More Focus – Page 309
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FeaturesRoll over Beethoven
When it opened in 1951 the much-loved Royal Festival Hall was perfect in every way – save for the little matter of god-awful acoustics. Now, after a £91m, two-year refurbishment, the modernist masterpiece is rocking – and you can hear every note.
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FeaturesMasdar: Nice spot for a zero-carbon city...
For his next trick, Norman Foster is going to turn a patch of desert in Abu Dhabi into the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste city. Martin Spring finds out how
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FeaturesRoyal Ontario Museum: A legend in his lunchtime
No need to play ‘guess the architect’ on this new wing for the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. But you’ll never guess how he did it …
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What it costs: Rainwater drainage
Keeping rainwater off roofs and away from buildings is essential to avoid inevitable damage and exorbitant repair costs. Peter Mayer of Building LifePlans considers the costs and options for eaves gutters and rainwater downpipes
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FeaturesCamouflaged solar roofing: The power slate
Solar panels may be admirable, but they’re definitely ugly. Now two suppliers have launched products that look like simple roof slates.
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FeaturesPilkington is picked for Manchester
Glass maker Pilkington Building Products has supplied its laminated glass product Optilam I to the transport interchange at the North Manchester Business Park.
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Product innovation
Current environmental thinking is geared to reducing carbon emissions. But what about all the other pollutants in the atmosphere?
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FeaturesDurable gutters
Rainwater systems manufacturer Marley Plumbing & Drainage has updated its range of gutters and downpipes so that they retain colour and gloss for longer than standard PVCu rainwater systems.
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FeaturesSnow protection
Aluminium roofing maker MR Site Services has launched a device to prevent snow falling from commercial roofs. Called Snowguard, it is an extruded aluminium section that fits on standing seam roofs. It is fixed to standing seams with a clip system to ensure that the roof remains watertight.
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Insulated decking
Insulation manufacturer EcoTherm has expanded its Eco-Deck range of insulated decking boards for the flat roofs of residential and commercial buildings by making the product available with timber certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council.
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FeaturesVented eaves protector
PVCu roofline maker Swish Building Products has launched a protection system for vented eaves.
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Flat roof products
Building membrane maker Icopal has launched two products for flat roofs.
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Batten grading system
Timber importer John Brash has developed a quality control system that pre-grades roofing battens at the sawmill.
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FeaturesGrowth spurt
Green roofs are a rapidly expanding business for Greenfix. Its managing director, Mike Cottage, explains how they work and why the future is actually brown roofs.
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FeaturesTake a breather
DuPont Tyvek, part of the DuPont global conglomerate, was founded in Luxembourg in 1962. Its headquarters is still in Luxembourg City. Its UK business, which has operated since the late eighties, employs more than 20 people and its main market is for breathable roof membranes. Tim Smith, the UK’s national ...
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FeaturesGearing up
As the government prepares the ground for its long awaited nuclear new-build programme, engineers, programme managers and consultants are picking their teams to compete for the UK’s fastest growing market. Sarah Richardson looks at the main players
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Welsh wins keep Bovis on top of contractors table
Business barometer — Cardiff malls keep Australian firm clear of second-placed Laing O’Rourke