All articles by Thomas Lane – Page 23
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FeaturesThe big brother houses: monitoring residents' energy use
Housebuilders can specify all the green technology they want, but what happens when human beings get left in charge of the thermostat? Buro Happold installed sensors to find out, then told Thomas Lane what they discovered
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FeaturesUpgrading old windows: Old panes, new gains
Improving the performance of old windows is a key part of the strategy to upgrade the UK’s inefficient building stock. But how best to go about it? Thomas Lane made inquiries
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NewsTalks to begin over code level seven
The communities department is planning talks with volume housebuilders about adding another, more demanding level to the Code for Sustainable Homes
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CommentThe 2010 Building Awards: Projects shortlist showcase
Hard not to have a wiggle in your walk when you see the cornucopia of building projects shortlisted for the 2010 Building Awards
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FeaturesThe 2010 Building Awards: Public projects shortlist showcase
Hard not to have a wiggle in your walk when you see the cornucopia of building projects shortlisted for the 2010 Building Awards
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FeaturesPreventing a pile-up
Transport infrastructure spending seems to be one of construction’s good news stories. According to Davis Langdon, there has been 10% growth in real terms
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CommentInsurance: Are you prepared to take the risk?
Insurers say they are suffering disproportionate losses from buildings built using modern construction methods. Unless the industry acts, says Thomas Lane, they may pull cover
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CommentTimber frame insurance controversy: Building responds
We’ve had quite a response to our story on insurers threatening to pull cover on timber frame buildings, here's the gist of it...
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NewsInsurers threaten to pull cover for timber frame
Companies including Aviva and Axa warn that modern construction method has too high a fire risk
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FeaturesBack to the floor: Factory Records is reborn as a nightclub
Factory Records, the legendary Manchester label, has been reborn as a nightclub. Thomas Lane nips in ahead of the crowds
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FeaturesCivil stars: ICE’s London award winners
Civil engineering may not be the most glamorous profession but the ICE’s London awards give its brightest and best their moment in the limelight. Thomas Lane takes a look at the winners
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FeaturesThe two-year rush hour: London’s Park Plaza hotel
Park Plaza has built a 1,000-bedroom hotel and conference centre in the middle of one of London’s noisiest roundabouts. But it was delivering the project in just 24 months that kept the construction team suitably stressed
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News‘It’s good to slow down’: Aldar at Al Raha Beach
Abu Dhabi developer Aldar is toning down the extravagance at Al Raha Beach, its 11km-long waterfront paradise. Patrick Bell, its head of pre-construction, tells Thomas Lane why that’s no bad thing
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FeaturesTwist and shout: RMJM’s Abu Dhabi Capital Gate tower
RMJM’s Capital Gate tower in Abu Dhabi leans at a stomach-lurching 18º, making it a project that largely consisted of geometrical and structural problems – not least of which was finding out where the building had moved to each morning
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FeaturesVictorian Passivhaus: a Haus in Hackney
Is it possible to refurbish a Victorian house in a conservation area to Passivhaus standards? In the last in our series on upgrading existing homes, Thomas Lane visits one east Londoner who was determined to find out
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NewsThe hospitable: Foster + Partners’ Circle Bath hospital
Foster + Partners intended its first ever healthcare project – the 28-bed Circle Bath – to be as warm and welcoming as a five-star boutique hotel
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FeaturesLeaning Las Vegas: a city centre by starchitects
A veritable ratpack of architects are turning up the style in Sin City, writes Thomas Lane – and they’re not all playing it straight …
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CommentBuilding buys a pint... for Stride Treglown
Within five minutes of sitting down it’s obvious this is going to be a long night
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CommentTimber frames: Warning bells are ringing
The blaze that swept through a Peckham street two weeks ago has left the timber-frame industry in little doubt that, next time, lives may soon be lost. But can the sector do more to ensure there is no next time?
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FeaturesThe new arrival: Balfour Beatty’s Birmingham PFI hospital
Weighing in at £585m, Balfour Beatty’s Birmingham PFI hospital was expected to be a difficult birth. Instead, it has been delivered with few complications, no trips to casualty, and ahead of its due date. Thomas Lane hands round the cigars