Building Design articles from May 2007

Building Design archives from May 2007

Experts slam wasteful housing competitions.
May 4, 2007... Will Hurst Thousands of days worth of work by British architects is being squandered under the government's massive housebuilding drive, Britain's largest housing practice claims. A damning report by PRP and urban regeneration...

Zumthor chapel is in a field of its own.(Peter Zumthor designed Bruder Klaus field chapel)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... This month sees the long-awaited completion of the Peter Zumthor- designed Bruder Klaus field chapel. Sited on farmland outside the German village of Wachendorf, the chapel is dedicated to a 15th century farmer and mystic who is being...

LEADER - Blair's legacy is the red tape.
May 4, 2007... AMANDA BAILLIEU Despite positive architectural initiatives, housing has been the PM's greatest failing As the Blair decade finally draws to a close, assessing its legacy has become a national pastime. As far as architecture is...

LEADER - Thumbs down for the US embassy.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Embassies have always been a way for a country to make its mark many miles from home. Yet increasingly they have to hide behind high walls or, like the Americans who announced this week that they are to vacate their UK home in Grosvenor Square,...

IN BRIEF: UN backs low-energy buildings.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... The UN is to outline plans for futuristic, low-energy buildings in a new study on global warming. The IPCC's Mitigation of Climate Change, due to be published as BD went to press, sets out proposals for the design of intelligent buildings...

IN BRIEF: Devereux merges with PM Group.(Devereux Architects)(Project Management Group)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Devereux Architects, whose previous projects include the British Museum and Queen Mary's Hospital in south-west London, has merged with Irish delivery specialist PM Group in a bid to expand its services to Ireland. Ranked as one of the top...

IN BRIEF: Douglas to head Housing Corp.
May 4, 2007... Steve Douglas has been appointed acting chief executive of the Housing Corporation. He will replace Jon Rouse, who leaves to join Croydon Council in June. Douglas joined the housing body in 2001. Peter Marsh has been appointed as deputy chief...

IN BRIEF: Wilkinson Eyre's Scouse top-out.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Wilkinson Eyre's Liverpool King's Waterfront project has been topped out. The #146 million scheme for Bovis Lend Lease is the city's biggest regeneration project and will include a 10,600-seat arena, a 650sq m exhibition hall, a 1,350-seat...

IN BRIEF: McAslan Roundhouse scoops win.(John McAslan and Partners)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... John McAslan & Partners' Roundhouse arts venue in Camden, north London, has won the prestigious Europa Nostra Medal. The #30 million scheme, the only UK project to win one of six medals awarded for architectural heritage, was praised for...

Charles: act now on climate change.
May 4, 2007... Prince Charles has issued a call to arms to business professionals to take action on climate change, declaring the situation a state of "emergency." The prince, addressing the Think 07 conference via an audio link, told delegates it could...

`Stand-off' drives new embassy design.(HOK to design new US embassy)
May 4, 2007... HOK chosen for Jakarta as US terrorist fear prompts Grosvenor Square sale James Rose HOK has won a prestigious competition to design the new British embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the Foreign Office, beating rival bids by Denton...

BRITAIN'S NEW FOREIGN EMBASSIES.
May 4, 2007... With security concerns heightened by September 11 and Al-Qaeda's bombing of the British Consulate in Istanbul in 2003, the Foreign Office is developing a string of new bases overseas. A spokesman said: "We have to protect ourselves and the...

Cabe embraces Middlehaven plan.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Cabe has welcomed the masterplan for the Middlehaven development in Middlesbrough - designed by Studio Egret West - praising the project's "brave and exciting" approach to masterplanning. But it warns that the risks inherent with such an...

Clapham keeps context.(ESA Architecture's new office )(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Planning has been granted for ESA Architecture's new office development in Clapham, south London. The #4 million building will be used as the head-quarters of a housing trust. Providing 4,000sq m of floor space, the scheme is clad in zinc,...

New warning system for tower fires.(FireGrid system)
May 4, 2007... Heidi Ancell A revolutionary warning system for skyscrapers which could help avert another 9/11-type disaster has been hailed by leading architects. The FireGrid system, developed over the past decade by Edinburgh University professor...

FIRST LOOK - Modern home makes history in traditional Wiltshire village.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Young practice Cousins Wojciechowski Architects has overcome stiff local opposition to win planning permission for this #250,000 private house in rural Wiltshire. A retired couple returning to England from Spain commissioned the practice...

UK firms on shortlist for Miami museum.
May 4, 2007... Grimshaw, Wilkinson Eyre and Zaha Hadid Architects have been shortlisted to propose designs for a new sustainable science museum in Miami. The three British firms have been selected alongside two US practices for the #138 million project...

Bats getting a raw deal.
May 4, 2007... The Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) has warned that too little is being done to protect the creatures from the damage done to their roosts during building and development work. Developers are required to compensate for the loss of or damage to...

New centre for Snowdon.(Snowdonia National Park; RH Architects )(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Work has begun on site on the highest building in the UK - a new visitor centre at the top of Mount Snowdon. The scheme, designed by RH Architects for Snowdonia National Park, will stand at 1,085m above sea level. It will be accessible only...

Georgian Group is now estate agent too.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Heritage organisation hopes selling to the `right hands' will pre-empt questionable planning applications James Rose The Georgian Group has moved into the cut-throat world of residential property by becoming the first heritage...

DES RES FROM THE GEORGIAN GROUP.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... FOR SALE Iver Grove, 1720s Buckinghamshire house, thought to be the work of John James, who worked with Wren on St Paul's Cathedral. Described as "England's first Palladian villa" and once owned by Tom Stoppard. Guide price of #6.5...

Heritage lobby blasts info packs.(Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings )
May 4, 2007... Energy-efficiency measures could harm old buildings Marguerite Lazell The government's controversial Home Information Packs scheme could harm older buildings, heritage groups have warned. The Society for the Protection of Ancient...

Hopkins puts service first for Hackney.(Hopkins Architects)(London Borough of Hackney)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... This design by Hopkins Architects for a new multi-purpose service centre for the London Borough of Hackney has won planning permission. The Service First centre, located behind Hackney Town Hall, will provide all public services in a single...

BEST PRACTICE: Constructing Excellence swells.(Terence O'Rourke Ltd. became member )(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Best practice organisation Constructing Excellence has been joined by 25 new members, including retail property group Westfield and multidisciplinary giant Terence O'Rourke, since December last year. Other recent additions include...

ACCOMMODATION: Tower of student rooms topped out.
May 4, 2007... A #95 million twin tower student residence project on London's Pentonville Road by AHMM has been topped out. The 16-storey development, known as Nido, includes 946 student rooms in the two towers, along with private apartments and retail...

PEOPLE: Lonsdale heads review panel.(Tom Lonsdale appointed at Renew North-West)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Renew North-West, the centre for promoting sustainable communities in the region, has made Tom Lonsdale chairman of its new design review panel. Lonsdale, a landscape architect and urban designer who has been a Cabe adviser, will be joined by...

REFURBISHMENT: Liverpool's St George's Hall reopens.(Purcell Miller Tritton)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Liverpool's grade I listed St George's Hall has reopened, following a #23 million restoration by Purcell Miller Tritton. The project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, included extensive external work, as well as refurbishing the...

Brixton boost for 100 Public Spaces plan.
May 4, 2007... James Rose The Mayor of London's beleaguered 100 Public Spaces programme has been given a massive boost under a #7 million plan to transform Brixton town centre. Brixton Central Square, seen along with Victoria Embankment by Design...

100 PUBLIC SPACES: PROGRESS SINCE 2002.
May 4, 2007... COMPLETED: Gillett Square (Nov 2006) Dalston, Hawkins Brown with Whitelaw Turkington Acton Town Square (Nov 2006) East Architects IMMINENT Potters Field Southwark, Gross Max Wembley Stadium Station Square Marks Barfield...

ANALYSIS: Stand up and be counted.
May 4, 2007... Victorian Society protesters encircle the pond outside Walthamstow Town Hall with police tape. Does the Victorian Society's boiler-suited protest this week mark a change in tactics for the conservation movement? Zoae Blackler reports ...

OTHER WAYS TO GET YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... LEAFLETS In an effort to save the Royal Pier Hotel in the Victorian seaside town of Cleveden, campaigner Julia Elton raised #1,000 to pay for 36,000 leaflets to be inserted in the local paper. They included the email address of the local...

LETTER: Making changes.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... Architects for Change, the RIBA's equality and diversity forum, has achieved a huge amount since its foundation in 2000, including the publication of an employment guide for architects, instigating returners' courses for architects after career...

LETTER: Beat class guilt.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... In a country where streets are used as an open rubbish bin, anything - be it the mayor's 100 public spaces or the people's 1,000 markets - is surely a step forward. Anyone who does anything outside of his or her own social class box is...

LETTER: Space for all.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... Far from being gentrification of an existing area, Gillett Square was a grotty car park and through-road. And the years of extensive public consultation can hardly be called social engineering (Leader April 20). What's more, the drinkers and...

LETTER: Fair and square.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... The building of Gillett Square is a locally-based project some 15 years in the making, and good for another 100. It was enabled by funding and support from Groundwork East London, the GLA's Design for London and central government, as well as...

LETTER: Sky's the limit.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... Looking at page 5 (April 20), I wonder again why even the best architects think skyscraper design is either a matter of getting a wedge of cheese and cutting lumps off it, or making a vaguely rude shape out of plasticine. Alsop and Gehry have...

LETTER: No foundation.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... Concrete Boots (April 6) suggested that Cabe's funding for the Architecture Foundation has been cut as a result of alleged criticisms of our exhibition programme. This is not the case. We are in the second year of a two-year funding agreement...

LETTER: Misread accolade.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... No author should complain about a review as generous as Tom Muirhead's of my book Britain (April 27), and I am grateful for it. I would, however, like to correct the impression that I "liquidated" well-known architects such as David...

Correction: Rick Mather.(Correction notice)
May 4, 2007... * Further to last week's letter from Gareth Gwynne we would like to make it clear that Rick Mather is not working on an underground bus station at Victoria, as stated, or any other project in the area. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

LETTER - RIBA: keep out of social politics.
May 4, 2007... On the question of the RIBA deciding to embroil itself in social engineering ("Campaign to help minorities" News April 27), I believe it should leave well alone. To set up a task force will cause more problems than it will solve. I can...

OPINION - Empty ritual of the consultation show.(Viewpoint essay)
May 4, 2007... SAUL METZSTEIN Community involvement exercises are the most effective way to ignore the locals I have recently been attending public consultations about the redevelopment of a city office block. The proposal is to replace an...

DEBATE - Has the Blair decade been good for architecture?
May 4, 2007... YES Ken Shuttleworth Director of Make Architects Whatever you think of Tony Blair's record as prime minister, you would be hard put to argue that his government has been anything other than good for architecture. A decade ago...

WORKS: ELIASSON AND THORSEN - Laboratory of the senses.(collaboration between Olaafur Eliassen and Kjetil Thorsen for the design of the Serpentine Gallery pavilion)
May 4, 2007... The collaborating artist and architect arrived at their winning Serpentine Pavilion design by talking abstractly about ideas. But if that is too demanding, just enjoy the beautiful result, advises Kester Rattenbury It has always seemed...

WORKS: ERIC PARRY ARCHITECTS - Another world.
May 4, 2007... An extension to Bath's Holburne Museum, as well as providing urgently needed gallery space, will create a new gateway into the neglected Sydney Gardens, writes Ellis Woodman Before settling in Bath in 1815, where he amassed one of the great...

SOLUTIONS - Fresh from the depths.(renovation of the Tower of London by Bere Architects)
May 4, 2007... The might of Victorian engineering has been harnessed for 21st century sustainability, writes Amanda Birch James Bond eat your heart out. I'm standing in a vast, 12m x 12m x 13.4m, brick-built bascule chamber 5m below water level and a...

BERE NECESSITIES: Living for the planet.(architect Justin Bere )(Interview)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... If Justin Bere wasn't an architect he would be a campaigner for Friends of the Earth or the World Wildlife Fund, he says. He is passionate about conserving the planet. Bere's career was set as a boy when he saw fertile agricultural fields...

Our draughtsman is not up to the job: can I just give him notice?
May 4, 2007... ASK US A QUESTION Richard Brindley RIBA director of practice Laura Atherton Solicitor, Kennedys, London EC1 I own a small architect's practice which I took over from my father. We still employ a draughtsman who started working here...

MY FIRST JOB.(Andy Sinclair's first job as an architect )(Personal account)(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... ANDY SINCLAIR, 26 Whitelaw Turkington, Wakefield I started working for Whitelaw Turkington on a short-term contract in February 2005 after finishing my postgraduate diploma in landscape architecture at Leeds Metropolitan University. ...

ROLL ON FRIDAY.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... `WE BOUGHT A DERELICT WAREHOUSE AND TURNED IT INTO OUR OWN BAR AND RESTAURANT' Practice Squire & Partners Location King's Cross Size 100 people We moved our offices to King's Cross, north London, in 2001 and the location was...

CULTURE - A display of joie de vivre.(exhibition of Patrick Bouchain's architectural designs )
May 4, 2007... EXHIBITION PATRICK BOUCHAIN: KNOW-HOW/SAVOIR FAIRE AA Gallery, 36 Bedford Square, London. aaschool.ac.uk/exhibitions Until May 25 Patrick Bouchain's exhibition of three ingenious and diverse projects is fantastic, says Kester...

CULTURE - A machine for living in.
May 4, 2007... This latest book adds to knowledge of a fascinating house, but there is only one way to really know it: go there, says Christopher Woodward BOOK LA MAISON DE VERRE: PIERRE CHAREAU'S MODERNIST MASTERWORK By Dominique Vellay,...

HOT TIPS: See the light.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... Antony Gormley takes on the stark architecture of the Hayward in his new show on London's South Bank. Inside, large-scale installations will engage with the building, while externally he plans 30 life-sized sculptures of himself, placed on the...

HOT TIPS: Russian icons.
May 4, 2007... Moscow's new megarich are embracing the city's iconic modern buildings, says Clementine Cecil, former Times Moscow correspondent and co-founder of the Moscow Architecture Preservation Society. In this Docomomo talk she discusses how many of the...

HOT TIPS: After apartheid.(Brief article)
May 4, 2007... South Africa comes under the spotlight at the RIBA, which is hosting a series of exhibitions and events on the role that architecture and planning can play in creating post-apartheid cities. Adapted from the South African pavilion at last...

THIS WEEK: BILL BRYSON.
May 4, 2007... The author of Notes From A Small Island is the new president of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, succeeding Max Hastings. Bryson plans to launch a national campaign against litter. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

THIS WEEK: HSBC TOWER.
May 4, 2007... The bank sold its London HQ, designed by Foster & Partners, to Spanish property group Metrovacesa for #1.1 billion, making it the UK's biggest- ever commercial property deal. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

THIS WEEK: BEIJING'S OLYMPIC VENUES.
May 4, 2007... 500 days to go and building work for the 2008 Games is very much on schedule. Chairman of the Olympic Coordination Commission Hein Verbruggen said the venues would be icons, comparable to Sydney's opera house. Copyright: CMP Information...

THIS WEEK: BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE.
May 4, 2007... Economies of scale may seem like a good reason for building schools with 1,000-plus pupils, but charity Human Scale Education says the programme risks isolating pupils. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

EH brain drain risks reputation.
May 11, 2007... Number of in-house architects falls by 40% in three years James Rose The number of in-house architects at English Heritage has plummeted by 40% in just three years, raising fears of a brain drain at the government quango. Former...

Justice centre work draws to a close.
May 11, 2007... Denton Corker Marshall's landmark #113 million Manchester Civil Justice Centre will finally be completed this month, just as client Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) is swallowed up by the newly created Department of Justice. The...

LEADER: In danger of losing the plot.
May 11, 2007... AMANDA BAILLIEU Now is not the time for English Heritage to run down its level of architectural expertise English Heritage must have been hoping its chief conservation architect, David Heath, who left the organisation last week, would...

LEADER: Nothing better to declare?
May 11, 2007... Is BD alone in wondering if the RIBA has taken leave of its senses over the Peter Phillips affair? Following its mea culpa moment last year, when it was discovered that Phillips was a BNP member, it has now decided to force all council members,...

IN BRIEF: Grimshaw wins Miami museum.
May 11, 2007... Grimshaw Architects has beaten Zaha Hadid Architects by one vote in the contest for the #138 million Museum of Science in Miami, Florida. The narrow defeat will be a blow for Hadid, who travelled to Miami herself to bid for the project. The...

IN BRIEF: Croydon scheme goes to inquiry.
May 11, 2007... A public inquiry into Croydon Council's controversial decision to push through plans for a massive arena-led regeneration project, Croydon Gateway, will be heard this autumn. The inquiry is the latest in a series of hurdles encountered in...

IN BRIEF: SMC Gower keeps on growing.
May 11, 2007... Leeds firm SMC Gower will become the biggest architectural practice in Yorkshire after merging with another SMC Group practice. The Leeds office of SMC DTR has joined forces with SMC Gower to create an office staffed by 94 people. The...

IN BRIEF: Buoyant industry sees orders rise.
May 11, 2007... New construction orders rose by 4% in the year to March 2007, with public housing and housing association orders alone showing a 26% increase, figures from the Department of Trade & Industry reveal. Private commercial orders were also up...

IN BRIEF: Alexander joins Beyond Green.
May 11, 2007... Beyond Green, a sustainability consultancy whose clients include Cabe and the ODA, has appointed James Alexander as managing director. Alexander was formerly European managing director of KUD International, the US-based regeneration company...

Armitt is new ODA chair.
May 11, 2007... John Armitt, former chief executive of Network Rail, has become chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority and will join two new high- profile members of the organisation's expanding design team. Armitt, replacing Jack Lemley who quit the...

We will not repeat 60s, architects tell Lammy.
May 11, 2007... Pringle dismisses Lammy criticism as `playing to the gallery' Will Hurst Architecture minister David Lammy has launched a surprising attack on architects and their ability to design new housing, as the issue moved centre stage this...

3i poised to take a stake in Foster's.
May 11, 2007... Private equity group 3i is expected to sign a contract to take a minority stake in Foster & Partners by the end of next week. The deal, which is predicted to put the value of the firm at #400-#500 million, will enable it to extend its...

Canada Water shapes up with landmark library.
May 11, 2007... Southwark Council has granted planning for this library at Canada Water in south-east London. Under a section 106 agreement the decision to approve the wider scheme guarantees #10 million worth of community benefits, including the library...

FIRST LOOK: New-build raised on Georgian base.
May 11, 2007... Project Orange has unveiled this new-build renovation and conversion scheme for a site in east London. The #1.3 million project, at Whitecross Street near the Barbican, which has planning approval, aims to update the accommodation for the...

New life for Spitalfields.
May 11, 2007... Jestico & Whiles' refurbishment of the Victorian Spitalfields market has received planning permission and is now on site. The scheme in east London for Ballymore Properties, the site's leaseholder, aims to create a multifunctional space....

RIBA brings in register of political interests.
May 11, 2007... Will Hurst Senior figures at the RIBA will have to declare membership of political parties and other groups such as the Freemasons after strict new rules were introduced in the wake of BNP member Peter Phillips' bid for the presidency last...

WHAT THE OTHERS DO TO STAY ABOVE BOARD.
May 11, 2007... Other professional bodies and their rules on interests: Institution of Civil Engineers Boasts a register of interests for members of its main council. Covers directorships and career background but not political views. Town &...

Shops and offices to go zero carbon.
May 11, 2007... Housing minister Yvette Cooper is ramping up the government's drive to tackle climate change caused by the built environment by turning her attention to commercial buildings. The minister is drawing up deadlines by which all new shops and...

Silvertown go-ahead.
May 11, 2007... The London Borough of Newham has granted planning permission for the #1.5 billion regeneration of Silvertown Quays. The 24ha scheme, masterplanned by Canada's Urban Strategies for developer Silvertown Quays, will feature 5,000 new homes,...

Gasholders set to scupper CZWG housing development.
May 11, 2007... Marguerite Lazell A flagship 730-unit residential development by the Peabody Trust and architect CZWG is set to be scrapped because of safety fears, BD has learnt. Kensington & Chelsea council this week indicated it would not...

Cottrell & Vermeulen designs Hindu school.
May 11, 2007... The UK's first government-funded Hindu faith school has been submitted for planning by architect Cottrell & Vermeulen. The #3.5 million Krishna-Avanti primary school in Harrow, north London, is a voluntary-aided school with the government...

CASTLEFORD SCHEME: Henry Moore Square opens.
May 11, 2007... A public square by Hudson Architects has opened at the heart of the world's first televised regeneration project. The #1.1 million Henry Moore Square is part of the Castleford scheme in West Yorkshire, and will feature on Kevin McCloud's...

LOCAL AUTHORITIES: Southwark consolidates.
May 11, 2007... Southwark Council has established a major projects department which will pump #4 billion into better quality housing, transport and education across the south London borough. Both the #1.5 billion Elephant & Castle regeneration scheme,...

REGENERATION: Newport project goes to planning.
May 11, 2007... A project involving a #20 million landmark tower and 230 apartments by Stride Treglown Davies has been submitted to Newport City Council for planning. The two low-rise blocks andthe 16-storey tower, which is slender to ensure maximum...

BELFAST: Spire of Hope set on Cathedral.
May 11, 2007... The 40-tonne new Spire of Hope by Belfast firm Colin Conn & Robert Jamieson Architects has been erected on the roof of the city's St Anne's Cathedral. The stainless-steel and glass spire rises from 20m above the cathedral floor, through...

More open Arb scraps near-miss exam resits.
May 11, 2007... James Rose Arb has reformed its hated exams for foreign architects amid signs of a new mood of openness at the regulator. The Arb board agreed at its meeting last week that candidates who narrowly fail the prescribed exam will be...