Building Design articles from August 2006

Building Design archives from August 2006

Alsop to bid for London design job.
August 4, 2006... Will Hurst Will Alsop made a dramatic bid to run design in London this week, turning his longheld frustrations with the Richard Rogers-led orthodoxy into action. Alsop spectacularly fell out with Rogers over plans for the Thames...

RIBA survey probes members opinions about architecture.
August 4, 2006... The biggest ever survey of architects' thoughts on the profession, the RIBA and the role of architecture in public life is about to go live. The survey, commissioned by the RIBA to improve communication with members, will be emailed to all...

IN BRIEF: Denton Corker Marshall appointed.(Denton Corker Marshall contracts)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Australian practice Denton Corker Marshall has been appointed to design the new British Embassy in Manila. The practice, which has a rapidly growing UK presence, says its proposals aim to project an image of modern Britain, combining innovative...

IN BRIEF: David Chipperfield Architects selected.
August 4, 2006... David Chipperfield Architects has been selected to design the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate. Chipperfield beat a shortlist that included John McAslan & Partners and Allford Hall Monaghan Morris. The practice will redesign the gallery...

IN BRIEF: Georgian Group Architectural awards.
August 4, 2006... Architects have been invited to submit entries for this year's Georgian Group Architectural awards. The awards will be presented by the Duke of Kent at Christie's in November and include an award for the best new building in a Georgian setting,...

IN BRIEF: Moratorium could be lifted.(rules for housing development )(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... The moratorium on housing development in the Thames Basin Heath could be lifted following the identification of potential wildlife habitats by the South East England Regional Assembly. Under European law, no homes can be built on the heaths...

Fire-gutted building to be rebuilt with concrete.
August 4, 2006... Ellen Bennett Broadway Malyan's timber frame building that was gutted by fire last month will be rebuilt using concrete, the developer has said. St George's decision to abandon the original timber frame construction on Beaufort Park...

Planners `shouldn't fill green gap'.(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Planning officers should not be expected to improve the environmental performance of buildings, says a government-backed report on sustainable construction. According to one of the report's authors, there is an urgent need to develop a...

IN BRIEF: Architect found not guilty of manslaughter.
August 4, 2006... Gillian Beckingham has been found not guilty of manslaughter. The architect, who worked for Barrow Borough Council, had been accused of failing to ensure an air condition system was properly maintained, leading to a fatal outbreak of...

IN BRIEF: Victor Hwang to take control of Battersea power station.(Battersea power station redevelopment )(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Architecture enthusiast and developer Victor Hwang is to take personal control of the Battersea power station redevelopment it was announced this week. Hwang, who has worked with architects including Grimshaw, Ron Arad and UN Studio, will...

IN BRIEF: Cabe u-turn.(Cabe contracts with residential real estate)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... In a surprise u-turn, Cabe has given its backing to a compulsory purchase order in the Liverpool housing market renewal pathfinder area. Following negotiations with the council and assurances over the quality of design, Cabe has withdrawn its...

IN BRIEF: Audit Commission report.(real estate developers contracts)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Some local authorities are failing to secure available benefits for communities from new development, the Audit Commission claimed this week. A new report by the commission found that there is a wide variety in what councils gain through...

Coleraine's `museum without walls'.
August 4, 2006... O'Donnell & Tuomey Architects has won the hotly contested competition to design a new museum in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. The practice, which was shortlisted for last year's Stirling Prize, beat competitors Heneghan Peng, Niall McLaughlin,...

McCloud's grand designs for prefab.
August 4, 2006... Channel 4 presenter invites architects to help design up to 100 homes for new sustainable development Will Hurst The public face of architecture in Britain, Kevin McCloud, has launched an audacious bid to become one of the...

24-hr Serpentine marathon: No sleep till Doris Lessing.
August 4, 2006... Ellis Woodman First of all, I have to come clean. I didn't make it all the way through. The prospect of spending 24 hours in a Tupperware drum during the hottest July in recorded history initially carried a certain David Blainesque appeal....

Paddington care.(Network Rail constructions)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Conservationists were celebrating this week at the news that Network Rail had dropped its plans to demolish the grade I listed Span Four at London's Paddington Station. Network Rail, which had planned to demolish the structure and replace...

IN BRIEF: Mayoral powers.
August 4, 2006... The Association of London Government has said that giving new planning powers to the Mayor of London is a "retrograde" step. Speaking at the LSE last week, chairman Merrick Cockell said London was enjoying a renaissance without giving the mayor...

IN BRIEF: Dive in.
August 4, 2006... SMC Charter has been appointed to design a #27.5 million leisure complex including an Olympic-size swimming pool in the London Borough of Redbridge. The facility, In Ilford, is also set to include smaller pools, a 12-court sports hall and other...

IN BRIEF: Climb every mountain.
August 4, 2006... A team from Stock Woolstencroft has raised almost #10,000 for charity by completing the Three Peaks Challenge. The effort, which involved reaching the summits of Ben Nevis, Scarfell Pike and Snowdon in a 24- hour period, was in aid of Care...

Scottish watchdog calls for tougher design policy.(management of Architecture and Design Scotland )
August 4, 2006... Will Hurst Architecture & Design Scotland this week called on the Scottish Executive to forge a tough new policy on architecture by introducing targets on key issues such as skills, leadership and PFI. Scotland's architecture policy,...

Base camp.(Scott Brownrigg and Turner contracts)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... This is the new 12,000sq m HQ building designed by Scott Brownrigg for the 17ha MoD site at Northwood, Middlesex. The building consists of a series of deep floor plates, linked through top-lit atria providing natural daylight. It is part...

Design an arts centre for the Thames Gateway.
August 4, 2006... The third and final Line of Site design challenge goes live today. The brief looks to create an iconic arts centre within the Thames Gateway which will serve as a visual landmark to the entrance to one of the world's most exciting, vibrant and...

IN BRIEF: Hotel lobbying.
August 4, 2006... The Victorian Society has condemned proposals to demolish a historic hotel in Sidmouth and replace it with a modern building. The society has called on East Devon District Council to refuse a planning application by local architect Oliver Green...

IN BRIEF: Birmingham apartment start.
August 4, 2006... Hemisphere, a 344-luxury apartment scheme by Capita Ruddle Wilkinson, is due to start on site in Birmingham this month. The complex will overlook Edgbaston cricket ground, home of Warwickshire CCC, and is being developed by Redrow Homes. ...

IN BRIEF: Olympic art pledge.
August 4, 2006... Figures from the arts world, including architect David Adjaye, culture minister David Lammy and Tate director Nick Serota are supporting a national cultural programme leading up the 2012 Olympics. The Culture & Creativity Advisory Forum had its...

New Space in Stalybridge.(Space Craft Architects contracts)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Space Craft Architects has won planning permission for this scheme at Longlands Mill in Stalybridge, Cheshire. The practice was selected from a shortlist that included Ian Simpson, Walter Menteth, Patel Taylor and Union North. The...

New Orleans jeopardised by shortage of planners.
August 4, 2006... James Rose A shortage of planning officers is jeopardising the reconstruction of New Orleans nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and killed more than 1,300 people last August. Local architects say the situation is...

760 register for Prague library competition.
August 4, 2006... The competition to design a new building for Prague's National Library of the Czech Republic has attracted 760 practices from around the world paying the competition's 6,000 koruna (#144) registration fee. The library launched its...

Yorkshire: In the market.(contracts of Yorkshire Forward)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Regional development agency Yorkshire Forward has announced a budget of up to #700,000 over three years for small community projects in Yorkshire's market towns. Business or community groups will have access to the fund from the Renaissance...

Yorkshire: Jacobs appointed.
August 4, 2006... North Yorkshire County Council has appointed Jacobs as preferred consultant for managing its land, buildings and highways. Subject to negotiation, the contract will run from October 2006 to 2012, with a possible extension to 2016. ...

Yorkshire: Arc Talks programme.
August 4, 2006... The Hull Arc architecture centre has announced details of its forthcoming Arc Talks programme. Irena Bauman, of Leeds-based Bauman Lyons Architects, will speak on August 16, while Stanton Williams Architects' Patrick Richards and Simon...

Yorkshire: Sheffield Trust first AGM.(annual general meeting)(Sheffield Civic Trust )(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... The Sheffield Civic Trust held its inaugural AGM last week. An executive was voted in, including Allen Tod Architects' Simon Gedye and Kate Lockhart as chair and honorary secretary respectively. Louise White, of Sheffield West Primary Care...

Yorkshire: White Rose awards.(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... RIBA Yorkshire is taking entries for its White Rose Awards 2006, which will be presented for buildings built in the county since January 2004. Buildings must be opened and occupied by the end user, and the closing date is August 18. The awards...

Yorkshire: #2.5 million centre approved.(Convention centers approved by the city council)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Plans for the biggest conference centre in Leedshave been approved by the city council. The #2.5 million development, by DLA Architects, is at Clarence Dock and will hold a range of events for up to 1,000 people. Royal Armouries International...

Last orders called on Walsall pub.
August 4, 2006... Sergison Bates hits out at threat Will Hurst Award-winning practice Sergison Bates has hit out after its first building was threatened by the proposed Walsall waterfront development by Urban Splash and Will Alsop. Founding partner...

Simpson's Leeds towers win planning permission.(facilities of real estate industry)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Ian Simpson Architects' soaring tower scheme Lumiere received planning permission last week from Leeds City Council. The development's two towers will rise to 54 and 32 storeys, creating 75,000sq m of accommodation on 0.4ha of land on...

Analysis: Just who voted for Phillips?
August 4, 2006... Despite being outed as a BNP member, Peter Phillips won a fifth of the vote in last week's RIBA presidential vote. Ellen Bennett examines the reasons for his appeal Would you vote for a member of the BNP? One in five architects who voted...

Letter: BNP aside, Phillips voices real worries.(Letter to the editor)
August 4, 2006... David Knight, Shrewsbury I am one of those who voted for Peter Phillips before being made aware of his political affiliations - and did so on the basis of his "manifesto". Over 35 years ago when I joined the RIBA the criticisms being...

Letter: Rerun the ballot.(Letter to the editor)
August 4, 2006... Rob Goodall, Wolverhampton Your headline on this weeks paper "19% back BNP man" is somewhat misleading and I feel unrepresentative of the real facts. I am one of the unfortunate ones who cast my vote for Peter Phillips prior to his...

Letter: Disheartening vote.(Letter to the editor)
August 4, 2006... Waseem Hussain, Glasgow As a newly qualified Asian architect in Scotland and an RIBA member, I was somewhat disheartened to see a BNP member accumulating such a high percentage of the vote. Had the outcome been in Phillips's favour...

Letter: Arb, not race.(Letter to the editor)
August 4, 2006... Kate Macintosh, Winchester When the election papers went out no-one was aware of Peter Phillips' links with the BNP. The majority of votes are cast within a week of receipt of papers. Peter Phillips' election statement majored on the...

Letter: Turnout concern.(Letter to the editor)
August 4, 2006... Eric Waterston, Glasgow Instead of worrying about who voted for who in its presidential elections, should the RIBA not be concerned or draw its own conclusions as to why 73% of the membership considered it not worthwhile to vote at all....

Letter: Not so liberal.(Letter to the editor)
August 4, 2006... Tom Pike, London SW11 I was more than disappointed to learn that Peter Phillips polled as high as 19% in the recent presidential election. I have always liked to think that the architectural profession is very largely made up of people...

Letter: Politics are private.(Letter to the editor)
August 4, 2006... Clive S Berry, Warwickshire What exactly does Chris Nasah, chairman of the Society of Black Architects, think he will achieve by his attitude towards those who have a different opinion to himself? Why should candidates publicise their...

Letter: Shaky Foundation.(Letter to the editor)
August 4, 2006... Peter Somers, London SE26 Apart from radically altering: the design (the radical angled entrance block struck off); the materials (from concrete to steel); the brief (to make it work, says trustee); the timescale (adding two more years);...

Letter: So why did it win?(Letter to the editor)
August 4, 2006... James Dunnett, London N1 One profoundly agrees with Frank Duffy's reported comments on the Architecture Foundation redesign that quotes "the main thing is that it works and is a good place to be". But why award first prize to a design...

Letter: Silly season.(Letter to the editor)
August 4, 2006... Oliver Palmer, Horsham, Sussex It may be the hot weather or the illustrations may be misleading but I think the design for the extension to the Tate Modern (News July 28) is just silly and anyway too big. I think the winning design for the...

Letter: Never seen before.(Letter to the editor)
August 4, 2006... Paul Zara, Hove, West Sussex When the shortlist was announced for the new Architecture Foundation HQ, its director, Rowan Moore, said, "Whoever wins, London will have a building of a kind that it hasn't seen before". Well, after...

Real crux is society's view of architects.
August 4, 2006... Editorial Amanda Baillieu If you had your time again would you still want to become an architect? This is one of the questions being asked by the RIBA in the most comprehensive survey it has ever undertaken. Coming so soon after an...

Soapbox Peter Cook: Did boredom inspire the Tate extension?
August 4, 2006... When I saw the drawings of Herzog & de Meuron's new project for Tate Modern, my first thought was: what happened to these guys? Did they just get bored? I have to say, I found their earlier work for Tate Modern terribly dour and po-faced. It...

Works: Bathing machine.
August 4, 2006... Three years overdue, Grimshaw Architects' Thermae Bath Spa has become one of the longest running sagas in British construction. On the eve of its opening Ellis Woodman discovers if it has been worth the wait. Photos by Morley von Sternberg ...

Eco check: Bath Spa.(building management system)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... The project makes maximum practical use of the naturally occurring hot springs that have been a source of warm water for local inhabitants for thousands of years. This water flows into the building before being treated and processed prior to...

In detail: Bath Spa.
August 4, 2006... The terrace outside the treatment rooms. Circular glass windows provide daylight and limited views, while maintaining complete privacy. Bath SpaArchitect: Grimshaw ArchitectsStone supply & installation: Bath Stone Group In the centre...

Solutions: How we cracked it.
August 4, 2006... The challenge: To overcome structural limitations of coppiced sweet chestnut The solution: Using glulam beams for the roof frames and dowel connections to form the structural frame Architect: Lee Evans Partnership Engineer: Faber...

The rise and rise of inflation.
August 4, 2006... With inflatable architecture becoming ever more widespread, Elaine Knutt talks to Nick Crosbie of Inflate Is Rem Koolhaas's Serpentine Pavilion proof of the unbearable lightness of architecture, or just puffed up with its own...

Culture: Bristol conversion.
August 4, 2006... SOM and YRM's Imperial House in Hartcliffe, Bristol, is to be converted for residential use. The exhibition Lake Shore looks at Urban Splash and Acanthus Ferguson Mann's scheme. Until September 15 at the Architecture Centre, Narrow Quay,...

Culture: Call of nature.
August 4, 2006... New ways of sustainable living involving water and nature are explored by Swiss multidisciplinary design practice Fulguro. August 5-September 23, The Lighthouse, 11 Mitchell Lane, Glasgow. Tel: 0141 221 6362. Copyright: CMP Information...

Culture: Art and kraft.
August 4, 2006... Jakob Dunkl of Austrian firm Querkraft, BD Young Architect of the Year in 2004, talks about current work, as part of the Architecture Foundation Summer Nights series. August 9, BDP, 16 Brewhouse Yard, London. Tel: 020 7253 3334 or visit...

Culture: A history of violence.(works of Manfredo Tafuri )
August 4, 2006... Manfredo Tafuri eruditely takes issue with the sunnier descriptions of the Renaissance, writes Thomas Muirhead Manfredo Tafuri was described by Vittorio Gregotti as "the most intriguing and gifted historian of architecture of the last 50...

Culture: Skating over the surface.(urban planning exhibition)
August 4, 2006... Skateboarding and Nazi holiday camps make strange bedfellows at the Architecture Foundation's latest exhibition, says Catherine Croft How can the Architecture Foundation follow up a show about gay sex and architecture? With an exhibition on...

Culture vulture: Elias Redstone.(interview)(Interview)
August 4, 2006... How would you spend the day indulging in cultural pursuits? Anywhere with a beach really. But it is more likely to be a trawl around galleries in Bethnal Green and a few lengths in the London Fields Lido (if it ever reopens), followed by a few...

Watch the birdie!
August 11, 2006... Pigeon population rockets as architects' use of louvres on eco-friendly buildings provides ideal nesting Will Hurst Architects are inadvertently creating a plague of pigeons by using louvres on buildings to combat climate change,...

The awkward younger generation.(Brief article)
August 11, 2006... Pigeons are not the only problem that the new generation of building types has created. Mancunians were plagued for months by the whistling noise coming from Ian Simpson's Beetham Tower in Manchester before the problem was resolved and,...

School designs menu is `possibility'.
August 11, 2006... The newly appointed chief executive of Partnerships for Schools has raised the spectre of a menu of standardised designs for the 13,500 schools to rebuilt or refurbished over the next 13 years. Tim Byles, whose appointment was announced...

Cincinnati winner.(University of Cincinnati)(Brief article)
August 11, 2006... Bernard Tschumi Architects' Richard E Lindner Athletics Centre has opened at the University of Cincinnati. The $53 million (#28 million) building, which will open to students at the start of the academic year this autumn, centres on a...

IN BRIEF: Truncated plans for walkie talkie.(Brief article)
August 11, 2006... Rafael Vinoly has submitted his new, truncated plans for his "walkie talkie" tower on Fenchurch Street for planning. The original 45-storey building has shrunk to 36 floors after City of London planners said that it would block important views...

IN BRIEF: The Office London's Work Space exhibition.
August 11, 2006... A public exhibition at New London Architecture entitled The Office - London's Work Space opens on September 6. It will explore how good design enhances productivity and job satisfaction, and ask how we can design for a future where remote...

IN BRIEF: Cabe slams Gensler Architects.
August 11, 2006... Cabe has slammed Gensler Architects' plans for a #1.4 million hotel and supercasino in Blackpool. The scheme, for regeneration agency ReBlackpool, has been dubbed the mini-Burj because of its similiarity to Atkins' Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai....

IN BRIEF: Plans approved for Race Gottam refurbishment.
August 11, 2006... Plans have been approved for Race Cottam's refurbishment of the grade II* listed town hall in Mansfield. The #3.5 million project will include a four-storey extension to the rear of the 1836 building, creating retail and office space, while the...

IN BRIEF: Architecture Foundation's final exhibition.
August 11, 2006... The Architecture Foundation's Renegade City season's final exhibition Best in Show opens on August 18. The exhibition will bring together the best work from this summer's student shows, and has been put together by Judith van Ingen and...

IN BRIEF: Renewal of Woodberry Down.(Hackney Homes contracts with Hackney Borough Council and Berkeley Homes )(Brief article)
August 11, 2006... A principal development agreement has been signed by Hackney Homes, Hackney Borough Council and Berkeley Homes for the #1 billion renewal of Woodberry Down in north-east London. The masterplan for the regeneration project is being designed by...

Poles put pressure on Arb over registration.
August 11, 2006... Ellen Bennett Pressure is mounting on the Arb to relax the rules allowing foreign architects to register in the UK. The Arb Reform Group is gathering evidence of cases which, it claims, expose inconsistencies in the standards expected...

Upmarket visitor centre for Loch Ness.(Brief article)
August 11, 2006... Niall McLaughlin Architects has won the competition to design a visitor attraction on the edge of Loch Ness. The #3 million scheme centres on the refurbishment of the derelict Bona lighthouse, owned by British Waterways, and a new building to...

IN BRIEF: Enhancing capital's historic environment.
August 11, 2006... English Heritage and Transport for London are funding a new position to enhance the capital's historic environment as part of public realm and transport projects. Edmund Bird has been appointed heritage adviser to work with TfL's urban...

Cairo terminal revision.(interior design of the new terminal at Cairo airport)(Brief article)
August 11, 2006... GMW Architects has been appointed to refurbish the interior design of the new terminal at Cairo airport. The practice will contribute to the $375 million (#197 million) project by designing upgraded security, enhancing the retail and...

IN BRIEF: Bid to attract young people to voice opinions on Area Action.
August 11, 2006... Miniature cardboard houses are appearing all over Burnley in a bid by the local council to attract young people to voice their opinions on Area Action Plans. The houses contain information about a text messaging line which future householders...

Balmond slates UK `conservatism'.
August 11, 2006... British architecture pales in comparison to the rest of the world, according to Cecil Balmond, one of the country's foremost engineers. He said Britain lacked the "can-do" attitude of other European countries and praised China for...

Olympic sustainability targets are too vague.
August 11, 2006... Experts say delivery authority must sign up to specific targets now Ellen Bennett The Olympic Delivery Authority must sign up to specific targets to ensure its green rhetoric becomes reality, sustainability experts warned this week....

Fit for a Prince.
August 11, 2006... RMJM has submitted a planning application for its first project in Liverpool, a large mixed-use development including a residential tower on the historic Princes Dock site. The scheme, for developer the Mersey Property Company, centres on...

Six projects vie for #50m lottery prize.(Brief article)
August 11, 2006... Projects including a conference centre in Sherwood Forest, a technology museum on a former airfield in Wiltshire and a cluster of waterways schemes in Somerset are on a shortlist to receive to #50 million of lottery money. The #140 million...

IN BRIEF: Recycling design.
August 11, 2006... The free London-based intellectual property service Own is staging an event at the London Design Festival to explain the environmental benefits of making new products from existing designs. Re-Using Design will take place on September 21 at The...

IN BRIEF: Warsaw pact.(construction of residential tower)(Brief article)
August 11, 2006... The London office of SOM has been appointed to design a 27,000sq m, 25- storey residential tower in Warsaw by Irish developer IGD. The site is west of the city centre near the Hilton Hotel in Mirow. The development will comprise apartments, a...

IN BRIEF: Pick the mix.
August 11, 2006... The Home Builders Federation has said that a mix of housing types must be offered in a choice of locations throughout the Thames Gateway to create desirable new communities. It said attractive homes could not be produced if all developments...

Businesses back eco buildings.
August 11, 2006... Marguerite Lazell Almost 90% of UK businesses would be more willing to pay for energy- efficient buildings than for iconic ones, according to new research carried out for architectural consultancy Gensler. The study, which examined the...