All Features articles – Page 336
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FeaturesProjects that went pearshaped
Here, in order of horribleness, are six projects that caused grief to all concerned, although they did give Building journalists an awful lot to write about
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FeaturesThree wiser men: Did Building’s business advice work?
In April this year, Building gathered together three people who were running companies suffering from late payments and dwindling order books. We asked a panel of business experts to offer them advice on surviving the months ahead, including how to win work and maintain cash flow. Since then our three ...
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FeaturesThe new arrival: Balfour Beatty’s Birmingham PFI hospital
Weighing in at £585m, Balfour Beatty’s Birmingham PFI hospital was expected to be a difficult birth. Instead, it has been delivered with few complications, no trips to casualty, and ahead of its due date. Thomas Lane hands round the cigars
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FeaturesPrefabricated straw bale panels
ModCell prefabricated straw bale and hemp panels are as fire-safe as conventional materials, according to research carried out at the University of Bath
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FeaturesCarbon capture and storage: How we blew it
Carbon capture and storage was supposed to be an area where British expertise could thrive. But, says Olivia Boyd, lack of clarity on the government’s plans and how it intends to fund them is squandering UK talent
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FeaturesGreen insulation boards
Celotex has launched the FR4000 range of foil faced PIR insulation which has gained an “A” rating under the BRE’s Green Guide to Specification, helping it gain credits under the Code for Sustainable Homes
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Features
Casement windows
Universal Aluminium Systems has launched the Unitherm 75 range of casement windows for domestic and light industrial applications
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Features
The tracker: Feeling gloomy
Bad weather, falling activity indices and sharp declines in north-west England and the East Midlands marked October down as a month to forget. Experian Business Strategies reports
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Features
Fire-retardant paints
Dulux Trade has launched an extension to its Pyroshield flame-retardant range, which protects walls and ceilings and minimises flame spread in a fire
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FeaturesOpen-plan flats: Opening up
There’s pent-up demand for open-plan flats, but fire safety rules make it difficult for them to get approval. Giving designers a set of templates to follow that include sprinklers and enhanced detection systems could be the answer
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Features
Foundation systems
Residential developer Skipton Properties is using Insulslab SFRC, a super-insulated and integrated foundation system, for its Grove Mills development in Keighley
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FeaturesHighly insulated roofs
A new dual-insulation roof system from Kalzip has been used on the CO2Zero-LiveWork building in Bristol which is the first live/work scheme to be certified to level five of the Code for Sustainable Homes
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FeaturesInn recovery: The hotels market
With the pound weak and tourism strong, the UK hotels market is set for a resurgence in 2010. Emily Wright finds out how you can book yourself in
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Features
Roof insulation
Rockwool, manufacturers of non-combustible stone wool insulation, has developed a bespoke insulation system for the refurbishment of the grade II-listed Barbican Estate in London’s Square Mile
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Features
Low-energy ventilation
Vent-Axia has launched the Low Carbon Centra, a domestic extract fan which has the lowest specific fan power on SAP appendix Q, the list that means a product’s energy performance can be taken into account when carrying out the SAP assessment
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FeaturesOur man in Copenhagen: First impressions at the summit
Peter Head of Arup is blogging from the climate change conference, where he seems cautiously optimistic a deal can be struck…
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Features
Cost update: November 2009
The quarterly analysis of changes to costs and prices shows building costs falling year on year for the first time in four decades. Peter Fordham of Davis Langdon reports
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FeaturesSunderland university student union: All bar none
There’s no room for slackers at Sunderland university’s dazzling new student union, which packs its impressively generous spaces with sports halls and exercise areas. You can’t even get a pint around here
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FeaturesThe colleges debacle: a lack of progress report
The full scale of the Learning and Skills Council funding fiasco is only now becoming clear, as many colleges face up to a long and dismal future in temporary accommodation. Sarah Richardson reveals the full story
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FeaturesThe other Copenhagen: the inside track on the summit’s fringe events
The treaty at next week’s climate change summit will change everything – if it ever gets signed. But it’s the fringe events that could change the way the world builds. Roxane McMeeken gets the inside track from one of the UK’s main representatives