All Features articles – Page 259
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FeaturesProduct launches at Ecobuild: Next generation
Products for the sustainable built environment are getting thinner, more gas-tight, more efficient and longer lasting. Here’s a preview of some of the new launches to be unveiled at Ecobuild, from PV to underground storage
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FeaturesThe Olympics: The greenest show on earth?
The organisers of London 2012 sprang out of the blocks promising to stage the most sustainable Olympics ever, and as they enter the final straight they appear to be on course to set a new record - just as long as they don’t ease up before the finish line … ...
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FeaturesDrivers of eco design
What will drive sustainable construction in 2012? Early indications suggest that regulations, corporate responsibility and energy consumption will all play major roles - and that this could be the year that the gap between a building’s predicted and actual performance is scrutinized. Andy Pearson reports
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FeaturesCould a style makeover tempt homeowners to the Green Deal?
The government’s Green Deal needs to retrofit around 600,000 homes a year - but it seems unlikely that current incentives can persuade enough people to make alterations to their homes. Ike Ijeh asks if the promise of a style makeover could be a more effective way to win over homeowners
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FeaturesUniversity Technical Colleges: Dumbing down
Until January of this year, University Technical Colleges were fast gaining favour as a way of attracting new talent into our industry. Then, out of the blue, education secretary Michael Gove downgraded vocational qualifications, putting the feasibility of the programme in question. Building asks whether the government is making a ...
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FeaturesThe power of collaborative consumption
Today’s technology and the recession are driving a revived sense of community as we share, rent and trade possessions. Writer and ecobuild speaker Rachel Botsman talks to Nick Jones about the power of ‘collaborative consumption’
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FeaturesArcadis' Neil McArthur: This is just the start
When Arcadis bought EC Harris last year, it became the 10th largest design consultant in the UK and gained leverage in Asia and the Middle East. Now it’s brought in Neil McArthur to spend a further £100m on acquisitions and turn it into an even bigger global player. Building asked ...
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FeaturesGeoengineering: Space age solutions
Governments admit they have failed to reduce our co2 emissions, so now geoengineering could be our only option to counteract climate change. Andy Pearson explains how this could involve anything from covering deserts with reflective surfaces to putting a shield for the earth in space. Illustration by Philip Veall
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FeaturesBest supporting acts: The ICE awards
Beneath Londoners’ feet, on their roads and in their stations, the city is undergoing arguably its biggest transformation since the Victorian age. The ICE awards, held last week, celebrated the cream of this current wave of infrastructure projects. Thomas Lane rounds up the winners
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FeaturesEcobuild 2012: Spotlights
From solar powered transport to timber structures and the latest in urban design, Ecobuild is showcasing the very best in sustainability. So what’s taking centre stage this year? Andy Pearson reports
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FeaturesE.ON's Michael Woodhead: Power trip
E.ON UK’s sustainable energy division is quickly becoming a very influential player in the country’s power market. Ahead of its starring role at Ecobuild next month, managing director Michael Woodhead tells Building why that’s particularly good news for construction
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FeaturesCountry focus: Germany
Investors are still flocking to Europe’s largest economy, unemployment is at a new low, and orders are up 20%. What could possibly go wrong? John Atkins and Meinhard Rudolph from EC Harris report
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FeaturesThe London office market: Development boom?
With 25-year leases expiring all over the City, this was meant to be a boom time for commercial development in central London. So why are so many of the most prestigious schemes either on hold or sitting empty? Building reports
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FeaturesRedeveloping Bart's and Royal London hospitals
It was tempting to hang a ‘do not resuscitate’ sign on two dingy, barely accessible London hospitals, but Skanska’s redevelopment of the sites has made them functional again - which should perk up medical staff and patients alike
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FeaturesYoung designers create a pop-up club
Heineken’s competition is for a concept nightclub based on the theme ‘changing perspectives’
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FeaturesMy working day: RLF QS Kat Hurworth
The young QS on a placement at RLF took on the nickname ‘the golfer’ even before she began work
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FeaturesView from my office: Steve Ferguson
Senior cost manager at EC Harris in Belfast looks over Northern Ireland’s newest visitor attraction Titanic Belfast
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FeaturesOpportunities in Qatar
A US giant may have scooped the lead role on Qatar’s World Cup, but UK firms are well placed to target the $100bn that the richest country in the world is investing in construction before 2015. Building took a flight out east
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FeaturesRegional Olympic sites: The out-of-towners
It really isn’t just about London … Ike Ijeh casts an eye over the Olympic-related developments, upgrades and refurbishments that have taken place across the UK, from the white-water rapids of Hertfordshire to the 53m-high Weymouth Tower
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FeaturesDigging Doha: Msheireb's Issa M Al Mohannadi
Qatari client Msheireb Properties wants its £3.5bn Downtown Doha scheme to be the prototype for future cities around the world. Building talks to its chief executive about why this masterplan is so radical and why he wants UK expertise to help make it happen