MillerKnoll, Egger, Hay and Deadgood will be involved. The event will also welcome a large line-up of speakers, including Develop North chief executive Michelle Percy; Phil Witcherley, director of economic growth and innovation at the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority; and former Olympic middle-distance runner and founder of workplace performance consultancy EPIKOS, John Mayock. ‌ Across the two days, the event will look at the full working environment and what people need from work today, such as the spaces people use, the culture around them, the rapid evolution of technology, and the impact all of this has on wellbeing and performance. Taking place on September 9 and 10, Work Beyond Walls is the brainchild of Paul Glaister, brand principal at workspace consultancy, Workpattern. Mr Glaister said: “The North East has always been creative and ambitious; we punch well above our weight in many ways. Why should we have to go to London to have a conversation about how to make work ‘work’ better for us? “That’s why we created Work Beyond Walls – a space to hear the biggest ideas, meet national experts, and influence the future of our working lives. The North East has the people, the ideas and the appetite to lead this conversation here. ‌ “We’re running the event as a not-for-profit because the return we care about is a much bigger picture of workplace culture, performance and wellbeing for the whole region.” The event will also kick-start the next phase of the WorkPulse survey, which has already built evidence from more than 2,300 UK workers. The ongoing research project explores work and workplace trends across the UK, to provide a better understanding of work challenges, needs and preferences which inform the future of workplace design and culture. Philippa Lobb, design/A&D consultant at Workpattern, said: “As the idea for the event was emerging, we asked ourselves – what is the problem we need to solve for the community? We soon realised that this is a debate which needs to happen across sectors and with a range of different people. “The more that we learn, the more we have the opportunity to enhance wellbeing, productivity and prosperity for people and organisations. You can come for a talk, work from the space for a few hours, join a workshop or stay for the whole experience. It’s free, and we’d love people from right across the region to be part of it.” ‌ Alongside the event, Workpattern has launched a six-part podcast – Work In Motion – which is hosted by workplace consultant and commentator, Ian Ellison. The series follows the team in the build up to the doors opening at Boiler Shop on September 9. Our ChronicleLive Daily newsletter is free. You can sign up to receive it here. It will keep you up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East.