Flexible working: embracing the future, today

Last month, work took me to a dozen malls to undertake visits to stores on behalf of a client. Seeing a variety of malls, in a number of countries, over a short span of time offered a useful insight into the current state of the mall market. As might be […]

Last month, Hyphen was commissioned by a client whose brief required us to visit 107 sites across Europe in the space of just two weeks. For this, we mobilised 20 staff from five of our offices and set about organising visits to 12 countries. Some sites were literally within walking […]

Members of our data centre team have been attending the virtual DCD ‘Building at Scale’ conference this week. It has been interesting to see how our experience is reflected in the industry as a whole. The phenomenal growth of the sector that we have seen over the last few years […]

Just a few years ago, experts and analysts were predicting that by 2020, online retail would take over physical retail and drive it almost to extinction. Add to this an unforeseen global pandemic and people start to ask the question: is this the end for brick-and-mortar stores? Before the Covid-19 […]

This week, we were due to meet up with friends and clients at MAPIC Italy and although we all have to wait a little bit longer for this event, opportunities for investment in Milan remain strong. We interviewed our Office Head in Milan, Giacomo Spinelli, to find out more… Over […]

In this interview, data centre specialist, Peter Agnew, provides further insights into what makes a successful data centre design… A data centre, very simply, is a building designed to house computer servers (rather than people). Those computers have specific environmental requirements, and are required to run continuously, without interruption, no […]

EuroShop drew to a close today and I now look forward to resting tired feet. As a first timer I was unprepared for the vastness of the expo, spreading as it does over 17 halls. Any visitor counting steps this week should have racked up a good score! The vast […]

On Friday, the United Kingdom formally leaves the European Union. It has been a long and to some, a frustrating three and a half years since the referendum narrowly decided for Brexit. It has also been a process that I have followed closely. Firstly, due to Hyphen’s commercial interests but […]

Hyphen has worked in the industrial sector for more than 25 years and is currently delivering projects for some of the logistics industry’s key players across Europe. In this article, Berlin-based director, Leo Faoro, explains our role in this dynamic market… What are the main factors that you need to […]

On 7th June 2019, Hyphen’s UK offices launched Flexi-Friday. For a trial period between June and December, we closed our Winchester and London offices at 3.00 pm each Friday. This is not a new idea at Hyphen as our Madrid colleagues already enjoy something similar in Spain. So why did […]

It was a particularly hot August afternoon this year, whilst queuing at the checkout in my local supermarket, that I was forced to listen to a tuneless rendition of “Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer” which was being played in the background.  I have to say that in the heat of the […]

As Hyphen marks 25 years since our first quality management registration, I’ve been reflecting on what we’ve learnt and what changes I would like to see in the future… If there is one thing that fills me with trepidation when buying a new product, it’s the instruction manual that comes […]

Industry leaders from around the world recently gathered in Cannes for the 25th edition of MAPIC. Last week, our team shared their most interesting finds from the event and following this, we interviewed architect and Madrid-based business development specialist, Paula Martínez Vila, to find out more… Q: What themes stood […]

With the continued rapid growth of online retail and consumer expectation of next day delivery, the demand for distribution centres has never been higher. The retail logistics industry is experiencing a time of rapid transformation, so we interviewed director at Hyphen, Eva Diego, to find out more… Q: How has […]

Somebody said to me recently that because I have spent over 30 years working with architects, I must be quite knowledgeable about design.  The truth is I know very little about building design, but if I had to describe what successful design is, I’d say that it provides something that […]

We’ve delivered projects in around 30 airports worldwide and as we attend Paris Retail Week, director at Hyphen, Xavier Manera, shares more about our experience in some of France’s busiest airports…   _ Our dedicated team in Paris have permanent access (red and green badges) to Paris CDG airport and […]

Consumers have access to more information than ever before and as a result, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for brands to surprise or impress within a traditional brick-and-mortar environment. The rise of IoT (Internet of Things) has disrupted the traditional path to purchase and, in order for brands to survive and […]

We’ve been working with Abercrombie & Fitch since 2005, when we were appointed as the local architect to support the opening of their first European flagship in London’s Burlington Gardens. In the intervening years, Hyphen’s network of offices across Europe have supported store openings in the Republic of Ireland, Germany […]

Scroll down to read in Spanish After five years of operating in Latin America, our network of clients and collaborators has grown considerably and so has our portfolio of projects. This week, we’re attending Expo Real Estate Chile and we’re looking forward to connecting with some of the industry’s top […]

On Thursday 4th July, Hyphen’s Winchester and London offices came together to compete in a mini-triathlon to raise funds for two very important charities. Our swimmers raced the clock (and each other) over 500m in the iconic London Aquatics Centre. They then handed over to their cycling team-mates who rode […]

Following recent headlines about Arcadia, I can’t help but wonder if landlords and developers will finally wake up to the rapidly changing retail landscape and take action to protect our high streets. We are living through the most fundamental change to our High Street since the birth of the retail […]

As he attends Datacloud Global Congress in Monaco, we interviewed Hyphen’s data centre specialist, Peter Agnew about his experience and the future of data centre design. What are the biggest changes in data centre design that you’ve seen in recent years? The biggest change is the scale of the data […]

The food and beverage sector (F&B) has changed dramatically in recent years, not only in terms of the size of the market but also in the diversity and quality of offer. As rental prices continue to rise in Europe, spaces that were previously dominated by fashion retailers are now being […]

On 15th March 2019, we celebrated the opening of the biggest LUSH shop and spa in the world, so big – you could fill it with more than nine million bath bombs! Having delivered over 40 LUSH projects worldwide, this has been our biggest challenge to date. Spread across 1,380 sqm, […]

Hyphen has a long track record delivering projects in conservation areas, from Rag&Bone in Westminster to Kate Spade in Glasgow. Many of these historic buildings include features such as decorative cornicing and glazed tiles that give a nod to their past. However, when we redeveloped a handful of properties in the […]

Our recent design work on co-working offices led to one team member posing the question: Would Hyphen consider moving into a co-working office? Perhaps this warrants consideration, not only because we are now bursting at the seams in our London office, but also because we are looking to fit out […]

Following the launch of our international insights map, we interviewed Milan-based director, Giacomo Spinelli, about his experience of permitting in Italy… Q: How does Milan compare with the rest of Italy?A: Compared to larger cities in Italy (such as Rome, Naples and Ravenna), it’s easier because things tend to be […]

If I am deciding on a menu choice, I am unlikely to choose soup. I can’t really understand why somebody would take some lovely fresh ingredients, boil them together in one saucepan, then liquidise the life out of them.  The end result is invariably non-descript in colour, unpleasant in consistency […]

Following the launch of our international insights map, we interviewed Madrid-based director, Ricardo Pariente Villasur, about his experience of permitting in Spain… Q: How does Madrid compare with the rest of Spain? A: In Madrid, we apply for permits online by filling out a ‘Declaración Responsible’ (Statement of Compliance). Although […]

Thirteen years ago, we were approached by Trinity Winchester, a charity providing services for homeless people. They were in the process of being evicted from their previous home. Winchester City Council, a very supportive local authority had identified a fantastic site where they could develop a new centre. Substantial funds […]

Following the launch of our international insights map, we interviewed Alan Cheyne, a director at Hyphen, about his experience of permitting in London… Q: How does London compare with the rest of England? A: Quality varies across the boroughs but in the areas we are most active such as Westminster, City […]

Following the recent launch of our international insights map, we interviewed Olaf Gröger, a director at Hyphen based in Berlin, about his experience of permitting in Germany… Q: How does Berlin compare with the rest of Germany?  A: In principle, permitting is 95% the same everywhere in Germany. Variations arise when […]

Following the recent launch of our international insights map, we interviewed Carole Netzer, a director at Hyphen, about her experience of permitting in her home city of Paris… Q: How does Paris compare with the rest of France?  A: When applying for permits, Paris shares the same timeline and conditions […]

Through our network of seven Hyphen offices we cover a lot of ground – literally. Hyphen’s track record as architects across Europe is substantial and our clients rely on our knowledge of local code and custom when planning their projects. Uppermost in their mind is the matter of construction permitting […]

Anyone who has visited our London office recently will have been struck by the huge amounts of construction being carried out in our neighbourhood. Much of this comprises new social housing on the old primary school site and over-looked by the dominant 150m residential tower of City Forum by Foster […]

Today is the first anniversary of our re-launch as Hyphen and we’re celebrating across all our offices with our first Hyphen Day! By way of a small birthday gift we had our brilliant friends at Another Studio make us these exquisite bookmarks that show the local landmarks of all seven […]

Walking down Piccadilly yesterday I noticed that works to convert Audi City to a branch of Metro Bank have now started. Having worked on the Audi project in 2012 I got to know Devonshire House well. Whilst this building probably goes unnoticed by busy travellers emerging from Green Park underground […]