All Features articles – Page 227
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FeaturesNBS survey: The BIM that will bring us together
NBS’ annual BIM survey suggests that uptake of the collaborative technology has risen sharply over the past year. But is it really becoming the industry norm?
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FeaturesWorkers of the World unite
Bosses of employee-owned companies claim greater engagement and increased profitability. So why isn’t everyone doing it?
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FeaturesBIM: The inside story three years on
Manchester council’s FM team were initially reluctant to use BIM in the operation of the city’s newly refurbished Central Library. But then they were shown how much time it could save, even on changing a lamp… Thomas Lane catches up with the team in part three of a series that ...
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FeaturesCost model: Tall buildings
With nearly 250 towers set to be built in London alone - the vast majority of them residential - Brian Smith, Mital Dholakia and Richard Heseltine of Aecom highlight the main design and cost considerations in reaching for the skies
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FeaturesThis week in … 1964
In April 1964 Beatles were flying high in the US singles chart and April 1964 we looked at a prefabricated hexagonal house
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FeaturesSketch of the week: M&S Cheshire Oaks
Illustrator John Holder sketched M S Cheshire Oaks, a Simons Group project, at various stages of its development
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FeaturesBuilding Award Winners: Sustainable project of the year
There were several trailblazing projects in this category, but Skanska and Hopkins Architects’ Brent Civic Centre stands out for redefining the humble council office as a beacon of low-energy design
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FeaturesTrouble at the top
Bad managers can have a big impact on staff morale and productivity levels, and they could even pose a serious threat to the industry’s upturn. So why are there so many of them?
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FeaturesWhat to specify: Housing
This week, we go through the keyhole at some of the UK’s most genteel new residences, including a Buckinghamshire country house with timber leaded windows and a rapidly rendered home in Poundbury
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FeaturesSustainability: Facilities efficiency
As construction becomes ever more energy efficient, attention is turning to facilities management to deliver greater carbon and cost savings. Phil Birch of Sweett Group examines how the purchasing and management of cleaning and catering operations can reduce a building’s environmental impact
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FeaturesFair payment charter: Cheque’s in the post
Few issues are more contentious in construction than payment practices. So will a new fair payment charter that asks contractors to commit to shorter payment times actually work - or merely add to the pile of previous failed attempts to reform the industry?
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FeaturesThis week in ... 1914
We look back 100 years to 1914 when The Builder magazine was … Looking back 50 years to 1864
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FeaturesSketch of the week: Roma football stadium
Thanks to Dan Meis of architect Woods Bagot for his sketch of the week
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FeaturesRebuilding after Japan's tsunami
Three years on from its devastating earthquake and tsunami, Japan is, for the first time, signalling that it needs help rebuilding homes and communities. For UK construction firms willing to dig in, this could mean new opportunities
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FeaturesBuilding Awards Small Project of the Year: Maggie's cancer centre, Aberdeen
With its streamlined, organic form enhancing its welcoming ethos, the latest Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre in Aberdeen, designed by Snøhetta, is a worthy winner of this year’s Small Project of the Year Building Award
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FeaturesPutting the wind up construction
Ofgem’s announcement last week that the six big energy firms face a competition inquiry has spooked the market and alarmed construction firms relying on new energy generation capacity. But are things really as bleak as they seem?
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FeaturesBuilding intelligence: Q4 2013
Data from Experian Economics shows that while construction activity levelled off in Q4 2013, for the year as a whole, activity was on the rise, with growth forecast in the private housing and infrastructure sectors
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FeaturesTracker: February 2014
Construction activity continued to increase in February and was up four points on the previous month. This represents 18 months of sustained positivity. Experian Economics reports
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FeaturesSketch of the week: A locomotive shed
Thanks to Simon Smith of Smith and Wallwork for sending in his sketch of the week
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FeaturesVideo: Make's recycled pop-up cinema
Watch how architect Make designed and built a recycled cinema at Ecobuild this year