All articles by Thomas Lane – Page 5
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FeaturesThe Forge: a platform for transforming office construction
Landsec and Bryden Wood have devised an office prototype that aims to be quicker, more sustainable and cheaper than conventional methods
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FeaturesCalifornia dreamin’ brings a skatepark to Folkestone
Inspired by the bowl skating of 1970s America, Folkestone’s multistorey skatepark – a world first – is set to transform the UK’s skating scene forever
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FeaturesA deep green retrofit crafts a sustainability HQ
The Institute for Sustainability Leadership needed an HQ that reflected its values. Here’s what it did next to a Cambridge telephone exchange
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FeaturesTake a dive into the UK’s first Passivhaus leisure centre
Exeter council trailblazes a radical alternative to the energy-guzzling swimming pool
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NewsInsurers call for hybrid structures to make timber buildings easier to insure
Report recommendations include concrete cores and alternating concrete and timber floors to reduce flood and fire risk
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CommentIt’s good to talk about flood and fire risks
A new report on risks posed by timber-framed buildings is a positive first step towards greater collaboration
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FeaturesHempcrete: a natural solution in the quest for better materials
The insulation and low carbon credentials of bio-based materials such as hempcrete are winning over some serious players
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FeaturesUniversity challenge: the LSE’s new Marshall Building
The brief called for sports and arts facilities, as well as teaching and research space – it inspired a highly innovative response
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CommentA tribute to Max Fordham
The pioneering building services engineer was that rare person, a highly original and inventive thinker in a notoriously conservative industry
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FeaturesBest of 2021: The big net zero carbon issues of the year
The COP26 conference in November gave the industry’s decarbonisation agenda added impetus
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FeaturesCobBauge: what on earth is going on?
An Anglo-French alliance is using subsoil and straw to demonstrate how low energy construction on housing projects can be made commercially viable. Thomas Lane reports
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FeaturesThe new Black & White Building: a clear case for timber
The Office Group’s first new-build project will be London’s tallest timber office building when it completes next year
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FeaturesFuture forecast: October – December 2021
The latest quarterly sentiment survey by Building Boardroom finds retail enjoying a big confidence boost but housing has gone off the boil. Meanwhile, engineers and cost consultants’ workload expectations are markedly up, but project managers and contractors’ optimism is decreasing
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FeaturesMid Group: Making the most of modern methods of construction
Building Boardroom talks with Steven Hearn, chief executive of Mid Group, about how the company’s focus on MCC helped it soar from zero to a £95m turnover in six years
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FeaturesMaking waves: how Rugby Radio Station was retuned as a secondary school
The initial plan had been to convert Rugby Radio Station into the heart of a 6,200-home estate, but there was a shortage of secondary schools in the area and master developer Urban & Civic had other ideas, Thomas Lane visits Houlton School
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FeaturesSurvey results: What benefits and incentives are firms offering to attract and retain staff?
The third in our series of staff management surveys looks at what construction firms are doing to find and keep staff
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FeaturesThe heat and buildings strategy explained: what did it say – and was it worth the wait?
Published last week and running to 200 pages, Thomas Lane dives deep into a government initiative that promised much but had delivered rather less
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FeaturesCircus act: Creating Lucent behind the Piccadilly Lights
The space behind the world’s most famous advertising hoarding has been empty since the 1950s. Now Land Securities is building a 144,000ft² mixed-use scheme – while keeping those lights on. Thomas Lane reports
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FeaturesJust how good is wood?
In the third in our series on construction materials, Thomas Lane looks at whether wood really is the panacea many claim it to be
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FeaturesIt’s a wrap: restoring Selfridges’ showstopper status
As if one shocking shopfront look wasn’t enough, Birmingham’s sassy Selfridges has donned a temporary garb of even greater gaudiness while faults are fixed in the glittering blue chainmail below. Thomas Lane explains the technical challenges