All Features articles – Page 505
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FeaturesHolyrood reaction
The Fraser Report may have passed down its judgment on the Scottish parliament building, but the mud is still flying. Here, Building’s readers join the fray and Rob Smith, senior partner at Davis Langdon, defends his firm’s decisions as cost consultant on the project
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Features
Are parliaments inherently unmanageable?
Solicitor Matthew Bell argues that Holyrood was always going to be a problem – but at least it is in good company …
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FeaturesInside off-site
Modern methods of construction are now being used on all manner of projects, from restaurants to naval bases. Mark Faithfull looks at the latest developments and asks: could this be the age of off-site?
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Features
Language skills
Learning the right words and phrases is the key to understanding a new culture. So, here with “Off-site manufacture: Lesson one” is Mtech Group
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FeaturesPFI in limbo
Ten years after it burst on the scene, PFI has become bogged down in project delays. As research published this week reveals yet more missed PFI targets, We report on how contractors are upping sticks and taking their expertise abroad
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Features
Regulations roundup
A brief guide to recently issued regulations with pointers to upcoming changes in regulations and consultation documents
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Features
Five tips for complying with the DDA
By today, organisations that deal with the public should have complied with the Disability Discrimination Act by making their services accessible to people with disabilities. What constitutes a fully DDA-compliant building has yet to be decided, as this will be determined by a body of case law. In the meantime, ...
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FeaturesFire evacuation
An unusual approach was needed to get the University of Hertfordshire’s de Havilland campus building to conform with Part B of the Building Regulations, which deals with fire safety.
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FeaturesOpening homes, hearts and minds
Graham Bizley says that allowing Open House visitors into his home was an eye-opener.
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FeaturesWhy the public loves an engineer
Open Site proved a roaring success for the projects that opened their doors to an inquisitive public, says Matt Dawson, relationship development manager at the Association of Consulting Engineers.
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FeaturesBoris walks with the dinosaurs
Boris Johnson pays tribute to air conditioning at the HVAC's bash at the Natural History museum.
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Features
£300m hospital takes Bovis to the top of August league
After a quiet July, Bovis Lend Lease climbs 29 places – and stays well ahead in the annual contractor charts
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Features
Planning approvals
Approvals have grown significantly in London and East Anglia over the summer. In Wales, however, there is little evidence planners are responding to warnings of undersupply
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FeaturesThe burning of the bodies
Construction’s institutions may have been dealt a deadly blow last week, when they were attacked as isolationist and threatened with merger plans. We report on how reforms could spell the end of professional bodies as we know them
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Features
Buyer demand
SmartNewHomes reports that London bore the brunt of the summer slowdown with a fall in demand of 8.5%. That figure almost exactly matches the rise that Wales enjoyed. Meanwhile urban exiles continue to flock to the South-west
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FeaturesMillau Viaduct: C’est magnifique!
Foster and Partners’ Viaduc de Millau in southern France is the highest, longest cable-stayed bridge in the world, and it opens in December. We admire the view, talks to the engineer and meets some enthusiastic locals.
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Features
New-build completions
The housebuilding industry has been hard at work over the summer, maintaining steady completion levels, but daily sales dipped in June and July. Thank heavens they picked up in August. Maybe the downturn won’t happen after all …
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FeaturesSpecialist costs: Concrete frames
In the first of our specialist market overviews, Ian Purton of Gardiner & Theobald looks at the concrete sector’s lead times and costs