All Features articles – Page 557
-
Features
Five internet sites for small businesses
www.fsb.org.ukThe Federation of Small Businesses is an independent lobby group. The site has a wealth of information including the results of surveys of its members, the in-depth analysis of key business issues, and plenty of practical advice. You can telephone the federation on 01253-336000. www.iod.comThe Institute of Directors produces lots ...
-
Features
Art for art's sake
Exposed, geometric concrete is making a comeback in Sheffield with an award-winning complex of artists' studios designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley. But, wonders Martin Spring, will it stand the test of time?
-
Features
Appointments
HousebuildersCarol Bosley has joined the Redrow sales team in the Midlands as sales manager. Sharon Osborne (left) has been appointed field sales manager.Persimmon Homes has appointed Walter Harrison site manager.Linden Homes has appointed Andrew Brown managing director of Linden Homes North-west. ConsultantsInternational property adviser GVA Grimley has promoted Martin Hoyle ...
-
Features
There may be trouble ahead
In this month's tracker, Construction Forecasting and Research reports a slight improvement in April – but unfortunately the good news is marred by a rather less optimistic outlook
-
Features
Windows 2002
In the age of the supercomputer, architects are looking back nearly 2000 years for inspiration. Thomas Lane examines two dramatic glazing projects that have used ancient materials to create an undeniably 21st-century effect
-
Features
What the talking toilet has to tell us
The long wait is over. Intelligent objects, the smart design tools that are set to revolutionise the way buildings are constructed and operated, have materialised in the UK – in the rather unexpected form of communicating airport loos.
-
Features
Under the spotlight
Recent campaigns by environmental pressure groups have exposed the construction industry to a barrage of bad press, with the aim of shaming firms into changing their ways.
-
Features
Teen spirit
John Berry, managing director of contractor Bluestone South West, explains the company's apprenticeship scheme for youngsters and its aim to turn site workers into managers
-
-
Features
Living in a Huf
If your idea of prefabricated housing is a sardine can with slits for windows, think again. Huf Haus has been building light, spacious factory-made homes for years – and they're great for key workers earning more than half a million pounds a year. Thomas Lane checks out the latest design ...
-
Features
Five tips on public speaking
Know yourself Practise in front of a mirror or, better still, film yourself. There is no faster way to improve your delivery than getting a chance to see what others see when you get on stage. Get your friends to watch you and comment on your delivery.Be brief Deliver your ...
-
Features
The duke of hazard
How much was your last insurance premium? Too much, probably. Construction is a risky business but, if that risk is managed, it needn't push up your costs, says American expert Michael Mainelli. He tells Victoria Madine how we could learn from other high-risk industries
-
Features
Cost model: Hotel refurbishment
Despite sharp drops in profitability over the past year, hotel operators continue to invest heavily in refurbishment. In this quarter’s cost model, Davis Langdon & Everest examines the key elements and challenges of hotel refurbishment, giving detailed costs for guest rooms and front-of-house areas
-
Features
Best of British
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is making life better for thousands of people – and no, it's not handing out free chocolate. Foundation director Lord Best told Martin Spring about his organisation's innovative plans to tackle the housing crisis.
-
Features
Walk of art
Glass artist Alexander Beleschenko has turned a featureless underground passage into a festival of light and colour
-
Features
Appointments
ContractorsEngineering firm Dartmouth has appointed Martin Clark, Tony Cole and Mark Newman mobile mechanical and electrical supervisors.HousebuildersPeter Vella (left) has been promoted by Crosby Homes (North West) to sales and marketing director. He was sales and marketing project manager. Redrow Homes (Scotland) has recruited two field sales managers. Christine Higgins ...
-
Features
Doing the Whitehall shuffle
With Cabinet reshuffles, it is always a case of dealer's choice. But no prime minister in living memory has scooped up the departmental deck and dealt it out again with quite the regularity of Tony Blair.
-
Features
We're saved! It's Utilityman
Computer-enhanced, radar-enabled, global-satellite-positioned, they can see through 3 m of tarmac and earth to find exactly what's hiding under innocent-looking roads. Andy Pearson reports on a new breed of superhero.
-
Features
Hot Leeds!
Financial and media firms are flocking to the emerging capital of the North to share its 24-hour European-class culture. Which is good news for construction companies …