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Introduces the special issue of Facilities, looking back at the changes in the journal over its first 20 years of publication.

Considers the relationship between the emerging facilities management discipline and the existing building‐related professions. Defines facilities management and argues that it is impossible for the facilities manager to become expert in every area of responsibility. Facilities management must help to integrate the work of specialists in the many distinct areas involved. Discusses the issue of co‐ordinated professional qualifications.

A joint project by Facilities and the Association of Facilities Managers (AFM) has begun to identify the major trends in facilities management job types in the UK — and the typical salaries and benefits attached to them.

Details the TSB′s administrative activities′ change to premises in Birmingham from London and shows the change to a better, environmentally friendly office to be advantageous, particularly with regard to the staff.

This month Facilities looks at the second of the recently‐formed facilities management groups, which, while broadly similar to the first in its objectives, has a very different flavour and structure. The Institute of Administrative Management (IAM) is the umbrella organisation for a number of specific administrative disciplines, including office automation, telecommunications and office design. For a number of years the IAM has run the Office of the Year Award scheme which has helped focus attention on facilities management issues — in particular the importance of high‐quality design and good planning for new and existing buildings. About a year ago the institute's council members decided to take the next logical step and broaden the scope of the office design section to embrace the wide range of facilities management responsibilities. The Facilities Management Group (FMG) obviously has a key strengthening role to play within the institute because it strongly reflects the interests of the other specialist sections and offers a unique way of drawing together a diverse membership.

Representatives of 20 major companies from as far as Bahrain and South Africa attended the FM course held recently at Reading University. Run in association with Facilities, the five‐day event was the first of its kind in the UK and, according to organiser, Professor Bill Biggs, was as much about bringing like‐minded people together for an exchange of views, as it was about offering a rigorous academic framework: ‘The main thing is to bring people together for a long enough period so they can really start to talk.’

Although the job has existed since commercial premises began, the profession of facilities management is less than 10 years old. Moves towards achieving coherence as a professional group began in the United States, where as early as 1975 an annotated bibliography on planning educational facilities was published. This was followed by the appearance in 1980 of a new journal, Facilities Design and Management, the introduction of the first graduate programme in Facility Planning and Management at Cornell, and the establishment of two groups — the FMI and the IFMA — to represent the interests of those involved in facilities management on a day‐to‐day basis.

Considers the problem of choosing between either fully air‐conditioned or naturally ventilated space. Examines the choice taken by Refuge Assurance PLC to operate its headquarters building without constant air conditioning. Describes the cooling and environmental systems of the building and energy performance. Argues that it would be a brave step to eliminate air‐conditioning altogether from any modern building.

Examines the recent work of three authors, gives examples of projects in organizations and quotes facilities managers, all to show that office design improvements, made with the participation of employees, result in measurable increases in output, reduced costs and improved service quality. Notes how this phenomenon is compatible with and can form part of a total quality management system for service organizations.