Book review

Citation

Cooke, H. (2022), "Book review", Journal of Corporate Real Estate, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 290-292. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRE-11-2022-076

This is a book about London and the development of offices from houses to skyscrapers, and for some back to houses. However, London is the backdrop to a discussion on how across the global offices have shaped people and cities. London is a global city with a sophisticated financial and office economy, it reflects what has happened in other cities and the changes being seen now will play out across the world. For that reason, this is a book for those with an interest in the built environment, the real estate economy, offices and the workspace and the role of individuals in the development of cities.

In many ways, the timing of the publication of a book charting the rise and evolution of London as an office centre could not have come at a worst time. When it was published (2021), we were one year into the COVID-19 pandemic and the London office market was struggling to see occupancy levels reach 10% what they had been at the start of 2020.Throughout 2020 and 2021, a variety of “experts” in the UK were prophesying the end of the office. However, in other regards, it was the perfect time to publish a book with a broad historical perspective of London offices. Rob begins his perspective in the 16th century and takes us through the trials and tribulations that London has faced in the intervening 500 years. That includes the significant events of the 17th century, the Great Plague, which killed about 20% of the population, and the Great Fire, which destroyed about a quarter of the city and more recently the bombing of London in the Second World War. The latter led to widespread destruction with the consequences still visible in the 1980s. Throughout London has repeatedly shaken itself down and got on with life and Rob has drawn out how it has made small or large adjustments to evolve to retain its role as a global city.

That said this is not a history book on London, it is much more. The backdrop of the book is the history of the office in London but what is drawn into the discussion are a plethora of diverse strands. That includes architecture, planning, business development, technology, the role of the individual worker has changed and the consequences on the role of the office. The book has a broad chronological structure; however, the framework is of specific themes. These illustrate the depth of the knowledge Rob has on the subject, especially how the role of the individual and therefore the office has changed over the years; from the origins in the coffee houses of the City of London; evolving into clerical factories; through corporate offices to digital offices and now the network office. With this evolution we have seen coffee shops becoming the de facto office again, although not achieving the coverage per person in 1700 of 500 coffee shops for 600,000 people, which did not match that of the 7,000 “gin shops”.

What would be recognisable today as an office was developed in the 18th century, and probably the oldest “modern” office was the headquarters of the East India Company. Office buildings were a mix of speculative and purpose built, with many of the latter designed to impress and demonstrate the wealth of the company and/or individual. A trait that continues to be seen today. The grand façades hid poor working conditions of long hours within a rigid hierarchy. London’s role in trade through its docks and service sector (e.g. insurance) fuelled the demand for more clerks and managers to record transactions leading to the clerical factory. The book studies this development process and the consequences from the growth of trade and increasing office demand whereby the City of London could not accommodate buildings and people within the Square Mile. Geographic expansion was aided by new modes of transport, the railways and underground, and new technology, such as lifts, began to impact architecture with taller buildings. Rob chronicles the developers and occupiers that have made their mark on London through the centuries, including owners and landed estates (e.g., The Grosvenor Estate), individuals (e.g., Thomas Cubitt) and occupiers (e.g., the BBC and Shell-Mex) with their corporate offices.

All of this should be of interest to anyone who has an interest in London, offices, architecture and/or the development of cities and the adaption over the decades to change. That should be enough to make this book an essential reading for anyone involved in real estate. It is the evolution of the worker and the workplace over the last 40 years that highlights the importance of this book and the message for those in the industry. Rob has not come to these conclusions in the past few years, rather the book reflects his professional life, his consultancy business, his workstyle and the influence of several significant thinkers on the office and its use. The slow pace of change of office technology can be seen with the move from the ledger to the typewriter but following the first IBM PC in 1981 the move towards a more digital office was more rapid. The deregulation of financial services in London in 1986 precipitated company mergers, increased the need for professional services and altered the demand for space. Larger new offices with large trading floors, raised floors and air conditioning were required to make use of the digital technology. Certain aspects of the demand (e.g. large underfloor voids for computer cabling) quickly became redundant but that did not stop the emergence of a new form of office, the digital office.

The discussion on how digital technology has freed the organisation and with it the individual is both the crux of book and its message. The digital office provided the opportunity for the worker to become untethered from the workplace. As we have moved into the knowledge economy and, with it, a decline in the large corporate, the network office has become the new model. The worker has become untethered from their workstation and the office itself. Small firms and individuals have become more important. London has seen a decline in firms of more than 250 people, whilst smaller firms have grown, with more than half of all occupiers in units of less than 5,000 sq. ft (464 sq. m). Agility has become essential for organisations. Those who had not embraced it pre-2020 struggled with the consequences of COVID-19, in particular government-imposed lockdowns, forcing a rapid transition to laptops and mobile phones. Rob sets out what the network economy will entail for occupiers, suppliers of space and individuals. Work is becoming more dispersed, workers more agile and demand for space more nuanced.

The history of London is unique. The influences on London Rob examines are evident in other global cities. More importantly, the change of today is being felt by everyone. We are in turbulent, unpredictable times and, as Rob emphasises, “the greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic” (Peter Drucker). For those who have any interface with real estate the first step to changing their logic from yesterday should be to read the conclusions in this book. For occupiers and investors, the message is change your logic before it is too late.