18 November 2011
Building
View all stories from this issue.
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£650m Crossrail station contracts awarded
23 Nov 11
Organisation names joint ventures for huge Whitechapel and Farringdon station contracts
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Adjudication: More than the final whistle
18 November 2011
If an adjudicator fails to decide who owes who what money, you’ll still have to pay up for all the refereeing they’ve done
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Affordable housing starts fall 97%
23 Nov 11
Labour hits out at figures showing impact of Coalition cuts to social housing
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Arts-led regeneration projects: Join the culture club
18 November 2011
These days museums, art galleries and concert halls are built not for their own sake but in the hope they can transform deprived urban wastelands into vibrant communities. Ike Ijeh looks at the resounding successes - and some abject failures
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Austin-Smith:Lord decides to close Abu Dhabi office
17 Nov 11
Move comes as architect, rated UK’s sixth largest in 2010 by Building, fights insolvency threat
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BDP to design £14m Essex business school
24 Nov 11
Architect unveils visualisations of timber frame complex
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Bethnal Green project scoops RICS project of the year award
24 Oct 11
Town Hall Hotel and Apartments scheme by Rare Architecture and contractor MP Brothers wins highest honour
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Boris: “Help me make Croydon great again”
22 Nov 11
London mayor calls for investors as City Hall injects £23m cash into the riot-hit area
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BPF calls for government help for build-to-let
22 Nov 11
Property lobby body says more work needed beyond housing strategy
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Commercial Offices Index: Offices construction hit by eurozone crisis
18 November 2011
October saw the commercial offices index fall by 9%
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Construction and the eurozone: It’s 2008 all over again
18 November 2011
It’s already difficult enough securing finance for UK construction projects, but the eurozone crisis threatens to do away with long-term project lending altogether?
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Construction and the eurozone: Make it happen
18 November 2011
?The eurozone is in a mess, but then again so is the UK economy. What we need is to invest in design-led manufacturing so we earn a reputation for excellence
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Consultants and clients appointments: 17 November 2011
17 Nov 11
Keppie Design, Boultbee and Patronus Consulting have all made new appointments
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Country focus: China
18 November 2011
China’s GDP outstrips almost everyone else’s, but, says Philip Darby from EC Harris, there are concerns about inflation, bank lending, house prices and construction safety
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CPA calls for public service cuts to fund construction
22 Nov 11
Products manufacturers say next week’s autumn statement needs to stimulate the economy
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CPA/Barbour ABI Index: Decline in contract awards accelerates
18 November 2011
Economic gloom cast a shadow over most sectors in October
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Crest boss warns of NPPF delay
18 November 2011
Stone said that a serious delay would be a ‘tragedy’ for the UK economy
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Crossrail tenders £35m Custom House job
16 Nov 11
East-west London rail link puts latest station job out to market
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David Cameron opens Foster’s McLaren factory
18 Nov 11
£40m facility will manufacture high-performance sports cars
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Disclosure of Incentives Forms: A help or a hindrance?
18 November 2011
From October new rules require housebuilders to make lenders aware of incentives offered to buyers - the idea is to ensure a mortgage offer is based on a true valuation of a property
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EC Harris appoints in the US
4 Nov 11
Consultant takes on new head of oil and gas in the region
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Floating high in Malaysia: Angkasa Raya tower
18 November 2011
Ole Scheeren’s 268m tall tower will have three cubic ‘floating’ shafts
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Former Mace bosses set up own construction firm
18 November 2011
Ian Eggers and Bob White have joined forces with architect Gareth Stapleton for PM company
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Give Highways Agency greater independence, review recommends
24 Nov 11
Greater commercial focus and changes to governance structure are the key to delivering savings, report says
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Glazing over
18 November 2011
Thanks to Martin Szajnar for sending in this snap - although he might want to give it to the local neighbourhood watch. As he points out: “Any more pressure and he’ll be done for breaking and entering.”
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Government announces £200m Green Deal boost
24 Nov 11
Danny Alexander tells today’s NHBC annual lunch that money will help incentivise flagship scheme
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Government commits £400m to boost housebuilding
21 Nov 11
Government will also guarantee part of risk of first time buyer mortgages in bid to kickstart housing market
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Government infrastructure push hit by eurozone fallout
18 November 2011
Whitehall looks to pension funds for project financing as banks withdraw long-term lending
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Government to offer £50bn of work online
21 Nov 11
Plans to move procurement online come as part of a radical shake-up of the public sector procurement process
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Grass is greener: Hab Oakus' housing project complete
18 November 2011
The Triangle, a £4.2m social housing project by Hab Oakus, the development company spearheaded by Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud, is complete and fully inhabited. The Swindon scheme comprises 42 eco-homes built around a “village green”. The project was designed by Glenn Howells Architects and built by Willmott Dixon.
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Gratte Brothers HQ hit by 'violent and abusive' protest
23 Nov 11
Up to 50 angry electricians chain doors shut at contractor’s London office
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Hansom: So off message
18 November 2011
This week protestors fail to spread the word to their comrades, a construction boss is embroiled in the DSK scandal and a press contact for the ODA knows nothing about the Olympics
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High profile names join Davis Langdon exodus
18 November 2011
Directors of the firm’s office, retail and residential sectors are to lose their posts
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Hill wins Dallas jail contract
2 Nov 11
Firm will project manage North Tower Jail renovation scheme for County of Dallas
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Inbox: Quick fix
18 November 2011
This week, readers want to help unemployed graduates, solve the problem of congestion on the M25 and see the government consider the consequences of reducing feed-in tariffs
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Incentives question mark over Green Deal
23 Nov 11
Businesses will have to wait until Chancellor’s autumn statement to discover how the £14bn green retrofit scheme will be incentivised
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Job applications speed dating style
25 Nov 11
Applying for a job online can be a complex and terrifying experience
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Keller posts profit warning as eurozone crisis hits markets
15 Nov 11
Shares tumble 20% as ground engineering firm is hit by project delays and austerity measures
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Kier Sheffield to make 50 redundant
24 Nov 11
Contractor has sent letters to all 985 of the division’s employees
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Kier trading on track
15 Nov 11
Kier focuses on private sector but says education and health sectors are still making ‘significant’ contributions to revenue
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Kingerlee start work on £12.5m college at University of Oxford
26 Oct 11
Bennetts-designed blocks will house 54 postgraduate students
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Life for BioRegional after Quintain
21 Nov 11
Co-founder of BioRegional disappointed by end of Quintain joint venture but says valuable lessons can be learnt
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Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands win UCL campus job
23 Nov 11
Architect Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands is already engaged in masterplanning a £500m redevelopment of University College London’s existing site
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Major housebuilders sign up to mortgage scheme
21 Nov 11
Twenty-seven builders, including listed players, back 95% mortgages despite cash-call
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Major private hospital wins planning battle
22 Nov 11
Planning inspector cites “the need to support economic growth” in Southampton
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Mediation: When's the best time?
18 November 2011
At any stage in a dispute there are reasons to reject mediation, but, says John Redmond, that doesn’t mean you should
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MJ Gleeson reservations up 10%
18 Nov 11
Northern housebuilder reports encouraging private sales rates
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Morgan Sindall bags £12m highlands job
18 Nov 11
Contractor to design and build Inverness Campus
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My digital life…with Carmen Erwee
18 November 2011
This associate partner’s digital life is punctuated with emoticons :P
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New chief planning inspector appointed
24 Oct 11
Director of the Planning Inspectorate in Wales Peter Burley will take over in April 2012
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New University of Salford student village
17 Nov 11
Hawkins Brown and Urban Initiatives have won planning permission for a new student village at the University of Salford.
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New Zealand calls on UK firms for earthquake rebuild
17 Nov 11
Authorities seek UK workers at recruitment expos in London and Manchester to rebuild Christchurch
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NFDC suspends demolition contractor after site death
24 Nov 11
Trade body suspends Essex-based Micor’s membership
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No extra design checks for £400m housing fund
24 Nov 11
Housebuilders won’t have to meet additional design standards to benefit from £400m government fund
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Northampton Enterprise Zone gets first planning application
21 Nov 11
Proposed development is a £6.5m office scheme designed to serve up to 60 start-up businesses
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Number of small housebuilders at 30-year low
18 November 2011
Results of FMB study paint worrying picture
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October contracts drop by 5%
18 November 2011
Balfour Beatty tops contractor league as index reveals decline in overall sector workload
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ONS defends output figures
18 November 2011
Economist tells Building that critcisim of the metric is unfair
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Outlook for architects' workload remains bleak
18 Nov 11
RIBA Future Trends survey says practices reluctant to take on new staff amid market uncertainty
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Pidgley given role to speed up public land release
21 Nov 11
Berkeley Group chairman to lead government advisory group with Sir Bob Kerslake
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Planners: Localism Act will fail without transition plan
15 Nov 11
Royal Town Planning Institute calls for transitional arrangements as Localism Act receives Royal Assent
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Planning permission granted for £70m Barnsley redevelopment
14 Nov 11
52,000 m2 retail-led scheme will replace the existing Metropolitan shopping centre
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Public sector cuts: Client feedback
18 November 2011
Public sector clients slashed projects in response to the chancellor’s swingeing cuts. But as the results of the Constructionline Building Index show, the pain is by no means over
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Reader survey: Tell us what you think
18 Nov 11
Complete Building’s reader survey to have the chance of winning one of five Amazon vouchers
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RICS investigates 'inappropriate' behaviour among staff
21 Nov 11
Two employees exit the Institution’s dispute resolution department
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Science park seeks joint venture partner for £35m 'Digital Plaza'
21 Nov 11
Proposed scheme would create a 100,000ft2 specialist hub for tech firms
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Scottish architects shortlisted for top award
24 Oct 11
RIAS Andrew Doolan prize is worth £25,000 to the winner - the richest in British architecture
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Shard spire appears in Yorkshire field
16 Nov 11
Mace and Severfield Rowen erect Shard’s steel spire on airfield to test construction processes
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Shepherd doubles its annual profits
21 Nov 11
Contractor’s industrial division powers Shepherd to profits of £31.5m for the year to June 2011
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Skanska chooses six architects for UK housing push
18 Nov 11
PRP Architects, Proctor & Matthews and Formation Architects triumph in competition
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Skyscraper plan puts Liverpool’s world heritage status on the line
24 Nov 11
Unesco will demand “radical” changes to Chapman Taylor-designed scheme
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Sound familiar?
18 November 2011
Our financial situation is as difficult as it was three years ago
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Specialist contractors: Five things to ask the genie
18 November 2011
What could help specialist contractors out of the fix they’re in? Iain Withers applies a bit of elbow grease and works up a wishlist
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Stone unturned: Crest Nicholson interview
18 November 2011
Two years ago Crest Nicholson almost came a cropper under a deluge of debt. Chief executive Stephen Stone tells Building how its buy-out, and some sheer nerve, has enabled it to stay around
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Stunell hits back at Labour housing critics
21 Nov 11
Housing strategy good value and right to target first time buyers, says communities minister
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Survey shows BIM use
18 November 2011
Constructionline survey finds less than a fifth of clients plan to use BIM
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Survival of the fittest: Courses to improve your CV
18 November 2011
Is your CV as good as it could be? With 2012 looking tough, now’s the time to upskill and gain knowledge to win the race for jobs and further your career. Here are three courses that could put you in the fast lane
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Thames Estuary airport gains Treasury support
21 Nov 11
Senior Tory figures are understood to be in favour of a island airport in the Thames Estuary, which would cost up to £50bn
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The highest height: The Shard's spire unveiled
18 November 2011
Mace carried out ‘test run’ of assembling the spire in a Yorkshire airfield
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Top consultants land advisory roles on schools programme
18 November 2011
T&T, EC Harris and Mott MacDonald will act as technical advisors on the programme
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Vinci bags £46m Tesco contract in West Bromwich
23 Nov 11
Work includes demolition of existing buildings and 43 retail and leisure units including a cinema
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We need to look beyond the government's quick-fix housing strategy
22 Nov 11
Careful implementation of the government’s housing initiatives is vital - otherwise, there could be real problems in the long term
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Willmott Dixon seals FM tie-up
15 Nov 11
Contractor links up with Mercury Alliance
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Willmott Dixon to build £33m Redcar leisure and business centre
23 Nov 11
Architects S&P and +3 and engineer Buro Happold are also lined-up to work on the project, which is due to start in the New Year.
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Wonders & blunders with Keith Pickavance
18 November 2011
Keith Pickavance delights in the eccentricity of the Lloyd’s Building but the Prince of Wales’ fire station in Poundbury deserves to have the hose turned on it
