The creative spark

Did it work out well for them? Looking at the subsequent centuries of prosperity, the wealth of the doges and their political, trading and maritime power, the only conclusion to draw is that it did. And considering the fact that these days millions of people from around the world visit Venice every year, including myself once again, it certainly was worth it. In previous centuries life was hardly a walk in the park, but the onset of danger has always required a certain approach, a creative leap – and then you are only a step away (admittedly sometimes a large step) from being a major success. These days there are no hordes of barbarians poised to invade Italy (or Poland), but other dangers have arisen, such as terrorist attacks, which could have a much greate impact on the European real estate market than the Brexit, according to three C&W bigwigs (John Forrester, Jonathan Hallett and Charles Taylor) in the article entitled ‘One year later’. They assess the state of the sector and summarise the results of the merger of C&W and DTZ a year ago. What are the other risks facing us in the 21st century? Looking at the Warsaw office market through the eyes of the owners of older properties, it has to be the glut of new stock. Office developers and managers also have to find the right approach to cope with this and they are doing just that, which we cover in the article ‘Brand tuning’. I’m saying all this a little tongue-in-cheek, because it’s hard to compare such radically different events. However, it is worth looking at how to give an office building a minor ‘facelift’. I think I might need a facelift after being scorched by the Venetian sun, but it will be September when you read these words and my holiday will by then, sadly, be over.