All Features articles – Page 651
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Features
The e-biz has landed
Brian Moran and Mark Suster reckon e-commerce can cut building cost 20%, and they’ve set up a web site to prove it. Will they be construction’s first Internet millionaires?
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Features
As green as it gets
Self-sufficient for its supply of water, gas and electricity, this Millennium Commission-funded centre incorporates a variety of sustainable technologies.
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Features
The great sack race
Growth is stable, order books are bulging and good times are here for contractors. But it’s not enough for the City, which is why Laing, Mowlem and Taywood have axed hundreds of jobs. And there are more to come …
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Features
Do you really want to know?
If you lose an adjudication, do you want to know why you lost? If you do, you have to agree to it before you get into the contract. Here are some things you should be aware of.
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Features
Sir Steve Robson
This Treasury man has three years to change the way state and industry do business. Not everyone thinks he can. How on earth is he going to make it happen?
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Features
Case study 1: No 8 The Square, Stockley Park
No 8 The Square is hailed as the UK's first purpose-designed serviced office building, even though it is the fourth in a new generation of office buildings designed by Arup Associates at Stockley Park, the self-styled “leading business park in Europe”. As in the earlier three buildings, Arup Associates has ...
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Features
Case study 2: No 1 Cornhill, City of London
“If you compare the serviced office sector with the hotel industry, it generally provides a three- or four-star service. We offer a five-star service that’s distinctly different.” So says Vincent Wang, chief executive of the fledgeling serviced office operator Nexus Estates.Wang’s five-star service can be seen in all its glory ...
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Features
Case study 4: 288 Bishopsgate, City of London
In 1998, HQ Global Workplaces picked up a narrow sliver of land at the corner of the huge Spitalfields development at the eastern fringe of the City of London. With a footprint only 10.5 m deep, the site did not suit a conventional speculative office development, but could accommodate serviced ...
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Features
Case study 3: Regus business centres
Regus, the British market leader of serviced offices, proudly bills itself as the McDonald’s of the sector. Standardised brand image and instant availability are its selling points, with every building entrance and reception fronted by its half-crown logo. The company offers customers serviced offices within 24 hours for periods as ...
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Features
What’s done is done
Once an adjudicator has made a decision on a case, it cannot be settled again by another adjudicator. That is, as long as the judge does not rule that they are substantially different disputes.
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Features
The Appliance of science
London's Science Museum has a new eco-friendly way of generating electricity. But instead of being hidden in a dark basement, it's on show for all to see. How does it work?
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Features
Appointments
ContractorsTaylor Woodrow has appointed Brian George non-executive director and non-executive chairman, and Denis MacDaid managing director.Weaver Construction has appointed Jeff Gale new contracts manager.The Higgins Group has appointed Gary Robins and Brian Mason construction directors.Lichfield-based construction firm Linford-Bridgeman has made Andrew Chamberlain masonry manager.Leisure contractor Multibuild has promoted Dean Johnston ...
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Features
Was it Bill or was it Ben?
If housebuilding ends up wonky, who’s to blame? The person who takes on the work, of course. But just who is that? The main contractor, the subcontractor, the builder, the architect or the surveyor?
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Features
Scrutiny on the bounty
In the first of a series of columns designed to help small businesses run more efficiently, accountant Smith & Williamson examines the role of the external audit in cutting costs and improving management processes.
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Features
Whole-life cost model
The government is set to spend £450m on new and refurbished PFI schools next year. To help firms thinking of bidding to prepare tenders, Citex details the occupancy costs of typical schools, together with case studies of new-build and refurbished institutions.
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Features
Would you win in court?
Firms trying to avoid litigation would do well to embrace early neutral evaluation, a procedure that allows a judge to tell the parties who is likely to win long before they get to court.
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Features
Culture shock
From 1 April, councils are legally obliged to procure on the basis of best value. This is great news for contractors – if councils are up to making the change. But are they?
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Features
The wow factor
Tom Wright designed a jaw-dropping hotel at Dubai's Jumeirah Beach. Now he's putting WS Atkins Architects on the map all around the world – even in the UK.
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Features
Filling the post
Superstars required. But how do you hire them? Robert Smith of recruitment consultant Hays Montrose explains.
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Features
Inspecting gadgets
Don't be scared off by microtechnology – the new portable gizmos are light, affordable and easy to use whether you're on site or in the car. So, what should be in your briefcase?