All articles by Thomas Lane – Page 9
-
FeaturesThey think it's all covered
...it is now! But what on earth has the world's largest timber gridshell roof got to do with England's chances of winning the 2006 World Cup?
-
NewsDunster's surprise
Britain's greenest architect is trying to turn BedZED, his first zero-energy housing scheme, into a financially viable product. So the new, improved model comes in a box – complete with a team to build it for you.
-
FeaturesAgainst the grain
Tucked away in a Lincolnshire village, Gordon Cowley has been quietly revolutionising the world of timber design. Thomas Lane reports on his experimental approach to complex projects – and his very own product inventions
-
FeaturesA little less conversation …
Government bodies. Initiatives. Events. Programmes. The industry is crammed with ways of discussing sustainable construction – but a recent report is claiming that hardly anybody is actually doing it. A little more action, please, says Thomas Lane.
-
Features
A suspect package?
ERP software systems, which promise a total solution to administering a company, have been successful in some industries, but construction's experience of them has not been entirely happy – as Atkins will testify. We assess the pros and cons.
-
News
Prefab housing factory to supply Thames Gateway
Live-In Quarters' off-site plant in east London is to provide 5000 steel-framed modular homes for Barking Reach.
-
FeaturesDressed to thrill
Inspired by a wallet-busting designer frock, yet designed to be a bargain in itself, the exterior of Future Systems' Selfridges store in Birmingham is a sight to behold. We got the inside story on how this futuristic, shimmering, blue beehive was built.
-
FeaturesOn the beat with building control
It’s not easy being a building control officer – you have to be exacting yet diplomatic. We spent the day with three honchos from Southwark council and found out what eventful lives they lead – that, and not to go on a roof alone with an angry builder …
-
FeaturesHamlet on ice
Sweden already had an ice hotel, so the next logical step was … an ice version of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, of course. Though this be madness, we discovered the method in't.
-
FeaturesTake the spring out of your step
Lightweight floor slabs deliver maximum ceiling heights and cost savings, but have a tendency to develop Millennium Bridge syndrome. Now a shock-absorbing solution – developed by Arup, of course – is set to put workers' feet back on firm ground.
-
FeaturesGoodbye to grey
Rebranding is all very well, but for a sexy image to be convincing there's nothing like relocating to a funky new office building. We discovered a company that gave dullness the sack and employed neon colours, supergraphics and thousands of red tubes …
-
NewsDunster bypasses developers with green housing scheme
Architect assembles own construction team to put plan for environment-friendly homes into action.
-
Features
Sorting it out
The black art of logistics used to be organised by a whiteboard and a magic marker. Now software is being developed that can ensure the most complex jobs are run with optimal efficiency.
-
FeaturesBombs away
It's all very well building brand new terror-proof skyscrapers, but how do you protect all the old buildings that so many of our offices are based in? We discovered a simple solution that just blew him away …
-
FeaturesFollow me or die
The head on the screen, severed but still talking, has a warning to give you. Unless you leave your futile attachment to things of paper (with the exception of magazines, obviously), you face a future of non-existence … Thomas Lane made a record of the seance
-
NewsFirst terror-proof tower in UK goes up at Canary Wharf
Barclays headquarters will contain panic rooms, anti bioterror air-conditioning and extra fire escapes.
-
FeaturesTo be Frank
Realising an unwieldy Frank Gehry design means learning to work the Gehry way, as the team on his Dundee cancer therapy centre quickly found out. And although the architect's first UK building is surprisingly small, the difficulties it caused were anything but …
-
FeaturesA Man and his tools
BuildOnline's Mark Oliver chose an odd moment to join a dotcom. Yet he is confident that his firm's collaboration programs will trigger a computer revolution – if only firms can find a way to upgrade those soft pink things that operate them.
-
FeaturesHouse of horrors
Converting an 18th-century mansion into a luxury hotel is almost bound to be a hairy encounter with the past. But when centuries' worth of slapdash extensions and interventions have taken their toll on the building's structure, then even a crack in the wall can spook you …