Building Design articles from June 2009

Building Design archives from June 2009

Oxford calls on Stern to end competition deadlock.
June 5, 2009... University's expansion stalled by style wars Amanda Baillieu Yale University's Robert Stern has been parachuted into the midst of a prestigious competition for Oxford University thanks to a "deadlock" over whether to chose a modern or...

OXFORD'S BID FOR A 21ST CENTURY CAMPUS.(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... 2003: University buys the 4ha Radcliffe Infirmary site from the NHS. 2005: Rafael Vinoly wins competition to draw the site masterplan, and is then commissioned to design the site's new Mathematical Institute. 2007: Public consultation...

LEADER: Oxford's expansion blues.
June 5, 2009... AMANDA BAILLIEU Oxford University must maintain its reputation for excellence and not compromise on the quality of its architecture Oxford University has a formidable challenge. It needs to find #1.25 billion to pay for a major...

LEADER: The secret of political success.(Royal Institute of British Architects )(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... Fortuitous it certainly is, but you can't help but have a sinking feeling about chances of a meeting between the RIBA and the shadow cabinet yielding anything very useful. So how should the RIBA position itself for the difficult months...

IN BRIEF: Tombs to quit Scottish watchdog.(Architecture and Design Scotland)(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... Sebastian Tombs, the chief executive of Architecture and Design Scotland (A&DS), the Scottish equivalent of Cabe, is to step down. Tombs, who has led the organisation since it was founded in 2005, told the organisation of his resignation on...

IN BRIEF: New Delhi high commission job.(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... The Foreign Office is seeking an architect to refurbish and extend its high commission building in New Delhi, India. The government department issued an Ojeu notice this week for the #6 million project. It said it was looking for a practice...

IN BRIEF: Malvern 1970s dome listed grade II.(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... The government has listed the 1977 Edinburgh Sports Dome in Malvern, Worcestershire, at grade II. The building by Michael Godwin, is the only surviving example in the UK of a domed parashell roof. English Heritage's head of designation...

IN BRIEF: Row over competition restrictions.
June 5, 2009... A row has erupted over claims that small firms were effectively ruled out of the running for a competition to redevelop a major Dublin site. The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) has threatened to report the Electricity...

IN BRIEF: Cabe promotes sustainability day.
June 5, 2009... More than 100,000 young people are expected to take part in Green Day, a Cabe initiative to raise awareness of sustainability in schools as part of today's World Environment Day. Events will range from debates to making bio-diesel in...

Architects oppose museum extension.
June 5, 2009... A group of architects has dealt a new blow to Rogers Stirk Harbour's plans for a #135 million addition to the British Museum. Local conservation group Bloomsbury Conservation Area Advisory Committee - which includes several architects - has...

RIBA plans summit with shadow cabinet.(Conference news)
June 5, 2009... Panel will lobby senior Conservatives over policy at meeting next week Ruth Bloomfield The RIBA is organising a summit with key members of Tory leader David Cameron's shadow cabinet in a new drive to lobby the possible next...

WHAT WILL YOU TELL THE SHADOW CABINET?(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... Ruth Reed, RIBA president-elect "Maintaining the process of working towards a low carbon economy, when there are going to be a lot of pressures to reduce the specification because of the recession, is a major issue. I would ask them to...

Westminster offers five-year planning.(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... Planning officers in central London have responded to the recession by offering developers the opportunity to apply for planning permissions lasting for five years. Westminster Council's move comes as projects across the UK are being put...

A shop full of engaging curiosities.(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... Ellis Woodman Like the riddle of the Sphinx or the task of freeing Excalibur from the stone, the challenge of bringing sense to the architecture room of the Royal Academy summer show has defeated successive brave souls since time...

Codes miss green target.(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... Strict design codes have meant the aggregates supplier for the 2012 Olympic Games is not able to use as much recycled material as promised. Aggregate Industries vowed to supply as much as 70% of materials as recycled aggregate when it won...

Arb seeks bigger finesfor fake architects.
June 5, 2009... Marguerite Lazell The Arb has called on magistrates to crack down harder on people who fraudulently describe themselves as architects after having to bring a repeat prosecution for misuse of title for the first time. Last month David...

FIRST LOOK: Cassion Castle plans a stealthy citadel for Bethnal Green.
June 5, 2009... Cassion Castle Architects has won planning permission for a 60sq m private studio development on the site of a former garage in Bethnal Green, east London. The project, for a product designer who lives locally, navigates a restricted plot...

Listing of Sheffield store in jeopardy.(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... The government is to review the listing of GS Hay's post-war Castle House department store in Sheffield, just weeks after the 1964 building was given grade II status. Both English Heritage and the Twentieth Century Society back the listing...

Huts the way I like it.(Anne Thorne Architects )(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... Anne Thorne Architects has completed work on a series of family homes for affordable housing group Metropolitan Housing Trust in Lambeth, south London. The Bateman Mews development has a feel of "huts in the garden", as the site sits among...

More jobs at risk after college cash is delayed.
June 5, 2009... David Rogers Architects caught up in the Learning & Skills Council college rebuilding debacle have warned that more jobs could go because of fresh delays to the botched initiative. In a letter sent out to colleges on Monday, LSC chief...

HTA to bring about a sea change in Bexhill.(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... HTA has won a competition to regenerate a faded south coast seaside resort as part of the government's Sea Change scheme. The Camden-based firm will lead the #5 million regeneration of Bexhill, East Sussex, after beating firms including...

Fretton squares up.(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... Work has begun on Tony Fretton's 1,100sq m mixed-use building in a historic district of Copenhagen. The six-storey building faces Frederik's Church on the Tietgens Grund square and is due for completion in 2010. It will finally...

Wrap raps architects over waste.
June 5, 2009... Not one architect signs up to scheme Marguerite Lazell Architects have been accused of failing to pull their weight to help reduce the amount of waste going to landfill from their schemes. Of more than 100 industry firms which have...

WRAP'S 5 PRINCIPLES.
June 5, 2009... Reduce waste by designing for: * reuse and recovery, using materials from demolition and excavation * off-site manufacture * material optimisation, simplifying and standardising material and component choices *...

Tottenham Court Road Crossrail team named.(Brief article)
June 5, 2009... Arup and Atkins will lead the design of Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station in a team also including Hawkins Brown. The key scheme is being led by the two firms, with Hawkins Brown as principal architect. All three have been...

ANALYSIS: When the winner takes it all.
June 5, 2009... Competition entries are up 40%, but the recession is making it even harder for small firms to get a break. Ruth Bloomfield reports A year ago the UK's most high-profile architects didn't need to compete for work, entering only a handful of...

ANALYSIS: CURRENT RIBA AND RIAI DESIGN COMPETITIONS.
June 5, 2009... London Bridge Entrants are asked to imagine an inhabited version of the bridge to mark its 800th anniversary. Deadline: June 25. Southend Pier A competition to redesign the fire-damaged pier, with a budget of #5 million. Deadline:...

LETTER: An opportunity.(Letter to the editor)
June 5, 2009... The outcry caused by Arb's proposal to vet our competence is understandable but, for those of us who have already gone through the tiresome process of achieving accreditation from one or more of the existing schemes (CHAS, SAFE contractor etc)...

LETTER: Charged article.(Letter to the editor)
June 5, 2009... With reference to the complicated calculations made by Mark Dyson (Letters May 29): for jobs of the size he mentions I charge an hourly rate and issue fee accounts on the last day of the calendar month, with a request for payment within 14...

LETTER: Oversee this.(Letter to the editor)
June 5, 2009... The JCT standard building contract for a home owner/occupier 2005 proudly announces, for signature, that it is for ithe owner/occupier who has appointed a consultant to oversee the works. I took issue with JCT over a year ago now, getting...

LETTER: Intrinsic politics.(Letter to the editor)
June 5, 2009... Should architects become more active in politics (Debate May 29)? I would suggest it is difficult, if not impossible, to avoid same. With planning legislation, local authorities, heritage bodies, design reviews, registration boards, ACE and...

LETTER: Arb and illusion.(Letter to the editor)
June 5, 2009... An odd choice for the "no" corner (Debate May 29): Frank Duffy, who, it is believed, was implicated in the disastrous sacrifice of dear Arcuk on the altar of just another New Labour quango: Arb. Arb is a body of largely illusory purpose,...

LETTER: Hoodwinked.(Letter to the editor)
June 5, 2009... What a relief that Robin Hood Gardens has been saved from listing. Sorry, don't agree with you on this one. At least now it stands a chance of being adapted to the real needs of its residents rather than being preserved as another monument to...

LETTER: RIBA at its best.(Letter to the editor)
June 5, 2009... Regarding John Assael's letter (May 22) and the leader, there are many ways of getting involved with RIBA besides council. Form5 ("Young guns team up to win primary school work", News May 22) met at a design charrette funded and hosted by...

LETTER: Competence assurance.(Letter to the editor)
June 5, 2009... I would like to reassure architects who may have read last week's article in BD on the Arb's approach to competence. Architects are expected, under the Code of Conduct & Practice, to maintain their competence in relation to their...

OPINION: Let a hundred cauliflowers bloom.
June 5, 2009... CAROLYN STEEL Growing food, not building houses, is a more sustainable way of saving the Thames Gateway The Thames Gateway, billed by the government as "the UK's largest regeneration project" and its "first ever eco-region", is in a...

DEBATE: Should Arb force architects to prove their competence?
June 5, 2009... YES Graham Owens President, Institute of Structural Engineers In today's "better value for money" world, we can only maintain our value to, and be valued by, society and our clients if we improve our services - year on year, in good...

URBAN TRAWL: MANCHESTER - Heaven knows it's miserable now.
June 5, 2009... Owen Hatherley Manchester is hailed as a flagship for successful regeneration but along the way it has lost all appetite for civic architecture Greater Manchester, Cottonopolis, was once the world's most futuristic city. In the early...

WORKS: HAWORTH TOMPKINS - Well-tempered quintet.
June 5, 2009... A cluster of five redundant industrial buildings at Snape Maltings, home of the Aldeburgh Festival, has been turned into performance and rehearsal space. Ellis Woodman is impressed by a sensitive, richly- textured refurb PROJECT TEAM ...

SOLUTIONS: GREAT ZIMBABWE - A palace in Africa.
June 5, 2009... `A palace in Africa isn't just a building - it's the domain in which the building takes place' The ruins of Great Zimbabwe, a major trading centre until the 15th century, have informed Cottrell & Vermeulen's school designs, explains Brian...

Stone city that became a symbol of independence.
June 5, 2009... The Shona word "Zimbabwe" denotes a large stone structure. According to legend, the stone city of Great Zimbabwe was the home of the Queen of Sheba. Now in ruins, this major trading centre was built by the Bantu civilisation of the Shona...

CULTURE: Dead in the water.
June 5, 2009... AOC's Geoff Shearcroft on how Berthold Lubetkin failed in his ambitions for the post-war new town of Peterlee RADIO BRITAIN IN THEIR SITES: PETERLEE BBC Radio 4 May 24 "We were to build neither a suburb, nor a garden...

JONATHAN GLANCEY: A bland serving of spectacle.(Viewpoint essay)
June 5, 2009... One of my favourite toys as a child was a hand-me-down jigsaw puzzle of the counties of Britain. Each piece displayed the appropriate county town accompanied by a picture of the key product of that town or city. These towns were identified and...

THIS WEEK: SAVED BY CONRAN.
June 5, 2009... Conran & Partners' charity shop design, created with retail specialist and TV presenter Mary Portas for Save the Children, is to be rolled out nationwide after being trialled in its Orpington shop, which featured in Portas' BBC2 programme this...

THIS WEEK: PANEL GAINS.
June 5, 2009... A 10MW solar-powered electricity plant consisting of 87,777 photovoltaic panels, which will power the ongoing construction work at Norman Foster's Masdar City, has been switched on and integrated into the Abu Dhabi municipal grid. ...

THIS WEEK: ROYAL NEGLECT.
June 5, 2009... MPs have criticised the Queen's senior officials for allowing historic buildings on the Royal estate to fall into disrepair after part of the ceiling collapsed at the Victoria & Albert Mausoleum near Windsor Castle. Copyright: UBM...

THIS WEEK: BURNING SHAME.
June 5, 2009... Farouk Hosni, the 71-year-old favourite to be the new Unesco head and formerly Egypt's culture minister, has been criticised after a comment about burning Hebrew books in the Alexandria Library. Copyright: UBM Information Ltd.

Rescue plan for Vinoly's Colchester arts centre.
June 12, 2009... Golden banana set to be three years late as council forced to bring in troubleshooter Mace Will Hurst A rescue plan to save Rafael Vinoly's troubled Colchester visual arts centre was unveiled this week in a move that will see the...

Collection of Latin American art.
June 12, 2009... The University of Essex has announced it has appointed Long & Kentish to redevelop the Hexagon restaurant building on its Colchester campus. The building will house its collection of Latin American art. Copyright: UBM Information Ltd.

PEELING AWAY THE LAYERS OF THE GOLDEN BANANA.(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... 2003: Vinoly beats more than 100 practices in a competition to create the gallery. Arts Council pledges #5 million. 2004: Colchester councillors claim the #16.5 million gallery is not financially viable. 2006: Wins planning permission....

LEADER: Banana just adds to the rot.
June 12, 2009... AMANDA BAILLIEU Problems with Vinoly's Colchester arts building could deepen public disillusionment with `exciting' architecture Is this Vinoly's annus horribilis? This week it's the turn of his arts building in Colchester, which...

LEADER: Schools must play fair in the slump.
June 12, 2009... In all the gloomy talk of student debt, and unemployment for those graduating this summer from the UK's 41 architecture schools, we've not heard a peep from the schools themselves on how they intend to respond to those issues. Westminster,...

IN BRIEF: Cabe approves of #135m extension.
June 12, 2009... Cabe's design review panel has praised Rogers Stirk Harbour's scheme for a #135 million extension to the British Museum. The panel described the proposals as an "intelligent response" to a difficult brief and welcomed the concept of...

IN BRIEF: High Line turns railway to park.
June 12, 2009... The High Line, a new park space designed by Diller Scofidio & Renfro and landscape architect James Corner Field Operations on a 1.45-mile stretch of New York's disused steel freight railway, opened to the public on Tuesday. The park takes...

IN BRIEF: Zaha set to design Cairo Expo City.(Zaha Hadid Architects)(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... Zaha Hadid Architects has won an international competition to design Cairo Expo City, a 450,000sq m exhibition and conference complex. The scheme, which has elements 33 storeys high, includes a conference centre, a business hotel, office block...

IN BRIEF: Chipperfield to double gallery size.(David Chipperfield Architects)(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... David Chipperfield has been appointed to design a new 4,000sq m gallery building in Mexico for a major arts collection. The project will double the exhibition space currently available to the Jumex Foundation, run by the heir of the Jumex...

IN BRIEF: King's Cross concourse on site.(Cross Station)(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... Work has begun on John McAslan's huge semi circular-shaped concourse for King's Cross Station, due to open in time for the 2012 Olympics. The project includes refurbishing two quarter-mile-long office suites and creating a pubic space the...

Peer makes dig at superstar names.(William Howie)(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... Labour peer William Howie has claimed that architects such as Richard Rogers and Norman Foster are unfairly taking credit for high-profile projects such as the Millennium Dome and the Great Court at the British Museum. Speaking in a...

Architecture is most exclusive profession.
June 12, 2009... It costs more to qualify than in any other sector (and the salary is rubbish) Marguerite Lazell Architecture is the most socially exclusive profession in the UK, ahead of law, medicine and accountancy, according to research by the...

HOW ARE YOU FACING THE FINANCIAL BURDENS?(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... Alison Coutinho: Part II, Paul Davis & Partners "A starting salary of #20,000? What could be more offputting? I admit I'd done the maths when I decided to study architecture, and have worked seven jobs to alleviate a debt of nearly #18,000....

Shortlist for PM's awards revealed.(Prime Minster's Better Public Building Award)(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... Buildings by Ian Ritchie, Make, Wilkinson Eyre, BDP and Nicholas Hare have made the shortlist for the Prime Minster's Better Public Building Award, alongside a ring road project, a railway extension and a canal link. The 24-strong...

Andrews to head EH.(Kay Andrews)(English Heritage)(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... Newly installed culture secretary Ben Bradshaw has named Labour peer Kay Andrews as the new chair of English Heritage. The former junior minister for communities and local government has been appointed to the role almost a year after the...

It came from outer Kensington: museum goes sci-fi.
June 12, 2009... Business secretary Peter Mandelson has unveiled plans by Wilkinson Eyre for London's Science Museum. The #100 million Museum of the Future project, features the Beacon, a glass and light structure which will bulge out of the museum's...

Animal attraction.(Garnett Netherwood Architects)(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... Leeds-based Garnett Netherwood Architects has won a quirky competition to design a tower block scheme for animals. The 12m-high towers, proposed for the Holbeck Urban Village project in Leeds' city centre, are designed using recycled...

Mather starts again after Oxford quad plan falters.
June 12, 2009... Anna Winston Rick Mather Architects has been forced to go back to the drawing board over its proposed #45 million quadrangle for Oxford University's Keble College after heritage groups and the council objected to the demolition of a listed...

Anger over future of80s RMJM building.(Robert Matthew Johnson Marshall)(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... Plans by Archial to demolish a 1980s building designed by RMJM's founding partners Robert Matthew and Stirrat Johnson-Marshall have sparked a row over the building's future. The Edinburgh branch of Archial, formerly SMC Hugh Martin...

Slump blamed for awards dip.
June 12, 2009... 38 schemes shortlisted for Housing Design Awards, but organisers say entries are down by 30% David Rogers The recession is being blamed for a sharp fall in the number of entries for the Housing Design Awards, which celebrate their 60th...

Boris seeks to boost viewing corridors.(Boris Johnson)(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... London Mayor Boris Johnson has unveiled plans to further limit tall buildings in the capital by widening protected viewing corridors and in some cases doubling them. New draft guidance, which is now the subject of public consultation,...

Alder Hey's new look.(Avanti Architects)(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... Avanti Architects has unveiled concept designs for a new children's hospital complex at Alder Hey in Liverpool. The vision for a Children's Health Park was put out to public consultation on Monday, with two possible options, costing #288...

Olympics media centre changes win Cabe round.
June 12, 2009... Local business group also persuaded David Rogers & Will Hurst Last-minute alterations to the design of the Olympic media centre have won support from a host of media companies eyeing a move into the centre after the games. Earlier...

SUSTAINABILITY: Hemp walls for campus home.
June 12, 2009... Archial Architects has designed a new low-carbon three-bedroom home for the BRE Innovation Campus in Watford. The #75,000 Renewable House, which will meet level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, has been built close to the Prince's...

HERTFORDSHIRE: Architype wins green HQ contest.
June 12, 2009... Sustainable design specialist Architype is to design a flagship headquarters for environmental charities Groundwork Hertfordshire and Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust. The 1,150sq m scheme in Bayfordbury, Hertfordshire, will provide...

MANCHESTER: #7m bid to give new life to towers.(City South Manchester Housing Trust)(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... City South Manchester Housing Trust has revealed its #7 million plans to refurbish four landmark towers in the city's Hulme area The scheme, designed by architectural practices 2E and FKDA, will over- clad the 1960s blocks to make the 225...

ACQUISITIONS: Capita Symonds buys town planner Andrew Martin.(Andrew Martin Associates)(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... Capita Symonds has acquired town planning and urban design firm Andrew Martin Associates (AMA) for an undisclosed sum. The firm, which has offices in London, Chelmsford and Nottingham, employs 40 people. Its recent projects include the...

Civic square for Aberdeen stymies Brisac Gonzalez plan.(Brief article)
June 12, 2009... Ruth Bloomfield Plans for a #140 million civic square for Aberdeen, landscaped by Martha Schwartz, were formally unveiled this week. The project - revealed by BD last month - looks set to torpedo a proposed #13 million arts centre in...

LETTER: Bad rap for Wrap.(Letter to the editor)
June 12, 2009... I was surprised to read your article about Wrap (News June 5) which said that no architects had yet signed up to its call to reduce waste levels at design stage. I thought we would set a good example and be the first to sign up - until I...

LETTER: Trust is robust.(Letter to the editor)
June 12, 2009... I would like to make it clear that your leader on the unfortunate collapse of the Civic Trust (May 29) was referring to the "Southern English" Civic Trust. There is also a North of England Civic Trust and a Civic Trust for Wales, both of which...

LETTER: Baffled by Bury.(Letter to the editor)
June 12, 2009... Emily Greeves' review of Studio MGM's housing scheme in Bury St Edmunds (Works May 29) says the "module of the frame describes the measure of the rooms inside" but it clearly does not if the floor plan is correct. Please could we have an...

LETTER: Monitor madness.(Letter to the editor)
June 12, 2009... Interesting to read (News May 29 ) that the Arb plans to monitor competence. How? It will be particularly fascinating to see how they handle design competence. Oliver Palmer Horsham, Sussex Copyright: UBM Information Ltd.

LETTER: Cul-de-sac cure.(Letter to the editor)
June 12, 2009... In her thought-stimulating article, Carolyn Steel (Opinion June 5) does not mention the basic general objection to massive development in the Thames Gateway. At least north of the Thames, the Gateway is a huge cul-de-sac, ending in the...

LETTER: Beware theme park pastiche.(Letter to the editor)
June 12, 2009... Oxford University has a great opportunity to make a significant addition to contemporary architectural culture (News June 5). It risks throwing this away in favour of a mediocre compromise: a species of office park tarted up here and there with...

CORRECTION.(Correction notice)
June 12, 2009... Last week's news story "RIBA plans summit with shadow cabinet" incorrectly said that the RIBA's European Election manifesto called for a reduction of the minimum duration of architectural studies from five years to four. In fact it wanted it...

OPINION: Memorials still dying an awful death.(Viewpoint essay)
June 12, 2009... OWEN HATHERLEY Remembering the dead has always led to crimes against design Three screens face a pool of water. Two reflective panels flank a central screen, emblazoned with an abstracted image of a familiar, blonde-fringed face. ...

DEBATE: Is this the worst year to be an architecture graduate?
June 12, 2009... YES Jeremy Till, Dean of architecture at Westminster University In times of recession there is often talk of creativity being spurred by adversity, of burgeoning margins, of new architectures arising Phoenix-like, all of which might...