Month in numbers

2

The percentage chance that a high-profile apartment block in Leeds, built by Kajima using modular construction, will fall down in high winds.

Residents will be evacuated in the next three months from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s 46-unit CASPAR scheme because of faults in the building.

The scheme, completed six years ago, was one of two modular housing schemes developed by JRF to pilot off-site construction methods.

It’s terrible news for proponents of modern methods of construction (and of course for CASPAR residents, the JRF and Kajima). The news comes at a time when the government has made off-site construction central to its goal of building 200,000 extra homes by 2016.

Kajima will pay for compensating residents and for the loss of rent to the JRF. The total cost is not in the millions but could rise depending on the results of Arup’s detailed report.

20

The amount in dollars you’ll have to pay extra to sleep in new allergy-proof rooms at Chicago’s Hilton O’Hare. The rooms have been built specially for guests allergic to dust, moulds and chemicals found in most new buildings.

In a pilot project at the 34-year-old hotel, two rooms were gutted and retro-fitted. Carpeting was replaced with hardwood flooring. Frequently touched surfaces are coated with an anti-microbial agent to kill germs. All paint, adhesives, coatings and furniture are free of volatile organic compounds. The wallpaper is perforated to prevent mould. And if a cleaner overdoes the bleach, an air monitoring system will alert the manager. Yes, it does sound extravagant. But Hilton expects a return on its investment in two years and plans 500 rooms across 10 cities. Source: Building Design and Construction.

30

The number of people whose symptoms of the so-called Toxic Mould Syndrome were found to be caused by other health problems in a US study that led one scientist to brand TMS a “pseudo-ailment”.

Reuters reports that researchers at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon, looked at 50 patients who blamed mould for their coughing, asthma, inflammations and other afflictions. All had been referred by a lawyer in litigation or by insurance adjusters representing worker’s compensation agencies. People are winning billions of dollars in TMS claims in the US, and some are suing builders for creating environments where moulds flourish.

But doctors Barzin Khalili and Emil Bardana found no consistent set of symptoms, and also that most had a family or personal history of allergy or asthma.

35

The percentage of small and medium-sized builders who said work was down this quarter, compared to the 31% who said work was up, according to the Federation of Master Builders. Does this mean the long boom we’ve been enjoying is over? The FMB is afraid so, noting that it’s the first time in five years its state of trade survey showed a negative balance.

The weak overall picture masks some quite large swings in Greater London, the South-east, Yorkshire-Humberside and the West Midlands, which bucked the downward trend. Wales also continued to report a positive balance.

The biggest losers were firms in the North East, where almost half (48%) of those surveyed said workload was down, a large swing from the second quarter, when the region reported one of the highest positive balances.

115m

The value of work, in US dollars, that China’s state-owned building behemoth, China State Construction Engineering Corp (CSCEC), has won in America since January.

The projects include a university conference centre and a school in South Carolina, according to the Chinese State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Already under its belt is a US$240m Hotel in New York.

China watchers have long warned it’s only a matter of time before Chinese contractors start flexing their muscles around the world. CSCEC has reportedly been in America since 1999. It boasts a current sales volume of US$300m there and is targeting US$700m worth of contracts by 2010.

The university conference centre is CSCEC’s first higher education project in the US. Source: Xinhua News Agency)