Building Design articles from October 2007

Building Design archives from October 2007

LDA strategy failure risks Olympic legacy.(london England Development Agency)
October 5, 2007... Dynamic new boss sought to bring `focus and energy' to London's 2012 regeneration team Helen Crump The regeneration of a vast area of east London has been thrown into doubt because the body charged with overseeing the Olympic legacy...

Hive of activity in Manchester.(Piercy Connor Architects)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Piercy Connor Architects has applied for outline planning permission for this striking 400-unit housing scheme in Manchester. The project, on a former colliery site, consists of a collection of hive-like structures, each of which houses large...

It's still not easy being young.(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... BD launched Yaya 10 years ago to showcase the work of gifted young architects, but we also keep watch over the carbuncles Yaya is the only architectural award that celebrates the talents of the next generation, but when it was launched 10...

Carbuncles are planning's shame.(Carbuncle Cup awards)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... To judge by the number of comments that have flooded in since we announced the finalists in BD's annual Carbuncle Cup, the award has touched a nerve. Almost 400 of you voted, and more have commented on the shortlist. We make no claim to...

A star comes to power station's aid.
October 5, 2007... Battersea Power Station, or rather what's left of it, has joined that elite band of buildings known as grade II*. English Heritage, which receives #129 million of public funds to protect historic buildings - and has Battersea on its...

IN BRIEF: Urban Splash scheme for Sheffield.
October 5, 2007... Urban Splash has won planning permission for the first phase of its redevelopment of Sheffield's Park Hill flats. The scheme, passed on Monday, will refurbish 300 existing flats in the north block, and provide a new car park, communal green...

IN BRIEF: Controversial academy go-ahead.(Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Peter Clegg has defended a controversial west London city academy by Feilden Clegg Bradley in the face of sustained protests from residents. Locals had protested that the "ugly, monolithic and prison-like" Chelsea Academy, which won...

IN BRIEF: Capita seizes initiative on CO2 cuts.
October 5, 2007... Capita Architecture has announced an ambitious sustainability strategy that exceeds the government's carbon guidelines set for 2015. The group plans to deliver "carbon-positive" buildings regularly from 2015, which would offset more CO2...

IN BRIEF: London targets affordable homes.(Ken Livingstone plans for affordable housing )(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has welcomed a government decision to halt a mutiny by 21 councils over the affordable housing targets set out in the 2004 London Plan. The councils had attempted to revert to less stringent local policy in...

IN BRIEF: HKR's Red Cow to rise over Dublin.
October 5, 2007... HKR Architects has won planning permission for a #70 million hotel in Dublin, which will be the tallest in Ireland when it goes on site. The 17-storey Red Cow Moran Hotel, with a coloured and glass screen facade, will have 500 rooms, a...

City cash pledge boosts Crossrail.(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Architects working on plans for Crossrail, the troubled cross-London railway line, received a boost this week when the City of London agreed to provide up to #300 million in funding for the scheme. Prime minister Gordon Brown had said the...

Battersea Power Station upgraded to grade II*.(Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England)
October 5, 2007... Revised listing status will open the door to English Heritage repair grants Rory Olcayto Architecture minister Margaret Hodge has upgraded Battersea Power Station's listed status in a move that could speed up the regeneration of the...

SAGA OF GILBERT SCOTT'S LANDMARK.
October 5, 2007... 1929-39 Giles Gilbert Scott's design is built 1953-55 A second, mirror-image station B is built alongside the original A 1975 Station A is shut down 1980 Grade II heritage status conferred 1983 Station B shut down 1984...

Former BP chief to sit on Foster's board.(Foster & Partners expands its international operations )(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Foster & Partners is to expand its international operations and infrastructure work following the appointment of former BP chief executive John Browne to its board of directors. Browne, hailed by his former company as "the greatest British...

Architecture festival grows to last a month.
October 5, 2007... The London Festival of Architecture is to expand to become a month-long event next year, organiser Peter Murray has revealed. Murray said the festival, formerly the London Architecture Biennale, scheduled to take place between June 20 and...

Sports centre regenerates brownfield Paris site.
October 5, 2007... Brisac Gonzalez Architects has won a competition with this design for a new sports centre in Rue Pajol in Paris, close to the Gare du Nord. The E7.5 million (#5.2 million) project will transform a brownfield site in the city centre,...

Boris blasts Ken's high-rise housing.
October 5, 2007... Marguerite Lazell Tory hopeful Boris Johnson has kicked off his mayoral campaign by accusing Ken Livingstone of "wrecking London's skyline". Johnson, who was confirmed as official Conservative London mayoral candidate last week, has...

Revamped theatre brings added drama to Livingston parkland.
October 5, 2007... Scottish practice Nicoll Russell Studios has gone on site with this #5.3 million theatre and community complex in Livingston. The scheme redevelops and extends the Howden Park Centre, which is located in parkland and will provide a new home...

Lord's expansion plan set to boost capacity.(Marylebone Cricket Club )(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... The owner of Lord's has launched a consultation on plans for a massive overhaul of the historic cricket ground which could see its capacity boosted by 12,000. Marylebone Cricket Club has contacted its 22,000 members to canvass views on...

#90 million facelift for Scottish seaside towns.
October 5, 2007... Five seaside towns in western Scotland are to be rejuvenated with a #90 million makeover grant. Argyll & Bute Council has agreed the funding package for new pier and marina developments, better public spaces and improved traffic...

Maidstone marries new and old.
October 5, 2007... Hugh Broughton Architects' RIBA competition-winning design for Maidstone Museum has won planning permission and listed building consent. The plan for the museum's east wing, developed with Faber Maunsell, has also secured a Heritage...

SMC Group `teetering' on the edge, say accountants.
October 5, 2007... Heidi Ancell Troubled architectural SMC Group is "teetering" on the brink of a cash flow crisis, analysts are warning. The company, which in recent months has been forced to shed more than 50 members of staff and close or merge...

Blears calls in Lifschutz's South Bank tower plan.(Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands' controversial 43-storey tower on Doon Street in London's South Bank has been called in by communities secretary Hazel Blears. English Heritage and architects who worked on the neighbouring National Theatre...

New Milton Court tower submitted.(David Walker Architects contracts with Barbican centre)
October 5, 2007... Barbican structure sheds 9 storeys Rory Olcayto David Walker Architects has submitted revised plans for a controversial tower which would involve demolishing the Barbican centre's oldest building. The firm's previous proposal for...

Watford's glass act.
October 5, 2007... Nightingale Associates has won planning permission for this #63 million college in Watford. The 20,000sq m building will provide improved facilities for teaching courses, as well as a nursery and a learning resource centre. A glazed atrium...

Design competition will be held for eco-towns.(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... The government has revealed plans for an international competition to find architects and designers for its 10 proposed eco-towns of up to 20,000 homes. Housing minister Yvette Cooper has signalled that the two-phase contest - to be drawn...

Scars, blots and eyesores.
October 5, 2007... On the eve of the Stirling Prize for best building of the year, we asked you to nominate the UK's worst buildings for BD's Carbuncle Cup. Nearly 400 of you took part in our poll to pick the winner, reports Zoae Blackler 1 Opal Court,...

LETTER: Off colour.(Letter to the editor)
October 5, 2007... Sunand Prasad ("Architecture schools too white in focus" News September 21) is correct, and your readers need look no further than your front cover rendering of Grimshaw's Leningrad airport. There may be a couple of people who are not...

LETTER: Too buttoned up.(Letter to the editor)
October 5, 2007... I was interested to read your editorial comment on Sunand Prasad's view that "ethnic minority students feel shut out". This brought to mind my own experience in studying architecture, and one instance in particular. When a fellow student...

LETTER: Shape up.(Letter to the editor)
October 5, 2007... Perhaps if Marcus Fairs (Opinion September 28) had paid more attention during his maths lessons, he would know that a spherical island is topologically rather tricky. Chris Stone Derby Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

LETTER: Social security.(Letter to the editor)
October 5, 2007... What is most horrific about this new architectural trend of artificial islands is the line of thinking it advocates. A trail of thought that promotes starting from scratch, ignoring everything that has gone before or exists now, is surely...

LETTER: Flushed out.(Letter to the editor)
October 5, 2007... In its unwavering support for Plastik Architects' first public building (Works September 28), Gravesham Borough Council pursued an ambitious design and played a significant part in promoting strong architectural ideas, realised within tight...

CORRECTION: New Islington Tutti Frutti competition.(Correction notice)
October 5, 2007... In our report on the New Islington Tutti Frutti competition last week, the full name of one of the winning entries was Chance de Silva with Patricia Lozano Quintana. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

LETTER: Rubbish is good for Tutti Frutti.(Letter to the editor)
October 5, 2007... Matching the spirit of the Tutti Frutti competition (September 28), Chance de Silva's submission was both playful and serious in that it intends to build the house from reused materials sourced locally. The brief included a very explicit...

OPINION: Is your business really solid as a rock?(Northern Rock PLC)(Viewpoint essay)
October 5, 2007... We would all be well advised to ponder the implications of Northern Rock's recent crisis The FTSE index now stands higher than it did before the credit crunch, symbolised by the queues outside Northern Rock. So can we move on, and get back...

DEBATE: Has the call for eco-towns been thought through?
October 5, 2007... NO Nick Rosen Author How to Live Off-grid If eco-towns are to be more than a marketing strategy, it is essential the designs are all completely off-grid. Also, we still need to know the timescale, and above all, when is a town an...

YAYA 2007: Young, gifted and bright: this year's 20 finalists.(List)
October 5, 2007... Twenty practices have made the next round of this year's Young Architect of the Year Award, of which the judges will interview five before the winner is announced next month. Amanda Baillieu explains the projects that caught the judges' eye,...

YAYA 2007: 10 years of winners.
October 5, 2007... The first BD Young Architect of the Year recently won a #30 million building, while one of the 1999 winners now mostly designs fabrics. A decade on, Ellis Woodman looks at how the various victors have fared Oh God! That does make me feel...

HOW WE CRACKED IT: A ready-made bathing beauty.(Shed KM )
October 5, 2007... The challenge To provide a bath in a very tight and small bathroom The solution Sink the bath into the floor and deck it over Architect: Shed KM Contractor: Off Site Solutions Site: Chimney Pot Park, Salford ...

SOLUTIONS: LEARNING DUTCH.
October 5, 2007... Here's a basic question. It's one of the most densely populated areas in the world, and two-thirds of it is below sea level. What country is it? If you said Holland, you obviously paid attention in class. Given these challenging...

SOLUTIONS: CALCULATING CARBON.
October 5, 2007... Considering specifying a building material but not sure about its CO2 emissions? If so, the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management has developed a free user-friendly carbon calculator to analyse the embodied CO2 in building materials. ...

SOLUTIONS: Working buildings.
October 5, 2007... Working Buildings Week is at Olympia, central London, from October 10- 11. Of particular relevance to architects are the Energy Solutions Expo and the Building Services event. See the full list of events and register at www.twmexpo.com ...

SOLUTIONS: The rules that stop us going for the burn.
October 5, 2007... The London Plan's drive for on-site renewables is laudable, but limiting GREEN PIECES TREVOR BUTLER Now we are entering the beginnings of autumn, it's fair to say that the presence of climate change has been very visible. Our summer...

Post-practical completion I am being squeezed by contractor and client.
October 5, 2007... ASK US A QUESTION Richard Brindley RIBA executive director, professional services Laura Atherton Solicitor, Kennedys, London EC1 I am having difficulty getting the contractor to complete outstanding snagging defects following my...

ROLL ON FRIDAY: 05.10.07.(Jimmy Choo Ltd )(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... `A FORMER DESIGNER AT JIMMY CHOO SPOKE TO US ABOUT SHOE DESIGN' Practice RMJM Location London Size 74 people There is a lot that architects can learn from other professions so once a month we invite speakers over to the...

MY FIRST JOB: Yousef Al-Mehdari.(Personal account)
October 5, 2007... Yousef Al-Mehdari, 23 PKS Architects, London PKS was the first firm to make me a really good offer and it seemed friendly and welcoming, which is really important when you are nervous and want to get something really productive out of...

CULTURE: The other end of infinity.(Donald Judd: Architecture in Marfa, Texas)(Book review)
October 5, 2007... Donald Judd saw the town of Marfa as a perfect stage for his work. Tony McIntyre is impressed with his ambition BOOK DONALD JUDD: ARCHITECTURE IN MARFA, TEXAS Urs Peter FlUckiger Birkhauser, HB, 152pp, #26.90 3/5 ...

HOT TIPS: Crafts work.
October 5, 2007... It is 150 years since the birth of WR Lethaby, architect and founding principal of the Central School of Arts & Crafts. To celebrate, the school is staging Plain, Reasonable and Well Built, named after the challenge Lethaby set his designers....

HOT TIPS: Memory flick.
October 5, 2007... Pavilion is the setting for a film by Fiona Tann, commissioned by the RIBA as part of its occasional series of architecturally inspired work by artists. The central figure, Henry, lives in the building and represents it in his personality -...

HOT TIPS: Treasure trove.
October 5, 2007... In 1857, a temporary pavilion at Old Trafford in Manchester hosted Art Treasures, the biggest art show ever seen in Britain and featuring more than 16,000 exhibits. To celebrate its 150th anniversary, Manchester Art Gallery's exhibition...

CULTURE: Beach with added hutzpah.(Bathing Beauties Festival)
October 5, 2007... Three new beach huts suggest the seaside structure is ripe for reinvention, says Mike Oades EVENT BATHING BEAUTIES FESTIVAL Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire 3/5 What looks like a stripey, tactile pear nestles gently in the sand...

CULTURE: Magnificent Mughals.
October 5, 2007... For three centuries until the 19th, the Mughals dominated the Indian subcontinent with a visual culture rich in geometric decoration and intricate imagery. This beautifully illustrated book provides a thorough look at the artistic and...

THIS WEEK: BIRMINGHAM.
October 5, 2007... The city's neoclassical town hall, based on the Parthenon in Athens and designed by Joseph Hansom, has had a #35 million makeover after spending years on the Buildings At Risk register. Funding allowed council architects to oversee its...

THIS WEEK: BIG BEN.
October 5, 2007... Big Ben is striking again after almost two months of silence. Maintenance workers replaced the parts that operate the hour bell and the clock itself in the final phase of works before its 150th anniversary in 2009. Copyright: CMP...

THIS WEEK: HEATHROW.
October 5, 2007... Consultation on a third runway for the airport is to be launched shortly. Transport minister Ruth Kelly said an extra runway would be "vital to international competitiveness and to British jobs". Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

THIS WEEK: BIRMINGHAM.
October 5, 2007... The city council called on culture secretary James Purnell to issue an immunity from listing notice for its brutalist central library, which has a #20 million repair bill. City chiefs want to knock it down. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

THIS WEEK: GREEN GRANTS.
October 5, 2007... Homeowners are turning their backs on green technology because government grants are proving difficult to obtain, while applicants can now claim only #2,500 towards costs, down from #15,000. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

THIS WEEK: THE THAMES.
October 5, 2007... A damning pollution survey has shown it contains "alarming" levels of stomach-bug-causing bacteria, which could harm athletes training on the river for the 2012 Olympics. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Cabe slams Brum's `vertiplex'.
October 12, 2007... City's aspiration for global status in jeopardy as watchdog joins fray Marguerite Lazell and Will Hurst Plans by Birmingham to join London on the global stage with the help of innovative architecture have suffered a blow after...

Stratford gets a gem of a hotel.
October 12, 2007... Buckley Gray Yeoman has won planning permission for this new hotel on the edge of the Olympic park site in Stratford, east London. The seven-storey Broadway Hotel boasts a contemporary glazed and polished stainless-steel facade, and is...

LEADER: Contractors hold the aces.
October 12, 2007... AMANDA BAILLIEU Clients, or rather a lack of decent ones, are cited as the reason why the UK lags behind the rest of Europe and can't produce buildings like this year's Stirling winner, the chillingly beautiful Museum of Modern Literature....

LEADER: Everyone shares Cullinan's honour.(Ted Cullinan)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Just as the doom-mongers are warning that the Stirling Prize will never be won by a UK building again, the other annual gong - the Royal Gold Medal - has gone to an architect the British can claim as entirely theirs. Ted Cullinan, who has...

LEADER: Brummies - look before you leap.
October 12, 2007... Instead of a new library, Birmingham wants to kick-start the regeneration of the Eastside district of the city centre with a vertical theme park. The tower is not only naff, but once people tire of the rides it offers, what can it become? BD...

IN BRIEF: Park wins place in Bradford's heart.(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Multidisciplinary firm Gillespies has won planning for its #30 million park in the heart of Bradford, which forms part of Will Alsop's masterplan for the city. Gillespies fought off Edaw to win the project last year. The park will include...

IN BRIEF: Heatherwick joins fellowship.(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Designer Thomas Heatherwick and architectural historian Alan Powers are among 10 new RIBA honorary fellows announced this week. The list also included Kensington and Chelsea council deputy leader Daniel Moylan, environmental campaigner...

IN BRIEF: Ally Pally scheme is blocked.(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Plans for a #55 million redevelopment of south-west London's famous Alexandra Palace by Aukett Fitzroy Robinson were blocked by the High Court last week. The scheme, including an exhibition space, 150-bed hotel, cinema, bowling alley, ice...

IN BRIEF: Learn some guerrilla tactics.
October 12, 2007... Places are still available for the RIBA's small practice conference which takes place next week at Portland Place. The one-day event, focusing on sustainability and dubbed Guerrilla Tactics, will feature interactive sessions and information...

IN BRIEF: Inspirational Oswald Ungers dies.(Oswald Mathias Ungers)(Obituary)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Oswald Mathias Ungers, the architect responsible for some of Germany's most important public buildings, has died aged 81. Ungers had set up his own practice in Cologne by the age of 24. Renowned for his use of simple platonic forms - cubes,...

Sustainable code changes under fire.
October 12, 2007... New government guidance on the Code for Sustainable Homes that states schemes cannot use off-site renewable energy could stifle zero-carbon development in urban areas, experts warned this week. The first version of the code, published in...

English Heritage inhot pursuit of cash.
October 12, 2007... Chairman Bruce-Lockhart challenges Purnell to be a "heritage hero" Helen Crump English Heritage's new chairman Sandy Bruce-Lockhart has made an extraordinary plea for more cash, calling on culture secretary James Purnell to "right the...

Contractors pull out of Aquatics bid.
October 12, 2007... The Olympic Delivery Authority has insisted it is unconcerned that only one contractor is now bidding to build Zaha Hadid's landmark Aquatics Centre. Speaking at the London Assembly on Wednesday, ODA chief executive David Higgins strongly...

Blears revives Farrell scheme.(Hazel Blears)(Farrell and Partners)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Communities secretary Hazel Blears has overturned Lambeth Borough Council's decision to refuse planning for the 600-home Founder's Place scheme by Farrell & Partners in south London. The mixed-use scheme, opposite St Thomas's Hospital,...

Forest centre wins PM's Better Building award.(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Dalby Forest Visitor Centre in North Yorkshire, by Bristol-based White Design, has won the 2007 Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award. The centre, for the Forestry Commission, was praised by the judges for its "uncompromising...

Keep `village' of Smithfield, urges Farrell.(Terry Farrell )
October 12, 2007... Heidi Ancell Terry Farrell has launched a fresh attack on a major office scheme by Kohn Pederson Fox Architects for central London's historic Smithfield Market ahead of a public inquiry on the project next month. Speaking at the launch...

FIRST LOOK: King's Cross building signals its intentions.(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Designs by Stanton Williams for the first building within Argent's #2 billion King's Cross masterplan to go on site have been revealed. The #150 million building - a new home for Central St Martin's College of Art & Design - is about to be...

Prospects rise for U2's Dublin hotel by Foster.
October 12, 2007... Controversial plans by Foster & Partners and rock band U2 to revamp one of Dublin's hippest hotels received a boost this week, winning cautious support from city councillors. Dublin City council member Kevin Humphreys (Labour) told BD that...

Royal Gold Medal at last for Cullinan.
October 12, 2007... Will Hurst Architect Ted Cullinan has finally been awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal following a long campaign by his supporters. In one of his first acts as RIBA president, Sunand Prasad - who once worked for Cullinan and has long...

Happy landing for lifeboats.(Bazeley Architects)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Cornwall-based Bazeley Architects has been granted planning permission by East Devon District Council for this #2 million lifeboat station in Exmouth. The 450,000sq m building, for the Royal National Lifeboat Association, will provide a...

Chipperfield beats off Young Vic to take Stirling.(David Chipperfield)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... David Chipperfield's Museum of Modern Literature at Marbach am Neckar, Germany, scooped the #20,000 Stirling Prize last week in a narrow win over Haworth Tompkins Architects' Young Vic theatre. The five members of the Stirling jury - Sunand...

Cafe takes occupation.(Architects in Residence)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Architects in Residence has completed this military-style kiosk, which stands adjacent to the Imperial War Museum in south London's Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park. The #315,000 kiosk, for Southwark Parks Department, contains two public...

Architects eye health bonanza.
October 12, 2007... But report questions future of Lift Helen Crump Architects in England are set to benefit from an expansion of GP premises worth up to #2 billion. An NHS interim report, Our NHS, Our Future, released last week by surgeon and health...

RIBA conference to learn from the movies.
October 12, 2007... Film producer Duncan Kenworthy will give a keynote speech on the second day of this year's RIBA International Conference. Kenworthy, who produced Love Actually, Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral, will address delegates, along...

DEVELOPMENT: Doncaster's new place in history.(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Cartwright Pickard has won planning permission for this #12 million hotel and leisure scheme in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The six-storey scheme incorporates a 118-bed hotel, with 3,000sq m of retail and leisure accommodation for bar and...

HOUSING: Sixty Ikea homes attract 1,000 bids.
October 12, 2007... More than 1,000 hopefuls have applied for 60 properties in the UK's first Ikea housing development last week. Members of the public were invited to put in for the timber-frames houses and flats to be built under the BoKlok scheme pioneered...