More Focus – Page 189
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FeaturesMarket Forecast: Depth Gauge
It’s difficult to say whether we have reached the bottom of the pricing trough, says Peter Fordham of Davis Langdon, an Aecom company. What’s sure is that material prices will rise
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FeaturesCanada: the friendly careers frontier
For pioneering UK construction professionals scanning the international horizon, there can be few places more attractive than a country with English speakers, simple contracts, nice big scenery and lots of work
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Features
Changing the rules: Make's straw bale cladding at University of Nottingham
Architect Make decided a new university biosciences building deserved the UK’s first straw curtain walling system. So how did they do it?
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FeaturesThe beautiful game: World Cups in Qatar and Russia
England’s loss of its World Cup bid could be the UK construction industry’s gain. Qatar and Russia have billions of dollars to build stadiums and infrastructure from scratch but, says Roxane McMeeken, it’s us Brits that have the relevant talents and experience. So how easy will it be to win ...
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FeaturesBlackfriars station: Pulling out the stops
Blackfriars station is being rebuilt on a bridge right over the River Thames. With a four-lane road to the north, live railway lines on all sides and the river below, it’s not the easiest site on which to deliver a complex project. So how was it done? Thomas Lane buys ...
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FeaturesBest of British: Nigel Webb of British Land
In construction’s current competitive climate, talk of new activity and large-scale development is what everyone is listening out for. British Land’s head of development, Nigel Webb, certainly has something to say.
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FeaturesNakheel's debt deal: Too little too late?
With debts of $10.5bn, Dubai developer Nakheel has left UK consultants £250m short. Some creditors say the company is close to a deal involving Islamic bonds, but others admit they are now reluctant to work with it again
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Features
Architects in film
Lights, camera, architect … What does cinema tells us about a profession that for many remains shrouded in mystery? On the day a film about Norman Foster is released, Ike Ijeh takes a look at some fictional architects from the silver screen to see if they have any basis in ...
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FeaturesHansom: Would you credit it?
Confusion reigns this week as bitter rivals swap names, an unsuspecting receptionist gets caught up in international politics, and a local paper scoops its biggest non-story of all time
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FeaturesEuro contractors: Is the UK market in their grip?
Even the big guns in this year’s Top 200 European contractors league tables will feel the pain as public spending shrinks everywhere. But they could find good hunting among the UK’s large projects. Dave Lowery examines what lies behind the rankings listed over the next nine pages
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FeaturesDrama in Shanghai: Shanghai campus by Morphosis Architects
There’s more than one way to achieve contextualism, and Morphosis Architects’ Giant Campus in Shanghai goes for the provocative approach. Ike Ijeh is beguiled. Photographs by Roland Halbe
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FeaturesMadani Sow: Why it’s great to be in Britain
Innovation in business practice and access to wider markets make Britain a good place for a French contractor to be, says the boss of Bouygues UK. And then there is the opportunity for more acquisitions
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FeaturesA hard man to lose: Rob Holden on leaving Crossrail
When Rob Holden, chief executive of Crossrail, resigned last week, the company was quick to try to reassure its partners. But questions remain as to why he quit and where his departure leaves the £14.5bn project in its most critical year so far
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FeaturesThe tracker: That's snow business
The industry was badly affected by the winter weather and construction activity is expected to continue to decline through the start of 2011. Experian Marketing Information Services reports
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FeaturesBuilding Intelligence Q3 2010
Experian’s Marketing Information Services’ analysis shows the relatively buoyant state of the market up to September last year
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FeaturesHow Balfour Beatty drained its site using state-of-the-art 'blotting paper'
The contractor used 55,000 strips of permeable polyseter to enable work on a saturated site to start in months rather than years
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FeaturesHow paternity rights and abolition of retirement age will hit construction
The Coalition government’s new paternity rights will cause major headache for employers in the male-dominated building industry
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FeaturesHeat, Dust and opportunity in Iraq: Back to Basra
Improved security and oil-funded mega projects make Iraq a land of rising opportunity for British companies starved of contracts at home. That’s not to say working there is a picnic … Building reports from the country’s biggest construction site
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Features
Three of a kind: Dublin airport's Terminal 2
Dublin airport’s new Terminal 2 consists of three different elements, straddling a road. What unites the building is the curving roof form - made up of more than 300 flat panel shapes. Stephen Kennett meets the designers