Building Design articles from February 2004

Building Design archives from February 2004

Shame academy: teachers threaten strike over problems with Foster & Partners' city academy in Brent.(Foster and Partners)
February 6, 2004... Teachers at a state-of-the-art school designed by Foster & Partners are threatening strike action over a series of design problems with the building including a lack of staff toilets, no staff room and noise disrupting lessons. The...

Dynamite career push.(Brief article)
February 6, 2004... Architecture has a new secret weapon to promote it to school children and she is dynamit-e-e. Rapper Ms Dynamite will be the face of the Cabe-funded campaign to promote careers in the built environment to be launched next month. As...

Frank Gehry unveiled plans for the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) last week and claimed will Alsop's nearly completed "flying tabletop" scheme for the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) next door encroached too heavily on a local park.(Brief article)
February 6, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Frank Gehry unveiled plans for the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) last week (pictured) and claimed will Alsop's nearly completed "flying tabletop" scheme for the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) next...

Atkins to scoop 2bn [pounds sterling] Colchester PFI in days.(Brief article)
February 6, 2004... A four-year delay on the 2 billion [pounds sterling] PFI deal to redevelop Colchester Barracks is set to end as early as Tuesday, when preferred bidders, including architect and engineer Atkins, reach financial close with the government. ...

Zaha Hadid, Anish Kappor, Future Systems and Yoko Ono are a few of the renowned architects and artists exhibiting sculptures made entirely from snow and ice at this year's Snow Show.(Brief article)
February 6, 2004... Zaha Hadid, Anish Kappor, Future Systems and Yoko Ono are a few of the renowned architects and artists exhibiting sculptures made entirely from snow and ice at this year's Snow Show. The six-week event opens on February 11 in Kemi, Finland....

'Reverse auctions' inevitable.(Brief article)
February 6, 2004... Controversial online tendering, known as a "reverse auction", is now an inescapable certainty for the architectural profession, the RIBA conceded this week. Under the practice, bids are submitted before the auction and the lowest offer is...

Miralles/RMJM row engulfed Holyrood.(News)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... An all-consuming row between RMJM and Enric Miralles over tile division of fees on the Scottish Parliament building caused project delays and left RMJM with severe cash-flow problems, it emerged at the public inquiry into the troubled project...

US entrance exam to go.(News)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... The RIBA Council is set to approve an agreement next week under which British architects will be allowed to work in the US without taking an entry exam. Council members will next week be asked to approve a draft of the Mutual Recognition...

Bath Spa spat continues.(News)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... The row between Grimshaw and contractor Mowlem over the cause of bubbling paint on the 26 million [pounds sterling] Bath Spa project reignited this week after an independent report into the defect. which has caused a six-month delay, appeared...

V&A gallery scaled back.(News)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... The RIBA's new flagship architecture gallery at the Victoria & Albert Museum has been scaled back after all five contractors broke the budget in their tenders for the project. The gallery, designed by Gareth Hoskins Architects, has been revised...

Inverness theatre.(News)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... Page & Park has won the contest to revamp the Inverness Eden Court Theatre, beating off BDP, RMJM, Reiach & Hall, Hurd Rolland Partnership and the theatre's original designer, LDN. The 10 million [pounds sterling] scheme, on the banks of the...

Sports centre plan.(News)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... A multimillion-Pound scheme to transform the National Sports Centre (NSC) in Crystal Palace, South London, moved a step closer last week, after London Mayor Ken Livingstone confirmed that he would like to take over the project. A meeting held...

Renewed VAT call.(News)(Value Added Tax)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... RIBA president George Ferguson this week added fresh impetus to BD's campaign to persuade chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown to drop VAT on repair and refurb on buildings to harmonise it with new-build VAT rates. He told MPs on the Urban...

Camden Arts revamp.(News)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... Tony Fretton Architects' 4.2 million [pounds sterling] revamp of the Camden Arts Centre in north London opened last week with enhanced gallery spaces for showing sensitive and fragile works, a new care and a garden designed by Muf.

Wembley progress.(News)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... A 1 billion [pounds sterling] development around the Wembley National Stadium took a step forward this week after the Palace of Arts & Industries was delisted. Quintain Estates & Development wants to integrate the 6ha site with its stage one...

Carbon-neutral housing goal: Egan review to recommend zero carbon for 200,000 new homes delivered under the sustainable Communities Plan.
February 6, 2004... All housing delivered under the Sustainable Communities Play should be "carbon neutral", government adviser John Egan is set to say in his long awaited report on regeneration policy. A senior government source has indicated that Egan's...

Dunster dreams of two more Zeds.(News)( Bill Dunster )(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... BedZed architect Bill Dunster is hoping that 2006 will be the year he makes it big as he waits on two major bids that would deliver well over 1,000 of his "carbon neutral" homes. With government targets pointing the way to carbon-neutral...

Marks Barfield eyes observation tower.(News)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... Marks Barfield is working up designs for an observation tower that could deliver a London Eye-type experience for up to 1 million people a year, BD can reveal. The practice, much lauded for The 50 million [pounds sterling] ferris wheel...

Cabe has dim view of glass: Rogers and Foster berated for over-use of glazing in schemes for Hastings and Birmingham.(News)(Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, UK)
February 6, 2004... Cabe has criticised separate schemes by Foster & Partners and Richard Rogers Partnership for excessive use of glazing on the facades. The design watchdog's latest design review casts doubt on Foster's design tot Pelham Crescent, a mixed-use...

Designs from a six-strong shortlist for 150m pedestrian/cycle bridge over the river Cam at Chesterton near Cambridge went on public display this week.
February 6, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Design from a six-strong shortlist for 150m pedestrian/cycle bridge over the river Cam at Chesterton near Cambridge went on public display this week. Clockwise from top left are Anthony Hunt and Tony...

Shuttleworth in for Finch on design panel.(News)(Ken Shuttleworth)(appointment to Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, UK)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... Cabe's design review process could become more practice-friendly after former Foster's partner Ken Shuttleworth this week replaced architecture journalist Paul Finch as chairman of the design review panel. Shuttleworth, who now heads his...

Green light in Norwich.(News)(Hudson Architects)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... Hudson Architects has won planning approval for its Greyfriars Project, a 12 million [pounds sterling] mixed-use scheme in Norwich city centre. The scheme, on the sloping site of a 14th century friary, includes a tower, 130 homes, office space...

Liverpool dock boost.(News)(dock to be rebuilt)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... The 500 million [pounds sterling] revamp of Liverpool's King's Dock will benefit from 100 million [pounds sterling] from the city council and its public-sector partners to redevelop the 14.5ha site in time for the European Capital of Culture in...

Arb prosecution.(News)(Architect's Registration Board, UK)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... The Arb has prosecuted a man who unlawfully called himself a "leisure architect". Richard Fisher of West Yorkshire--who is not registered with the Arb--was fined 1,000 [pounds sterling] and ordered to pay 844.53 [pounds sterling] costs. ...

Award announced.(News)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... The trustees of the Michael Ventris Memorial Fund have announced a new 2,000 [pounds sterling] annual architecture award. It is open to architects or postgraduate students of at least RIBA/Arb intermediate status or equivalent. See...

A date with Rem.(News)
February 6, 2004... The RIBA still has tickets for a lecture by RIBA Gold Medal winner Rein Koolhaas at the RIBA's Jarvis Hall at 1pm on Wednesday 38 February. Tickets cost 7 [pounds sterling] /4 [pounds sterling] concessions. Contact the RIBA Gallery on 0207307...

Cowes regatta.(News)
February 6, 2004... The Little Britain Challenge Cup--the construction industry regatta--will be held at Cowes on the Isle of Wight from September 9-12. For entry details, see www.littlebritain.co.uk

Presidential hopefuls pledge to crush Arb: Richard Saxon questions whether 'architect' title needs protection.(News)
February 6, 2004... Crushing Arb has emerged as a key election pledge of most of the candidates to be the RIBA's next president, for which campaigning officially began this week. Three out of four hopefuls that have declared or are expected to confirm they...

Hope for Brighton pier plan as rival flounders.(News)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... Brighton City Council's plans to restore the burnt-out West Pier were scuppered this week when the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) withdrew a 19 million [pounds sterling] grant. The move gives a new lease of life to a rival scheme by Brighton...

Build schools for users, not politicians.(Comment & Analysis)
February 6, 2004... BD would have brought you news this week of discontent in the staff room at the Capital City Academy in Brent, only there isn't one. Instead, we reveal that among the scattered work stations that make up the staff facilities in this 21st...

Solar u-turn.(solar energy policy, London, England)(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
February 6, 2004... From Ken Livingstone, mayor of London While it is my long-term aim lot all new buildings in London to make use of renewable energy, the target in the first version of the London Plan will not be set as high as 50% (News January 23). It...

Mighty phoenix.(Letter to the Editor)
February 6, 2004... From Toby Johnson, MacCormac Jamieson Prichard We are disappointed that the Coventry Society, Stephen Alan Wright and John Rossiter do not share our enthusiasm for the Coventry Phoenix Initiative (News January 16). Fortunately their...

A good judge.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 6, 2004... If in planning applications good design is to be considered before planning policy (News January 30), somebody will have to define "good design". Will the great and the good prepare a set of examples that we should all emulate, and how are...

Licence fee.(Letter to the Editor)
February 6, 2004... From John Fairchild, Hertfordshire The age-old chestnut about registration and its benefit to the architect is again drawn out of the coals by Malcolm Nickolls (Letters January 30). It is the practice of architecture that should be...

History lesson.(Letter to the Editor)
February 6, 2004... From Peter Gibbs-Kennet, Gloucestershire Debate about Arb arises not so much from the possibility of abolition as from how the registration body has comported itself since it was set up--there are uncanny echoes in the way Arb has performed...

Timespan.
February 6, 2004... 1994 Off the beaten track, the countryside goes kinky. 2004 Young Architects Of The Year remember to look miserable. 2024 First landmark nanospire grown in world-class micropolis.

Path to oblivion.(Letter to the Editor)
February 6, 2004... From Ian Salisbury, London It is one thing to accuse readers of forgetfulness, but quite another for your correspondents to be selective. Malcolm Nickolls and I were on the RIBA Council when the abolition of Arcuk was mooted, and I am sure...

The bigger picture.(Letter to the Editor)
February 6, 2004... From Peter Fink, London The non-renewal of Cabe funding of the RSA Art for Architecture scheme only follows a similar decision by other public funders of other public art agencies. In all these cases, funding withdrawals were related to...

Public concerns.(Letter to the Editor)
February 6, 2004... From Peter Bishop, director, environmental services, Camden I write to clarify Camden Council's position on the proposals for the King's Cross area (News January 9 and tellers January 16). While we welcome suggestions on how to improve...

Urban challenge.(Letter to the Editor)
February 6, 2004... From Andrew Barraclough, London I applaud the London Authorities Urban Design Forum (LAUDF) initiative (News January 23) to raise the profile of urban design and introduce further joined-up thinking across the London boroughs. Much has...

Addendum.(Correction Notice)
February 6, 2004... The photograph of the Scottish Parliament on page 2. last week should have been credited to Keith Hunter.

Mastering the paycheck: expanding your single-discipline practices will enhance income and profit.(Comment & Analysis)
February 6, 2004... There is no doubt about it, architects are poorly paid. Last week's BD conference, How Architects Can Maximise Their Income and Profit, was based on the presumption that we all could do better if only we knew how. Within the current model...

Hard landing for Atkins.(Atkins Architects)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... Everyone is used to snags on projects, but the trip to get them fixed rarely means you give up altogether--unless your job has just landed on Mars and the round trip is 70 million miles. This was the situation facing Atkins as its designers...

Holyrood star.(John Campbell)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... The Holyrood inquiry was held up briefly this week as a technician rushed in to fix the microphone of John Campbell QC, counsel to the ongoing inquiry. As the technician fiddled with the faulty mic, Campbell quipped: "It'll be make-up next."...

August is siesta time.(Concrete Boots)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... The Holyrood inquiry also revealed some interesting cultural differences between the architects at Enric Miralles's practice in Barcelona and the team at RMJM in Edinburgh. Miralles closed his office for the whole of August just after his...

Dunster's street cred.(Concrete Boots)(Bill Dunster)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... If you visit Beddington in Surrey to see Bill Dunster's BedZed development you'll encounter a small road dividing two of the blocks signposted as Dunster Way. Apparently, the naming was not an act of supreme egotism but quite the opposite....

What's in a name.(architects)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... Mies Van der Rohe--famous for his dictum "less was more"--is the inspiration behind four homes in Countryside Properties' Vistas development in Cheshire. Breuer, Gaudi, Eames and Rietveld are among other celebrated architects who have...

Raising the drawbridge: if climate change is already happening, isn't it time architects focused on buildings that offer defence against the elements rather than simply energy saving. Karen Glaser asked the experts.(Comment & Analysis)
February 6, 2004... The eco-warriors of Britain's construction1 industry are unanimous on one thing: climate change and global warming are a terrifying truth, making sustainability the single most important issue for architects in the 21st century. Hereon,...

City slickers: a mix of private cash and a new business-friendly education policy is producing a new brand of schools. But is the corporate design of city academies right for today's teenagers.(City Academies)(Bexley Business Academy )
February 6, 2004... When Tony Blair opened the Bexley Business Academy late last year, he endorsed an education concept that was proposed under the last Conservative government: secondary schooling that focuses on specialisms and uses private investment. With its...

What makes a good school: as with modern offices, circulation and adaptability are key.(AHMM/Feilden Clegg Bradley)
February 6, 2004... Our current secondary school estate is a mess, but this is beginning to change, writes Richard Feilden. In 2005 the Building Schools for the Future programme commences with more than 2 billion [pounds sterling] per year, and the minister David...

On the radar.(Culture)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2004... BOOKS I don't read novels, just biographies. I like pursuit books, such as Chris Bonnington's Quest for Adventure. I read books where people are under pressure and things are real. I enjoyed Snowball Oranges by Peter Kerr, and Driving Over...

Show and tell: curating architecture for the public can be tough. Pamela Buxton hears the latest tricks of the trade, and previews a show that uses art, sound and prose.(Culture)
February 6, 2004... Architecture is a notoriously difficult subject to communicate to the general public, even after they've been softened up by a TV diet of Grand Designs and Restoration. The fundamental problem is obvious--unlike most art shows, you can rarely...

Diary.(Calendar)
February 6, 2004... LECTURES MONDAY * Public Art and Public Space with Vivien Lovell. Hosted by the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association. Venue The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 16 Bedford Square, London. 6.30pm. 5 [pounds sterling]/15...

As good as their word?(Back Space)
February 6, 2004... Some people are surprised 'Mien architects don't do what they say the are going to do. Now, let's be clear, there are some walks of life where a manifesto means you know pretty much what to expect. In politics, for example, at least until...

Ian Martin.
February 6, 2004... Monday I'm sketching out my latest Saudi Arabian commission--an Aerial Pod to give tourists air informed overview of the Middle East situation--when I'm interrupted by a phone call. It's the World's Greatest Architect, Frank Lehry. Next...

Richard Rogers Partnership has unveiled plans for a 224m-high tower in the City of London for British Land.(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... Richard Rogers Partnership has unveiled plans for a 224m-high tower in the City of London for British Land. The scheme was submitted for planning permission this week and includes 53,000sq m of office space and 1,500sq m of retail space. ...

Hodder defiant in pool row.(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... The troubled Clissold Leisure Centre in north London will remain closed indefinitely, it emerged tills week, as Hackney council and Manchester practice Hodder Associates remain locked in a legal battle over the problems with the building. ...

Flood risk could sink homes plan: insurers seek assurance over Thames Gateway housing.
February 13, 2004... The insurance market is to demand more information from the government about planned flood protection measures before it is prepared to insure up to 102,000 new homes planned in the Thames Gateway. In a crunch meeting next week, a...

Schools told to raise game: as six exemplar secondary school designs are unveiled, programme head admits to procurement doubts.(News)
February 13, 2004... Local education authorities will straggle to deliver the ambitious designs of the 2.2 [pounds sterling] billion secondary schools rebuilding programme announced on Thursday, education ministry officials have admitted. Schools minister...

Farrell defends Holyrood.(News)
February 13, 2004... Edinburgh's first design tsar Terry Farrell has praised the Holyrood Parliament building, saying the city should employ more non-Scottish architects of international standing, writes Karen Glaser. Farrell declined to comment on the scandal...

Rafael Vinoly Architects has won a competition to design a 16.5 million [pounds sterling] arts venue in Colchester, Essex.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... Rafael Vinoly Architects has won a competition to design a 16.5 million [pounds sterling] arts venue in Colchester, Essex. RVA's crescent design beat over 100 other teams that included a shortlist of David Chipperfield Architects, Future...

Free RIBA membership for students mooted.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... RIBA president George Ferguson is planning to give all architecture students free membership of the RIBA. RIBA Council this week voted unanimously in favour of Ferguson's scheme under which practices would be asked to sponsor student...

Ken issues solar edict.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... London mayor Ken Livingstone has issued new guidelines requiring developers to include solar panels on large housing schemes, as predicted by BD last month. The London Plan, published this week, requires "major developments to show how the...

Brits bid for Iraq work.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... Major consortiums of British architects and contractors competing for the $18.4billion in reconstruction work in Iraq have finally submitted their bids two months late. Contracts available include a series of 20 design & build contracts and six...

Arena picks winner.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... Wilkinson Eyre has beaten Foster & Partners, Rafael Vinoly, HOK Sport, Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) and NBBJ Sport& Entertainment to design Liverpool's 100 [pounds sterling] million arena and conference centre at the Kings Waterfront...

Atkins on parade.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... Atkins has signed a 2 billion [pounds sterling] PFI deal to design new barracks for Colchester garrison in Essex. The practice will produce designs for accommodation and physical recreation and training facilities. The project will start on...

Eastern shortlist.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... The RIBA has drawn up a shortlist of six practices on behalf of the East of England Development Agency to design an Innovation Centre in Peterborough. Up for the commission are Bisset Adams, Barr Gazetas, LSI Architects LLP, Ruddle Wilkinson...

Square to go ahead.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... Architect Munkenbeck & Marshall's 19 million [pounds sterling] mixed-use Bermondsey Square scheme has been granted planning consent. Urban Catalyst and partner Southwark Council's 14,000sq m development includes office, residential and retail...

KPF's tower ambitions founder.(News)
February 13, 2004... Kohn Pedersen Fox is scrapping plans for a zoom tower on Bishopsgate in the City of London, its president Lee Polisano told BD this week. Client German fund manager Difa had planned a zoom-high tower designed by Chicago-based architect...

Prescott urged to block stadium.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... A proposed 47 [pounds sterling] million stadium designed by KSS Architects for Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club looked to have been scuppered this week after the Planning Inspectorate slammed its location at a greenfield site out side...

RHWL unveils Waterloo proposal.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... RHWL has unveiled designs for a 120m, asymmetrical tower next to London's Waterloo station, to replace what the practice calls the "monolithic" 1960s development by John Poulson. Director Geoff Mann told BD this week that client P&O...

French hospitals cost less: research by BDP claims that overspecification is making UK hospitals cost two thirds more than French counterparts.(News)
February 13, 2004... British hospitals are up to two thirds more expensive and much deeper in plan than their French counterparts because they are over specified, according to new research by architect BDP. In the document, Developing BDP's Knowledge of...

Hospital designs by Jane Darbyshire & David Kendall this week came top in a public vote.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... Hospital designs by Jane Darbyshire & David Kendall this week came top in a public vote. The practice beat designs by Muf with Rusetta Life; Fat with Demos; and McDowell & Benedetti in a poll conducted as part of Cabe's Healthy Hospitals...

Cruciform ward plan maybe more healthy.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... A hospital ward layout which positions beds in the shape of a crucifix has been championed by Nightingale Associates as a way to cut down on spreading infection. But rather than give patients divine inspiration, the ward design, developed...

Dunster brokers deal for cheap green homes.(News)(BedZed)
February 13, 2004... BedZed designer Bill Dunster says he is on the verge of a breakthrough deal to slash the cost of "carbon neutral" homes--and he wants other architects to join him in his quest. Dunster is negotiating with three "large" contractors on...

Baby skyhouses planned for London.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... Marks Barfield's proposal to house London's key workers in green high rise towers or "Skyhouses" has moved a step closer after it emerged that the practice is working up schemes with three London boroughs. The much-vaunted Skyhouse...

Designs for a 20,000sq m department store at Broadmarsh shopping centre in Nottingham by APA Architects were unveiled this week.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... Designs for a 20,000 sq m department store at Broadmarsh shopping centre in Nottingham by APA Architects were unveiled this week. The project for developer Westfield Shopping has received outline planning permission. Director Angus Pond was...

Kiran Curtis Architects has gained consent to demolish a house near Penshurst, Kent and replace it with a 12.8m-high design inspired by Palladio's classical villas.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... Kiran Curtis Architects has gained consent to demolish a house near Penshurst, Kent and replace it with a 12.8m-high design inspired by Palladio's classical villas. The elevations will be clad in Kent sandstone while the cylindrical central...

Foster dominates in architectural atlas ...(News)(Book Review)
February 13, 2004... The battle of egos on the international architecture scene just got a judge. A mammoth, 842-page new atlas of contemporary architecture could finally decide who is the most pre-eminent architect in the world. The selection shows that Norman...

... While top names battle for Italian job.(News)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2004... Eight architectural dream teams, featuring some unlikely marriages of international talent ,are vying for a massive regeneration scheme in Milan. One team, backed by British developer Chelsfield, yokes together RIBA Gold medalists Norman...

Before the flood.(Analysis & Comment)
February 13, 2004... "Few people have ever lived here, the winds are cold, there are flood plains and polluted lands. And, there have been devastating floods." Welcome to the Thames Gateway, the government's promised land where the housing crisis is supposed...

Halt contest farce.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 13, 2004... From R Berry, West Yorkshire So the RIBA has yet again failed its duty of care responsibilities to a competition sponsor by not clarifying its terms of reference at the outset (News January 30). It would appear that, in this instance...

Involvement is key.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 13, 2004... From John and Meta Wells-Thorpe, Brighton There is a simple way to keep clients on board during an architectural competition. First, user input and key priorities must figure conspicuously in the design brief and, second, the process of...

Jobs for the boys.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 13, 2004... From Simon Davis, London I write at the astonishing arrogance of Richard Feilden writing as a Cabe commissioner ("What makes a good school" February 6). I wonder where the line of a Cabe commissioner ends and promoting one's own company...