Building Design articles from November 2008

Building Design archives from November 2008

Stephen Lawrence Centre in fresh crisis.
November 7, 2008... Management `inertia' and lack of funding blamed as vandalised building left unrepaired Will Hurst Lack of leadership and management inertia has been blamed for the failure to repair the Stephen Lawrence Centre, which saw its windows...

LEADER: Adjaye must see this through.(David Adjaye, Stephen Lawrence Centre)
November 7, 2008... AMANDA BAILLIEU The Stephen Lawrence Centre is beset with problems, but with its architect's help it can still be the inspiration it was intended to be Built in memory of the murdered black teenager who harboured ambitions to become...

LEADER: Credit where credit's due.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Benoy, whose most recent contribution to architecture is the mega Westfield shopping mall in west London (see page 9) is, according to Peter Mandelson, "a perfect illustration" of British expertise in the creative industries. But while...

IN BRIEF: DCLG says one bid in 12 merits `A'.(Department of Communities and Local Government)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Just one of the 12 sites shortlisted for the government's eco-towns programme has fully met the required standard, it emerged this week. A consortium of Norfolk councils, for a site near Rackheath north-west of Norwich, submitted the only...

IN BRIEF: Make going nowhere with Noho.
November 7, 2008... Make's proposal for Noho Square, on the site of the former Middlesex Hospital in central London, looks increasingly unlikely to be realised after troubled Icelandic owner Kaupthing admitted a string of developers were looking to buy into the...

IN BRIEF: Carmody Groarke gets green light.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... A memorial to those who died in the July 7 bombings in London in 2005, by Carmody Groarke with sculptor Anthony Gormley, has been given the go- ahead by Westminster City Council. The sculpture, for Hyde Park, comprises 52 pillarsin four...

IN BRIEF: BD campaign highly commended.(Building Design)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... BD's Rescue Robin Hood Gardens campaign was narrowly beaten into second place in the British Society of Magazine Editors' award for campaign of the year. In a highly competitive field against eight other magazines, Rescue Robin Hood...

IN BRIEF: Nightingale sheds staff and offices.
November 7, 2008... Nightingale Associates is to shut its offices in Bristol and Exeter in a move which could see up to 17 staff exit the firm. Managing director Colin Hockley insisted the decision was unconnected to the credit crunch, attributing it to a need...

US architects in UK hail Obama victory.
November 7, 2008... American architects in the UK have hailed Barack Obama's historic US election victory, saying it will help foster better quality sustainable design in projects around the globe. Obama's policies, which include creating a White House Office...

SNP minister pledges support for Lighthouse.(Scottish National Party, Linda Fabiani)
November 7, 2008... Architecture centre cites Venice Pavilion as reason for funding crisis Vikki Miller Scotland's architecture minister, Linda Fabiani, has asked her officials to inspect the financial state of the Lighthouse, Scotland's architecture and...

ILLUMINATING THE LIGHTHOUSE.
November 7, 2008... * Opened by the Queen in 1999 following a #13 million conversion of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's derelict 1895 Glasgow Herald newspaper offices on 11 Mitchell Lane. * Board members include Ian Gilzean, the Scottish government's chief...

Mandelson praises `perfect' Benoy.(Peter Mandelson)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Government minister Peter Mandelson has heaped praise on Benoy Architects as the practice joined a British business delegation to the Gulf this week. Speaking in Saudi Arabia, the business and enterprise secretary claimed the architect was...

Lords design bill victory.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... The cross-party campaign in the House of Lords to put design quality at the heart of the planning bill scored a significant victory this week as the government put in two key amendments. As BD reported last month, the RIBA recently joined...

Herzog & de Meuron's Tenerife arts centre unfolds.
November 7, 2008... Herzog & de Meuron's Tenerife Arts Space has been inaugurated in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The 21,000sq m cultural complex has a contemporary art institute named after local artist [scar DomAEnguez, a photography centre...

Row grows as RIBA shops ban ACA's rival contract.
November 7, 2008... Marguerite Lazell The row between the RIBA and the Association of Consultant Architects over client contracts has escalated after it emerged that the institute is refusing to stock the ACA's rival contract in its bookshops. Following...

Designers get their teeth into dental practice's natural setting.
November 7, 2008... Devon-based practice David Sheppard Architects has been granted planning permission for a #1.5 million dental practice and medical centre in Plymouth. The two 400sq m timber-clad buildings, in Plymouth's international business park, are...

Conran replaces Foster on Weston hotel scheme.
November 7, 2008... Foster & Partners has been dropped from a plan to redevelop the Royal Pier Hotel site in Weston-super-Mare and replaced by Conran & Partners. Foster's was appointed last year to transform the seafront location, close to Urban Splash's...

Plans for U2 Tower suspended.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Plans for Foster & Partners' 120m-high U2 Tower in Dublin's docklands have been suspended because of Ireland's uncertain property and financial markets. The Dublin Docklands Development Authority said that it would delay negotiations on...

Rock steady in Dhahran.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Construction is under way on Snohetta's King Abdul Aziz Centre for Knowledge & Culture in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Aramco Oil Company-funded cultural scheme will cover 60,000sq m and includes a 1,000-seat auditorium, cinema,...

Toronto picks top UK firms.
November 7, 2008... Alsop, Foster, Grimshaw and Aedas to design new subway stations Will Henley British architects Will Alsop, Norman Foster, Grimshaw and Aedas have made it to the final four teams selected to produce "signature" designs for one of...

Five shortlisted for flood-proof house.
November 7, 2008... Five practices have been shortlisted in the RIBA competition to design a flood-proof house. Moxon Architects, Pohkit Goh, Hopper Howe Sadler, Nissen Adams and Kuala Lumpur's Eleena Jamil Architects are all competing for the work, for...

Barnet aims high.( Barnet College)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Work has started on the #28 million redevelopment of Barnet College, north London, by education specialist Perkins Ogden Architects. The 11,000sq m Breeam very good building, in the Chipping Barnet conservation area, replaces its 1970s Wood...

Survey warns of low profit margins.
November 7, 2008... Firms made too little during boom Will Henley A third of architectural practices made so little profit in the boom times that they could go bust with the onslaught of the credit crunch, an RIBA survey has revealed. This year's...

Scotland go-ahead for Trump's golf resort.
November 7, 2008... The Scottish government has approved Donald Trump's controversial #1 billion golf resort at Balmedie, Aberdeenshire. John Swinney, secretary for sustainable growth, granted outline planning permission for the project this week, arguing that...

EDUCATION: Cardiff training centre approved.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... A #3 million vocational training centre for people with learning difficulties, by Design Research Unit Wales, has won planning permission. The Field Project centre in Leckwith, Cardiff, will include a community cafe, wood workshop,...

RESTORATION: Renewed Shaw House lives again.
November 7, 2008... Purcell Miller Tritton has completed its #6 million restoration of Shaw House, a 16th century manor in Newbury which was once the scene of an assassination attempt on Charles I. The restoration of the building, more recently home to Shaw...

SURVEY: Planners express key concerns.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Trying to manage the impact of development and increase planning capacity are the two main challenges that face planning systems around the world, a survey has revealed. A quarter of planners identified these hurdles in the study last week...

COMPETITION: Learning quarter seeks architects.
November 7, 2008... A competition has been launched to find an architect for Glasgow's new 80,000sq m city centre learning quarter - part of BDP's masterplan to merge its four city centre colleges. The international competition is to design a campus across two...

Government set to delay heritage bill.
November 7, 2008... Will Henley The heritage protection bill may be axed from next year's parliamentary programme to make way for legislation to help beat the credit crunch, culture secretary Andy Burnham has signalled. Speaking to heritage groups last...

LETTER: How to win trust.(Letter to the editor)
November 7, 2008... Like Charlie Bunce (Debate October 31), I too was involved in the Castleford project, persuading poorly paid architects to take part and liaising with the community to help select preferred design partners. The question of whether the public...

LETTER: Bad baggage.(Letter to the editor)
November 7, 2008... I was delighted to read George Oldham's assurance that progress has been made at Arb (Letters October 31). However, at Interbuild last week I picked up a bag from Arb's stand: imagine my surprise when I found inside it two Arb leaflets, two...

LETTER: Poor planning.(Letter to the editor)
November 7, 2008... The government's target-driven attempt to force planning authorities to determine most applications within the statutory eight weeks has clearly failed. Hard-pressed officers have developed a range of tactics to delay applications for as long...

LETTER: Taxing question.(Letter to the editor)
November 7, 2008... During your Robin Hood Gardens campaign, the concept of listing was given undue importance. Listing a building simply provides another layer of protection, but does not guarantee a structure will not be demolished. Have you noticed how...

LETTER: Housebuilders need our support.(Letter to the editor)
November 7, 2008... It is indicative of the gulf between architects and developers that your leader (October 30) assumes an economic downturn will somehow force housebuilders to think about how to deliver Cabe's demands. My own experience suggests the best...

OPINION: Way-out Westfield is about cashing in.(Viewpoint essay)
November 7, 2008... CAROLYN STEEL Glitzy Westfield, in contrastingly bleak Shepherd's Bush, is a surreal monument to capitalism Yesterday I went shopping by mistake. I don't know quite how it happened. One minute I was studying the architecture of...

DEBATE: Can shopping centres be used to regenerate cities?
November 7, 2008... YES Robin Dobson, Hammerson director of retail development Of course. They can be both regeneration schemes themselves and a catalyst for other non-retail regeneration projects. Traditionally, these developments might have only...

WORKS: ERIC PARRY ARCHITECTS - Return of the saint.
November 7, 2008... The refurbishment and reconfiguration of St Martin-in-the-Fields church in central London maintains an impressive singularity of vision, says Ellis Woodman PROJECT TEAM Architect: Eric Parry Architects, Clients: St...

WORKS: ERIC PARRY ARCHITECTS - IN DETAIL.
November 7, 2008... St Martin-in-the-Fields, London Architect: Eric Parry Architects Facade and structural engineer: Arup Specialist subcontractor: Tuchschmid As well as a complete refurbishment of the church itself, the renewal of St...

SOLUTIONS: CASTLEFORD.(Interview)
November 7, 2008... `If there's a TV camera rolling when you ask for funding, people are more likely to say yes' For five years the Yorkshire town of Castleford was filmed by Channel 4 for its series Kevin McCloud & the Big Town Plan, broadcast in August. BD...

How can small practices survive these changes to planning rules?
November 7, 2008... ASK US A QUESTION Richard Brindley: Executive director, RIBA Professional Services Patrick Perry: Partner with London law firm Barlow Lyde & Gilbert Homeowners can now build significant extensions to their homes without planning...

DEAR IRENA: Time to burst the bubble.
November 7, 2008... Irena Bauman tackles your ethical dilemmas A high-profile journal wants to publish photographs of my recent project. The architecture is striking, but the client is in dispute with the design team about overheating, undersized toilets and...

ROLL ON FRIDAY.
November 7, 2008... `We had two teams in the toading world cup in May in Lewes' Practice: Nightingale Associates Location: Hove, East Sussex Size: 25 people "On Friday evenings, we have a quick toading session before we go out. Once or twice a...

CULTURE: Code remains unbroken.
November 7, 2008... In the latest Supercrit, Leon Krier explained why his masterplan for neo-traditionalist village Poundbury was meant to be boring. Niall Hobhouse was there LECTURE SUPERCRIT 6: POUNDBURY Leon Krier masterplan, University of...

The real East Enders.(Gail Pickering's Brutalist Premolition)
November 7, 2008... Gail Pickering's film on Robin Hood Gardens explores the boundaries of life and art, says Catherine Croft FILM INSTALLATION BRUTALIST PREMOLITION by Gail Pickering ICA, London, October 13-20, Arnolfini, Bristol, November 4 ...

BOOK CLUB: It's the little things that matter in Horden's world.
November 7, 2008... * Micro-Architecture: Lightweight, Mobile & Ecological Buildings for the Future by Richard Horden Thames & Hudson; #16.95 By Julian Hakes Those fed up with greenwash and the post-rational greening of projects will find this a...

JONATHAN GLANCEY: Trump tees off into the abyss.
November 7, 2008... Sunand Prasad reminds me that in the last recession, some 40% of architects lost their jobs. This is a disturbing figure, but it's also a reflection of the sad truth that an avid market economy is no friend to architects when the financial...

THIS WEEK: PHONE HOMES.
November 7, 2008... Hundreds of parish and district councils have chosen to adopt a red phone box in a deal with BT. The design classics can be adopted for free with phone equipment removed or for #500, BT will keep the box in working order. Copyright: CMP...

THIS WEEK: BIRTH OF A HERO.
November 7, 2008... The National Trust for Scotland has taken over some of the buildings most closely associated with poet Robert Burns, paving the way for the #21 million birthplace museum by architect Simpson & Brown, set to be completed by 2010. Copyright:...

THIS WEEK: DINNER'S ON ME.
November 7, 2008... Flat roofs in London are to be converted into vegetable gardens by mayor Boris Johnson. Roofs, old rail yards, housing estates and school gardens will be used to grow veg to feed competitors at the 2012 Olympics. Copyright: CMP Information...

THIS WEEK: DON'T BANK ON IT.
November 7, 2008... Sandbanks in Dorset, one of the most expensive places to live in the world, has been hit by the downturn after two homes each worth over #1 million were repossessed. The number of repossessions in Britain as a whole has jumped by 71% in three...

THIS WEEK: SAFE AS HOUSES.
November 7, 2008... The Georgian Group has warned that thousands of Georgian buildings in Britain are at risk of vandalism and neglect. The lobby group is encouraging investment in them as "very safe bricks and mortar to invest in". Copyright: CMP Information...

Lubetkin estate residents' fury over `damaging' refurb.(Lubetkin's Spa Green Estate)
November 14, 2008... Spa Green leaseholders pursue legal action in attempt to recover costs from Islington Anna Winston Residents of Lubetkin's Spa Green Estate are pursuing legal action against the London Borough of Islington over the #5.7 million...

Didcot turns the corner.
November 14, 2008... Cornerstone, a #5 million arts centre in Didcot by Ellis Williams Architects has officially opened. The competition-winning design faces onto a new public space linking the arts centre to the town's retail centre on one side and the...

LEADER: How can the RIBA help you?
November 14, 2008... AMANDA BAILLIEU We've waited patiently for the RIBA to give a lead on the recession, and now it's finally come, it's simply not enough Architects, even those who claim the rapid deterioration of the British economy has still to affect...

LEADER: Spa Green's ungrateful residents.(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... You can't help have a sneaking sympathy for Islington Council's architects, part of the team who've restored Lubetkin's Spa Green Estate and are now threatened with legal action by residents. They claim the work was not good enough. This...

IN BRIEF: US embassy bars British tenders.(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... British companies will be barred from bidding for work to build the #275 million US embassy in Battersea, south London. For "security" reasons, only US architects with "experience in the design of American embassies and other buildings"...

IN BRIEF: Wembley storm damage denied.
November 14, 2008... Wembley officials have denied reports of structural damage to the #827 million stadium following a storm on Monday night. It was claimed that a four-storey crack had appeared in the stadium - designed by Foster & Partners and HOK Sport -...

IN BRIEF: BDP/Haverstock win in Southwark.(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... Architects BDP and Haverstock Associates have won Southwark's #200 million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. The two practices, part of Balfour Beatty's Transform Schools team, now enter a 10-year deal to design two new...

IN BRIEF: Spab invites scholarship entrants.(Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings)(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (Spab) has invited young architects to apply for its annual scholarship, the focus of which is on heritage and conservation skills. Under the scholarship, which lasts for nine months, up...

IN BRIEF: #3.6 billion building programme.(Primary Capital Programme )(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... More than 1,500 primary schools will be rebuilt or refurbished from next April after the government gave the go-ahead to the Primary Capital Programme (PCP) worth #3.6 billion this week. The programme includes building over 350 new or...

Recession hits Gazprom tower.
November 14, 2008... The future of RMJM's Gazprom Tower in St Petersburg has been cast into doubt by the global financial crisis. Construction of the 396m-high tower, which has met strong opposition from the city's residents and the heritage lobby, was to be...

Prasad reveals RIBA recession strategy.
November 14, 2008... Mixed reaction as president advocates green upgrades to housing Will Hurst RIBA president Sunand Prasad has unveiled a radical plan to boost architects' workload in a recession by calling for a massive government- financed programme to...

HOW ARCHITECTS CAN HELP CUT C02 EMISSIONS.
November 14, 2008... According to Anthony Richardson, director of ARP Architects, architects could use their skills in these areas: Overcladding External insulation has an architectural dimension because of the need for an aethestically pleasing result and...

Outcry as Landscape Institute shuts archive.
November 14, 2008... Leading figures in landscape architecture have slammed the Landscape Institute's decision to close its archive and downsize its library. The institute's archive and library are held at its central London headquarters. But "an exceptionally...

Chipperfield wins in Zurich.(David Chipperfield Architects wins Zurich's Kunsthaus modern art museum)(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... David Chipperfield Architects has won the #80 million international competition to extend Zurich's Kunsthaus, the city's modern art museum. Chipperfield's design was selected from 214 anonymous entries to Zurich's Department of Structural...

John Lyall Architects pumps up for 2012.
November 14, 2008... John Lyall Architects' designs for a pumping station in the Olympic Park in east London have been granted planning permission. The circular form of the building echoes the shape of the vast underground pumping chamber below it. The...

New plans to preserve Smithfield.
November 14, 2008... McAslan replaces KPF with brief to keep historic general market Vikki Miller Smithfield's general market building will be saved from the bulldozer under new plans for the historic site drawn up by architect John McAslan, BD can reveal....

Sheffield's steel-clad centre for local enterprise shows its mettle.(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... London-based practice Zero Zero has won planning consent for a #4.1 million centre for local enterprise in north-west Sheffield. The 3,250sq m Soar Works project, part of the Southey and Owlerton regeneration scheme in Parsons Cross, will...

Boris backs Crossrail in transport strategy.(Boris Johnson )(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... London mayor Boris Johnson has pledged to invest in Crossrail as part of his 10-year business plan for the capital's transport system. Outlining his investment strategy for Transport for London, Johnson promised to deliver Crossrail by...

S for sixth-form college.
November 14, 2008... RMJM has unveiled plans for a sixth-form building for Newcastle College. The 13,000sq m academy, part of a #250 million investment in the college's campus, will accommodate more than 2,000 students, and is the first collaboration between RMJM's...

Utzon vs Utzon over Sydney Opera House refurbishment.(Jorn Utzon)(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... Will Henley The son and grandson of Sydney Opera House architect Jorn Utzon have clashed over plans to renovate the iconic building. The #300 million refurbishment of the opera house, to improve acoustics and boost capacity, was...

Funding gap spells end of Gehry's Hove scheme.(Frank Gehry's controversial King Alfred scheme)(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... Frank Gehry's controversial King Alfred scheme on Hove seafront has been officially dropped after the deadline for developer Karis to find funding expired on Sunday. Brighton & Hove Council said it would now "go back to square one" to find...

Tie for Scottish architecture prize.
November 14, 2008... Bennetts and Elder & Cannon share RIAS Andrew Doolan Award Vikki Miller Scotland's most prestigious architecture prize, the RIAS Andrew Doolan Award, has been split for the first time and awarded to both Bennetts Associates and Elder &...

Hotel rooms with a view.
November 14, 2008... Squire & Partners has won planning consent for a new boutique hotel in west London's Bayswater. The scheme, for Orchadia, was approved by Westminster City Council last week and will stand on a corner site on Bayswater Road that has been...

Max Fordham wins lifetime design prize.(Prince Philip Designers' Prize)(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... Engineer Max Fordham has won this year's Prince Philip Designers' Prize, beating architects Jeremy Dixon, Edward Jones and Amanda Levete for the outstanding lifetime achievement award in design. Previous winners include James Dyson, Terence...

BIRMINGHAM: Carillion to build Mecanoo's library.
November 14, 2008... Carillion has been appointed as contractor for the #193 million Birmingham Library by Dutch architect Mecanoo. The building, which is expected open in 2013, is to be developed on land adjacent to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in...

RIBA ARCHIVE: Palladio `treasure trove' on the web.(Royal Institute of British Architects is to offer a web service giving users access to Andrea Palladio's surviving books and drawings)(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... The RIBA is to offer a web service giving users access to more than 80% of Andrea Palladio's surviving books and drawings. The Palladio and Britain "web hub", set up to commemorate the 500th birthday of the Italian architect, will allow...

STRANRAER: Smith Mullan wins urban plan.(Smith Mullan Associates )(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... Edinburgh-based architect Smith Mullan Associates has been appointed to produce a masterplan and urban design strategy for Stranraer and Loch Ryan Waterfront. Stranraer, in south-west Scotland, is the shortest crossing point between...

EDUCATION: Green light for Bond Bryan's West Anglia campus.(Brief article)
November 14, 2008... Bond Bryan Architects' new #92 million campus for the College of West Anglia has been granted planning permission. The 7ha development, on a brownfield site in King's Lynn, Norfolk, will include 27,700sq m of educational facilities on four...

Lower density for Chelsea Barracks development.
November 14, 2008... Marguerite Lazell Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners has made major design changes to its controversial Chelsea Barracks project, including reducing the height of the tallest affordable housing blocks from 13 to 10 storeys, downsizing some of...

GLOBAL DOWNTURN: Buoying up your business.
November 14, 2008... To stay afloat in this changing market, every aspect of a business needs to be examined. It's a cliche that `cash is king' in uncertain times, but many a practice has gone under with a healthy order book. The most urgent thing is to look at...

It's not just architects - how other key players are coping.
November 14, 2008... Housebuilders Most housebuilders have been severely affected by the downturn, but some worse than others. One early casualty was City Lofts, the northern flats developer, which went into administration in July. But David McLean Holdings,...

LETTER: Centre priorities.(Letter to the editor)
November 14, 2008... The Stephen Lawrence Centre opened in February 2008, on time and on budget, which showed the level of strong management expertise and leadership. Since then, the centre has delivered high quality and innovative educational activity to more than...

LETTER: Academies rule.(Letter to the editor)
November 14, 2008... Owen Hatherley's criticism that the academy schools programme is meretricious misses the point (Opinion October 31). The programme has enabled schools to be built that step outside the tradition of "bells and cells": some are challenging and...