Building Design articles from September 2006

Building Design archives from September 2006

Regulations rejected.
September 1, 2006... Exclusive survey: two in three architects believe building control damages design quality Will Hurst The degree of architects' frustration with the red tape strangling the profession is revealed for the first time this week. A survey...

Castleford TV show on hold.
September 1, 2006... Eager viewers will have to wait until autumn 2007 to discover when Channel 4's groundbreaking Castleford project, the world's first televised regeneration scheme, will be screened. The Talkback-produced show presented by Grand Designs'...

Pushing the envelope.
September 1, 2006... Work has begun on Ron Arad Associates' Design Museum in the Holon, close to Tel Aviv in Israel. Arad was commissioned to design the museum as part of the city's continuing development of an educational and cultural hub. It will be Israel's...

IN BRIEF: SMC Group Results.(behometh SMC Group )(Financial report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The behometh SMC Group has announced another set of stellar results, including a 108% increase in turnover to #11.3 million, and a 105% increase in profit, to #6.1 million, in the six months to 30 June. Chief executive Stewart McColl said it...

IN BRIEF: City and Guilds Survey.
September 1, 2006... The building industry spends less than any other on training, according to a survey by City & Guilds. The organisation warned it could "seriously impact on the UK's economy". Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: Squire and Partners proposals.
September 1, 2006... Squire & Partners has submitted proposals to Islington Council for a 42-storey tower at Old Street in London. The proposed tower, for London Merchant Securities, is one element of a larger mixed use development due to complete in 2010. ...

IN BRIEF: Urban Initiatives.(Brighton and Hove city council has appointed Urban Initiatives )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Brighton & Hove city council has appointed Urban Initiatives to carry out a regeneration study of London Road and Lewes Road in Brighton. The study area contains many listed buildings but suffers from heavy traffic and poor environmental...

Rival building methods face time and cost test.(Department for Communities and Local Government)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Ellen Bennett Modern and traditional methods of construction are set to go head to head for the first time in a government-funded project to find out which are really the cheapest and quickest. The Smart Life project, backed by the BRE...

IN BRIEF: Cabe appointments.
September 1, 2006... Cabe has appointed a replacement for Julia Thrift, former director of Cabe Space, who resigned earlier this year (News June 9). Sarah Gaventa joins from creative consultancy Scarlet Projects. Cabe has also appointed Jonathan Davis, currently...

IN BRIEF: HBF responds to government futures.
September 1, 2006... Developers must be allowed to build on greenfield land, according to the Home Builders Federation, responding to government figures showing that brownfield land could accommodate 1 million new homes. HBF chief executive Stewart Baseley said:...

IN BRIEF: Construction Industry health and safety.
September 1, 2006... The construction industry must improve health and safety, said Health & Safety Executive chief inspector of construction, Stephen Williams. "We are still killing more than one person per week and my challenge to the industry is to get below...

Are you cool or just off the wall?
September 1, 2006... Are you brave enough to take part in the next Cool Wall contest? BD and the organisers of the 100% Detail exhibition are looking for workplace projects for inclusion in a quick-fire public debate later this month. The designers of the best...

EP super-panel is ticket for work.(public sector work in the country)
September 1, 2006... Big name firms dominate English Partnerships' four-year framework deal, amid claims of lack of diversity Will Hurst Some of the biggest names in architecture including Terry Farrell, Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands and HOK have secured...

Vox pop: Experts pick their Stirling favourites.
September 1, 2006... Last week, BD revealed the six shortlisted contenders for this years Stirling Prize: Evelina Children's Hospital by Hopkins Architects; Phaeno Science Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects; the National Assembly for Wales by the Richard Rogers...

CLM scoops Olympic delivery partner role.
September 1, 2006... The Olympic Delivery Authority has appointed the CLM consortium as its preferred delivery partner for the 2012 Olympic Games. The consortium, which comprises CH2M Hill, Laing O'Rourke and Mace, was appointed on "affordability grounds". ...

Planning without a handicap.
September 1, 2006... Planning has been granted for a private house overlooking the RAC Club's golf course, designed by Eldridge Smerin. The house, named Deodar after the mature cedar trees in and around the site, has views across the North Surrey Downs from two...

IN BRIEF: Are you going to Scarborough?
September 1, 2006... Transport minister Gillian Merron has approved #30 million worth of transport improvement works for Scarborough, North Yorkshire. There will be a 2.7-mile bypass on the A165 approach to the town, two park- and-ride facilities, and an urban...

IN BRIEF: Energy awards.
September 1, 2006... More than #140,000 is up for grabs in the 2007 Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy. Entries are welcome from any UK scheme that generates renewable energy or reduces energy demand. The schemes must demonstrate significant CO2 savings and be...

IEF: Biennale blog.
September 1, 2006... The Architecture Foundation and New York's Museum of Modern Art's Department of Architecture & Design are hosting a SuperBlog from the Venice Biennale from September 6. It will feature interviews with architects, podcasts and photodiaries. Go...

Lipton knocks RIBA after Pringle's jab at developers.
September 1, 2006... Marguerite Lazell Developer Stuart Lipton has vented his frustrations with the RIBA - and in particular, with president Jack Pringle - in the pages of the Times. Responding to a letter in which Pringle partially blamed developers for the...

Brockley house cloaked in camouflage.(bedroomed house)
September 1, 2006... Just 2.8m across at its narrowest point, the site of a new one- bedroomed house, designed by Mangera Yvars Architects, posed a huge challenge for the architects. The scheme is for a narrow infill space currently occupied by a single-...

Gallery competitions for sites in Kent and Cyprus.
September 1, 2006... The RIBA has launched two competitions to find architects for a #2.74 million development of the Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery and for a new #8 million art gallery in Cyprus. The East Wing Development Project is the second phase of...

IN BRIEF: Gold standard.(South East Centre of the Built Environment )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Business Link, the Chartered Institute of Building and the South East Centre of the Built Environment have jointly won European Social Funding for the Bidding for Gold programme. This helps small and medium sized enterprises form consortiums to...

IN BRIEF: High flyers.
September 1, 2006... Architects Design Group has submitted plans for Plymouth's tallest building - the 24-storey, 74m-high Horizons tower - to the city council. The 900sq m site would include 396 flats plus two commercial units. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd....

IN BRIEF: Victorian values.
September 1, 2006... A 260-home development by Bellway Homes and English Partnerships has been approved by Ashford Borough Council for a 1.4ha site on Victoria Road near the International Passenger Station. Houses will be 20% affordable and built to an Eco Homes...

Mix and match.(facilities of food store )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has submitted a planning application to the London Borough of Bexley for this mixed-use scheme on the high street at Welling in Kent. The application, for Retail Development Partnership, comprises a 7,000sq m anchor...

Scots row over arena rethink.
September 1, 2006... Costs rocket on expanded scheme James Rose One of the consultants on the bedevilled Wembley Arena, SportsConcepts, has found itself embroiled in a political storm north of the border after Glasgow City Council sent it back to the...

As masterplan gets the green light.(Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... New Edinburgh-based practice Draw has received outline planning permission for its 100,000sq m sustainable urban village next to the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre (SECC) on the River Clyde in Glasgow. The scheme, for...

IN BRIEF: Wind of change.
September 1, 2006... HKR Architects is to lead the development of the Windmill site in Dublin's Digital Hub. The scheme to create a mixed-use centre involves redeveloping 18th and 19th century industrial buildings, including Europe's largest surviving smock...

IN BRIEF: Home help.
September 1, 2006... Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation, has called for action to create more affordable housing for first time buyers. "It is paramount sufficient land is brought forward through the planning system," he said. ...

IN BRIEF: Water mark.
September 1, 2006... Nominations are invited for the 2007 Waterways Renaissance Awards. The awards mark best practice in sustainable waterway development and regeneration in the UK. Contact the Waterways Trust or the British Urban Regeneration Association. ...

Anger as Bristol council scraps framework.
September 1, 2006... James Rose Architects in Bristol have condemned their city council after it took applications for an architects framework but cancelled the scheme a month later. The council issued a 26-page questionnaire via the Ojeu process, which...

Flexible friend.(bai's Chamber of Commerce and Industry)(international practice Gensler)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The latest addition to Dubai's Chamber of Commerce & Industry headquarters is designed by international practice Gensler. The 140,000sq m scheme features two towers of 27 and 21 storeys, with a multi-purpose hall, car parking, and a bridge that...

Local group backs Sloane Square plans.(Sloane Square for All)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Plans by Stanton Williams Architects to transform London's Sloane Square have been boosted by a new action group in favour of the radical proposals. Tory peer and local resident Anthony Colwyn said the "Sloane Square for All" group would...

Park Royal warns off housebuilders.(London's largest industrial park have pledged to protect their land )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The managers of London's largest industrial park have pledged to protect their land from the encroaching demands of housebuilders. Jackie Sadek, chief executive of Park Royal Partnership, has accused housebuilders of attempting to change...

East Midlands: Will Cinderhill go to the ball?(mixed-use development at Cinderhill in Derbyshire)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Plans for a #65 million mixed-use development at Cinderhill in Derbyshire have been submitted to Amber Valley Borough Council. The scheme, masterplanned by Aedas Architects for Banks Developments, would create 300 new homes, 125,000sq m of...

East Midlands: Trent course.
September 1, 2006... Nottingham Trent University is launching an architecture course. The bachelor of architecture (hons) course will offer a range of expertise, and will begin with an intake of 25 students. Meanwhile, Lincoln School of Architecture hopes to do...

East Midlands: Award shortlist.(Ibstock East Midlands Awards)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Eleven buildings have made the shortlist for the RIBA: Ibstock East Midlands Awards. They include three Nottingham buildings - Bilborough College's new Sixth Form by CPMG and two buildings in the city by Marsh Grochowski Architects. Also...

East Midlands: Hospital approved.
September 1, 2006... The West Northamptonshire Development Corporation has approved plans for a #35 million PFI hospital project in Duston. The scheme, designed by multidisciplinary practice Watkins Grey International, comprises a 135-bed mental health facility and...

East Midlands: Leicester science park.(science park in Leicester designed by Warwick)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Details of a #17 million science park in Leicester designed by Warwick- based SMC Corstorphine & Wright have been revealed. The 11,000sq m project, for developer Cresswell Estates, is intended to provide purpose-built research, development and...

East Midlands: Part L seminar.
September 1, 2006... RIBA East Midlands is to hold a seminar this month on Part L of the building regulations. The event, on September 13 from 2pm , will look at a range of issues including changing attitudes towards sustainability and how methods of compliance...

East Midlands: Lincoln revs its engine.
September 1, 2006... The University of Lincoln's new entertainment venue, the Engine Shed, opens in two weeks. The 2,400 capacity venue, designed by the university's UL practice, will host rock band Embrace on its opening night on September 18. Copyright: CMP...

Investment boost for Central Spine.
September 1, 2006... Manchester development re-energised by deal James Rose Ask Developments' plans for its prominent Central Spine site in Manchester have been re-energised by a partnership with US investment bank Morgan Stanley. Having lost...

BD lists top global players.
September 1, 2006... The search is on to fill next year's prestigious World Architecture 200 list. BD's global survey, which ranks firms by the number of fee-earning architects, was topped this year by HOK International with 919 architects, and included a wide...

This year's remodel.(Spratley Architects)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Oxfordshire practice Spratley Architects has completed the remodelling of this former 1970s office building at Milton Park in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The #1.2 million project for MEPC UK involved removing the steel framed pitched roof and...

LETTER: Stop whingeing at assembly building.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Tony Morgan, west Wales You are at it again, in your front page on the Stirling shortlist, whingeing that the National Assembly for Wales building "cost three times its original budget" and was late in completion. All true yes, but...

LETTER: Stirling retort.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Chris Teague, Cardiff I see you have used the nomination of the Welsh Assembly Building as yet another opportunity to take a swipe at Wales. The only reason that we are supposedly "traditionally associated with mediocre architecture' is...

LETTER: Silver service.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Andris Berzins, London I was amazed by last week's front page article "Prescott's #60k house fades to grey", which shows both bias and a tendency to score cheap points. Clearly one can presume that the cedar boards on the show house did...

LETTER: Fashion victim.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Rob Lewis, East Horsley The consequences of using untreated cedar are coming home to roost. BD is a good fashion mag for lifting styles that are upcoming and the use of cedar is now widespread. You generally show cedar clad buildings...

LETTER: Weather the storm.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Paul OConnell, Manchester So, Prescott should be embarrassed because the #60,000 cedar-clad house suffered "damage" by fading to grey? I thought natural weathering and fading to grey was part of the point of specifying it in the first...

LETTER: Political vacuum.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Ron Heath, Loughton Having returned from holiday, I have just read reports on the number of votes Peter Phillips received in the RIBA presidential election. Chris Nasah, commenting on the result, says that: "There is an element of...

Eric Parry is not a judge for the Stirling Prize 2006.
September 1, 2006... Eric Parry is not a judge for the Stirling Prize, as reported in last week's BD. The judges are: Mariella Frostrup, broadcaster; Martha Schwartz, landscape architect; Stefan Behnisch, architect; Isabel Allen, editor of the Architects' Journal;...

A sentence in last week's Soapbox - inadvertently cut.(Correction notice)
September 1, 2006... A sentence in last week's Soapbox was inadvertently cut. It should have read:"The 84% of Britons who live in the suburbs, or 63% if you don't count Georgian and Victorian peripheries of metropolitan areas, are hopelessly in need of a...

Editorial: Amanda Baillieu - Fear of the future is Betjeman's legacy.(Editorial)
September 1, 2006... Should John Betjeman be remembered for saving St Pancras and the Albert Bridge rather than his poetry? As Betjemania reaches its climax this week it has been difficult to escape the feeling that, poet or pundit, he was one of those national...

Soapbox: Rob MacDonald - Heritage site has great modern hope.
September 1, 2006... I have just moved into a new office, looking west, over Liverpool, European Capital of Culture 2008. I can see most of the panorama of the River Mersey and the Irish Sea. The clouds are rolling in over the Liver Buildings, Albert Dock, new...

Works: Holy order.
September 1, 2006... St George's Bloomsbury has suffered radical alterations through the ages, but now it has been painstakingly returned to Hawksmoor's original vision, writes Gavin Stamp. Photos by Sarah Duncan Half a century has passed since Christ Church...

Solutions: How we cracked it.(fixing bulging concrete)
September 1, 2006... The challenge: To remediate a crucial concrete pour that had gone wrong The solution: Removing the bulging facing concrete to achieve a straight face and re-pouring with a special mix Architect: Greenway & Lee Architects ...

Conservation's Antarctic role.(Robert Falcon Scott's hut)
September 1, 2006... After nearly 100 years, Captain Scott's expedition hut is to be restored. Amanda Birch reports Antarctica buffs will not have been impressed by BBC2's decision to recreate the famous 1910-1913 Scott-Amundsen race to the South Pole in...

Culture: China syndrome.
September 1, 2006... Exhibition, seminar and workshop on the work of British architects and engineers in China including Arup, Alsop, Foster and Farrell. China fortnight: sustainable building in China, September 11-22, RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London. Tel: 020 7580...

Bureau of change.
September 1, 2006... Latest developments in workplace design and technology are explored in The office: London's workspace, until October 28, New London Architecture, The Building Centre, 26 Store Street, London. Tel: 020 7636 4044. Copyright: CMP Information...

Culture: Riches from the Orient.
September 1, 2006... Oriental culture's huge influence on design and decoration in 17th and 18th century Europe is explored in the exhibition Chinoiserie, until November 26 at The Fan Museum, 12 Crooms Hill, Greenwich, London. Tel: 020 8305 1441. Copyright:...

Culture: Betjeman's first love.(First and Last Loves: John Betjeman and Architecture)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... On the centenary of John Betjeman's birth, Ken Powell reassesses his impact on the world of architecture Riding in a taxi across Waterloo Bridge in the winter of 1973-74, John Betjeman gasped at a beautiful view of a snow-white tower and a...

Venice is a window to the world.(Event overview)
September 1, 2006... Just ahead of the 2006 Venice Architecture Biennale, Peter Murray looks back at the event's history and explains why it remains so important today The first Venice Biennale was held in 1895 as a celebration of decorative crafts; in the...

Culture vulture: Tony Kettle.(Interview)
September 1, 2006... How would you spend your day indulging in cultural pursuits? I would lock myself in the Filmhouse in Edinburgh, watching films that stretch the brain and assault the senses. The first scenes from Blue Velvet where an ear is found in the...

The theme of the 2006 Biennale.
September 1, 2006... The theme of the 2006 Biennale is Cities: Architecture and Society. Neutral's video installations, evoking 3D flights over the cityscapes of London, Los Angeles, Cairo, Caracas and Tokyo, will be a prominent part of the main exhibition in the...

Forget Blair's babes, now it's Tony's towers.(Tony Blair)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Tony Blair once tried to give Labour a new image by favouring women MPs - now he's trying to ensure his image endures by finding 20 buildings for which he can take credit. A memo leaked this week reveals his aides believe he should visit...

Gateway boss out the door.(Jeff Channing left the Department for Communities and Local Government)
September 8, 2006... Ellen Bennett The civil servant in charge of the Thames Gateway has left the Department for Communities & Local Government by "mutual consent" as the government attempts to breathe life into the flagging project. Jeff Channing,...

Brits at the Biennale.(Venice Biennale)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... All eyes in architecture were focused on the Venice Biennale as the great and the good of the profession packed up and flew out for the opening weekend. The 2006 Biennale, curated by Ricky Burdett, runs from September 10 to November 19 and...

IN BRIEF: Project Orange planning permission.(Project Orange has won planning permission for its new mixed-use building )(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Project Orange has won planning permission for its new mixed-use building in Sheffield. The Spacepad is located within the cultural Devonshire quarter of the city, on a route connecting the city centre with the university and residential...

IN BRIEF: Urgent action needed.
September 8, 2006... If London's suburbs were apples, many of them would be bruised and past their sell-by-dates, according to Nicholas Falk, director of the Urban and Economic Development Group. Speaking at a London Assembly meeting, he said that urgent action was...

IN BRIEF: Miller Consortium appointed.(Leicester City Council)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Miller Consortium, working with BDP, has been appointed preferred bidder for Leicester's #235 million Building Schools for the Future programme. It will now form a Local Education Partnership with Leicester City Council, with work on the four...

IN BRIEF: Massive vote of confidence.(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... The Milton Keynes voluntary sector has received a massive vote of confidence from Milton Keynes Partnership, with the handover of almost #1 million. The funding will come from the Milton Keynes Infrastructure Tariff, an arrangement that allows...

Conservation register ruling angers critics.
September 8, 2006... Marguerite Lazell The controversial RIBA register of Architects Accredited in Building Conservation is here to stay following a landmark decision from the Office of Fair Trading. The AABC, which has been slammed by small practitioners...

IN BRIEF: 48m-long mural.(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Turner Prize finalist Ian Davenport has created a 48m-long mural under the Western Bridge on Southwark Street as part of a regeneration project commissioned by Land Securities and Southwark Council. Poured Lines, unveiled this week, is one of...

IN BRIEF: Conservative Party housing policy.
September 8, 2006... The Conservative Party this week put "freedom for professionals" such as architects at the heart of its emerging housing policy. A document from the party's Public Service Improvement Policy Group argued that professionals' commitment to local...

IN BRIEF: Elizabeth Gaskell's home.(maintenance and repair of historically important buildings)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... News that Elizabeth Gaskell's Manchester home has received English Heritage funding for emergency repairs has been welcomed by the Victorian Society, which hopes it will herald a similar change of fortunes for Undershaw, the much neglected home...

All rosy in the garden for design winners.(awards for architects)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Gustafson Porter and Wilkinson Eyre with Bath-based practice Grant Associates have won a landmark competition to design three large waterfront parks in Marina Bay, Singapore. The practices saw off competition from some of the world's...

Delays and #7m in costs hit FOA's Ravensbourne College.
September 8, 2006... Will Hurst Foreign Office Architects' most exciting British project to date has had to be scaled down because of major delays and construction inflation. Plans for a #50 million landmark building close to the Millennium Dome in...

Gherkin's new neighbour.(contracts)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Allies & Morrison inadvertently gave a sneak preview of a new tower next to the Gherkin with this model display in its office window. The 43-storey City tower, just minutes away from 30 St Mary Axe, will be entered for planning in "the next...

Stanton Williams wins Centre Point competition.(awards for Architect Stanton Williams)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Architect Stanton Williams has won the competition to create a new "Gateway to the West End" beneath London's famous Centre Point tower. Director of culture and environment at Camden Council, Peter Bishop, revealed the firm has been...

Doctoring the docks.
September 8, 2006... Masterplanner Broadway Malyan has unveiled proposals for Wirral Waters, which it claims is the largest regeneration project in the country. The #4.5 billion waterside regeneration scheme, for Peel Holdings, will see the transformation of...

IN BRIEF: Major operation.
September 8, 2006... Sheffield architect Race Cottam Associates has designed three operating theatres for the city's children's hospital in a multi-million-pound scheme. The theatres and a new day-care facility have been completed ahead of time and were handed over...

IN BRIEF: Kids' stuff.
September 8, 2006... Lathams will redevelop the National Trust Museum of Childhood at Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire. It will work with Haley Sharpe Design on the #1.1 million project. The 17th century building, which was used in the BBC's Pride and Prejudice, will be...

IN BRIEF: Digging the digs.
September 8, 2006... A scheme for new student accommodation at Atlantic College has been granted planning by the Vale of Glamorgan Council. The Latitude Architects project will create a 891sq m student pavilion with a triple- height galleried hallway, with views...