Cost models
Cost model: Small projects
With low availability of space and pressure to reduce costs, more small projects are being built - especially with high demand for affordable housing, care homes and office fit-out. Peter Fordham, Simon Hughes and Paul Donlen of Davis Langdon, an Aecom company, cost it up
Cost model: Office refurbishments
As more owner-occupiers look for cheaper, more efficient and sustainable offices, refurbishment may provide the answer. Simon Rawlinson and Ian Harrison of Davis Langdon report
Cost model: Data centres
As IT power increases, so energy use has grown enormously. Simon Rawlinson and Nick Bending of Davis Langdon examine the design and cost implications of low-energy data centres
Cost model: Office refurbishment
A slowdown in the office market combined with an increasingly prominent sustainability agenda is creating opportunities for refurbishment specialists. Simon Rawlinson and Max Wilkes of Davis Langdon discuss how to maximise a building’s value with a well-targeted refurbishment programme
Cost model: Car showrooms
Those temples to the automobile can be lavish enterprises, with double-height glazing, blazing lights and costly stone floors. And that’s before you even get into the realms of internet cafes and branded clothing. Maxwell Wilkes of Davis Langdon offers an unbeatable all-in price
Cost model: Mixed-use city-centre schemes
Mixed use is increasingly the name of the game for town-centre developers. But can uses such as retail and residential really mix? Simon Rawlinson of Davis Langdon examines the practicalities and costs of mixed-use city-centre schemes
Cost model: Office design
After a few belt-tightening years, the City of London’s commercial sector is on the up again. In this cost model, Davis Langdon and Mott Green Wall examine the current market and recent advances in office design – and break down the costs of a high-quality, mid-rise City scheme
Cost study: Belgrave house
Developer Grosvenor Estate wanted a sleek office block that could hold its own opposite London’s Victoria Station and attract firms from the West End and the City. Cost consultant EC Harris, architect Squire and Partners and contractor Sir Robert McAlpine explain how the project team achieved all this at 4% less than the contract sum.
Cost model: Offices
Sustainability issues are rapidly rising up the corporate agenda. We consider the impact of sustainability measures on commercial buildings and reveal that going green need not cost the earth
Cost model: Tall buildings
Despite the fate of the World Trade Centre, developer interest in tall buildings hasn’t diminished – and will increase if the mayor’s plan for London is put into effect. Here Davis Langdon & Everest, Arup and Mott Green and Wall summarise the key issues and examine the costs of building a 48-storey tower in central London
Cost model: Prefabrication and preassembly
How can prefabrication and preassembly deliver the buildings that clients and designers aspire to? In this cost model, Davis Langdon & Everest looks at case studies of recent applications of preassembly techniques
Whole-life cost study: Egg's Pride Park
Almost two years after its first call centre cost model, Building revisits Egg's Pride Park, updating the whole-life costs and comparing it with a model call centre by Citex
Cost study: Capital One UK operations centre
The brief was to turn a derelict printworks in Nottingham into a vibrant and flexible information-economy office for an ever growing workforce. Here's how the project team went about getting the job done
Cost model: Commercial research laboratories
It has been decided that UK plc's economic wellbeing depends on its scientific base, so billions of pounds of investment are being poured into it. The snag for construction is that labs are unlike other buildings. So, in this month's cost model, Davis Langdon & Everest looks at what goes into a commercial scientific research laboratory
Cost study: Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre
Government, academia and business have come together to develop premises for start-up high-tech businesses in Plymouth. The alliance's first building, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre, provides light and airy research and production units for £639/m2
Cost model: Audiovisual systems
In this mini cost model, Davis Langdon & Everest and Mott Green & Wall examine the costs of audiovisual systems, which are appearing everywhere in the workplace, from offices to in-house gyms, and across the leisure industry in pubs, restaurants and football grounds
Cost model: Call centres
Call centres, the new information factories, are evolving as employers recognise that the working environment can affect business efficiency and staff turnover. Cost consultants Davis Langdon & Everest and Mott Green Wall examine the specification and costs of call centres
Cost model - Urban Commercial Offices
Background to the model
High-Rise Office Towers - Cost model, May 1997
Tall buildings are back in vogue. This month sees the completion of Europe's tallest office building, the Commerzbank in Frankfurt. In Shanghai and Melbourned, towers of more than 100 storeys are planned. In this cost model, Davis Langdon & Everest gives the results of an international survey of tall building construction, with input from the overseas offices of Davis Langdon & Seah International. Consulting engineer Ove Arup & Partners gives a commentary on structural design
Office Refurbishments - Cost model, February 1996
Upgrading 20- to 30-year-old offices to give them a new lease of life is one of the few growth areas in the commercial sector. Over the past 12 months, architectural commissions have almost doubled and now account for 28% of the office development market. QS Davis Langdon & Everest looks in detail at a five-storey office block that has been enlarged, reclad and fitted with new services to bring it up to modern lettable standards.
Cost model: Access control systems
This month Davis Langdon Engineering Services compares the features of various methods of access control for both people and vehicles
Cost model: Airport terminals
UK airport operators need to make substantial investments in infrastructure to prepare for continuing long-term demand for domestic and international flights. Simon Rawlinson of Davis Langdon reports
Cost model: Tall buildings
Cities throughout the UK are developing residential towers and landmark skyscrapers. Steve Watts and Neal Kalita of Davis Langdon consider the design and construction challenges of high-rise development and provide a cost model for a central London office tower
Cost model: Business parks
Business parks are back, but this time they need to be sustainable and mixed-use. Neal Kalita of Davis Langdon examines how developers can meet the evolving needs of planners and occupiers without breaking the bank
Cost model: City of London offices, Part L
What effect will the latest batch of carbon reduction measures have on building design? And how much more will it cost to meet the stricter rules? Building finds out and calculates the price of four Part L-compliant options for a City of London office
Cost model: Distribution centres
The distribution centre sector is buzzing at the moment, as businesses rush to outsource their goods-handling to logistics firms, and supermarkets adopt just-in-time delivery systems. Here we look at the key issues in affecting distribution centres – and, more importantly, breaks down how much one would cost
Cost model: Office refurbishment
Although recovery in the commercial market may be just around the corner, canny developers are already active generating good returns in refurbishment. Here Davis Langdon & Everest and Mott Green Wall look at the opportunities and constraints in bringing existing buildings bang up to date
Cost study: Phoenix Natural Gas HQ
Northern Ireland's gas supplier didn't want to have to pay astronomical energy bills, fall behind and end up suing itself for its own money. Cartwright Pickard Architects and QS Gardiner & Theobold explain how the team managed to avert this fate by delivering a building that not only achieved a BREEAM "very good" rating, but was also significantly cheaper than comparable offices in Belfast
Cost model: Energy savings
Following April's budget, landlords can claim tax relief if they invest in energy-efficient technologies. But will these savings cover the extra initial outlay? Patrick Murdock, head of capital allowances consulting at Cyril Sweett, and Simon Harris, associate in the firm's engineering services cost management team, use the case study of a typical office building to explain …
Cost model: Effect of Part L revisions on business parks and offices
The revisions to Part L of the Building Regulations come into force on 1 April 2002, and many schemes on the drawing board will need to comply. Davis Langdon & Everest, in conjunction with consulting engineer Oscar Faber, explains how the revisions will impact on business parks and city centre offices
Cost model: Co-location centres
The co-location centre market is set for strong long-term growth. Davis Langdon & Everest and specialist M&E cost consultant Mott Green and Wall explain the high level of electrical and mechanical services required and provide a cost breakdown for a model development
Cost model: Convention centres
A convention centre is a major asset to the economy of its host city, drawing well-stuffed wallets within the reach of local businesses. Davis Langdon & Everest looks at how to build a successful centre.
Cost model: Building services
Services installations are crucial to the smooth running of construction projects, as well as the finished product, but their complexities are too often ignored. Mott Green and Wall, the specialist building services team within Davis Langdon & Everest, examines the specification, procurement and costs of a City office's building services
Cost model: Property taxation
Careful planning of property taxation issues can increase the value of investment in commercial property. In the latest cost model, Davis Langdon & Everest's property taxation services group examines the issues and shows how allowances and deductions can be calculated for an office refurbishment project
Cost study: National Energy Centre in Milton Keynes
Low-energy buildings usually mean high capital costs. But not the National Energy Centre in Milton Keynes; it was built for nearly £200/m2 below the average unit cost for headquarters buildings. Compiled by Weston Williamson, Ove Arup & Partners, and Davis Langdon & Everest
Cost model update, March 1999
In its second cost model update, Davis Langdon & Everest examines how the prices of four key building types – business parks, hotels, offices and supermarkets – have been affected by change
Cost model: Airports
Sustained rates of growth in air traffic are resulting in a continuous demand for increased airport capacity. In this month's cost model, the Airports Specialist Group of cost consultant Davis Langdon & Everest examines the construction costs of airport facilities, along with commercial development on the airport campus
Office fit-out - Cost model, December 1997
High levels of activity in the office development market are generating significant opportunities in the office fit-out sector. In contrast to the office boom of the late 1980s, a high proportion of investment in office space is being secured with pre-let agreements which which is creating opportunities to integrate base-build and fit-out works closely. In this latest cost model, cost consultant Davis Langdon & Everest, assisted by fit-out specialist 'Interior', examines office-fit-out ...
Offices of the Future - Cost model, September 1996
Businesses in the 1990s are demanding much more from their office space. The growth of flexible working practices, a developing green agenda and the demands of information technology are creating a distinctive office architecture. In this cost model, Davis Langdon & Everest examines the capital costs behind the new generation of high-tech, low-energy offices.
