All articles by Thomas Lane – Page 17
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FeaturesHydropower: Water works
With all the controversy over solar, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that hydropower produces a thousand times more electricity. Building investigates a power source that could light up the industry
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FeaturesQuadruple glazing: Fancy a fourth layer?
It’s winter and our thoughts turn to keeping warm by any means necessary. Is quadruple glazing the solution? Thomas Lane peeks out from behind his curtains to ask the experts
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NewsArup to open BIM consultancy in UK
Engineering giant has been offering BIM services in Australia for 12 months
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FeaturesThe rise of the BIM consultant
With its clear government backing and success stories in the press, construction firms realise that BIM is a Very Important Thing. The question is, how to do it? Thomas Lane meets the new wave of BIM consultants who may have the answer
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FeaturesCladding: Facing the future
The cladding market is being tested by the influx of new regulations and cost pressures. The good news is that facades can now be designed on a more human scale, says Stephen Ledbetter, director of the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology
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FeaturesFree school conversions: Making the switch
The government went out of its way to make it easier for free schools to be formed in non-school buildings by easing planning laws. So now that they’ve opened their doors, do they actually work? Take a look at two very different conversions…
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FeaturesLaing O'Rourke and Atkins' standardised school: How's this for smart?
Standardised doesn’t have to mean inflexible design - that’s the message from Laing O’Rourke and Atkins with their clever solution to cutting school building costs. Building reports on the surprising versatility of concrete
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FeaturesZero carbon housing using underfloor thermal heat stores
When you’ve got houses and flats on a tiny plot, no room to store fuel and little roof space, finding a zero-carbon heating solution is tricky. One team went underground to find the answer
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NewsCivil engineers launch 2012 London Engineering Awards
The ICE are inviting entries for 2012 awards celebrating engineering excellence in London
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FeaturesThe ArcelorMittal Orbit: Twist and shout
The ArcelorMittal Orbit in the Olympic park is being built to ‘arouse the curiosity and wonder of Londoners’. And the most curious thing of all is how this spiralling confusion of red steel actually stands up
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FeaturesDeptford: Mixed to the max
On a single 7,000m2 site in Deptford, architect Pollard Thomas Edwards has managed to fit a community centre, artists’ studios, flats, a school and two playgrounds. Building finds out how
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FeaturesRafael Viñoly's Firstsite centre: show time
Rafael Viñoly’s latest UK building finally takes centre stage, but why was it nearly undone by delays, overspends and legal spats? Thomas Lane reports, while below Ike Ijeh asks if it was worth all the pain
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NewsOnly 31 homes reach code level 6
However, 29,205 homes have been completed to level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes
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FeaturesTall building design: Is it safe?
Ten years ago the world watched two of New York’s most iconic towers come crashing to the ground. Since then the industry has changed the way tall buildings are built in an attempt to make them terror proof. Building takes a look
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FeaturesBrettstapel envelope: The natural choice
Getting planning permission to build a house in the stunning Scottish Borders requires a sensitive design, which is why architect Gaia specified a wooden Brettstapel envelope for this project
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FeaturesTop of the class: Passivhaus school design
A primary school in Exeter won’t win any architectural awards, but is earning gold stars in zero-carbon and Passivhaus design. Thomas Lane swots up on how to deliver a low-energy building on a budget
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CommentBeach volleyball stars distract Cameron from quelling riots
Volleyball replaced the mob in central London this week as Olympic organisers shifted tonnes of Surrey sand to Horseguards Parade
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FeaturesPost occupancy: Is your green makeover really so green?
Do low energy buildings really deliver results? Last month, Thomas Lane found two new-build offices that failed to live up to all their green credentials. Here, he reveals if two refurbished offices performed any better