Building Design articles from August 2008

Building Design archives from August 2008

100 Public Spaces axed in London design shake-up.
August 1, 2008... Flagship programme abandoned as Design for London subsumed into development agency Will Henley Plans to transform London's urban realm through the mayor's 100 Public Spaces programme have been abandoned and the 18-month-old...

Canalside scheme launched.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Stiff & Trevillion Architects has completed the mixed-use Portobello Dock scheme for developer Derwent London. The project, on the site of a Victorian grade II listed refuse transfer depot on the Grand Union Canal in west London, includes a...

LEADER: Design for London RIP.(Editorial)
August 1, 2008... AMANDA BAILLIEU The mayor's design watchdog had some good ideas, but it never held much sway with the man who created it Will anyone miss Design for London? Despite its name - which suggested the people who worked there actually got...

LEADER: Cold feet at New Street.
August 1, 2008... Birmingham has aspirations to be another Helsinki, Barcelona or Stockholm, and it was rightly ambitious of Network Rail to run an RIBA competition for the overhaul of the city's New Street Station, the busiest rail station outside London. ...

IN BRIEF: Mayor moves on Waterloo towers.
August 1, 2008... Boris Johnson has branded as "unacceptable" proposals for three Allies & Morrison-designed towers to be built close to Waterloo Station. The London mayor, who has the power to veto major schemes, has ordered Lambeth Council to wait 14 days...

IN BRIEF: RIAS grants honorary fellowships.(Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland has made Robin Harper and Dame Barbara fellows)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland has made Robin Harper and Dame Barbara Kelly honorary fellows. RIAS president Arnie Dunn presented the fellowships at the RIAS fellows' summer reception on Monday. Harper, a member of the...

IN BRIEF - ID:SR appointed for Media City UK.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... ID:SR, the interior design team at Sheppard Robson, has been appointed to design the interior workspaces of the BBC's Media City UK broadcast centre at Salford Quays. Helen Berresford, head of ID:SR and design director for the project,...

IN BRIEF: Pender to head Heriot-Watt school.(Gareth Pender )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Heriot-Watt University has appointed Gareth Pender as head of the School of the Built Environment. Pender has worked at the university since 2000, and has held the position of director of research for the past six years. University...

IN BRIEF: Elephant plaza dispute resolved.(London's Elephant & Castle development)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... One of most significant schemes in the regeneration of London's Elephant & Castle will go ahead after a dispute between the developer and Southwark Council was resolved. Oakmayne Properties won approval in March 2006 for the mixed-use...

Hodge criticised over heritage bill.(Margaret Hodge )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Culture minister Margaret Hodge has been slated by MPs over the draft heritage protection bill, which they claim will cost far more to implement than claimed and is badly undermined by a lack of local authority skills. In a report on...

New Street contest comes off the tracks.
August 1, 2008... Critics fear that Foreign Office Architects will lose all control to Atkins Helen Pow and Will Hurst Network Rail's promise to bring "magic and excitement" to the #600 million overhaul of Birmingham's New Street Station has been...

BSF `fails to tackle outdoor space'.(Building Schools for the Future Programme )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The government's #45 billion Building Schools for the Future Programme has been slammed as a "gross missed opportunity" for outdoor space and landscaping by a leading landscape architect. Noel Farrer, a director of Farrer Huxley Associates,...

ING drops Gehry scheme.(Frank Gehry)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Frank Gehry's #290 million King Alfred scheme in Hove looks likely to be abandoned after investor ING Real Estates withdrew backing. The highly contentious project for 750 apartments and a new public leisure centre was thrown into doubt...

Step up for Liverpool museum.
August 1, 2008... The Museum of Liverpool has been granted #11 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund to complete its interior fit-out. The #70 million museum was designed by 3XN, but is now being led by executive architect AEW. It will create 8,000sq m...

Aukett shifts staff to focus on work in Middle East.(Aukett Fitzroy )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Will Henley Architectural giant Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has moved 30 of its design staff to work on projects in the Middle East. The firm now expects half of its turnover to come from the region within the next three years. Amid the...

SMC Group open office in Dubai.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... SMC Group announced this week it is to open an office in Dubai in the fourth quarter of 2008, in addition to an office in Kuala Lumpur, which is due to open this month. International business at the Aim-listed firm - which last year held merger...

FIRST LOOK: Dunster's ZedFactory reveals plans for luxury Bath eco-home.
August 1, 2008... Bill Dunster's ZedFactory has unveiled plans for a luxury eco-home in an area of outstanding natural beauty outside Bath. The 700sq m Bath Springs building, which has planning permission and will serveas a family home for local businessman...

Weston pier pavilion owners vow to rebuild.(Kerry and Michelle Michael )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The owners of Weston-super-Mare's grade-II listed Grand Pier have vowed to rebuild its famous pavilion after it was destroyed by fire on Monday. More than 85 firefighters tackled the blaze, which started at around 6.45am and is believed to...

The Public lures retail.(The Public will create retail in West Bromwich town center)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Lyons Sleeman Hoare and Tesco have submitted a major mixed-use scheme in West Bromwich for outline planning. The phased development, next to Will Alsop's The Public, will create 44,000sq m of retail, almost 6,000sq m of cafes, restaurants...

Reed elected first woman president of the RIBA.
August 1, 2008... Will Hurst & Will Henley Ruth Reed has been elected the first woman president of the RIBA and has pledged to champion other women in the profession during her term in office. Reed, a course director at Birmingham School of Architecture...

Government sets out eco-town standards.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The government has set out standards for eco-towns that require all buildings in an eco-town to be zero-carbon and 40% of land to be designated as green space. Housing minister Caroline Flint said: "These would be the toughest standards...

Chilterns gets sett.(Lewis & Hickey has won planning permission for private house in the Chilterns)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Lewis & Hickey has won planning permission for this 370sq m private house in the Chilterns. Badgers View Farm uses white rendered blocks linked together over a traditional "knapped flint wall". The house also features large areas of...

Hotel plan for `at risk' Manchester fire station.
August 1, 2008... Will Henley One of Manchester's "best loved landmarks" is to be transformed into a hotel under a #30 million scheme by Purcell Miller Tritton. The former London Road Fire and Police Station opposite Piccadilly Station - at 16,600sq m,...

Save offers alternative to Pathfinder home razing.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Mark Hines Architects has teamed up with Save Britain's Heritage on a proposal aimed at stopping the demolition of 400 houses in east Manchester. As part of the government's controversial Pathfinder regeneration programme, homes including...

RIBA COMPETITION: Seven listed for Douglas Crossing.
August 1, 2008... The RIBA has announced that seven teams are competing to design the River Douglas crossing near Preston, Lancashire. Amin Taha Architects, JDA with Arup, Nick Hancock Design Studio, NPS North West, and Ramboll Whitbybird with Priestman...

OFFICES: Glasgow scheme gets green light.(Architect SMC Hugh Martin has received planning permission for office development in Glasgow)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Architect SMC Hugh Martin has received planning permission for this #130 million office development in Glasgow. The 12-storey glazed scheme, which will be located on St Vincent Street, will include 23,000sq m of office space, a coffee shop...

CABE: Olympic screens plan `like Currys'.
August 1, 2008... Cabe has objected to plans to erect up to 60 giant television screens as permanent installations in cities and towns in time for the 2012 Olympics. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games plans to supply the screens to local...

ENVIRONMENT: Camden's streets set for makeover.(Camden Council in London has unveiled the first stage of plans to improve the Camden Town area)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Camden Council in London has unveiled the first stage of plans to improve the Camden Town area. The Camden Town Project, developed with Transport for London and business group Camden Town Unlimited, aims to make the area's main streets...

Foster urged to rethink Shoreditch tower plans.(Foster & Partners)(Bishop's Place )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Will Henley Foster & Partners should radically rework its controversial Bishop's Place scheme in London's East End, Hackney council has said. Members of its planning committee last week rejected advice from officers to grant planning...

Glennkerrin unveils plans for Arcadia scheme.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Developer Glenkerrin unveiled significantly scaled-down plans for its Arcadia scheme in west London by Foster & Partners and HKR last week. The main Leaf tower by Foster has been reduced from 40 storeys to a slimmer 24-storey building. This...

LETTER: Town and gown.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... A disappointing statement from the RIBA president at the Oxford Conference echoed an age-old argument between practice and education. Sunand Prasad should visit some outstanding environmental research programmes run at schools of architecture...

LETTER: Looking ahead.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... Was Helen Pow in the same room as the rest of us at the Oxford Conference? Sunand Prasad made some constructive criticisms, but the general tone of his talk was positive and forward-looking. He explicitly did not say he was looking for...

LETTER: Wake-up call.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... The final note of the Oxford Conference was very positive. The feedback from the audience and from the presidents of CIBSE, CIAT and the Landscape Institute was about the importance of architectural education and the very high standards of the...

LETTER: Think differently.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... It is disappointing that your headline does not reflect the real substance of Sunand Prasad's address. What impressed me about his regular interjections into the Oxford Conference was his recognition that we all need to think differently about...

LETTER: Positive focus.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... I was a little surprised at your selective reporting on English Heritage's formal response to RMJM's planning application for the new headquarters for City of York Council (News July 18). Rather than "slamming" and "dumping", which are...

LETTER: Square dance.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... I disagree with the comments from the members of the House of Lords about Parliament Square (News July 18). The mayor of London should be congratulated for shelving Ken Livingstone's proposed part-pedestrianisation of the square,...

LETTER: Overexposed.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... Intriguing that Gillespie, Kidd & Coia was included as a culprit in Tony Leitch's rather excitable critique of the "raw concrete aesthetic" of sixties buildings (Letters July 25). A cursory glance at the recent GKC monograph or a visit to...

LETTER: Battersea failure.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... Leaving aside the complete inappropriateness of the Vinoly proposals for Battersea Power Station (News July 18), the predominate failure, as with all predecessors, is that none have actually addressed a solution for the use of the power station...

LETTER: A new climate for schools?(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... Sunand Prasad is right (News July 25). The lack of any real examination, as he states, of "normal life" from our schools of architecture is I agree "intellectual dereliction". It's clear that life is fast becoming less than normal. We have...

OPINION: Your breakfast can change the world.(Essay)
August 1, 2008... CAROLYN STEEL Feeding cities has a greater physical impact on the planet than anything else we do What did you have for breakfast today? Bacon and eggs? Muesli and milk? Coffee and toast? Whatever it was, it is sure to have come from...

DEBATE: Should Britain's planning services be privatised?
August 1, 2008... YES Brian Waters President, Association of Consultant Architects Development control needs competition if it is to cease being a drag on the British economy. The private sector needs a bigger role. Two years ago, the ACA's...

WORKS: DIXON JONES - Perfect pitch.(concert venues in King's Cross)
August 1, 2008... Two new major concert venues live in harmony with the Guardian's new headquarters in Dixon Jones' Kings Place building in King's Cross, writes Ellis Woodman PROJECT TEAM Client: Parabola Land, Architect: Dixon Jones, Main contractor:...

SOLUTIONS: SERVICES & SUSTAINABILITY - Project: Woodside Leisure Centre.
August 1, 2008... Architect: Studio E Engineer: Max Fordham Location: Watford By Cathy Strongman Historically, leisure centres are not the most sustainable of buildings. Swimming pools require large amounts of water and energy, as do their...

SOLUTIONS: Are fuel cells the future of heating?
August 1, 2008... Pamela Buxton looks at two planned London office projects that will use this sustainable method of generating heat and power The UK has been lagging behind the US, Japan and Germany in applying fuel cell technology to buildings. But with...

HOW FUEL CELLS WORK.
August 1, 2008... Fuel cells are having quite a moment both inside the construction industry and out. In April, Boeing flew the first manned aeroplane powered by hydrogen fuel cells. In June, Honda began making the world's first commercially available fuel cell...

PRACTICE: My contractor has just gone bust.
August 1, 2008... ASK US A QUESTION Richard Brindley Executive director, RIBA Professional Services Patrick Perry Partner with London law firm Barlow Lyde & Gilbert My contractor has just become insolvent. Where does this leave me? ...

DEAR IRENA: Should I stay or should I go?
August 1, 2008... Irena Bauman tackles your ethical dilemmas Value-engineering on my sustainable office scheme has removed all its passive energy and natural air circulation features. I'm furious, but am not sure whether to continue or pull out. Your...

CULTURE: Our pre-fabulous future.
August 1, 2008... Anyone interested in the future of mass housebuilding should visit MoMA's stimulating show, writes Michael Stacey EXHIBITION HOME DELIVERY: FABRICATING THE MODERN DWELLING MoMA, New York Until October 20 When the Museum...

BOOKS ROUND-UP.
August 1, 2008... * The Skyscraper & the City: the Woolworth Building & the Making of Modern New York, by Gail Fenske. University of Chicago Press, HB, 352pp, #34 At 57 storeys, New York's Woolworth Building was for three short years the tallest tower in...

BOOKS ROUND-UP.(Bernard Tschumi)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... * Bernard Tschumi, by Gilles de Bure. Birkhauser, HB, 240pp, #46.50 This study of Tschumi's writings and buildings focuses on his time in New York, where he moved in 1976. He first showed his work in art galleries and alternative spaces,...

BOOKS ROUND-UP.
August 1, 2008... * Expo:International Expositions, 1851-2010, by Anna Jackson. V&A Publications, PB, 128pp, #20 The 1851 Great Exhibition was just the start of the expo movement still going strong today. This book discusses the design and content of the...

BOOKS ROUND-UP.(Redefining London: King's Cross, Bloomsbury, Covent Garden, Holborn, Soho, Fitzrovia)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... * Redefining London: King's Cross, Bloomsbury, Covent Garden, Holborn, Soho, Fitzrovia, edited by Andrew Mead. NLA Publications, PB, 176pp, #18 This compact book is the first of a New London Architecture series about the capital's many...

BOOKS ROUND-UP.
August 1, 2008... * Ant Farm Allegorical Timewarp, by Felicity D Scott. Actar, PB, 318pp Art, architecture and video collective Ant Farm operated in 1968-78 in California. This book sets its work in the context of contemporary events such as the kidnapping...

On the right side of history.(Sir John Vanbrugh: Storyteller in Stone)(Book review)
August 1, 2008... Architect, playwright, soldier - Vanbrugh's powerful intellect still shines, says Ptolemy Dean BOOK SIR JOHN VANBRUGH: STORYTELLER IN STONE Vaughan Hart Yale University Press, HB, #40 John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) was the...

Jonathan Glancey: The Midas touch of the Olympics.(sports facilities in the Olympics)
August 1, 2008... On your marks, get set, develop! The opening next week of the Beijing Olympics is a reminder that Britain and China, two ruthless trading partners, have much in common. As China cracks down on human rights even as athletes prepare to run,...

THIS WEEK: MR SANDMAN.
August 1, 2008... The world's first sand hotel has been built on Dorset's Weymouth Beach. For a tenner, guests can stay the night at the 15sq m sandcastle-shaped structure by sculptor Mark Anderson - or at least until the tide washes it away. Copyright: CMP...

THIS WEEK: WALK ON WATER.
August 1, 2008... Wilkinson Eyre's Chris Wilkinson is calling for more bridges to be built across the Thames in London. Wilkinson, whose firm designed the Millennium Bridge at Gateshead, a Stirling prizewinner, claims the capital needs two more pedestrian...

THIS WEEK: PECKING DISORDER.
August 1, 2008... Parakeets have vandalised the spire of St John's Church in Croydon by pecking holes in shingle tiles, causing #5,000 of damage in the process to the church's 170-year-old roof. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

THIS WEEK: CLOCK THAT.
August 1, 2008... Galashiels residents are furious that their town clock has been silenced after 80 years of chiming. It will no longer sound between midnight and 7.15am as the Scottish Borders Council took action after a complaint by a single resident. ...

Kevin McCloud's own `grand design' in chaos.(Happiness Architecture Beauty contracts with Wright & Wright)
August 8, 2008... TV presenter replaces Wright & Wright with practice ready to work weekends for no money Amanda Baillieu & Will Hurst A ground-breaking attempt to transform the quality of British housing led by Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud is...

LEADER: We need to talk about Kevin.(Kevin McCloud)(Happiness Architecture Beauty )
August 8, 2008... AMANDA BAILLIEU Kevin McCloud is right to want to raise the standard of housebuilding, but first he must learn how to be a good developer Kevin McCloud is passionate about architecture's power to change the world. It is a passion that...

LEADER: Don't overlook far-sighted students.
August 8, 2008... The students judged to be top of the Class of 2008 have a wealth of talent, and their projects the freshness of the unexpected. A pigeon fanciers' hangout and aviary in Sheffield is a wonderful flight of the imagination, and an archaeological...

IN BRIEF: Tom Russell in eco-village coup.(Tom Russell Architects wins RIBA competition )(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Tom Russell Architects has won a RIBA competition to turn Lawrenny in Pembrokeshire into an eco-village. The Bristol-based firm beat almost 100 architects in the contest to build 30 zero-carbon homes and 10 zero-carbon workspaces in the...

IN BRIEF: Theatre foyer given the go-ahead.(CZWG's East Terrace Foyer)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... CZWG's East Terrace Foyer, part of its Bournemouth pavilion and gardens project, has been granted planning permission. The foyer forms part of the planned regeneration of Bournemouth's theatre quarter, which includes a new pavilion and...

IN BRIEF: #350m Blackfriars revamp begins.(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Network Rail has announced that work has begun on a #350 million project to regenerate Blackfriars Station in London. The work, which forms part of the Thameslink expansion project, will triple the capacity of the station, which has both...

IN BRIEF: Arb strikes off bankrupt architect.
August 8, 2008... John Dowland of Godstone in Surrey has been struck off the Arb register for failing to pay a series of debts, and for failing to report his bankruptcy to the board. Dowland was found guilt of unprofessional conduct at a hearing on July 29...

IN BRIEF: Conran set to convert hall to flats.(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Conran & Partners has received planning permission to convert and extend a grade II listed building by Royal Festival Hall architect Leslie Martin. College Hall in Leicester, designed by Martin with Trevor Dannatt in the 1950s, will be...

Brits shortlisted in under-50 awards.(David Adjaye and Thomas Heatherwick will compete for BSI Swiss Architectural Award )(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... David Adjaye and Thomas Heatherwick have been shortlisted for a new international award celebrating the work of architects aged under 50. The two British architects will compete with 28 other designers from around the globe in the first...

BD CAMPAIGN: Robinson attacks EH claims on liveability.
August 8, 2008... Housing expert hits out at argument that estate `fails as a place to live' Will Hurst Respected housing expert Dickon Robinson has lambasted English Heritage's central claim that Robin Hood Gardens "fails as a place for human beings...

Saga of Barbican office block stalls.
August 8, 2008... Kohn Pedersen Fox's design for a 90,000sq m office block beside the Barbican Centre has been shelved after the intended occupier, investment bank JP Morgan, pulled out. Developer Hammerson and its partner the City of London still hope to...

Scott Brown to top Biennale speakers.
August 8, 2008... Denise Scott Brown will be the keynote speaker at a British Council debate on housing design next month. The celebrated architect and urban planner will apply her research into housing - including her seminal 1970s polemic on America,...

Starting gun sounds for Athletes' Village.
August 8, 2008... Planning has been granted for the first element of the 2012 Athletes' Village in the Olympic Park in east London. The scheme, designed by Glenn Howells Architects with Niall McLaughlin Architects and Piercy Conner, will create 297...

RIBA form leaves firms vulnerable, says insurer.
August 8, 2008... Marguerite Lazell An insurance specialist has warned architects not to use the RIBA's new standard form of agreement, claiming it could lead to bankruptcy in the event of an uninsured claim being made against them. Hilary Nicholls,...

FIRST LOOK: Hazle McCormack Young brings music to Canterbury.(Hazle McCormack Young has unveiled music center for Canterbury Christ Church University)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Kent-based practice Hazle McCormack Young has unveiled its #8 million music centre for Canterbury Christ Church University. The 1,660sq m structure, set to be the first purpose-built music centre in Kent, won planning last month. The music...

Thirteen practices up for South-west awards.(RIBA South West Town & Country Design Awards )(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... A total of 13 practices will battle it out in the seventh annual RIBA South West Town & Country Design Awards next month. Leading contenders announced in the shortlist last week include the RIBA regional award-winning Newlyn Art Gallery...

Mecanoo wins in Birmingham.
August 8, 2008... Dutch practice to design city's new library and theatre Helen Pow & Marguerite Lazell Mecanoo has scooped its first major project in the UK, beating fellow Dutch stars OMA along with Foster & Partners, Foreign Office Architects,...

Towering pillars to mark 7/7 victims.(memorial for London's bombings)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Architect Carmody Groarke has revealed its designs for a permanent memorial to the victims of London's 7/7 bombings. The #1 million project comprises 52 stainless steel pillars - one for each victim of the attacks - placed in four clusters...

Hadid's big in Singapore.(Zaha Hadid Architects designed the largest residential development in Singapore)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Zaha Hadid Architects has designed the largest residential development in Singapore, the practice announced this week. The #1.1 billion scheme, consisting of seven 36-storey residential towers and 12 villas, will be on a 78,000sq m site at...

Clear run for Foster scheme in Croydon.(Foster & Partners)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Helen Pow A 150,000sq m scheme by Foster & Partners now looks likely to be built at south London's Croydon Gateway site after communities secretary Hazel Blears effectively ruled out rival plans by Michael Aukett Architects. Following...

Flint on the defence over eco-town plans.(Caroline Flint )(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Housing minister Caroline Flint has insisted the government is making "significant progress" with its eco-towns plan, despite a report from an advisory panel which pointed out serious flaws in many of the shortlisted proposals. The second...

REFURBISHMENT: Watkins Gray to refit Barnardo's.(Architect Watkins Gray International)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Architect Watkins Gray International has won a competition to refurbish the new 187sq m office space for children's charity Barnardo's in the London Borough of Southwark. The designs for the 1 Long Lane site include a flexible "hot desk"...

COMPETITION: RIBA looking for floodproof home.
August 8, 2008... RIBA and insurer Norwich Union have launched a joint competition to design a floodproof home. The competition, revealed by BD in June, comes in the wake of the Pitt Review into the flooding that hit large areas of England last summer. Igal...

NEW ZEALAND: NZ masterplan goes to Farrells.(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Farrells has beaten competition from Foster & Partners, Frank Gehry, SOM and Gensler to masterplan a mixed-use redevelopment scheme in Auckland, New Zealand. The 5.2ha development, for client AMP Capital Investors, will see the Newmarket...

REGENERATION: Cornish keeps energy low in brownfield office plan.(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Cornish Architects is set to transform a brownfield site in Denham, South Buckinghamshire, into low-energy office space. The design, for Capswood Investment, comprises flexible, naturally lit office space in two wings on either side of a...