Building Design articles from March 2006

Building Design archives from March 2006

Planners' green skills gap: research shows Google is main source of sustainable expertise.(shocking lack of knowledge about sustainability among planners)
March 3, 2006... One in three planners in London are incapable of advising applicants on sustainable construction, according to research by the London School of Economics. The research shows a shocking lack of knowledge about sustainability among planners,...

David Cameron, celebrated cyclist, goes for green at home.
March 3, 2006... Conservative leader David Cameron is bravely plunging into the planning system with one of the very sustainable construction proposals planners find so difficult to comprehend. Last week, he entered an application for a wind turbine,...

Dream team gathers for Alsop's Boro plan.(BioRegional Quintain)
March 3, 2006... A dream team including Alsop Architects, Grimshaw, Feilden Clegg Bradley, Branson Coates, Fat and Studio Egret West has been drafted in to work on developer BioRegional Quintain's proposed flagship development Middlehaven in Middlesbrough. ...

CDM safety guidelines further delayed.(Construction, Design and Management)(safety regulations)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... The introduction of new safety regulations has been postponed from October this year to April 2007. By that time it will have been nearly two years between the launch of the guidelines and their becoming law. The revised Construction,...

Baillieu new BD editor.(News)
March 3, 2006... Amanda Baillieu has been appointed the next editor of Building Design. The decision follows Robert Booth's resignation after three and a half years in the editor's chair to pursue opportunities in national journalism. Baillieu, who has...

Tales from the riverbank.(Rochester Riverside regeneration winner)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Birds Portchmouth Russum Architects has won the competition to design a new footbridge for the Rochester Riverside regeneration programme. The local practice was the front runner on a shortlist which included Hakes Associates, Spence...

Liverpool could become home to 30 wind turbines to mark its year as European Capital of Culture in 2008.(Hit and miss)
March 3, 2006... Liverpool could become home to 30 wind turbines to mark its year as European Capital of Culture in 2008. The city is in discussions with XCO2, a low carbon consultancy, about temporarily installing the turbines (above) as part of a local...

Former RRP directors Flacq have won the Urban Splash competition.(Hit and miss)
March 3, 2006... Former RRP directors Flacq have won the Urban Splash competition to redesign Morecambe's Central Promenade.

The 2006 Prime Minister's Better Public Buildings Awards were launched this week.(Hit and miss)
March 3, 2006... The 2006 Prime Minister's Better Public Buildings Awards were launched this week. Entries close on April 20. See www.betterpublic building.org.uk

Multiplex, the contractor building the delayed Wembley Stadium, has revealed losses of 106 million [pounds sterling] on the project in the first half of its financial year.(Hit and miss)
March 3, 2006... Multiplex, the contractor building the delayed Wembley Stadium, has revealed losses of 106 million [pounds sterling] on the project in the first half of its financial year. It was also reported that the stadium may now not open until August.

DLG Architects has submitted its 200 million [pounds sterling] regeneration plans for a 4.8ha waterfront site in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, for planning permission.(Hit and miss)
March 3, 2006... DLG Architects has submitted its 200 million [pounds sterling] regeneration plans for a 4.8ha waterfront site in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, for planning permission. The Waterfront Quarter includes offices, apartments, restaurants, cafes, a...

Capita Symonds has been appointed as preferred bidder for the 250 million [pounds sterling] schools building PFI contract in Lancashire.(Hit and miss)
March 3, 2006... Capita Symonds has been appointed as preferred bidder for the 250 million [pounds sterling] schools building PFI contract in Lancashire. The appointment isthe latest for the 40 billion [pounds sterling] Building Schools for the Future programme...

Edward Cullinan has become the latest big name to back the Arb Reform Group.(People)
March 3, 2006... Edward Cullinan has become the latest big name to back the Arb Reform Group. Ballots for election to the Arb board closed this week. The results will be announced by March 10.

GMW.(People)
March 3, 2006... GMW has promoted Stephen Harty, who has been at the practice for two years, to the role of executive associate with the particular remit of design director.

A London woman illegally using the title "architect" has been fined 1,500 [pounds sterling] by Stratford Magistrates' Court.(People)
March 3, 2006... A London woman illegally using the title "architect" has been fined 1,500 [pounds sterling] by Stratford Magistrates' Court. Ms Shevanthi Wickramasinghe, an associate at Stratford firm Coomsco, was found guilty of breaching section 20 of the...

A report by think-tank the Policy Exchange has called for radical changes to the planning system to prevent British cities becoming "grey deserts".(Better Homes and Greener Cities)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... A report by think-tank the Policy Exchange has called for radical changes to the planning system to prevent British cities becoming "grey deserts". Better Homes, Greener Cities warns that current planning laws encourage high-density housing at...

Campaign group Save Britain's Heritage has criticised Grimshaw's plans to build a new office block above the grade I listed Span Four, an Edwardian trainshed at Paddington Station in north-east London.(Save Britain's Heritage organization)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Campaign group Save Britain's Heritage has criticised Grimshaw's plans to build a new office block above the grade I listed Span Four, an Edwardian trainshed at Paddington Station in north-east London. It claims the scheme, for Network Rail,...

The proposed PPS3 housing planning policy would allow developers to cherry-pick easy.(Power play)
March 3, 2006... The proposed PPS3 housing planning policy would allow developers to cherry-pick easy, profitable sites, according to the Southeast Regional Assembly's response to the draft.

Introducing a planning gain supplement would do little to boost the UK's housing supply.(Power play)
March 3, 2006... Introducing a planning gain supplement would do little to boost the U K's housing supply, and might in fact raise housing costs, says the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Olympics to have quality watchdog: revealed: Rogers' lobbying of Ken Livingstone for games design panel.
March 3, 2006... A design review panel dedicated to raising the architectural quality of the London 2012 Olympics is set to be established following lobbying of London mayor Ken Livingstone by his design adviser Richard Rogers. The panel will advise the...

Barts all set to go, 35m [pounds sterling] later.(Barts PFI hospital)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... The 1.2 billion [pounds sterling] Royal London and Barts PFI hospital was set to be given the go-ahead this week, following more than two months of delays costing a staggering 35 million [pounds sterling]. The Department of Health refused...

Showing Mersey.(Broadway Malyan's proposals for Liverpool's Fourth Grace site)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Broadway Malyan has revealed its proposals for Liverpool's Fourth Grace site, which was originally earmarked for Will Alsop's Cloud, pictured right. The developer, Neptune, claimed the project would set "new standards of quality" for...

Learning curves.
March 3, 2006... The Learning & Skills Council and the RIBA are hosting a conference on design in further education on March 21. It will be addressed by LSC chair Chris Banks and MP Barry Sheerman, chair of the education and skills select committee. For details...

Following convention.
March 3, 2006... The government has signed up to the European Landscape Convention. The convention, which 20 European states have now ratified, covers issues including the representation of different cultures and a consistent approach to landscape.

Hippo talk.
March 3, 2006... Scott Brownrigg has submitted a planning application to Westminster Council to redevelop the Hippodrome in London. The landmark building, in Leicester Square, is being refurbished by United Leisure Gaming at a cost of 8 million [pounds...

Council to prosecute owner of listed cottage.(News)
March 3, 2006... The owner of a much-loved listed house that became the victim of a "blatant act of architectural vandalism" will be prosecuted by the local council. The 17th century, grade II listed Oak House cottage in Apperley, Gloucestershire, was last...

Design guidance for 'crappy suburbia'.(urban design )(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... The Housing Corporation has moved to crack down on poor design in medium-sized developments. Its chief executive, Jon Rouse, said that the corporation was "worried" about the design of schemes comprising 200-300 homes, which miss out on...

Blinking Biennale.(Architecture Biennale)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Chetwood Associates has unveiled this tree-like installation, a centrepiece of this year's London Architecture Biennale. The 7.5m-high temporary structure, dubbed Urban Oasis, will be "planted" on Clerkenwell Green, central London, from...

Battersea Park upgrade.
March 3, 2006... London's Battersea Park Station is to receive a 26 million [pounds sterling] upgrade, funded by Parkview International, developer of nearby Battersea Power Station. The plans, which include refurbishing the listed front and building a new...

Cancer centre.
March 3, 2006... Work has begun on a 45 million [pounds sterling] cancer centre in East Yorkshire designed by HLM Architects. The PFI Castle Hill Cancer Centre is for the Hull & East Yorkshire Hospital NHS Trust and includes 116 beds in a three-storey 19,500sq...

Sports pavilion.
March 3, 2006... Oxford architect Gray Baynes & Shew has been commissioned to design a 1 million [pounds sterling] sports pavilion for public school Wellington College. It includes shower and changing facilities, physiotherapy and first-aid room, storage rooms,...

Hitting a high note.(new Music School)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Eric Parry Architects has completed a 3 million [pounds sterling] music building for the prestigious Bedford School. The new Music School, which will complement Parry's library building for the school completed two years ago, was opened this...

Saxon takes on trendies: 'crisis of values' in profession.(News)
March 3, 2006... The Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects has clashed with the profession's trendy avant-garde, after it accused household names Will Alsop and Zaha Hadid of creating "art" instead of "what most of society wants". Alsop and his...

Edaw reworks Aylesbury estate.(Southwark council )(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Southwark council has appointed London Olympics masterplanner Edaw to work on the controversial Aylesbury Estate, which has already racked up bills of 1.5 million [pounds sterling] on a series of masterplans subsequently scrapped. The...

Architects chosen for 850m [pounds sterling] Hackney project.(News)
March 3, 2006... Ian Ritchie, Wilkinson Eyre and Shepheard Epstein Hunter are among the architects working on one of London's largest urban regeneration projects, the 850 million [pounds sterling] redevelopment of Hackney's Woodberry Down estate. Ritchie,...

Alsop to advise Arup on China's Dongtan project.(Dongtan Star Project)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Will Alsop has been recruited to advise Arup on sustainable energy supply for the massive new city it is designing in China. Alsop, along with the University of East Anglia's carbon reduction team (Cred), will advise on the design of the...

DCM spin-off.(Denton Corker Marshall)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Denton Corker Marshall has won planning permission for a new office building in Manchester. The 154,000sq m building is the latest addition to the Spinningfields development by Allied London Properties. The three narrow glass-clad blocks...

Bowater cut down to size.(Richard Rogers Partnership won planning permission)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... The Richard Rogers Partnership has finally won planning permission for the glamourous revamp of Bowater House in Knightsbridge by reducing the height of the scheme by one floor. The new scheme for the superrich now has just 86 luxury flats,...

Planning deals boost Capita's turnover.(News)
March 3, 2006... Multi-disciplinary giant Capita Symonds has cited its controversial but lucrative planning deals with local authorities as one of the reasons for its 23% rise in turnover to 200 million [pounds sterling] in 2005. One such deal is a private...

Country life.(South East)(Lighting Design Alliance)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... LDA Design has been commissioned to produce a report assessing the impact of thousands of new homes planned for countryside surrounding Ashford, Kent. Commissioned by the Countryside Agency, Ashford Borough Council, the Kent Downs Area of...

Sounds of the suburbs.(South East)
March 3, 2006... Sounds of the suburbs Cabe, Kent Architecture Centre and RIBA South East region are hosting a conference on the future design of the suburbs. Speakers will include Urbed founder Nicholas Falk, Gerard Maccreanor of Maccreanor Lavington and...

Earthship sets sail.(RH Partnership)(Thermal homes)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Brighton practice RH Partnership has submitted a planning application for 16 "Earthship" homes on a seafront site in Brighton Marina. The homes will have very thick walls made of used tyres, and be heated by large south-facing windows. The...

Planning gain.(South East)
March 3, 2006... Planning gain The Royal Town Planning Institute is hosting an informal forum to bridge the perceived divide between planners and architects. The forum, called How is it for you?, will be chaired by Graham Anderson, managing director of Peak...

Fire safety.(South East)
March 3, 2006... RIBA South East is holding a CPD event on fire safety building regulations on March 16 at Sofitel Hotel in Gatwick. For more details or to buy tickets for 70 [pounds sterling] contact cpd@ribasoutheast.org.

Lifetime housing.(South East)
March 3, 2006... Peter Phippen, one of the founders of large housing practice PRP Architects, has been awarded a lifetime achievement award by RIBA South East. PRP Architects has designed more than 50,000 homes since it was founded back in 1963.

Grade II renovation.(South East)
March 3, 2006... The renovation of a grade II listed 15th century house into a heritage centre by Uckfield-based practice Walden Architectural Services has won 5,000 [pounds sterling] in lottery funding. The Uckfield & District Preservation Society won the...

Breaking down the walls: last week's bombing of the Askariya mosque in Samarra was a deliberate act designed to fuel religious tensions. Throughout history, such acts of destruction have served as powerful symbols during conflict.(News: Analysis)
March 3, 2006... In Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel The Secret Agent, Mr Vladimir argues that terrorism should be directed at the beliefs that underpin a society's understanding of itself and its prosperity. Science was the governing spirit of the age and Conrad...

RIBA winners to donate drawings?(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2006... Whenever I read articles about the sale of collections of architects' drawings (News February. 24) I am reminded of file generosity of our forebears in giving their drawings to the RIBA Drawings Collection. And I am saddened by the lost...

Good intentions.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2006... There is a small, critically important correction to your otherwise accurate quotation of our conversation ("US bidders line up for 3m [pounds sterling] Archigram files "News February 24). My final sentence should have read 'Our only problem is...

White blight.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2006... Ellis Woodman's review of Peter Barber's high-density housing for the East End of London (Works February. 24) is--frankly--slightly bonkers. The scheme is replete with worn-out derivatives which have long been discarded by the current social...

Split differential.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2006... I'm saddened that my friend Moshe Safdie, whose work I admire, is angered by the group Architects & Planners for Justice in Palestine (News February 10). As he rightly says, it is not the time for raising temperatures further, and it is...

Why not a wall?(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2006... Those who jump onto the hysterical bandwagon and decry Israel's construction of a separation wall to protect them from a deadly enemy whose charter is Israel's total destruction, would do well to become informed of some of the other separation...

Towering presence.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2006... When the proposal for replacing Elizabeth House was published last year, it was clear that its aggressive shape and size would have an adverse visual impact on the grade I listed Royal Festival Hall. It is alarming to see that the replacement...

Street wisdom.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2006... In response to the "Great street" part of "Searching for Great Urbanism" (News analysis February 24), half of the article is missing. It overlooks the part about the "chavs" who visually rake through the tethered bikes hunting for an easy...

Light support.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2006... Humphrey Lloyd is too generous in his analysis of the support for Jack Pringle's proposed reform of the Arb (Letters February 24). What it amounts to is that 1% of the 26,000 architects consulted supported the proposals, and a quarter of those...

Design top of class.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2006... You reported (News February 24) that Partnerships for Schools recently announced a revision to guidelines on design in Building Schools for the Future (BSF). We would like to make it clear that these changes to the design score weighting...

Fame at last.(Comment: Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2006... It was with great pleasure that I read Ian Martin's column (February 24) and realised we had received our first celebrity "diss" from a man wearing dark glasses in public. I feel like Moby. Sebastian Messer, Studio MWM

I'm off, but don't drop the artistry.(Editorial)(Editorial)
March 3, 2006... I had decided that in my final leader before stepping down as BD editor I would ditch my usual attempt to make sense of the week's news and instead strike out into new ground. It would be 400 words of magisterial reflection on three and a half...

Energy saving: start small, but start now.(Soapbox)
March 3, 2006... Politics and sustainability make an uneasy mix. Tackling our carbon habit requires real financial commitment and a plan which is too long term for most politicians to consider. Yes, huge strides have been made in the past 20 years, but progress...

Piano forte.(Renzo Piano to sing at London Architecture Biennale?)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... He may share his name with a musical instrument but it's his singing voice Renzo Piano intends to show off in London this summer, Boots was amused to hear. Organisers at a briefing for the London Architecture Biennale revealed last week...

New tradition.(Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Boots was interested to attend a recent lecture by the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects given by "Master" Richard Saxon. Given the pomp and tradition on display--many of the audience wore medals, and the company's coat of arms...

The X files.( Llewelyn Davies Yeang planning to rebuild centre of Najaf, Iraq)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Martin Crookston of Llewelyn Davies Yeang is masterplanning rebuilding the centre of Najaf in Iraq, devastated by a US military assault in 2004. The exotic contract, to be led from the London office in partnership with an Iraqi practice, has...

One door shuts ...(Scott Batty )(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... When architect Scott Batty took a six-month sabbatical in Canada last year to get away from architecture, he ended up working as a doorman at a small Toronto hotel. There, he got talking to Will Alsop, staying in the hotel while he worked on...

Long arm tactics.(Chester Zoo)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... You can get some very unusual and difficult clients, but it is rare that you have to conceal heating and ventilation equipment so they don't climb up it and escape. In creating its 3 million [pounds sterling] enclosure for orangutans at Chester...

Shrink wrapped: designing a centre for scientists working in nanotechnology, Feilden Clegg Bradley faced a rigid technical brief. Despite this, its new research centre is both delicate and confident, giving UCL's Bloomsbury campus a new front door.(Works)
March 3, 2006... To the uninitiated the floor plans of Feilden Clegg Bradley's new Centre for Nanotechnology are opaque in the extreme. It is none too easy to imagine what goes on in areas designated "Specialised Probe", "Bioelectrochemistry and Nanoparticle...

Daylight and ventilation.(Eco check)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Laboratory and black box spaces are in lower floors to help minimise vibration and to allow office and write-up space to be at upper floors where access to daylight, views and external connectivity is important. The layering of both...

Energy and utilities.(Eco check)
March 3, 2006... The building meets the Breeam excellent rating for commercial office buildings. High insulation levels have been achieved as follows: roof 0.22 W/sqmK; walls 0.27 W/sqmK; windows 0.18W/sqm K. The building is fully mechanically ventilated...

London Centre for Nanotechnology.(In detail)
March 3, 2006... Architect: Feilden Clegg Bradley Structural, mechanical & electrical engineer: Buro Hapold The Nanotechnology building has eight floors of laboratories and offices dedicated to interdisciplinary research in atomic scale devices and...

How we cracked it: 24.(Solutions)
March 3, 2006... The challenge: Building a two-storey double-glazed entrance with curved sliding doors, without steel columns or bolted fixings The solution: Quadruple-laminated glass columns to support the upper storey of glazing Architect: Cooper...

Geometry answer: a floating platform will turn a grand Georgian hall into a modern family space.(Solutions)
March 3, 2006... A client with a computer business buys the central wing of a 1726 alms house for conversion into a family home. His architect, Martin Markcrow, suggests that a mezzanine platform is the best way to make its lofty, grade I listed central hall...

Bauhaus old boys.(SELECTOR)
March 3, 2006... More than 200 works by Bauhaus leading lights Josef Albers & Laszlo Moholy-Nagy are on display in the Tate's show Albers & Moholy-Nagy: From the Bauhaus to the Hew World, March 9-June 4, Tate Modern, Bankside, London. Tel: 7887 8000

Reaching out.(SELECTOR)
March 3, 2006... The Architecture Foundation is holding four seminars on the theme of communicating architecture to the public. This is Architecture, March 6-9, 6.30pm, the Yard, 49 Old Street, London. Tickets: events@architecturefoundation.org.uk

Finn volume fat on detail: this new series on modernism opens with an authoritative study of Finland that goes far beyond Aalto.(Modern Architectures in History: Finland)(Book review)
March 3, 2006... Tensions between national styles of modern architecture and the power of supranational trends to override them make a fruitful and perennial topic for discussion, explored recently in books on Brazil, Serbia and Eritrea. A new series from...

Room for improvement: a talk by collective Newbetter failed to interestingly convey its work.(Culture: Books Exhibitions Events)
March 3, 2006... Shumon Basar, Joshua Bolchover and Parag Sharma have a good pedigree, having worked for Zaha Hadid, Opodo and Xerox between them. As the architectural collective Newbetter, they have curated several major exhibitions, including Re-imaging the...

Moss gathering.(SELECTOR)
March 3, 2006... Los Angeles-based architect Eric Owen Moss talks about his recent work including the Queens Art Museum, New York, and the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. March 6, 6.30pm, Architecture Association, 36 Bedford Square, London. Tel: 020 7887...

Andrew Daws.(Culture Vulture)(Interview)
March 3, 2006... How would you spend the day indulging in cultural pursuits? Getting a copy of the Weekend Guardian, and sitting with a coffee in London's Soho, would be a great way to start a Saturday. I love Soho in the morning, when locals, not tourists,...

Kingspan Insulation Ltd.(Products & Literature)
March 3, 2006... Kingspan Thermataper TT47 was chosen for the roof of the prestigious Altolusso Apartments, the tallest residential building in the city of Cardiff. The unusual roof configuration, which resembles a three leaved clover shape when seen from...

Saniflo.(Products & Literature)
March 3, 2006... The Kinelux alcove cubicle from Kinedo is a self-contained shower that is quick and easy to install and completely waterproof. With no need for tiling, grouting or silicone sealant Kinelux can be installed from flat pack to complete...

SwimEx Swimming Pools.(Products & Literature)
March 3, 2006... A pool-wide current up to 5 mph. Fully insulated, beautifully finished, with a choice of models and colour. Manufactured in 1 piece (2.3 x 5.3m) for new builds or 4 for access. Only 2,500 gals of water to heat. 10yr structural warranty,...

The Real Door Company.(Products & Literature)
March 3, 2006... The Real Door Company is a be spoke manufacturer of the highest quality timber doors specialising in: * Hardwood framed and panelled doors * The most innovative engineered doors * Traditional and modern design * Half hour and...

Corus Building Systems.(Products & Literature)
March 3, 2006... Hi-Point from Corus, a new off-site roofing system offers a complete roof solution where the quality of components and installation can be assured whilst costs can be significantly reduced. Manufactured at a dedicated site in Haydock, home to...

Kemper Systems Ltd.(Products & Literature)
March 3, 2006... Kemperol Solvent-free Roof Waterproofing This solvent-free, odourless roof waterproofing system from the UK's leading cold-liquid roofing manufacturer is fully certified, proven and reliable. Rapidly applied and far less disruptive to...

Gooding Aluminium.(Products & Literature)
March 3, 2006... Gooding Aluminium's perforated panels are providing a little light refreshment at the new Coffee Shop in the Princess Alexandra Hospital. These mill finish low maintenance aluminium panels are helping to visually connect the counter to the...

Fullflow Group Ltd.(Products & Literature)
March 3, 2006... Syphonic drainage specialist Fullflow is proud to have installed its innovative self-priming syphonic system to the stunning new Terminal 4 at Madrid's Barajas Airport, which was officially opened on the 4th of February 2006. The syphonic...