Opinion – Page 616

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    Why don't we build more houses?

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    Despite record growth in house prices, the number of new homes we build continues to decline. Housing output per head of population in the UK is lower than in any other major western economy. This trend is unlikely to reverse in the next few years. It is the ...

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    Imhotep & Sons

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    The first ever architect was so successful, his descendants became pharoahs. Now, 4500 years later, the profession is still plagued by the unreliability of dynasties

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    Hansom

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    This week, we lift the lid on the sleazy side of construction: a world of bizarre fetishes, secret poker evenings, moneymaking scams and nice sausage rolls

  • Comment

    Lost clauses

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    An architect can't just put the RIBA adjudication provisions into a contract with a homeowner and hope for the best. If he doesn't draw attention to them, they may be worthless

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    At the mercy of the panel

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    The combustibility of cladding panels is a hot topic, and it's left one architect facing millions of pounds in damages and building owners struggling to afford insurance

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    It's still all to play for

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    I want to respond to Steve Elkin's letter (14 March, page 34), which criticised the Construction Industry Training Board for "pulling the funding" of Regional Construction Careers Groups.

  • Comment

    Vote of no confidence

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    Harking back to Tony Bingham's "Blair vs Hussein" article (28 February, page 50), I would find in favour of Mr Hussein.

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    Lawyer: know thy stuff

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    Philip Harris says the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations are unpopular and ineffective (14 March, page 54), and asks the question, what if they came in the form of contractual terms and the right to compensation?

  • Comment

    Just deserts, on two counts

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    I would like to respond to two of your articles. Firstly, I am troubled by environmental matters – I see all the energy we use and the waste we generate and wonder how can we sustain this?

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    Middle classes welcome

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    In the first of a new series, Brian Moone accuses columnist John Smith of inverted snobbery

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    My toughest decision

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    Colin Harding tells us how he took on the architects

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    Let's be Bold

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    Britain is full of boring-looking, traditionally built houses, so what's so bad about an equally boring-looking house that has been built in a factory?

  • Comment

    We’re all key workers now

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    The good news is that the government's communities plan announced an overall increase in investment in affordable housing for 2003/4 and beyond, with at least £1bn set aside for key worker housing over three years.

  • Comment

    Alphabet soup

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    If you want to be sure your scheme doesn't get into trouble, make sure the wording of any planning agreement is clear

  • Comment

    An appealing offer

    2003-03-28T00:00:00Z

    This was an appeal and cross appeal from the first instance judge's order in respect of costs. The case itself related to physical and sexual abuse at the defendant's children's home, but the point in this appeal relates to costs and Part 36 offers. Royal & Sun Alliance was the ...

  • Comment

    The tao of GC/Works 1

    2003-03-21T00:00:00Z

    The GC/Works 1 contract has had an overhaul, and is probably now the best in the business, but projects only work when oneness is achieved …

  • Comment

    Never trust a copper

    2003-03-21T00:00:00Z

    Mr and Mrs Venables found that the water pipes in their new home were ruined, so they sued their plumber. What followed illustrated an important legal point

  • Comment

    Brief encounter: When can you kill people?

    2003-03-21T00:00:00Z

    Are the US and Britain be within their legal rights to invade Iraq? The second in our series of chatrooms tackles their motives and the nature of the UN debate

  • Comment

    A paradise for parasites

    2003-03-21T00:00:00Z

    To shut out small firms, the Treasury made the PFI process so adversarial that it got captured by lawyers, who are now eating us out of schools and hospitals

  • Comment

    You're forgetting someone

    2003-03-21T00:00:00Z

    Your editorial on the Congestion Charge (7 March, page 3) came as something of a surprise to the manufacturers and distributors in the construction industry.