More Focus – Page 471
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FeaturesCost 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 ...
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Features
Wish you worked here?
Earn your true potential! Engineer required to work in jungle. Must be prepared for civil unrest and tough conditions. £60,000+ tax free. Tempted? Well that's where the money is– the 2002 Hays Montrose/Building international salary survey shows that elsewhere in the world, salaries are largely unchanged
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Features'Michael told us he was going to go on holiday for a few weeks. We expected him to come back'
After the death of the great architect Sir James Stirling 10 years ago, his partner Michael Wilford (pictured) stepped up to steer the practice forward. Then Wilford suddenly walked out, his partners claim.
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FeaturesShadow boxer
Tory construction spokesman Robert Key is something of a country gent – but don't expect him to pull any punches Gordon Brown's latest spending spree or the industry's skills crisis.
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FeaturesThe wasteland
With 4000 ha of brownfield land, the Thames Gateway could be the answer to London's housing crisis. But in the absence of a strategic masterplan, the area's potential is being squandered.
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Down but not out
In this month's tracker, Construction Forecasting and Research reveals a downturn in activity levels in May – although the industry remains bouyed by a positive long-term outlook
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FeaturesLighting the way
A Tokyo art gallery perched atop a skyscraper needed a ground-level entrance building to lure visitors in. The architect's response – a giant glass, elliptical Japanese lantern – demanded some inspirational structural engineering.
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Appointments
Contractors Liverpool-based David McLean Contractors has appointed David McCormick supply chain manager.Housebuilders Paul Bennett has been appointed sales and marketing director of Laing Homes North Homes Counties.Brian Duckworth, chairman of Severn Trent Water, has been made non-executive director of Redrow Homes.Consultants Engineering and environmental consultant White Young Green has appointed ...
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Tell us about yourself
The sixth Hays Montrose/Building careers survey offers a chance to share your views on your job and career plans.
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Sound system
Demanding new acoustic regulations for dwellings – Part E – are going to be making some serious noise over the next year, as specifiers have to come up with sound insulation solutions to avoid rigorous tests. We take a look at the implications of the proposals, and how specifiers north ...
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Checklist: Drainage regulations
The new Part H drainage regulations is a great document that encourages specifiers to design more sustainable drainage systems associate and public health engineer at Arup. Here's his step-by-step guide to help you comply with requirements
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Regulations: Spelling it out
Across-the-board revisions to the Building Regulations are going to have a dramatic effect on every specifier this summer. Buro Happold's Tanya Ross talks us through the new approved documents – including those in Scotland and Northern Ireland – from A to V
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Part L costs: Effecting efficiency
Three months in, changes in energy efficiency standards are already making their presence felt on the bottom line. Eric Ostrowski, partner responsible for knowledge development at EC Harris, looks at the potential cost increases – and savings – for residential and office buildings
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Crash Barrier
If there's one thing that will bring the runaway housing market screeching to a halt, it's a sudden loss of confidence in the City. So, asks Gordon Jon Thompson, how can the listed housebuilders convince investors that the wheels are not about to come off?
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FeaturesThe specials
In a world of mass-production, the Matthews family has turned to specialisation for their survival, producing handmade bricks and using craft skills that prove traditional technologies can thrive in a modern economy.
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FeaturesOne cube or two?
Continuing its annual design showcase, Hyde Park’s Serpentine Gallery has commissioned this stunning tea house, which knocks a mathematical algorithm into shape
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Features
Fire alarm
Almost 20 years after a devastating World in Action exposé, the timber frame industry is back under the microscope. This time, government-backed research has found that poor workmanship is exposing occupants of timber frame buildings to potentially fatal fire risks.
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Features
Top 100 Contractors and Housebuilders 2002
Welcome to Building’s annual league of the top 100 contractors and housebuilders in the UK. The tables clearly show another great year for construction, with total turnover, pre-tax profit and margins all breaking records.
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FeaturesNaked ambition
Peter Stringfellow has made a mint from the industry, and now former contractor John Gray is on a mission to take his chain of lap dancing clubs to the regions. Matthew Richards asked the Californian entrepreneur about how design is key to the clubs' money-making potential