Building Design articles from December 2005

Building Design archives from December 2005

Firms jittery as health freezes over: practices leave sector as reforms put projects on ice.
December 2, 2005... At least 17 PFI schemes are on hold and the country's biggest healthcare practices are bearing a retreat from the sector due to a major government rethink of health services. Leading healthcare firms Anshen Dyer and Nightingale Associates...

London's play station.(theatre for childrens)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Keith Williams Architects' E9 million new Unicorn Theatre for children opened this week. The building, on Tooley Street near London Bridge Station, is the first purpose-designed theatre for children and includes a 340-seat main auditorium and a...

900 attend BD awards gala: Bennetts Associates and Lynch Architects top the list of winners.(News)
December 2, 2005... Rab and Denise Bennetts scooped the second annual BD Architect of the Year Award on Tuesday night, in front of an audience of more then 900 people. Their practice, Bennetts Associates, impressed the judges with the variety of its work and...

Evening rocks with frocks, socks and glowing shots.(News)
December 2, 2005... Ah, award ceremonies. The bright lights, the loud dance music, and the urban drumming tribe fresh from Glastonbury to entertain us in the interlude. This was no ordinary award ceremony, this was the second year of BD's Architect of the Year...

A mixed-use development by Paul Whitley Architects has won planning permission, on Holmes Road in Camden, north London.(Hit and miss)
December 2, 2005... A mixed-use development by Paul Whitley Architects has won planning permission, on Holmes Road in Camden, north London. The scheme (pictured above) includes a ground floor shop and 27 homes.

Architects Maap and BDP have been selected for the first phase of a 190 million [pounds sterling] redevelopment of Broad moor mental hospital.(Hit and miss)
December 2, 2005... Architects Maap and BDP have been selected for the first phase of a 190 million [pounds sterling] redevelopment of Broad moor mental hospital. Maap is the lead architect in a consortium led by Laing O'Rourke, which beat competition from...

The deadline for applications for the MacAslan/ICE Bursary, which encourages social and environmental projects in the UK and overseas, is on December 12.(Hit and miss)
December 2, 2005... The deadline for applications for the MacAslan/ICE Bursary, which encourages social and environmental projects in the UK and overseas, is on December 12. For more information, go to www.riba.org

The winners of the Kent Design Awards have been announced.(Hit and miss)
December 2, 2005... The winners of the Kent Design Awards have been announced. They include Michael Cook Associates' affordable village housing at Ash Grove, St Margaret at Cliffe; Lee Evans' Partnership Kings Hill Centre in West Malling; Mouchel Parkman's Trosley...

RIBA.(People)
December 2, 2005... Graeme Russell has resigned as the RIBA head of Trust Programmes after less than three months in the job. The RIBA said the outspoken former chief executive of Manchester's Cube centre left for personal reasons. He refused to comment.

Project architect Leslie Burgher has left Scottish practice Pentarq to set up on his own.(People)
December 2, 2005... Project architect Leslie Burgher has left Scottish practice Pentarq to set up on his own. Burgher, an accredited conservation architect, worked on Firth primary school and the recently completed Kalisgarth Centre in Westray.

The government is expected to make crucial announcements on housing density, planning gain supplement, and real estate investment trusts on Monday.(Power play)
December 2, 2005... The government is expected to make crucial announcements on housing density, planning gain supplement, and real estate investment trusts on Monday. A draft of PPS3 should be launched and the chancellor will make a number of announcements in his...

Figures just released show that the nine housing market renewal pathfinders spent 60.4 [pounds sterling] million in 2004-05.(Power play)
December 2, 2005... Figures just released show that the nine housing market renewal pathfinders spent 60.4 [pounds sterling] million in 2004-05. 11.1 million [pounds sterling] was spent on demolition, 44 million [pounds sterling] was spent on refurbishment, and...

Families could be at risk of overcrowding if the government continues to favour the development of small homes over larger family houses.(Power play)
December 2, 2005... Families could be at risk of overcrowding if the government continues to favour the development of small homes over larger family houses, the Home Builders' Federation has told the ODPM select committee.

Farrell leaves by tube: South Ken project breaks down.(News)(Terry Farrell )
December 2, 2005... Terry Farrell has quit the controversial South Kensington tube station redevelopment in west London, after more than 10 years on the project, leaving it shrouded in uncertainty. The scheme is reeling from a triple whammy of highly organised...

High water mark.(News)(Fletcher Priest Architects )(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Fletcher Priest Architects has unveiled this image of its proposed refurbishment of a sixties building, set to be one of the largest users of geothermal cooling in the country. The 10.5 million [pounds sterling] project, on site in...

No 10.(contracts)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Eric Parry Architects has been appointed by the Crown Estate to redevelop 10 Whitehall Place in central London. The proposals, which were entered for planning last week, include the demolition and redevelopment of the Metropole building,...

New planning powers for mayor.(News)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Ken Livingstone is set to take control of planning on major London sites, such as Elephant & Castle, White City and the Olympic Park. He could also be given control over the Housing Corporation's budget for London--around 842 million...

Building skills.
December 2, 2005... Housing minister Kay Andrews opened the Milton Keynes College Construction Centre on Monday. The college was established to address a shortage of construction skills in the area, and will train more than 500 students in skills such as...

Streets ahead.
December 2, 2005... Streets ahead English Heritage has launched a campaign to declutter the streets of the Northeast of cluttered signs, bollards, bins and broken paving. It has teamed up with the Women's Institute and the Department of Transport to encourage...

Triangle trial.
December 2, 2005... Triangle trial Urban regeneration company Sunderland Arc is looking for a developer for the 3ha Holmeside Triangle. The masterplan for the site includes a superstore, 150 homes and a new town square. The appointment of a preferred development...

Adam: modernists are like martians.(News)
December 2, 2005... At one end of the spectrum of our profession we have an architect based in Winchester, designing exuberant country houses for Russian millionaires; at the other an architect working in Clerkenwell on gritty inner city affordable housing. Most...

Olympic site mosque.(News)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... A London-based practice has pledged to "reinterpret Islamic architecture" with a giant mosque next to the Olympics site. Set within an Islamic garden on the banks of the Channelsea River, the London Markaz (Islamic for "centre") will hold...

Gateway record slammed: Gummer urges greater consistency.
December 2, 2005... Former environment secretary John Gummer delivered a searing indictment of the government's track record on the Thames Gateway at last week's Thames Gateway Forum, calling for greater clarity, consistency and continuity. The Tory MP's...

... But Farrell's green vision welcomed.(News)(Terry Farrell)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Terry Farrell's vision of a green Thames Gateway won praise from housing minister Yvette Cooper at the forum. The minister, who has commissioned a study into the proposals (News November 18), said that government would "tend not to use the...

Park life.
December 2, 2005... Park life John Thompson & Partners has won planning permission for a mixed-use development opposite Royal Bushy Park, Teddington. The 198-home development, for Linden Homes South-east, uses render, copper and timber to minimise its impact on...

Plan of action.
December 2, 2005... Plan of action The Planning Advisory Service is set for a relaunch following a weekend workshop. More than 100 representatives, including MPs and planners gathered to discuss increasing take-up of the service, a free resource for those who...

On track.
December 2, 2005... * On track The International Olympic Committee has outlined a schedule for the delivery of key projects. Plans for all the facilities and sporting venues must be finalised by 2007 so that construction can start in 2008. Detailed planning of the...

Salford saviour.(building designed)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Danish practice 3XNielsen has designed this building to form the hub of a new arts and media quarter in Salford, Greater Manchester. The 60 million [pounds sterling] arts and media centre, on Adelphi Street, will open in 2008 and include a...

Cream of Jersey 'goes to mainland'.(News)(design quality goes down)
December 2, 2005... Design quality in Jersey is suffering because major developments are handed to outside architects rather than local firms, it was claimed this week. Paul Harding, president of the Association of Jersey Architects, said many of the largest...

KPF's Bishopsgate tower shrinks 19m.(News)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... The proposed height of KPF's Bishopsgate Tower has been cut by 19m to 305m, following protests by English Heritage and the Civil Aviation Authority. The tower's developer DIFA will submit revised drawings to the Corporation of London in...

Lambeth talk.(planning permission granted)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... KPF may have had to cut the height of its proposed Bishopsgate Tower, but it got some good news this week with the granting of planning permission for this 90,000sq m office building in Lambeth. York House, on Lambeth Palace Road in...

Four-way fight for BBC site.(News)
December 2, 2005... Ian Simpson Architects, Fairhurst Design Group, Hamilton Associates and EPR Architects will present early design work next week for four sites in move north of several major Manchester shortlisted for the BBC departments. As developers...

School programme must 'consult or fail'.(News)(School Works )(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Education pressure group School Works has called for the government to reform its controversial schools delivery programme or risk "failing our children". The group has warned the Department for Education & Skills that its 2.2 billion...

New job.(East Anglia)(employment centre is built)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Work has begun on Feilden & Mawson's 2.5 million [pounds sterling], 1,300sq m employment centre at Old Bowthorpe on the outskirts of Norwich, comprising two storeys of flexible business space and light industrial units. The firm has also...

Easy rider.(East Anglia)(CMC Architects designs park-and-ride facility)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Easy rider CMC Architects has designed Chelmsford's first park-and-ride facility for Essex County Council and Equity Estates. The 2 million [pounds sterling] project comprises 900 parking spaces (600 as part of phase one) and a terminus...

Art attack.(East Anglia)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Art attack Rafael Vinoly Architects, proposed 17.2 million [pounds sterling] Colchester visual arts centre weathered a political storm last week. The proposed site for the publicly funded centre has been moved from Queen Street to a part of the...

Courtyard consent.(East Anglia)
December 2, 2005... Courtyard consent Purcell Miller Tritton Architects has received planning consent for its 1 million [pounds sterling] renovation of the Old Bank of England courtyard in Norwich, in a conservation area and including listed thirties office...

Healthy outcome.(East Anglia)
December 2, 2005... A topping out ceremony has been held at the 85 million [pounds sterling] Elective Care, Genetics and Diabetes Centre, on the Cambridge Bio-Medical Campus at Addenbrooke's Hospital, planned to open in spring 2007. It is designed, built, financed...

Age before beauty.(East Anglia)(Carefore Homes proposition rejected)(Colchester Borough Council )(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Age before beauty Colchester Borough Council has defended its rejection of a proposed care home for Alzheimer's sufferers in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty near Dedham, Essex. At a planning inquiry last week, Carefore Homes said that the...

Jewish question only half the story.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 2, 2005... So the anti-Israel sentiment has finally penetrated our profession, not surprisingly. Abe Hayeem (Soapbox November 25) shows the political agenda behind his smear campaign of Israeli architects. The main example he gives--of large housing...

Speak out.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 2, 2005... I read with surprise Abe Hayeem's "A lesson in division from Moshe Safdie". We all know what's going on in Israel, how the so-called "security" wall is snaking its way, dividing the Palestinian farmer from his land, child from school, patient...

History lessons.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 2, 2005... Abe Hayeem's article is both absurd and mischievous. If it is immoral for Moshe Safdie to design housing in either West Jerusalem or Modi'in, both in undisputed Israeli territory, it must therefore be equally immoral for him to design anywhere...

Dispute resolution.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 2, 2005... BD could do the profession, the RIBA and the Arb a tremendous service by commissioning independent research to establish what percentage of RIBA members support the institutes dispute with Arb concerning standards in architectural education,...

Estate agents.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 2, 2005... Why on earth should the Packington Tenants Association have any say in the choice of a scheme for the redevelopment of their estate (News November 25)? None of them are going to live there after reconstruction, since the sole aim of their...

Crystal clear.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 2, 2005... Your article "Crystal Palace demolition under fire" (News, November 25) only tells part of the story. The new swimming pool building will be built to lower standards as the existing high diving pool is excluded. This is stated by the LDA in...

Signs of trust in the next generation.(Editorial)(Architect of the Year Awards)(Editorial)
December 2, 2005... Patrick Lynch gave a humble acceptance speech when he picked up our Young Architect of the Year Award on Tuesday night. He said he was proud to have been part of such a strong shortlist, adding he only hoped he could deliver on the trust that...

Centralisation is killing our cities.(Soapbox)
December 2, 2005... A decade and a half after a resurgent Barcelona used culture and urban vigour to fire-up the Catalan economy, Britain is still struggling to understand the truth it illuminated: that cities, and their regions, are our primary economic...

Top of the fops.(Concrete Boots)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Former ambassador to Washington Christopher Meyer was branded a "red-socked fop" by deputy prime minister John Prescott last week after embarrassing revelations in his new book upset the government. In the same week, Boots saw Terry Farrell...

Stirring stuff.(Concrete Boots)(spoon design)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Fresh from designing the most pretentious coffee cup ever, Australian practice Denton Corker Marshall has turned its mind to an even thornier challenge: the spoon. Sorry? You thought the spoon worked perfectly well already? Well, you are...

Having a blast.(Concrete Boots)(architects behavior)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Architect Robert Adam was unavailable for comment this week on his contentious country house scheme in Hampshire because he was "out on a shoot all day". Is there a name for that moment when all your preconceptions and prejudices are...

Right angle.(fishing)(A4 Architecture)(Higgins Construction)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Still on country pursuits, Richard Macan-Lind of A4 Architecture and Rob Charnock of Higgins Construction had their work cut out when they netted a 21-pound pike on a company fishing trip last week. It took the two of them to wrestle the...

Mine's a pint.(Concrete Boots)(design icons)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... The Times asked architects for their favourite British design icons this week and got some unlikely results. Farshid Mousavi and Alejandro Zaera-Polo of Foreign Office Architects chose the roundabout, while Amanda Levette of Future Systems and...

Young and gifted: this year's young architect of the year award revealed a wealth of developing British talent. Ellis Woodman applauds the winners.(YAYA 2005)
December 2, 2005... Eight months ago, I sat down with my editor and the chairman of the Young Architect of the Year judges, Paul Monaghan, to discuss the launch of the 2005 Young Architect of the Year Award. We decided that, for the first time, entries would be...

Zaha's blinding science: the Phaeno Science Centre in Wolfsburg is the culmination of a career's experimentation for Zaha Hadid. Was all worth it?(Works)
December 2, 2005... Somewhere to the west of Berlin and south of Hamburg is Wolfsburg, a city that didn't exist until 1938. Designed as an urban manifestation of national socialist ideals, the city was laid out around a huge new factory purpose-built for...

How we cracked it.(Solutions)
December 2, 2005... 19 The challenge: To create removable, tiered seating for a flexible performance space The solution: A hinged seating rake Architech: Andrzej Blonski Architects Site: Peepul Centre, Leicester Project type: Arts and...

Building bamboo's reputation: a Feilden Clegg Bradley project in India is proving bamboo's worth as a building material.(Solutions)
December 2, 2005... If you thought bamboo was only suitable for garden pergolas knocked up on Groundforce, think again. Bamboo structures treated with preservative have a life expectancy of 40 years, and now a prototype bamboo home has been proved robust enough to...

Spot of Botta: as Mario Botta's first UK exhibition opens, Ellie Duffy wonders why he has never worked here.(Culture: Books Exhibitions Events)
December 2, 2005... Although Mario Botta is a prolific architect who has designed extensively across the world, he has never built in the UK. The Swiss post-modernist's first exhibition in this country opened last week at the RIBA, accompanied by a presentation...

See the lights.(SELECTOR)
December 2, 2005... Architectural lighting goes under the spotlight at an NLA exhibition on illuminated buildings and public spaces in the capital. London Lights, until January 21, New London Architecture, the Building Centre, 26 Store Street, London. Tel: 020...

Concrete proof.(SELECTOR)
December 2, 2005... Richard Weston of the Welsh School of Architecture will give an illustrated talk on the buildings of Jorn Utzon as part of Docomomo UK's Masters of Concrete lecture series. December 6, 6.30pm, the Gallery, 70 Cowcross Street, London. Tel: 020...

The drama unfolds: Hoberman's work is ingenious, but what is it for?(Culture: Books Exhibitions Events)
December 2, 2005... Attending a lecture by US inventor/designer Chuck Hoberman is a bit like it must have been to be at a presentation of the first lift, or the first fan vault: "Great idea--I wonder what they'll do with it?" His lecture last week was the...

John Plowman, and me.(Culture: Books Exhibitions Events)
December 2, 2005... John Plowman's art reminds me of the importance of finding time to draw. I don't think architects these days draw so often, especially younger ones who were brought up with computers. John is a respected artist, curator and lecturer. He...

Acrobat advice.(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Acrobat advice A website and online forum has been launched to provide architects and engineers with news and advice about Adobe Acrobat and PDFs. The site, at www.solvedonline.com, is supported by Adobe but managed independently. "There is...

World view.
December 2, 2005... World view Aerial photography supplier Getmapping has launched SIMurban, 3D visualisation software designed to allow real-time interaction with any real world built environment. SIMurban combines Getmapping's aerial photography with height data...

Exacting visions: architects are increasingly turning to visually verified montages to prove how schemes will look.(eArchitect)
December 2, 2005... Only six weeks ago, architectural visualising firm M3FX received RIBA accreditation to run continuous professional development seminars on "visually verified montages". In that short space of time, the firm has already been signed up for...

Verifying the verifiable.(eArchitect)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... Jeremy Archer, studio manager at DesignHive, describes the process for producing verifiable montages: "The key to producing verifiable images is observing protocols at key stages of the process. Once views have been agreed (taking into...

Battling bugs in hasty upgrade: visualising firm uniform puts 3D Studio Max v8 to work. Pete Thomas thinks Autodesk should test its upgrades more thoroughly.(Roadtest)
December 2, 2005... At Uniform we have been using 3D Studio Max since version 2 and it is the core element of our modelling software. In general, it is easy to learn the basics quickly and achieve good results in a short space of time. Since 2003, we have...

Corus Colorcoat[R].(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... The Colorcoat[R] brand provides the recognised mark of quality and metal envelope expertise exclusively from Corus. Over the course of 40 years Corus has developed a range of technically leading Colorcoat[R]) pre-finished steel products which...

Corus building systems.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... Boatemah Walk, a new housing scheme that is part of the London Borough of Lambeth's ongoing regeneration of Angell Town, has become the first completed project in the UK to benefit from Kalzip's sustainable AluPlusSolar roof solution. ...

Terrapin Ltd.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... The latest edition of Terrapin's corporate news magazine is now available. Terrapin specialises in applying innovative off-site techniques and uses Modern Methods of Construction to deliver the best value solution for the client's building...

Aircrete Bureau.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... With higher density developments and changing population demographics, sound transmission between buildings is an increasing problem. To address this issue the Aircrete Bureau has made Part E the focus of Factsheet 8, which is now available to...

IES.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) Limited has formed a dedicated Building Regulations Division, as part of its ongoing initiative to aid architects, engineers and all those involved in the building design process through the...

Metsec.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... Metsec's light gauge galvanised steel zed puffins have been used on the new 2.6 million [pound sterling] Information and Communication Technology Learning Centre (ICT) at the nationally renowned Portland College for the Disabled. The complex...

Kingspan Insulation Ltd.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... A total of 1,500 square metres of 60mm Kingspan Kooltherm K15 Rainscreen Board has been used in the first phase of an 80 million [pounds sterling] redevelopment project at Boardgreen Hospital, Liverpool that will turn the site of the former...

Pilkington.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... As part of a project to provide 3,000 square metres of new and renovated space, the Fitzwilliam Museum, which houses the renowned art collection of the University of Cambridge, has incorporated a number of specialised floors that make use of...

Buxton Lime Industries.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... Since it opened last September, the 431 m [pounds sterling] complex at the foot of Edinburgh's historic Royal Mile has attracted worldwide interest. One of the secrets of its success has been the astonishing attention to detail and execution....

Rigidal Systems Ltd.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... Rigidal's Ziplok standing seam profile has provided the finishing touch to Audi's Centre of Excellence outside Glasgow. 3000[m.sup.2]of aluminium Ziplok were used to roof the landmark project which is the world's largest Audi retail venue. Set...

Safeguard Europe Ltd.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... The Vandex guide to the "Waterproofing and protection of sewage systems," describes the use of the Vandex "Z" range of waterproofing slurries to waterproof sewers and sewage treatment facilities. The Vandex "Z" range has been specifically...

Ward insulated panels.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... Ward high performance insulated roof and wall panels, approved to LPBC standards were the product of choice for a new bus depot in Cowley, Oxford. Ward IP1000/80 composite roof panel was used for the 3200[m.sup.2] roof at the GoAhead Group bus...

Barwood products.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... A new product is set to revolutionise aspects of hygiene management in the healthcare sector. ActisSafe, a range of products combining the strength of a high-performance coating material with the antibacterial properties of silver, was launched...

AMF Ceilings Ltd.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... When specialist ceiling company, B Lawrence Ceiling and Partitioning Contractors Ltd, refurbished its new offices the company chose to install a diverse range of specialist tiles from AMF Ceilings. In doing so B Lawrence has created an office...

Ash & Lacy Building Systems Ltd.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... Ash & Lacy has teamed up with Cambridge based surface treatment technology specialist Keronite to create a new finish for its Ashtech rainscreen cladding system which could open up significant market opportunities in areas that are subject to...

Marley Eternit Ltd.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... Architectural designers Chris Gothard Associates are extensive specifiers of Marley Eternit roofing products so they knew just where to look when it came to a vital stage in the ambitious redevelopment of a large Grade II listed country house....

Selectaglaze.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... In the current social, commercial and political environment, buildings in many locations are be-coming increasingly vulnerable to attack or to the effects of attack, from any number of sources. Windows have traditionally been seen as "soft...

Interior design handbook.(Products & Literature)
December 2, 2005... For over 20 years, Interior Design Handbook has been one of the most valuable and visionary sources of products available to the British interior design and retail professions. Widely acknowledge as the essential interior design source book,...