Building Design articles from November 2006

Building Design archives from November 2006

2012 dreams dashed.(2012 Olympics architecture)
November 3, 2006... Risk-averse Jowell abdicates design responsibility for London Olympics to contractors Will Hurst In a fresh blow to hopes that the London Olympics would become a showcase for world-class design, Olympics minister Tessa Jowell has told...

How Jowell tripped up.(Interview)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Tessa Jowell: "Remember HOK [Sport] won the Stirling Prize. I mean, they are, you know, extremely distinguished architects." BD: "Did they win the Stirling Prize?" Jowell: "They did, they did." BD: "What for?" Jowell: "For......

Nord named BD Young Architect of the Year.(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Glasgow-based Nord was named Young Architect of the Year at the Architect of the Year Awards in London last night, attended by 900 architects and clients. The practice beat strong competition from Urban Salon, Mangera Yvars, Featherstone...

Read between the lines.(Cottrell & Vermeulen Architects places design before planning commission)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Cottrell & Vermeulen Architects has entered its competition-winning design for a new library in Birchfield, Birmingham, for planning permission. The scheme, pictured here for the first time, beat a shortlist of van Heyningen & Haward...

IN BRIEF: Alsop to turn attention to Croydon.(Will Alsop suburban design)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Will Alsop, famed for pledging to turn Barnsley into the "Tuscany of the North," is to turn his attention to Croydon. But the architect, who beat Rem Koolhaas, Ken Shuttleworth's Make and Edaw to the job, has pledged to stay out of the...

IN BRIEF: Cabe backing.(watchdog OK's Frank Gehry design.)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Cabe has finally given its backing to Frank Gehry's King Alfred scheme in Hove after design revisions (News October 6). The watchdog welcomed changes to the perimeter residential blocks, which it said made the scheme "more coherent". The new...

IN BRIEF: Singapore's retail district.(Benoy Architects has released images of this mixed-use development for Singapore)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Benoy Architects has released images of this mixed-use development for Singapore's retail district, following its appointment as lead architect. The 125,500sq m project, for Singapore-based developer CapitaLand and Hong Kong-based Sun Hung Kai...

IN BRIEF: Trellick Tower costs.
November 3, 2006... Kensington & Chelsea council could sell Erno Goldfinger's landmark Trellick Tower in Ladbroke Grove because of rising repair and maintenance costs. The council is considering options for the 31- storey, grade II* listed tower, including selling...

RRP slams framework for city academies.
November 3, 2006... Procurement changes will `probably not deliver well-designed schools' Ellen Bennett Richard Rogers Partnership has slammed the new framework for procuring city academies, claiming it will "probably not deliver well-designed schools",...

IN BRIEF: Pledge to promote Scottish architecture.
November 3, 2006... Nick Barley, new executive director of The Lighthouse, Scotland's architecture and design centre, has pledged to promote Scottish architecture abroad. Barley, who is editor of The List magazine, starts his new job in January, He began his...

IN BRIEF: FOA appointed.
November 3, 2006... Foreign Office Architects has been appointed to design the new Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland, Ohio. It will be the practice's first major commission in the USA. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

But Southwark opens competition to all.(Royal Institute of British Architects.)(contract for redevelopment of primary schools)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Architects itching to get their hands on a school may have been locked out of the city academies framework, but they have been offered the chance to bid for work in Southwark. The south London council is holding an RIBA competition to find...

Final flourish.(Penoyre & Prasad has been design the new Church of England Academy)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Penoyre & Prasad has been commissioned to design the new Church of England Academy in Finchley, London, sponsored by the London Diocesan Board of Schools. It is one of the last city academy projects where the sponsor will have a say in the...

High-density race warning.(Trevor Phillips on race relations, urban planning)
November 3, 2006... Trevor Phillips says designers must consider community cohesion when planning new developments Ellen Bennett Britain's race relations chief has issued a stark warning that the high density development favoured by the government could...

Benefits of the banal encounter.(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Trevor Phillips laid out a model of community cohesion based around what are sometimes called "banal encounters" - casual meetings between people of different ethnic or social backgrounds in the supermarket queue or at the school gates. ...

China's planning law beats UK, says Foster.(Royal Institute of British Architects)(Norman Foster)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Norman Foster has slammed the UK's tortuous planning system and praised China to the skies in a rare but passionate speech about the state of the profession and the UK construction industry. Speaking at last week's RIBA conference, Foster...

Design charity baton.
November 3, 2006... Next March a team of cyclists will ride from Calais to the Mipim property fair in Cannes to raise money for the charity Architects for Aid. BD is launching a competition to design a relay baton for the riders to carry and present to a VIP when...

Making the grade.
November 3, 2006... Hopkins Architects has been given the final go-ahead for this #70 million scheme at the City campus of Nottingham Trent University. The project comprises the refurbishment of the university's grade II* listed Arkwright and Newton buildings and...

IN BRIEF: Green gauge.
November 3, 2006... The Academy for Sustainable Communities this week launched the ASC Awards for Sustainable Communities, which succeed the Deputy Prime Minister's Award for Sustainable Communities. The deadline for entries is 9 January 2007. See www....

IN BRIEF: Wood works.
November 3, 2006... Linden Homes has cited greatly improved energy-efficiency, faster build times and better noise insulation to explain its rapid increase in the use of timber frame construction. The housebuilder's South-east division hardly used the system three...

IN BRIEF: Happy landing.
November 3, 2006... Arup and consultant architect Pascall & Watson this week received planning permission for terminal 2 at Dublin airport from Fingal County Council. The contract for Dublin Airport Authority covers a new 75,000sq m terminal building, and a pier...

GMW finally set to grasp Victoria contract.
November 3, 2006... Ellen Bennett GMW Architects with developer Hammerson is on the verge of being appointed to the massive redevelopment of Victoria Station in central London. The practice, which beat bids from John McAslan & Partners, Sheppard Robson...

Hadid's AF building wins go-ahead after two years.(Architecture Foundation)(Zaha Hadid)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Zaha Hadid's greatly revised plans for the headquarters of the Architecture Foundation in Southwark received planning permission this week after a two year odyssey of changes by client and architect. The new building, part of Land...

Buried store for Bury St Edmunds.(SMC Covell Matthews designs half-submerged supermarket)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... SMC Covell Matthews has designed this half-submerged supermarket for the historic Suffolk town of Bury St Edmunds, and used the roof for 80 new homes. The #20 million scheme for developer Halladale, which also includes a four storey car...

IN BRIEF: Listed shopping.
November 3, 2006... DLG Architects has won planning and listed building approvals to convert The Octagon, a grade I listed Georgian chapel, and adjacent buildings in Bath. The #3 million Milsom Place scheme will incorporate Shires Yard shopping centre and contain...

IN BRIEF: Up and over.
November 3, 2006... Taylor Woodrow Construction has lifted the East London Line's final bridge into place over Regent's Canal. Designed by Faber Maunsell, the 400-tonne, 45m-long structure is the last of 10 new bridges created for the line, along with the...

IN BRIEF: Network help.
November 3, 2006... The Royal Town Planning Institute has launched the Development Management Network to help its members swap information and expertise. The service is intended to disseminate good practice, promote innovative approaches and contribute to RTPI...

Portsmouth's anchor.
November 3, 2006... Developer Centros Miller has revealed Chapman Taylor's design for the 21,400sq m John Lewis department store, which will anchor its #350 million Northern Quarter development in Portsmouth city centre. It is the first piece of detailed...

Second bite at Warsaw museum.
November 3, 2006... James Rose Zaha Hadid and Tony Fretton have been approved to enter the new design competition for the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland, four months after they were disqualified from its abortive first running. The city's...

Abolish stamp duty on zero carbon homes, says Miliband.(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Environment secretary David Miliband has called on chancellor Gordon Brown to exempt zero-carbon new homes from stamp duty. In the week that the Stern Report on global warning was published, Miliband also said incentives built into the...

IN BRIEF: Three for one.(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... The Urban Design Review Panel, an independent advisory group to Sheffield City Council, met for the first time last week, and considered three schemes: a John Lewis store by O'Donnell & Tuomey Architects; Sauerbruch Hutton's Jessop West...

IN BRIEF: Going up.(company sales and earnings of McBains Cooper)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Property and construction consultancy McBains Cooper has reported a 57% rise in pre-tax profit for the year ending June 30, 2006. Turnover rose 5% to #11.5 million in the same period. Chief executive Michael Thirkettle says he aims to achieve a...

IN BRIEF: Pier pressure.
November 3, 2006... Bura's Seaside Network and local group Castle Ward Forum are campaigning to save Hastings' pier, which the council deemed unsafe following its partial collapse this summer. It is owned by Ravenclaw Investments. Copyright: CMP...

Black parade.(Black Architects has been granted planning permission)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Black Architects' mixed-use scheme for Shannon Corner in New Malden has been granted planning permission by London's Merton Borough Council. A 230,000sq m garden centre and 11,000sq m B&Q store will be built on the first floor of the main...

Chatham museum decision.
November 3, 2006... Win for Van Heyningen & Haward Marguerite Lazell Van Heyningen & Haward Architects' has been commissioned to design a new museum in Chatham's Historic Dockyard, beating practices including MacCormac Jamieson Prichard, BDP and Long &...

Northern Ireland: On song.(Grand Opera House has re-opened)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Belfast's Grand Opera House has re-opened after its #10.2 million refurbishment. Designed by the Arts Team, part of RHWL, the project involved extending the Victorian building's foyers and backstage areas, which have been built into an L-shape...

Northern Ireland: History book.(Ulster Architecture Heritage launched Modern Ulster Architecture )(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Ulster Architecture Heritage has launched a book exploring architecture in Ulster from the 1900s to the present day. Modern Ulster Architecture is an illustrated book with critical essays, photos and drawings. Section one is a collection of...

Northern Ireland: Set square.(BDP completes Victoria Square development )(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... BDP's Victoria Square development in Belfast is nearing completion. It will include a retail centre of 70 units, 90 apartments and new public spaces and gardens. BDP was appointed by Dutch-based Multi Development to design the new #320 million...

Northern Ireland: Plans unearthed.
November 3, 2006... Bell Architects has finally been granted planning permission for an earth-sheltered house on a rural site in Ballyhackett, Castlerock. Plans were initially rejected for the 370sq m dwelling on the grounds that there was a lack of integration...

Northern Ireland: New and old.(Belfast's oldest facades refurbish to complete a 160-bedroom hotel)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Work has begun on Colin Conn Architects' 4 Corners project at the centre of the Cathedral Quarter in Belfast. The development will involve the refurbishment of two of Belfast's oldest facades to complete a 160-bedroom hotel. The architect's...

Northern Ireland: Rural cubes.(Bell Architects)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Work has just been completed on a 400sq m dwelling designed by Bell Architects. Set on a 0.3ha rural site in Articlave, Coleraine, the two- storey building consists of three interlocking cubes, with shifting planes to allow variations in light...

White paper seeks more power for planners.(planning authorities to take controversial decisions)
November 3, 2006... Marguerite Lazell Radical reforms outlined in the local government white paper could give planning authorities the confidence to take controversial decisions, an expert has said. Strong and Prosperous Communities, released by the...

Scots watchdog slams housing neighbouring Pineapple folly.
November 3, 2006... A proposed housing development at Dunmore Park near Falkirk, home to one of the UK's most distinctive follies, has been slammed by Architecture & Design Scotland in its latest round of design review reports. A&DS objected to the revised...

Analysis: Tessa's poor performance.(Olympics minister Tessa Jowell gives her opinion on design quality at the Olympics during the Royal Institute of British Architects conference)
November 3, 2006... Just days before outgoing ODA chairman Jack Lemley revealed his frustrations with the British government, BD met Olympics minister Tessa Jowell at the RIBA conference in Venice, and found she had a very shaky grip on her brief. Will Hurst...

LETTER: Cancer is challenge enough, Zaha.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2006... Neil Munro, Edinburgh Like, I am sure, all too many of BD's readers I have had several family members and friends who have faced life-threatening cancer. In dealing with this disease members of my family have benefited enormously from the...

LETTER: Stress factors.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2006... John Moore, Hastings Am I alone in wondering if the sycophantic admiration for Zaha's new creation is missing some vital points? As the design was provided "pro bono", the architect has had full license for self expression without...

LETTER: Inside view.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2006... Ivor Hall, London NW11 I am lost in admiration for the wonderful sculptural building Hadid has created in Kirkcaldy and for the fact that she and others designing for the same trust have given their services for free. I hope the Maggie's...

LETTER: Fit for purpose?(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2006... Richard Burfoot, Twickenham The new cancer centre by Zaha Hadid certainly seems a most imaginative piece of sculpture, but I wonder whether, as a building for restorative care, it will it be up to the job? It is well known that patients...

LETTER: Going up not down.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2006... Richard MacCormac, London E1 There is no truth in the implied quote - MacCormac: practice "in freefall" (News October 20). On the contrary, we are very busy with our widest range of projects ever, including academic and residential...

LETTER: Not black or white.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2006... Michael Zawadzki, Aylesbury Regarding your report on diversity in the profession (News October 27), to me, the true position lies across both points of view, that of Richard Rogers and Sunand Prasad. I was reminded of a conversation I...

LETTER: North south divide.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2006... Rosemarie Andrews, Knutsford I much appreciate the way BD tries to promote the interests of women in architecture. Prejudice is perhaps in essence something that the holder is unaware of, which is why I wonder if you are aware that in...

Editorial: Amanda Baillieu - Jowell ducks 2012 design responsibility.(Royal Institute of British Architects)(Editorial)
November 3, 2006... From Nervi's stadium for the Rome games to Isosaki's for Barcelona, it's hard to think of an Olympics where the architecture has not been commissioned by the host nation as a work of civic stature with international status. And it's also...

Soapbox: Ben Page - Don't be invisible - shout louder.(Royal Institute of British Architects)
November 3, 2006... Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to Venice as part of the RIBA annual conference, looking at architecture's broader impact on both the environment and society. Thinking about this among the great and the good at the conference,...

YAYA 2006: Magnetic Nord.(Northern Office for Research & Design)(Young Architect of the Year Award)
November 3, 2006... Glasgow-based practice Nord is the winner of this year's BD YoungArchitect of the Year Award. Ellis Woodman looks at the qualities that appealed to the jury, as well as its thoughts on the runners up The members of this year's 10th Young...

No place like home.(Nord winner of Young Architect of the Year Award)(growth of architectural services in Scotland )
November 3, 2006... Nord is part of a new wave of Scottish architects that are turning their backs on the bright lights of London and staying north of the border, writes Zoe Blackler If you want to be taken seriously as a national practice, you need to make...

YAYA 2006: Runners-up - Mangera Yvars.(Mangera Yvars Architects)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Ali Mangera began his practice's presentation with by far the largest project that any of the nominees showed in the course of the day - the 50,000sq m Abbey Mills Islamic Centre. Commissioned by Tablighi Jamaat, an evangelical Islamic...

YAYA 2006: Runners-up - Urban Salon.(Young Architect of the Year)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... This year's nomination represented Urban Salon's second appearance on a Young Architect of the Year shortlist. It was runner up in the 2000 competition, a mere three years after the practice had been established. That achievement reflected...

YAYA 2006: Runners-up - Featherstone Associates.(Young Architect of the Year Award)(South Essex Rape & Incest Crisis Centre)(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... Until 2004, Sarah Featherstone co-ran Hudson Featherstone Architects, but she is now sole director of her own six-person practice in east London. Its work has a strong emphasis on community engagement - a concern that has vividly born...

YAYA 2006: Runners-up - IJP Corporation.(Brief article)
November 3, 2006... George L Legendre, the director of IJP Corporation, is both an architect and an academic, teaching a diploma course at the AA. His practice's work is entirely focused on the use of mathematics to generate form. The practice has developed...

Solutions: Is it real or is it telematics?
November 3, 2006... Telematics is the art and science of transforming facades with moving images. Elaine Knutt looks into a future world in which buildings communicate and respond to their environments Canary Wharf has a giant waterfall coursing down its...

Culture: Come on out.
November 3, 2006... London's suburbs are explored through London Underground posters from the 1920s and 1930s in the exhibition Come Out To Live, Come In To Play, November 7-June 3, Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Cat Hill, Barnet, Herts. Tel: 020 8411...

Culture: Cities unlimited.
November 3, 2006... Super-fast urban growth is explored in Cities from Zero on November 10 at the Architectural Association, 36 Bedford Square, London. Speakers include Alejandro Gutierrez of Arup Urban Design, design leader of the new eco city in Dongtan, China....

Culture: Six of the best.
November 3, 2006... The top students from all six of Scotland's schools of architecture are featured in the exhibition Six: Lighthouse & RIAS Student Awards, showing until December 1 at the RIAS Gallery, 15 Rutland Square, Edinburgh. Tel: 0131 229 7545. ...

Culture: Seeking answers to the future.('Future Systems' by Deyan Sudjic)(Book review)
November 3, 2006... Future Systems, while inspired by innovation, is just as sensitive to tradition, Robert Maxwell discovers from Deyan Sudjic's monograph Eduardo Paolozzi once gave my partner a book, bound in black linen covers, with the legend Frank Lloyd...

Blinded by the light.(James Turrell's exhibition, "A life in light")
November 3, 2006... James Turrell's show outshines its newly-opened host gallery, writes Daniel Rosbottom London's burgeoning contemporary art scene has endowed the East End with an apparently limitless meterage of white wall. However, its newest contender,...

Culture vulture.(John Sorrell, chair of Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment)(Interview)
November 3, 2006... How would you spend a day indulging in cultural pursuits? Art in the morning, football in the afternoon and ballet in the evening. Art - wherever. One of the big galleries for a blockbuster or to see old favourites or a show off the beaten...

Evelina feels the heat.(design problems at Evelina Children's Hospital )
November 10, 2006... Sustainability blow as flagship low-energy hospital recalls design team amid legal threats Will Hurst A flagship low-energy hospital by Hopkins Architects is set to undergo major alterations including extra artificial cooling after NHS...

Al-Qaida terrorist linked to RIBA.
November 10, 2006... The RIBA is reviewing the security of its library following the revelation that terrorist mastermind Dhiren Barot used it to research his plans to wreak mass murder and destruction in London and the US. Barot, who has direct links to...

Copenhagen's T dance.(T- Husene construction)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Steven Holl Architects has released its designs of "dancing Ts" for T- Husene, a mixed-used development for Copenhagen. The development will contain 18,000sq m of residential space in five towers above 12,500sq m of commercial space. ...

IN BRIEF: Hospital seven storeys not eight.
November 10, 2006... The HOK designed Barts & Royal London hospital will be seven storeys rather than the original eight. The scaleback is part of cost cutting demanded by the Department of Health before it gave the hugely controversial scheme the green light...

IN BRIEF: Arup launches competition.
November 10, 2006... Arup has launched a competition to design a device or concept that can bring clean, safe water to people all over the world. The deadline for entries is January 31 2007 and judges include Ken Shuttleworth of Make, Christopher Frayling and David...

IN BRIEF: Topping out ceremony.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... A topping out ceremony was held on Tuesday at Belgravia's Chesham Place, the ultra-luxurious residential block designed by Foster & Partners for Candy & Candy. The development consists of six apartments of 440-777sq m, each filling an entire...

IN BRIEF: British Council for Offices launches report.
November 10, 2006... The British Council for Offices has launched its Best Practice Guide to Environmental Practices in Offices. The report focuses on how to limit environmental impact and the use of limited natural resources in office developments. Copyright:...

IN BRIEF: Design competition.
November 10, 2006... Urban Splash, Trafford Borough Council and the Groundworks Trust have announced a design competition to create a new children's play area in John Leigh Park, Altrincham. See www. riba.org/competitions Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Public building targets in danger, warns CPA.
November 10, 2006... James Rose Hundreds of schools and thousands of new homes will not be built on time, the Construction Products Association (CPA) has warned the government. The leading construction body has revealed that the government has fallen...

IN BRIEF: Two men fined.(for title abuse after wrongfully calling themselves architects)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Two men were fined by magistrates last week for title abuse after wrongfully calling themselves architects. Philip Griffiths of St Johns Close, Cefn Coed, Merthyr Tydfil, was fined #1,500 with costs by Aberdare Magistrates, while David Knipe of...

X list is revived by Tory think-tank.(Policy Exchange )(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Members of the public would finally get the power to tackle unloved and underused buildings under proposals set out by a leading think-tank. Initiatives such as Channel 4's Demolition series in 2005 and Cabe's The Cost of Bad Design survey...

IN BRIEF: Planning powers.(given to mayor Ken Livingstone )(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Proposals to hand new planning powers to London mayor Ken Livingstone would lead to inefficiency and deprive Londoners of a voice, London councils insisted this week. But in a submission to secretary of state for communities & local government...

IN BRIEF: Government proposals.
November 10, 2006... The government's proposed Planning Gain Supplement must be in addition to, not instead of, current infrastructure funding, MPs said this week. The controversial tax would have to be imposed with simplicity and clarity, according to the DCLG...

Trump that tower.(Atkins Architects)(Trump Organization)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Atkins has designed an international hotel and tower in Dubai for American tycoon Donald Trump, pictured here for the first time. The architect's design features two asymmetrical halves that will have stainless steel, glass and stone...

Liverpool pathfinder under fire.
November 10, 2006... Ellen Bennett Liverpool's design review body has not been shown any detailed planning applications for new housing in the controversial housing market renewal area. The Liverpool Urban Design & Conservation Advisory Panel (Ludcap) has...

Ikea seeks Gateshead approval for BokLok.
November 10, 2006... Ikea is about to enter the first planning application for its BokLok homes in Gateshead, another of the nine pathfinders set up by John Prescott in 2003. The flatpack homes will have their UK launch at the Building Centre later this month, and...

Mann Island go-ahead settles waterfront site.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Liverpool's planning committee approved Broadway Malyan's Mann Island scheme this week, finally settling the fate of the waterfront site originally intended for Will Alsop's "Fourth Grace". The decision means Neptune Developments'...

Tate Britain shortlist favours newer firms.
November 10, 2006... Up and coming firms DRMM and DSDHA are competing against established names including Rick Mather to become the exclusive architect for Tate Britain. The three practices have made it onto a shortlist of six for the seven- year framework...