All Features articles – Page 569
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FeaturesWhat the talking toilet has to tell us
The long wait is over. Intelligent objects, the smart design tools that are set to revolutionise the way buildings are constructed and operated, have materialised in the UK – in the rather unexpected form of communicating airport loos.
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FeaturesUnder the spotlight
Recent campaigns by environmental pressure groups have exposed the construction industry to a barrage of bad press, with the aim of shaming firms into changing their ways.
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Features
Teen spirit
John Berry, managing director of contractor Bluestone South West, explains the company's apprenticeship scheme for youngsters and its aim to turn site workers into managers
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FeaturesLiving in a Huf
If your idea of prefabricated housing is a sardine can with slits for windows, think again. Huf Haus has been building light, spacious factory-made homes for years – and they're great for key workers earning more than half a million pounds a year. Thomas Lane checks out the latest design ...
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Features
Five tips on public speaking
Know yourself Practise in front of a mirror or, better still, film yourself. There is no faster way to improve your delivery than getting a chance to see what others see when you get on stage. Get your friends to watch you and comment on your delivery.Be brief Deliver your ...
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FeaturesThe duke of hazard
How much was your last insurance premium? Too much, probably. Construction is a risky business but, if that risk is managed, it needn't push up your costs, says American expert Michael Mainelli. He tells Victoria Madine how we could learn from other high-risk industries
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Features
Cost model: Hotel refurbishment
Despite sharp drops in profitability over the past year, hotel operators continue to invest heavily in refurbishment. In this quarter’s cost model, Davis Langdon & Everest examines the key elements and challenges of hotel refurbishment, giving detailed costs for guest rooms and front-of-house areas
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FeaturesBest of British
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is making life better for thousands of people – and no, it's not handing out free chocolate. Foundation director Lord Best told Martin Spring about his organisation's innovative plans to tackle the housing crisis.
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FeaturesWalk of art
Glass artist Alexander Beleschenko has turned a featureless underground passage into a festival of light and colour
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FeaturesAppointments
ContractorsEngineering firm Dartmouth has appointed Martin Clark, Tony Cole and Mark Newman mobile mechanical and electrical supervisors.HousebuildersPeter Vella (left) has been promoted by Crosby Homes (North West) to sales and marketing director. He was sales and marketing project manager. Redrow Homes (Scotland) has recruited two field sales managers. Christine Higgins ...
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Features
Doing the Whitehall shuffle
With Cabinet reshuffles, it is always a case of dealer's choice. But no prime minister in living memory has scooped up the departmental deck and dealt it out again with quite the regularity of Tony Blair.
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FeaturesWe're saved! It's Utilityman
Computer-enhanced, radar-enabled, global-satellite-positioned, they can see through 3 m of tarmac and earth to find exactly what's hiding under innocent-looking roads. Andy Pearson reports on a new breed of superhero.
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FeaturesHot Leeds!
Financial and media firms are flocking to the emerging capital of the North to share its 24-hour European-class culture. Which is good news for construction companies …
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Features
What's it worth, guv?
With so many takeovers going on, you should know how much you could get for your business
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FeaturesWheels and deals
When construction's biggest companies buy each other, they turn to Richard Smee to make it happen. Matthew Richards finds out what drives one of Europe's key consultants – and is rather surprised to find out what he drives …
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FeaturesGreen is the new black
Environment-friendly design means sandal-wearing beardies designing draughty offices for a handful of right-on clients with no money, right? Wrong. Sustainable architecture is going overground as blue-chip clients spruce up their images.
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FeaturesAppointments
ContractorsStuart Norman has been appointed sales and marketing director of specialist fit-out company Withey Contracts.SuppliersKarl Simpkins has joined Boise Cascade Europe as technical support representative, providing advice for the southern part of England. ConsultantsATIS Real Weatheralls has promoted Robert Parr-Head and John Witts to directors. The following become associate directors: ...
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Features
Five tips on how to improve your advertising
Avoid jargon Technical language or long, complicated sentences won't catch readers' attention. Give your advertisement to a non-industry friend or relation and ask if he or she understands what it is driving at.Repetition works Run a series of advertisements week after week or month after month. A series of advertisements ...