Building Design articles from August 2005

Building Design archives from August 2005

Battling for Britain: 170 military buildings to be listed, but historians say it's not enough to preserve the past.(News)
August 5, 2005... The buildings that helped Britain win two world wars have been saved for future generations 60 years after the fighting ended. An extraordinary group of nearly 200 historic military buildings from the first and second world wars are to be...

Detecting a pattern.(John Lewis store )(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... A new John Lewis store in Leicester designed by Foreign Office Architects won planning permission this week. The restrained architecture could be seen as a riposte to upmarket rival Selfridges' strident Bullring store in Birmingham. Last...

Estate agents target modern home market.(Modern House)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Modernist architects looking to flog their wares need look no further: the country's first estate agency specialising in 20th and 21st century homes has been launched. The Modern House will sell homes built from 1920 to the present to a target...

Fomer GLC architect Morton convicted.(Greater London Council)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... The millionaire architect convicted of killing his wife worked for the Greater London Council general division and is remembered by colleagues as being "prickly" and "arrogant." Michael Morton, 67, was jailed for seven years this week after...

ODPM reforms planning.(News)(Office of the Deputy Prime Minister )(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... The ODPM has announced tough measures to speed up the planning system and stop developers sitting on empty sites. Most planning permissions will be granted for three years instead of the current five. Local authorities will also be able to...

Population soars in city centres: young singletons flock to Manchester and Liverpool.(News)
August 5, 2005... More than 25,000 new residents have moved into the centres of Manchester and Liverpool in a city living boom which could result in 40,000 people living in the two northern centres by 2010. Figures released today by the Institute for Public...

Maggie's Centre for London.(Health facilities construction)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... London's first Maggie's Centre, designed by Richard Rogers Partnership, has won planning permission. The centre will be built in the grounds of Charing Cross NHS hospital in Hammersmith. It will offer emotional and psychological support to...

The Beetham Organisation has unveiled images of a 70-storey tower designed by Ian Simpson Architects to be built at Number 1 Blackfriars Road.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... The Beetham Organisation has unveiled images of a 70-storey tower (pictured), designed by Ian Simpson Architects to be built at Number 1 Blackfriars Road. The scheme has been submitted to Southwark council for planning permission.

Taylor Woodrow has completed phase one of BAA Gatwick.(Hit and miss)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Taylor Woodrow has completed phase one of BAA Gatwick's 40 million [pounds sterling] extension of the south terminal's baggage reclaim hall.

Falconer Chester's Liverpool skyscraper (News July 29) has been refused planning permission.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Falconer Chester's Liverpool skyscraper (News July 29) has been refused planning permission. The 32-storey tower was refused because it would not "make any positive contribution to this part of the city centre or to its skyline", said Liverpool...

Stephen Marriott has been appointed chairman of Scott Brownrigg following the retirement of Mike Kellard..(People)
August 5, 2005... Stephen Marriott (right) has been appointed chairman of Scott Brownrigg following the retirement of Mike Kellard. Marriott has been with the company for 27 years and has been a board member since 1993.

An architect who stole 60,000 [pounds sterling] from an elderly neighbour has been jailed for 12 months.(People)
August 5, 2005... An architect who stole 60,000 [pounds sterling] from an elderly neighbour has been jailed for 12 months. Peter White, 51, of Broughton, Peeblesshire, was a sole practitioner.

The gravestone of celebrated architect Basil Spence is falling into a state of disrepair just 30 years after his death.(People)
August 5, 2005... The gravestone of celebrated architect Basil Spence is falling into a state of disrepair just 30 years after his death. Spence, whose most famous building is Coventry Cathedral, died in 1976 at the age of 69. His family are now planning to...

Richard Rogers has been made an honorary doctor of design.(appointment)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Richard Rogers has been made an honorary doctor of design by the University of Greenwich.

Cabe's role has been extended to include responsibility for considering disabled access in design.(Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Cabe's role has been extended to include responsibility for considering disabled access in design. The body has taken on the remit of the Inclusive Environment Group at the request of the government.

The government's efforts to meet its own climate change targets have slipped further this year, Friends of the Earth claim.(Power play)
August 5, 2005... The government's efforts to meet its own climate change targets have slipped further this year, Friends of the Earth claim. FoE said emissions of carbon dioxide for the first five months of 2005 were likely to be higher than during the same...

Plans by London mayor Ken Livingstone to protect wharves on the Thames were endorsed by the government this week.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Plans by London, mayor Ken Livingstone to protect wharves on the Thames were endorsed by the government this week. The decision, which could affect they ability of developments such as Convoys Wharf by the Richard Rogers Partnership, means that...

The Young Architect of the Year Award.(Award)
August 5, 2005... The Young Architect of the Year Award aims to recognise the UK's most talented architect aged 40 or under, or practices where the majority of principals are under this age. The winner will receive a 5,000 [pounds sterling] prize. This year's...

Alsop forms a gang of four.(News)(Will Alsop)(Agents of Change)
August 5, 2005... Stirling prize winner Will Alsop has unveiled a new architectural movement to challenge the establishment by linking with like-minded practices Fat, Branson Coates and AOC. Alsop said the four practices--which might be joined by additional...

Seifert plots Iranian retreat.(News)(John Seifert Architects)(construction contracts)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... John Seifert Architects has been appointed to design a five-star hotel and luxury gulf villas on an Iranian island that looks set to rival nearby Dubai. As the west and Iran reach a stand-off over Iran's plans to restart its controversial...

Surface projection.(News)(Surface Architects wins planning permission for Film & Media Studies Research Centre )(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Surface Architects has won planning permission for a new Film & Media Studies Research Centre at Birkbeck College in Bloomsbury, north London. The new centre, housed within a grade II listed Georgian terrace, will include a digital cinema,...

Oldham link-up.(Oldham Rochdale pathfinder area)(construction contracts)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... House building giant Barratt is joining developer Artisan to build 80 homes in the Oldham Rochdale pathfinder area. Artisan has a strong reputation for bars and offices in the Manchester area, but has decided to cross into the controversial...

Ruislip restoration.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Historic buildings off Ruislip High Street are to be restored following planning approval from the London Borough of Hillingdon. The 6ha Manor Farm site includes a grade II barn dating from 1300 and a grade II farmhouse from 1500. The designs...

Sea change.(redesign of harbour; Broadway Malyan and O'Mahony Pike )(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Broadway Malyan and Dublin architects O'Mahony Pike have been appointed to redesign Greystones Harbour in County Wicklow. Work includes the redevelopment of the abandoned harbour, a new marina, harbour, residential and commercial development...

Edinburgh opens its Hearts to Fuksas plan: Italian to design stadium for Hearts FC, and has eye on London Olympics.(construction of Football stadium)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas has agreed to design a stadium in Edinburgh for Hearts Football Club. Speaking exclusively to BD this week, Fuksas confirmed he was in advanced discussions with the club's new major shareholder,...

Foreigners forego control to design homes in China.(architectural services)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Ten international architects have been commissioned to design private homes set around a lake in China, but will have to hand over detailed design to a local Chinese practice. The architects, including David Adjaye, Odile Decq, American...

Brent has designs on democracy.(FIRST LOOK)(Witherford Watson Mann Architects)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Designs to reinvigorate democracy in the London Borough of Brent have been revealed by Witherford Watson Mann Architects. Amid falling turnout in Brent's local elections--from 43% in 1990 to 30% in 2002--the council asked the practice for a...

EH acts to save signs.(English Heritage)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... English Heritage is fighting to save traditional white painted signs at road junctions in Yorkshire. Many of the signs have fallen into disrepair, so EH has asked local authorities to put resources into saving them and to set up a register.

Suffolk homes contest.(housing development)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... The RIBA has launched a design competition for a social housing development in the village of Elmswell, Suffolk, on behalf of the Suffolk Preservation Society and Orwell Housing Association, for 25 homes as well as play space. Go to:...

City debate.(architectural services)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Local government minister David Miliband will open a debate on cities and the role they can play economic growth, according to ODPM deputy director of planning Mike Ash. Ash said the big issues for the ODPM remain the provision of housing in...

Plan to restrict vehicles in City.(construction of public spaces)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Parts of the City of London could be closed to drivers who do not have identification and an appointment under radical new proposals to improve public space and protect buildings from the threat of terrorism. The proposals, part of a wider...

Leeds lessons.(design awards for architectural services)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Allen Tod Architecture has completed two new buildings for Park Lane College in Leeds. The buildings, a new seven storey teaching block for A-level students and a new entrance building to improve the college's visibility, are part of the first...

Bathroom woes at millennium village.(Ralph Erskine and EPR Architects)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Residents at the flagship Greenwich Millennium Village say they are experiencing widespread problems with their prefabricated bathrooms. Residents in Maurer Court and Faraday Lodge, both designed by Ralph Erskine and EPR Architects, claimed...

Web poll.(survey of buildings)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Last week we asked: Which building should win the Stirling Prize? 36% BMW Central Building 30% Scottish Parliament 17% Glucksman Gallery 9% Fawood Children's Centre 4% Jubilee Library 4% McLaren Technology Centre

Laban architect wants area plan.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Herzog & de Meuron partner Harry Gugger has welcomed the demise of a Broadway Malyan scheme proposed opposite his award-winning Laban dance centre in south-east London. Broadway Malyan's 30,000sq m mixed-use development had been opposed by...

Foster's Malaysian towers.(Foster & Partners)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Foster & Partners' first residential development in Malaysia has broken ground. The three towers--38, 44 and SO storeys high--will be the tallest residential towers in Malaysia and are linked by "Sky Bridges" on the 24th floor to create a sky...

Tackling the slum timebomb: with the world's slum population set to double, design is again at the forefront of efforts to help the urban poor. With its project in Zeyrek, Istanbul, the Global Studio is taking the lead.(News Analysis)
August 5, 2005... Rising above the burnt out tenements and rubble-filled wastelands of Istanbul's worst slum, Zeyrek mosque offers a reminder of better days. The oldest religious building in Istanbul, older though not as famous as the Hagia Sophia, the mosque is...

White male lineup is of BD's making.(Comment Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 5, 2005... We are astonished in our office to see nine young white men lined up as your newest A-Team in architecture. This is, of course, of BD's own making. In the past you have shown a much wider range of student work and selected many more than...

Recycling is key.(Comment Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 5, 2005... Being a greener construction or civil engineering company isn't just about building less energy-hungry buildings or using more energy-efficient construction processes. It's also about using recycled materials in new products. While...

Cabe unpressured.(Comment Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 5, 2005... I write in reference to last week's item on Falconer Chester's proposed tower on Skelhorne Street Liverpool (News July 29). I strongly contend the suggestion by Adam Hall that Cabe has been put under political pressure on this or any other...

Opera counterpoint.(Comment Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 5, 2005... Simon Foxell in his piece Opera and Me (Culture July 15) refers to the value of opera--how it acts as a counterpoint, taking him from the everyday problems of practice, presumably into another world of fantasy and imagination. However, he...

Community care.(Comment Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 5, 2005... The use of the word "community" is presumptuous in the field of architecture and town planning, most topically with respect to John Prescott's claim to be promoting "communities instead of soulless housing estates" at the proposed Thames...

Planners stoop low.(Letter to the Editor)
August 5, 2005... The news that a tall couple (6ft and 6ft 10) have been refused permission to raise the roof of their Aberdeenshire home is a pathetic indictment of planning bureaucrats. I recently visited some old crofting cottages where the doors are...

Cussing fussing.(Comment Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 5, 2005... Reading BD's back page on July 15, I was f@*%!ng unhappy about Ian Martin's use of such a strong swear word printed in full. Were you? Jonathan Louth, London SE1

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
August 5, 2005... * Mark Hargreaves, feature in last week's Class of 2005 feature, was a student at Leeds Metropolitan University, rather than Leeds University as stated. * A 33-storey tower for Sheffield by Conran & Partners has been rejected by planners...

Alsop's gang makes a grab for power.(Will Alsop)(Agents of Change)(Editorial)
August 5, 2005... It's about time Will Alsop left behind his reputation as an enfant terrible. He will be 58 in December and the two don't mix. So the idea that he could lead a movement of like-minded architects is an intriguing next step, albeit one that in...

London shouldn't be some exotic zoo.(Soapbox)(New Change)
August 5, 2005... Fashionable French architects seem to be as quaintly ridiculous as French rock stars. Dressed entirely in black, pouting and intense, they try hard to appear as if they have just come from discussing existentialism at the Deux Magots. I...

Kids on the case.(school construction)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Kids say the funniest things. Boots has been speaking to architects who have had to consult children for new schools and a children's theatre in London recently and found they are more perceptive than you might imagine. One child told an...

Architect drone.(Concrete Boots)
August 5, 2005... Architects at de Rijke Marsh Morgan are an eclectic bunch. One architect who worked for the firm has released a record on the German techno label Drone Records. The track, called Jet Mistry after a man who works at Thyssen lift company, was...

Now you sea it ...(architectural services)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Adam Hall of Falconer Chester seems to have his metaphors in a muddle over the skyscraper he designed for Liverpool. The tower was refused planning permission this week, but not before Hall told the Liverpool Echo:. "I have tried to pick up on...

Dear dear Dickie.
August 5, 2005... A senior architect who wished to remain anonymous told Boots this week that he recently heard someone refer to Richard Rogers as "Dickie". Is this the start of a worrying trend for luvvy actor nicknames? Surely, we should be told, darling.

Gag the Gherkin.
August 5, 2005... Talking of nicknames, Swiss Re is reportedly trying to persuade its employees not to refer to its HO as "the Gherkin", the Sun reported this week. Bit late for that.

Down the spout.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... "Bulldozers tear down giant religious teapot" is perhaps the last headline you would expect to read in the Daily Telegraph. But this week the paper ran a story, complete with picture, about the destruction of a giant teapot that was the heart...

The art of counterpoint: Greenhill Jenner and Houlton Architects' sophisticated news music and art blocks are a sensitive addition to Sydenham's 1960s Brent Knoll School.(Works)
August 5, 2005... When Brent Knoll School first opened in 1908 it was with the professed aim of catering for "delicate children". Nearly a century later the terminology may be more sophisticated but its core mission remains much the same--the education of pupils...

49: House at Dalguise, Perthshire, Scotland.(IN DETAIL)
August 5, 2005... Architect: Arc Architects Clay-based materials have been used extensively in a new low-cost house in Fife with a strong sustainability agenda. The house has a simple rectangular plan built off a concrete raft foundation. Most of the...

Bricks come down to earth: mud goes modern with unfired clay 'eco-bricks'.
August 5, 2005... If you think clay buildings equal mud huts, Arc Architects' house in Perthshire, Scotland, should make you think again. Fashioned from unfired clay bricks, it is about as modern as architecture gets. Interest in this ancient building material...

Sue Roaf on Harald Rostvik's media centre in Sri Lanka.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... In June I was in Islamabad, Pakistan, and temperatures rose to over 50[degrees]C at a time of day when power cuts are common. Imagine being stuck in an over-glazed building in such temperatures with no air-conditioning. We should all now design...

Easy on the ice: despite its setting, the Halley VI Antarctic station will have to minimise water use.(Solutions Sustainability)
August 5, 2005... There is a countryside adage: "take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints". The designers of the Halley VI research station, the subject of a high profile competition commissioned by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), appear to be...

On the road.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Large-scale paintings of roads and their surrounding, often decaying landscape as portrayed by London-based Scottish artist Jock McFadyen are at Roadworks. August 10-September 3, 55 Causewayside, Edinburgh. Tel: 0131 558 1200.

Sports story.
August 5, 2005... The story of David Morley Architects' 21,500sq m Sports Training Village at Bath, from competition entry to completion, is on show from August 9-27. University of Bath Sports Training Village, RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London. Tel: 020 7580...

Housing that was Lyons' pride: elegant designs and settings with resident-run management made Span homes special.(Culture Books Exhibitions Events)
August 5, 2005... Fifty years ago a newly created development company, headed by an architect who had had to resign from the RIBA in order to become a developer, was building a housing scheme at Ham, near Richmond-upon-Thames. It was to revolutionise people's...

Furniture makers' installation.(SELECTOR)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2005... Acclaimed Brazilian furniture designers Humberto and Fernando Campana and artist Glauce Cerveira are collaborating on an installation at the DesignShop UK, August 5-September 3, 116-120 Causewayside, Edinburgh. Tel: 0131 667 7078.

Paper view: Charlie Gates visits a museum that anyone with patience can recreate.
August 5, 2005... Subtly scattered across the cafe in the Jerwood Space in Southwark, south London, are a series of intricate, white paper models on small plinths. A broken fireplace tile is delicately recreated in a scale paper model, while on another wall a...

Kingspan Insulation Ltd.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... Kingspan Insulation Limited is once again leading the way. This time in addressing economic, social and environmental sustainability with a rigorous independent appraisal of its largest manufacturing facility. The detailed findings have been...

Greenwood Airvac.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... Greenwood Airvac central ventilation with heat recovery is giving the final environmental touch to a Countryside Properties development of innovative Envirohaus timber-framed houses at Pendrill Park, Papworth, Cambridgeshire. Initially...

Ubbink UK Ltd.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... There has never been a better time to think about investing in one of Ubbink UK Ltd's easy, affordable and reliable photovoitaic panels, the Solosun and Duosun, which provide any house with a source of sustainable energy. And the Ubbink parent...

Terrapin Ltd.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... A new full colour brochure from Terrapin graphically demonstrates the company's total capability in providing a specialist Design & Build service. The eight page publication gives an illustrative and comprehensive explanation of Terrapin's...

Disano Illuminazione UK Limited.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... Italy's largest lighting equipment manufacturer Disano, has published a new 296 page catalogue specifically for their External Lighting product ranges. Disano outline full information covering all their comprehensive ranges of Street Lighting,...

DuPont.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... Brand leading breather membrane Tyvek[R] Supro from DuPont is now protecting the roofs of what has been described as an 'exceptional' new residential development in Portmarnock, Co. Dublin. Main contractor South Dublin Construction built the...

Sash.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... In order to successfully communicate the issues facing would be Portal installers, and the specific design and production and management skills necessary to operate successfully in this niche but potentially lucrative sector Sash took the...

F. Ball & Co Ltd.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... With a damp subfloor to be treated and vinyl floorcovering to be installed and only the weekends in which to complete the work, Pickard Interiors turned to one of F. Ball and Co. Ltd's fast track system--incorporating new ultra fast drying...

Kawneer.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... Kawneer, the UK's leading manufacturer and supplier of architectural aluminium systems, is pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Butler as Sales and Marketing Director with immediate effect. Reporting directly to Managing Director, David...

Ash & Lacy.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... A prestigious new addition to Birmingham's landmark buildings has been finished with a roof which demonstrates the versatility of Ash & Lacy's Ashzip standing seam roof system. Some 5,000 square mretres of Ash & Lacy's Ashzip roofing provides a...

Invensys Controls Europe.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... Drayton Controls has launched a new website, providing installers with a complete and definitive guide to the company's range of high quality control products and services. Drayton Controls has re-launched the site to ensure it meets the needs...

Axter Limited.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... To meet the increasing demand for roof lights to combine the functions of roof access, smoke evacuation and natural daylighting, Axter has added PYROPASS to its comprehensive range of domed and continuous roof lights. PYROPASS's unique opening...

North 4 Design Ltd.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... North 4 Design manufacture a standard range of Vision Panels for doors and walls. Finished in brushed stainless steel, they provide an attractive solution to functional vision requirements. All Vision Panels are designed for simple installation...

Crescent.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... Crescent of Cambridge, the market leader in modular spiral, straight and helical steel stairs has launched a new website offering increased product information and further access to detailed technical specifications, the new website offers an...

Terrapin Ltd.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... An updated version of Terrapin's corporate brochure has just been published. This 16 page full colour publication covers Terrapin from its conception in 1949 to the present day. It covers all market sectors--from living, through learning,...

British Gypsum.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... For the first time in the 35-year history of the competition, a plasterboard ceiling has scooped the three top prizes in this year's prestigious Plaisterers Trophy Awards. Part of a major refurbishment at Wandsworth Southside shopping complex,...

Prodek Roofing Ltd.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... Probably the most versatile, longest lasting, securest and environmentally responsible material available in the roofing and membrane engineering sectors today. So says Prodek Ltd. Roofing and Membrane Engineering of Essex. Prodek identified...

Axter Limited.(Products & Literature)
August 5, 2005... With over two million [m.sup.2] already installed on mainland Europe, Axter Limited has introduced WILOTEKT-PLUS to the UK market and it is already in use on Carillion's prestigious 5000[m.sup.2] Met Quarter development in Liverpool....

Ian Martin.
August 5, 2005... Monday As official animateur for the International Architects Network, I set aside one day a month to "do the cuttings". How times change. 20 years ago I would have used scissors and glue, now I just cut and paste. There weren't that...

Architest.
August 5, 2005... This week: the seaside 1) Why was the middle section of Brighton pier removed in the 30s? A To eradicate woodworm which was gradually destroying the pier B It was sold to an American entrepreneur C A wartime precaution against...

Richard's rare Welsh bit.(News)(Welsh Assembly building designed by Richard Rogers Partnership Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2005... The long-awaited Welsh Assembly building, designed by Richard Rogers partnership, can be seen taking form for the first time, as the external areas at the front of the building have been opened up. The landmark 40 million [pounds sterling]...