Viewing posts from : June 2016



June 23 / Design, Inspiration

Best of TED: Building a park in the sky

Last week, we featured a TED Talk showcasing a beautiful park, Lowline,  that exists underneath the streets of New York City.

This week we are looking at another park in New York, Highline, which, as the name suggests, is a park that exists in the sky above New York City.

Watch the TED Talk to find out more:

June 21 / Design, Inspiration

Apple Store architecture around the world

The Apple Store has only been around since 2001, but in less than 20 years, they have revolutionised the retail experience, just as much as they have revolutionised consumer technology.

As a true disruptor, Apple didn’t enter the retail game by copy and pasting the format you see at Currys or John Lewis, but create an all new customer experience, led by design and layout, that has excelled in architecture ever since.

Let’s take a look at our top 5 Apple Stores around the world…

1. New York Apple Store (Fifth Avenue)

The classic Apple Store design that comes to mind is always the Fifth Avenue store in New York. With the cuboid glass structure and staircase leading to the underground store, it is timeless, and the original trendsetter for Apple retail.

Apple Store New York

Image credit: jessicakirsh / Shutterstock.com

2. Paris Apple Store (Carrousel du Louvre)

An Apple Store directly next to the Louvre in Paris, France, is the ultimate Apple design experience, and this store, seen in the background of the inverted pyramid is in the perfect company.

Apple Store Paris Louvre

Image credit: andersphoto / Shutterstock.com

3. London Apple Store (Regent Street)

The largest Apple Store in the world dominates Regent Street with its astonishing beauty. Inside is a glass staircase leading to a Genius bar, and glass bridge that can be seen from the ground floor.

Apple Store London

Image credit: chrisdorney / Shutterstock.com

4. Shanghai Apple Store

The Shanghai Apple Store builds on the design of the Fifth Avenue store in New York, this time with a cylindrical glass structure, with a beautiful spiral staircase leading customers to the underground store.

Apple Store Shanghai

Image credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

5. San Francisco Apple Store (of the future)

The future of Apple Store’s, led by Apple VP, Sir Jony Ive, once again disrupts the retail experience. Yes, when you thought Apple had already disrupted enough, they went ahead and did it again! To truly experience the beauty of this story, and the future of Apple Stores, we recommend watching a video tour:

Bonus: Watch Steve Jobs introduce the first ever Apple Store

Featured image credit: pisaphotography / Shutterstock.com

June 20 / Property

Office property sales down globally

Office property sales account for a great deal of real estate investment, but recent news tells us that, across the globe, office property sales are down in the first quarter of 2016.

Real estate firm JLL found global activity totalled $133 billion in Q1 of 2016, which is 14% lower than Q1 of 2015. It is also the weakest performance since 2013.

Despite this being a global issue, the EU referendum still manages to sneak its way into some of the reasoning behind Europe’s decline in office property sales, with the uncertainty causing a 15% drop in sales volumes.

While this is bad news for investors looking at workspace property, the decline in sales will have the knock on effect of more competitive pricing. Time to grab a bargain!

How are property sales going for you? Get in touch and let us know.

June 16 / Design, Inspiration

Best of TED: A park underneath the hustle and bustle of New York City

In our latest featured TED Talk, Dan Barasch discussed his, and his business partner James Ramsey, crazy plan to create a park filled with greenery, right underneath New York City.

Lowline, will be an underground green space the size of a football field. Using technology that harvests sunlight above-ground and directs it down below, it is a park that can thrive, even in winter. 

Watch the TED Talk

June 15 / Marketing, Property, SEO, Social Media, Websites

Rightmove vs. Zoopla vs. OnTheMarket

Ever wondered which online real estate listings site has the most visitors, what their key demographics are and what differentiates them from the rest? Well, we’ve prepared this brief guide to give you all the facts you need, in just a couple of minutes.

Website traffic

  • Rightmove: 53.8 million per month
  • Zoopla: 25.6 million per month
  • OnTheMarket: 4.1 million per month

As you can see, Rightmove dominates the market by a great margin. But there are key differences that make the other sites worth checking out.

Key differences

  • Rightmove: Far more listings, better awareness among the public, used by 90% of estate agents
  • Zoopla: Smart features such as prices property sold for in the same area, recently acquired Property Software Group and USwitch, so may grow fast
  • OnTheMarket: A disrupter with lower costs to list, but also restricts estate agents to their portal alone

So Rightmove looks like it is here to stay, but both Zoopla and OnTheMarket look set to attempt to overtake its number one spot. This will depend on whether Zoopla’s acquisitions turn good, and if OnTheMarket doesn’t scare buyers away with their restrictions.

Are you a realtor? Where do you list your property? Let us know on Twitter @elevationcomms.

Newsletter

Get news updates sent straight to your inbox
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.