More Focus – Page 171
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FeaturesView from my office: Natasha Newbury
The JFA project manager looks over a Balham housing estate and a Hindu temple
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FeaturesHigh drama: Review of 2011
It’s been a year of break-ups, make-ups and dramatic exits against the backdrop of a bleak economy and widening gap between the rich and poor. Building looks back at the plot and its main players
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FeaturesProjects of 2011
Arts-led regeneration projects, rail upgrades, Olympic venues, luxury flats and an opulently refurbished hotel all defied the downturn. Thomas Lane and Ike Ijeh revisit some of the splendours
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FeaturesThe oven gloves are off: The Great Building Bake Off
Take four industry teams, add gingerbread, cake mix, icing and an awful lot of chocolate, mix well, set the timer for an hour-and-a half, and stop when you smell burning … Emily Wright and Iain Withers invite you to sample the Great Building Bake Off. Images by Astrid Kogler
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FeaturesSpecial report: Bringing in BIM
It’s no longer a question of whether you should adopt BIM, but how. So what are firms doing to persuade employees and supply chains to embrace the technology and get suitable training? Andy Pearson reports
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FeaturesMy working day: F+G QS Astrid Andersson
The quantity surveyor at consultant F+G in Leeds juggles a busy work schedule with her love for horses
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FeaturesMichael Dyke, Lend Lease: 'It's business as usual'
When Lend Lease dropped the Bovis name, it said goodbye to one of UK contracting’s oldest and best-known brands. Building talks to Michael Dyke, the construction arm’s new boss, about where the division will go next. Portrait David Levene
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FeaturesCarillion's purchase of Eaga: Blinded by the sun
In April, Carillion bought Eaga - a company with big plans to install PV panels on 30,000 homes - and rebranded it as Carillion Energy Services. Seven months later, government feed-in tariffs have been cut in half, and all 4,500 jobs are on the line. So was the £298m purchase ...
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FeaturesThe tracker: Gloom, then more gloom
As the days get darker so does the industry outlook, with the latest figures from Experian Economics showing a deterioration in all sectors and construction activity hitting a three-month low
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FeaturesNow boarding: The aviation sector
George Osborne’s autumn statement hinted at support for airport projects, including the £50bn Thames Estuary hub - but haven’t the best seats already been nabbed by a few framework contractors and consultants? Building finds out how to fight your way to the front of the queue
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FeaturesA lot to live up to: Building houses that meet predicted energy use
The gap between a house’s predicted energy use and actual performance has been comprehensively panned. Building meets three developers who reckon their projects will show that low carbon on paper can mean low carbon in practice
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FeaturesFarringdon station overhaul: Boring? If only!
London’s Farringdon station has been given an overhaul and is ready for more passengers, bigger trains and Crossrail. But it hasn’t been an easy ride - and digging a 140m tunnel by hand was the least of it. By Thomas Lane. Photography by Colin Streater
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FeaturesPCKO interview: The new country
Thirty years ago PCKO Architects broke into what was a tough UK market. Now they’re hitting China. So what’s their secret? Andrew Ogorzalek and Peter Chlapowski talk to Emily Wright about luck … and vodka
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FeaturesThe health care sector: Anyone know how this works?
The government is bent on a major shake-up of NHS estate procurement, yet it’s been almost silent on how the new system will work. Should the construction industry simply be working it out for themselves? Building asks the experts
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FeaturesHydropower: Water works
With all the controversy over solar, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that hydropower produces a thousand times more electricity. Building investigates a power source that could light up the industry
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FeaturesCost model: Temporary venues
With the popularity of global sporting events continuing to grow against a background of economic uncertainty and the need for reducing public expenditure, Hein le Roux of Davis Langdon, an Aecom company, examines the pros and cons of using temporary venues for sporting events
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FeaturesArchitecture students design chairs
Nottingham Trent first year students tackle the perfect chair with three cardboard designs
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FeaturesPFI: What’s the plan?
Next week the chancellor will unveil his £50bn infrastructure plan, as the euro crisis causes construction scheme finance to retreat. Joey Gardiner looks at whether George Osborne can tempt new sources of private cash to fill the funding gap
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FeaturesAsia markets: ‘Anyone who is not looking at Asia should be’
UK firms have known about the boom in Asia for some time, but now it’s become a region they simply cannot afford to ignore. Emily Wright reports on a part of the world that will spend $440bn a year on infrastructure
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FeaturesCost update Q3 2011
Never a dull moment: average earnings have improved but inflation is still at a 15-year high, and industrial relations remain tense. Peter Fordham of Davis Langdon, an Aecom company, reports