Building Design articles from September 2007

Building Design archives from September 2007

BSF boss pledges purge on wasted design work.(Building Schools for the Future )
September 7, 2007... Partnerships for Schools to review procurement process Helen Crump The role of architects in the government's #45 billion Building Schools for the Future programme is to be reviewed, the boss of the organisation delivering it revealed...

South Bank's bright young thing.
September 7, 2007... Haworth Tompkins Architects' striking new neighbourhood centre on London's South Bank has opened its doors to the public. The #9.4 million centre, for developer Coin Street Community Builders, which itself will occupy offices in the...

Say no to clone-town Britain.(Santa Caterina food market)
September 7, 2007... Every market has its unique sights and smells, from the glorious renovated Santa Caterina food market in central Barcelona to the noisy night markets in Chinatowns around the world. Many of us will have visited a market or two over the...

An overdue space for parking.
September 7, 2007... As a hobby, visiting and photographing car parks must rate as pretty odd, even for an architect. But it is an architect who is set to change the way we view this unloved and overlooked building type with a wonderful book, The Architecture of...

IN BRIEF: UDA appeals for collaboration.
September 7, 2007... The Urban Design Alliance has called for greater collaboration between professionals in its announcement of this year's Urban Design Week. The UDA's chairman David Lovie said the government's ambitious plans for urban development made it...

IN BRIEF: Homes and theatre plan approved.
September 7, 2007... Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners has been given the go-ahead for its 44- storey tower in the Elephant & Castle. The development, for First Base, includes 470 residential units, a roof- top garden and a ground level theatre complex for the...

IN BRIEF: Full steam ahead on viaduct listing.
September 7, 2007... Two sections of the former Eastern Counties London Railway viaduct in London's Tower Hamlets have been awarded grade II listed status by architecture minister Margaret Hodge, who described it as a "first- generation railway structure of...

IN BRIEF: #6m agreed for IoW interchange.(Department for Transport contracts with Marks Barfield Architects)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... The Department for Transport has agreed to fund Marks Barfield's #6 million transport interchange building on the Isle of Wight. The interchange at Ryde, which will enable passengers to move between bus, rail and hovercraft services, will...

IN BRIEF: 100 buildings set for energy cuts.(London mayor Ken Livingstone )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... London mayor Ken Livingstone has announced plans to retro-fit more than 100 London government buildings, to make them at least 25% more energy efficient as part of a global agreement with former US president Bill Clinton. An Ojeu notice seeking...

Axed lottery funds could hit Holburne.
September 7, 2007... Bath museum extension at risk as money switches from arts to Olympics Marguerite Lazell Massive cuts to the Heritage Lottery Fund's major project funding could sound the final death knell for Eric Parry's controversial extension to...

Protesters rally to halt Camden plan.
September 7, 2007... Architects led by John McAslan have joined a last-ditch attempt to save Camden's historic Stables Market from a development branded a "nail in the area's coffin". The council-backed proposals, drawn up by ESA Architecture Design for...

Cabe's new faces of commissioning.(Commission for Architecutre and the Built Environment appoints commissioners)(Piers Gough)(Nick Johnson )(Hanif Kara )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Piers Gough, Urban Splash's Nick Johnson and leading engineer Hanif Kara are to become Cabe's latest commissioners. Gough and Kara will start immediately, replacing Dickon Robinson and Louisa Hutton, who stepped down in July, while Johnson...

Foster boldly goes where Branson might end up.(Foster & Partners)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Foster & Partners this week unveiled its competition-winning design for the world's first passenger "space port". Planned for a site in New Mexico, Spaceport will be the base for firms such as Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, offering...

Jersey architects go into bat for gallery.
September 7, 2007... Heidi Ancell Jersey architects risk being denied the chance to design a "national" art gallery planned on the island because of a preference for mainland British firms, the Association of Jersey Architects claimed this week. Patron of...

`Super-compact' budget hotel proposed for Waterloo site.
September 7, 2007... Clash Architects has unveiled its latest Sleeperz hotel, planned for a constrained site near London's Waterloo Station. The scheme, featured in the Away From Home exhibition at New London Architecture, which opened yesterday, is still at an...

Pre-tax profits surge for architects in 2006.(Financial report)
September 7, 2007... Multi-disciplinary practice TP Bennett has become the latest practice to report a surge in its pre-tax profits amid further signs of an unprecedented boom in architectural work. The firm's pre-tax profits reached more than #2.4 million for...

A pier at the 21st century.
September 7, 2007... This weird and wacky design by Aedas director Brian McArthur is one of 10 shortlisted entries in a competition to design a seaside pier for the 21st century. The contest, which aims to find an imaginative and sustainable project that...

Aga Khan win for Foster's Petronas tech university.
September 7, 2007... Rory Olcayto Nine projects from around the world, including one by Britain's Foster & Partners, this week won a share in architecture's biggest prize - the Aga Khan Award. The $500,000 award, which has been running for 30 years and...

THE AGA KHAN AWARD.
September 7, 2007... * The award, funded by the Aga Khan, takes place every three years and recognises projects that address the "needs and aspirations of Muslim societies". * The essence of the awards, according to the Aga Khan, is to "examine, analyse,...

Make and Grimshaw on 2012 handball shortlist.
September 7, 2007... Grimshaw, Make, DRMM and David Morley Architects are among the architects shortlisted for the London 2012 Olympic handball arena. All the architects are working within multi-disciplinary teams. ODA director of design and regeneration...

N Ireland's Cabe vows to fight PFI.
September 7, 2007... Heidi Ancell Northern Ireland's newly established answer to Cabe has vowed to challenge the PFI system and significantly raise architectural quality in the province. In his first comments since taking over as chairman of the...

Homework project.
September 7, 2007... Urban Salon's proposed extension and refurbishment of Falmouth School has granted planning by Cornwall County Council. The #500,000 project - which will create a 95sq m graphics resource room for the design & technology block - is part of...

Dublin Terminal Two all clear for take-off.
September 7, 2007... Planning has been granted for Dublin Airport's #410 million Terminal Two, designed by Pascall & Watson. The 75,000sq m building will stand adjacent to the existing terminal, and is part of a #1.4 billion, 10-year programme to develop the...

President's firm makes its debut.
September 7, 2007... RIBA president Sunand Prasad's practice has unveiled its first monograph, Transformations, which is published this month. The book draws on Penoyre & Prasad's experience of almost 20 years, and includes eight essays, and case studies on 25...

RIBA fears over infrastructure.
September 7, 2007... The RIBA has joined construction industry leaders in calling on planning minister Yvette Cooper to ensure the government's proposed Infrastructure Planning Commission is properly resourced. Nine industry leaders, including RIBA president Sunand...

Urban focus for week of events.
September 7, 2007... Bristol's Architecture Centre has announced talks and exhibitions for this month's Urban Design Week (September 16-22). The main exhibition, Places and Spaces, is a collaboration between the Architecture Centre, the Bristol and Bath branch...

Work starts on new UEA building.(University of East Anglia)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Construction work has begun on a #30 million academic and residential building by LSI Architects at the University of East Anglia. The multi-purpose "international school" will provide lecture theatres, classrooms, IT and science...

Mies house narrowly escapes major flood damage.
September 7, 2007... Will Hurst One of the 20th century's most important buildings, Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House in Illinois, came within half a metre of serious damage in recent flooding. Managers are considering a range of technical measures to...

NEWS ANALYSIS: Buyer legislation appeal rejected.
September 7, 2007... The Home Builders Federation has rejected calls for people buying new homes to be given statutory protection. In its report New Build Housing: Setting the Standard, the National Consumer Council claimed consumers were given more rights when...

NEWS ANALYSIS: Pencil mightier than the mouse.
September 7, 2007... Leading architects from Foster & Partners, Future Systems, Make and Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners will be taking part in a free drawing event on September 30 to encourage people of all ages to ditch the computer mouse in favour of pencil and...

NEWS ANALYSIS: Term begins at the BSF fame academy.(Building Schools for the Future programme )
September 7, 2007... The #45 billion Building Schools for the Future programme has been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Although hailed as the biggest single government investment in school building improvement for over 50 years when launched...

NEWS ANALYSIS: Botanic project shows early shoots.
September 7, 2007... Edward Cullinan Architects' gateway building in Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden has gone on site. The timber, glass and stone structure has a number of sustainable features including a biomass boiler, thermally efficient ETFE roof lights, a...

LETTER: Customer care.(Letter to the editor)
September 7, 2007... Though I disagree with Peter Kellow's arguments against setting up an expert panel to advise the RIBA president when occasionally giving a view on a project (Letters August 31), I understand them. But he also says he has no idea what I...

LETTER: Crying timber.(Letter to the editor)
September 7, 2007... In 2002 I carried out a review of timber's sustainability as a construction material and found it far from "green". The increase in global consumption leads to destructive deforestations in the rainforest, which are responsible for greenhouse...

LETTER: Size matters.(Letter to the editor)
September 7, 2007... Was Mike Macrae (Letters August 24) having a morning moment where he used too much toothpaste, or was he just frothing at the mouth when he made his comments on Robert Adam's views on the Holborne Museum in Bath (Letters August 10)? The...

LETTER: Gallery of shame.(Letter to the editor)
September 7, 2007... I enjoy your archive slot. The August 24 entry shows how right the then- RIBA president Michael Manser was to support ABK's National Gallery extension scheme and how absolutely wrong Prince Charles was to condemn it as a "carbuncle on the face...

LETTER: Summer school could fill gaps.(Letter to the editor)
September 7, 2007... It is now universally accepted that the schools of architecture no longer teach construction and building technology in the way they did, say, 20 years ago. I understand that the main reason is to do with the way university courses are...

OPINION: Save us from a fate worse than Bono.
September 7, 2007... PAUL MORRELL Being honest about the cost of carbon can help the planet and keep the rock stars at bay One of my least favourite cliches du jour is that "buildings are responsible for half of all UK CO2 emissions". This demonising of...

DEBATE: Will redevelopment destroy Camden's boho heritage?(Ron Arad of Ron Arad Associates)(Nic Sampson of ESA Architecture Design)(Discussion)
September 7, 2007... YES Ron Arad Co-founder, Ron Arad Associates I love Camden Market and the locks as it is. I've watched it mushroom over the past 30 years of its own accord without a council planning strategy. It's a bit like a favella because it's...

WORKS: ADJAYE ASSOCIATES - Answering his critics.(Column)
September 7, 2007... With an OBE and a place on last year's Stirling shortlist David Adjaye has a level of fame that could be seen as disproportionate to his achievements. But his latest building, a base for two cultural organisations in east London, should help...

Coming soon from Adjaye Associates.(Stephen Lawrence Centre)(The Museum of Contemporary Art)(The Bernie Grant Arts Centre)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Stephen Lawrence Centre, Deptford This 1,320sq m building houses a range of facilities that are intended to help teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds to gain a foothold in the creative professions. The entrance facade is based on a...

SOLUTIONS: ROOFING - Sky blue heaven.
September 7, 2007... Pascall & Watson Architects took the lead in restoring the spectacular roof at St Pancras International, the new Eurostar terminus for London, writes Will Jones The arches soar high above, forming graceful curves, slender and yet strong...

I wish I'd done that: Alan Williams.
September 7, 2007... ALAN WILLIAMS Savill Building, Windsor Great Park, Berks We are currently designing an ecologically sound supermarket just south of Preston. The development site is very open and flat. In this type of landscape, the roof of the building...

SOLUTIONS: ROOFING - Ups and downs.
September 7, 2007... As Zaha Hadid Architects' Riverside Museum in Glasgow prepares to go on site, Rory Olcayto hears how the roof design evolved over three years When Zaha Hadid presented her competition-winning Riverside Museum for Glasgow City Council even...

SOLUTIONS: ROOFING - Creating the Riverside Skyline.
September 7, 2007... Buro Happold project director Wolf Mangelsdorf describes the roof's structural elements We conceived the structural system at the first meeting we had with the architect. We thought the best solution would be to use the folded planes of...

What can I do about member of staff who is making me feel ill?
September 7, 2007... ASK US A QUESTION Richard Brindley RIBA director of practice Laura Atherton Solicitor, Kennedys, London EC1 I have an employee who is continually going off sick. We keep her on full pay but we are a small firm and I am becoming...

ROLL ON FRIDAY.(Buckley Gray)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... `THE STAFF VOTED FOR A TRIP TO ISTANBUL' Practice Buckley Gray Yeoman Location Shoreditch, London Size 22 people Each year we go abroad on a staff trip which is an opportunity to say thank you to everybody for all their hard...

CULTURE: Parking mad.(Interview)
September 7, 2007... Simon Henley, co-founder of Buschow Henley, is also a car park enthusiast and author of a new book on the subject. Here he explains his love for an underrated building type My love for car parks dates from the late 1970s when, as a child on...

Autumn wonderland.
September 7, 2007... It's showtime. The new season brings a host of major exhibitions, headed by a major retrospective on Richard Rogers at the Pompidou Centre, plus new shows on the Bauhaus and Basil Spence. BD chooses its top 10 Anthony Caro: New Sculptures...

IN BRIEF: SCHOOL DINNERS.
September 7, 2007... School dining halls are set for a makeover after the government urged head teachers to remodel them to ape "designer" restaurants in the latest attempt to encourage healthy eating amongst obesity-prone kids. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd....

IN BRIEF: MANCHESTER'S VICTORIA BATHS.
September 7, 2007... The grade II listed building, a winner in BBC 2's Restoration series, has again been boosted by the power of the Beeb after fans of retro series Life On Mars enjoyed a tour of the baths alongside other key filming locations. Copyright: CMP...

IN BRIEF: SUBURBS.
September 7, 2007... Campaigners led by London's Barnet Council have accused Gordon Brown of starving the suburbs of more than #1 billion of investment. The group claims tax revenue is being unfairly channelled into urban regeneration projects. Copyright: CMP...

IN BRIEF: LUNDY ISLAND.
September 7, 2007... The 4.8km-long island of Lundy in the Bristol Channel faces the loss of all its 29 permanent residents if owner the National Trust fails to raise #250,000 for emergency repairs to damaged roads. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Tories court architects for `green revolution'.
September 14, 2007... Will Hurst The Conservative Party will give architects a seat at the political top table if it wins the next general election. Under plans for a "green revolution" set out in the Tories' Quality of Life policy report, seen by BD ahead...

Public feels powerless over design.(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... A shocking eight out of 10 adults in the UK feel powerless to influence the design of buildings and public spaces in their area, BD can exclusively reveal. A YouGov survey of more than 2,000 people across Britain for Open House London...

Marks Barfield lets the light shine in Woking.(Marks Barfield Architects)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... Marks Barfield's #7 million Lightbox museum and arts gallery in Woking, Surrey, opens its doors to the public tomorrow. The three-storey building, which includes a huge glass-and-light installation that monitors the number of people...

LEADER: Tories seize the green agenda.
September 14, 2007... AMANDA BAILLIEU The Tories are trying hard to grab the green initiative, but the public remains unconvinced it is being heard At times you need to pinch yourself that the Quality of Life report is a Tory document. As well as some...

LEADER: RMJM goes back for more.
September 14, 2007... After years in the firing line over the Scottish parliament, RMJM must have hoped that never again would it be involved in a building project that caused quite so much negative publicity, though of course the architecture of the parliament was...

IN BRIEF: New home start-ups drop in 2007.
September 14, 2007... Fewer new houses started in 2007 compared to previous years, new figures show. DCLG statistics reveal that building began on 86,269 properties in the first six months of this year, compared with 95,415 in the equivalent period in 2006 - a...

IN BRIEF: Edaw promotes Prior to president.(Jason Prior)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... Edaw director and Olympic masterplanner Jason Prior is to be promoted to president of the firm next month. Prior, who has served on the Edaw international board of directors for the past 10 years, trained as a landscape architect. He described...

IN BRIEF: Ken vetoes London Arena scheme.(SOM)(Ken Livingstone)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... London mayor Ken Livingstone has ordered Tower Hamlets council to refuse planning permission for SOM's 150,000sq m mixed-use project on the London Arena site. The eight-building scheme, for Ballymore London Arena Ltd, would provide over...

IN BRIEF: Muf puts recycling folly on show.
September 14, 2007... Muf has revealed images of its 7m-high folly made from reclaimed building materials, which will mark the completion of its new public square in Barking, east London. The structure, named the Secret Garden, forms the fourth elevation of the...

IN BRIEF: Have you got what it takes?(Editorial)
September 14, 2007... Is your practice a key player on the world stage? Does it produce agenda-setting work in a sector deserving of special recognition? If the answer to either question is yes, then you should apply to become part of the BD World Architecture...

Tonkin Liu's Tree leads award list.(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... Tonkin Liu's controversial Singing Ringing Tree is one of five projects shortlisted for this year's Stephen Lawrence Prize, the RIBA award that encourages young practices working on projects with budgets of under #1 million. The other...

Furious Russians take to streets over RMJM tower.
September 14, 2007... St Petersburg's famous skyline is under threat, claim objectors Rory Olcayto Thousands of Russian citizens took to the streets of St Petersburg last weekend in an unprecedented protest against British-designed proposals for the...

Rebuilding Ground Zero.(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners revealed images of its tower for the World Trade Centre site, as New York marked the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The designs, which show the building at street level, were unveiled last...

Dump iconic building says A&DS.(Architecture & Design Scotland)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... Architecture & Design Scotland has told BDP to ditch an "iconic building" planned as part of its scheme to extend a Glasgow shopping centre. The watchdog's design review panel added that BDP had not taken on board many concerns raised in a...

Birmingham axes Cottrell & Vermeulen library design.
September 14, 2007... Will Hurst Award-winning architect Cottrell & Vermeulen has attacked former client Birmingham City Council after it scrapped plans for the practice's Birchfield Library. Director Richard Cottrell revealed the innovative #6 million...

Ink Design proposes timber-clad showroom for furniture maker.
September 14, 2007... Glasgow practice Ink Design has applied for planning permission to create this striking timber showroom for a furniture designer in the city, which would be suspended above his workshop. The 78sq m extension would boast a fully glazed...

While city reveals #2.9bn BSF shortlist.(Building Schools for the Future)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... An impressive shortlist of architects bidding for England's biggest- ever Building Schools for the Future programme, in Birmingham, has been revealed. The shortlist for the #2.9 billion programme includes Fat, DSDHA, SMC Alsop, Glenn...

Northern renaissance.(contracts of HKR Architects and Artisan Property Group)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... HKR Architects has beaten competition from Glenn Howells and Studio Egret West to convert a former warehouse and brewery in Salford into this mixed-use development. The Brown Brothers building, for development and construction specialist...

UK's lack of planning vision `tragic' says Farrell.(Conference notes)
September 14, 2007... Marguerite Lazell Britain's planning system suffers from a "tragic" lack of vision, according to Terry Farrell. Speaking at a Thames Gateway seminar organised by David Morley Architects last week, Farrell also clashed with the chief...

Record masterplan for Edinburgh docks.
September 14, 2007... RMJM has submitted Edinburgh's largest-ever planning application, for client Forth Ports, with proposals that aim to reconnect the Scottish capital to its long forgotten waterfront. The masterplan drawn up by the firm will see 144ha of...

Home on the plane.(Stock Woolstencroft completes its residential project)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... Work on this #7 million, mixed-tenure residential project by Stock Woolstencroft in London's Canning Town, is now complete. The scheme, for One Housing Group, which is the first phase of a larger development by the practice, has three...

Polyclinics could herald NHS building boom.
September 14, 2007... Helen Crump Architects could be set to enjoy a boom in small health commissions after an NHS review recommended the construction of at least 150 new polyclinics. The clinics, some of which would be new build, would replace GP...

Cross-party group to look at new housing.(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... MPs have launched an inquiry into how the 3 million homes planned for 2020 by prime minister Gordon Brown will be delivered. Parliament's Urban Development Group will make recommendations to the government on how housing quality and supply...

OLYMPICS: Children asked for Velopark designs.
September 14, 2007... The Olympic Delivery Authority has launched a competition for school children to come up with designs for the Velopark. Pupils are invited to submit designs in the form of paintings, drawings, photos, computer images and films for a project...

COMPETITION: Photo challenge deadline nears.(Editorial)
September 14, 2007... The closing date of the Zumtobel Lighting Photographic Competition is approaching, with disposable cameras due to be returned by October 1. This is the 11th year of the contest in which entrants submit an unprocessed disposable camera, only...

REGENERATION: Cambridge seeks views on housing.
September 14, 2007... Regeneration agency Cambridgeshire Horizons has begun a public consultation on a draft plan to improve housing quality in the Cambridge sub-region. The Quality Charter for Growth aims to improve the standard of new housing developments and...

DEVELOPMENT: Levitt Bernstein reveals Jewish community centre.(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... Levitt Bernstein Associates has unveiled designs for its proposed flagship building for charity Jewish Care, planned for London's Golders Green. The scheme would provide a community centre for the elderly, a 54-bed nursing and dementia...

Bus shelter competition after hi-tech design ditched.
September 14, 2007... Heidi Ancell Design for London has won a major victory in its battle to transform the capital's public realm with the launch of a competition to redesign its 12,000 bus shelters. The contest, launched by sister organisation Transport...

LETTER: Regional demand.(Letter to the editor)
September 14, 2007... It must be galling for the RIBA to see the scale of government funding paid to Cabe to perform a function which should have been kept in-house (News August 31). The RIBA's plans for a watchdog role hint that, after eight years, the penny...

LETTER: Spaced out.(Letter to the editor)
September 14, 2007... Will Hurst suggests the RIBA should focus its attention on housing and climate change as the key issues of the day (Leader August 31), but there is little point in doing so if it continues to ignore the fundamental cause of the housing crisis,...

LETTER: Credit control.(Letter to the editor)
September 14, 2007... It was disingenuous of Pascall & Watson and the Ingram Consultancy to attempt to steal the limelight on St Pancras International (Solutions September 7). Their joint role in the project has been much less significant than they might wish others...