Search Results for: cities

October 8, 2013

UK Green Building Council partners with Ecobuild to agree event programme

by Sara Bean • Environment, Events, Facilities management, News

The UK Green Building Council has entered into a new long-term partnership with Ecobuild, the annual event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment. The agreement means the two organisations will work closely on the programme of events for Ecobuild to promote the business case for a greener and more sustainable built environment. UK-GBC Chief Executive Paul King, who already sits on the Ecobuild Advisory Board, said: “This partnership marks the start of a new and exciting chapter in our close relationship with Ecobuild, an event which has firmly placed sustainable construction on the UK and international agenda over the past ten years.” More →

October 4, 2013

CIBSE publishes guide on energy reduction from refurbishment projects

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) has published a guide on how to make the most of the energy reduction opportunities that arise during refurbishment projects. The document, called Refurbishment of non-domestic buildings, is available in print (£60) and online (£55). CIBSE president George Adams claims: “Making the current building stock consume significantly less energy contributes to our cities in the future to reduce their heat islands, lower carbon foot prints and lessen the demand on already stretched energy infrastructures. Cities are key to the world’s energy problems and therefore the buildings within should strive through continuous improvement to be as energy efficient as possible and this new guide will assist in this huge challenge.”

September 30, 2013

IPCC climate report: built environment has major role to play in cutting carbon

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News

The built environment has one of the biggest roles to play in tackling global warming, said the UK Green Building Council following the publication of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which confirms that there is at least 95 per cent certainty that human activities are its principal cause. The Summary of the Report for Policy Makers; prepared by 259 climate experts from 39 countries, warns atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and nitrous oxide have increased to levels unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years, while CO2 concentrations have increased by 40 per cent since pre-industrial times. It advises that containing these changes will require “substantial and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions”. More →

September 24, 2013

EU leads the world in representation of women on corporate boards

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

Equal rights legislation is largely seen as the best means of ensuring a more diverse workforce. However, when it comes to reaching the higher echelons of corporate life, opinion is divided on whether imposing mandatory quotas could do more harm than good in promoting gender equality. 2013 saw the highest change recorded to date in the average number of women on the boards of large EU corporations – due in part to the introduction of mandatory quotas. Although the third edition of “Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women in the Boardroom,” from global law firm Paul Hastings LLP, found strong consensus in many countries to support women candidates, the debate over the best approach to increase representation continues. More →

August 21, 2013

Finalists announced for first global City Climate Leadership Awards

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Environment, News, Property

Siemens and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group have announced the 29 cities shortlisted for the inaugural City Climate Leadership Awards. C40 is a network of cities from around the world committed to implementing meaningful and sustainable climate-related actions and the new awards aim to recognise C40 City members that can demonstrate climate action leadership. The winners will be announced at an event at the environmental London landmark building the Crystal [pictured], home to Siemens’ sustainable cities initiative, on September 4, 2013. This will be followed by a conference on September 5, gathering mayors, city planners, and urban sustainability experts to address some of the most pressing climate change and sustainability challenges of the day. More →

July 29, 2013

Fewer London firms plan to expand within the capital reports CBI

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Property

As we’ve reported previously London is enjoying a booming office rental market, but according to the latest CBI/KPMG London Business Survey, high operating costs are making the capital less of an attractive prospect. While more of London’s businesses plan to expand during the next year, fewer are planning to do so in the capital, with high operating costs and housing shortages cited as the biggest concerns. London’s firms also plan to spend relatively more on recruitment and training; product and process innovation; and IT plant and machinery, but less on land and buildings. More →

July 11, 2013

Green Building Council Awards recognise European environmental leadership

by Sara Bean • Environment, News, Property, Public Sector

The UK Green Building Council is accepting nominations for the first-ever European Regional Leadership Awards, part of the World Green Building Council Leadership Awards 2013, which recognise international best practice in city-level government policy for green building initiatives. The regional awards are for best practice in green building initiatives, projects, and policies that are supporting healthier and more sustainable communities within the European Region. “The awards promote leadership and inspire governments to replicate best practices in green building policy,” said the WorldGBC’s Chief Executive Officer, Jane Henley. “Buildings represent an unrivalled opportunity to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, and cities play an increasingly critical role in seizing this opportunity.”

July 3, 2013

The world’s enduring love hate relationship with its tall buildings

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Property

Jean Nouvel Duo Towers in Paris

One day, news will emerge from Dubai of a new development that doesn’t break some record or other, or at least one that isn’t solely about the size of a building. The latest example of the Emirati obsession with scale is the plan by developers DMCC, the people who brought you the Jumeirah Lake Towers, to create the world’s largest commercial office building as part of a 107,000 sq m development of their business park. Although still in the development stage, the developers have their eyes on usurping the current holder of the tallest office crown, Taipei 101, the 509m-high building which was the world’s tallest tower of any sort until the Burj Khalifa came along in 2010. In their press announcement the developers claim the new tower will act as a magnet for multinationals, although not everybody is quite so enamoured of the idea that tall is best. More →

June 28, 2013

Wellness in Real Estate resolution passed for U.S. built environment

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Environment, News, Workplace design

The influential U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) has voted unanimously to pass a Wellness in Real Estate Resolution which commits to promoting buildings that “use a combination of criteria and features that will enhance the well-being of occupants and address growing preventable health concerns and costs.” The resolution is one of ten new sustainability resolutions for the U.S. built environment commended by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which praised the USCM for “showing courage and leadership by embracing a strong sustainability and green building policy agenda”. More →

June 12, 2013

New European Awards recognise leadership in sustainable building

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector

The first awards to recognise outstanding leadership in sustainable building in Europe have been launched by the World Green Building Council’s European Regional Network. The “WorldGBC Leadership Awards – Europe Region” will honour best practice and excellence in cities’ green building policy, as well as in construction projects and corporate initiatives across the continent. The awards feature three categories – Excellence in City Policy for Green Building, Leadership in Building Design and Performance, and Business Leadership in Sustainability – and are open to city councils and policy makers, projects and businesses. More →

June 5, 2013

The future of retail – High Street Bladerunners and Apple in Wonderland

by Simon Heath • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

AT&T’s flagship Chicago store

I was going to write this week on the manifesto from MANTOWNHUMAN – subtitled “TOWARDS A NEW HUMANISM IN ARCHITECTURE” but frankly the dystopian visions it conjured up drove such a bulldozer through any human sensibility as to prove thoroughly depressing. You can find it here if you’re that way inclined. I’d be interested in your views. Instead I’m following up on a faintly hagiographic article in Adweek which recently hailed a new frontier in physical retail spaces, building on the success of Apple’s uber-cool high street playgrounds for bored teenagers and husbands. The store in question and an example of what many are hailing as the future of retail is AT&T’s new flagship on the self-styled Magnificent Mile in Chicago.

May 13, 2013

Green responsibilities of the built environment highlighted by CIBSE

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News

We’ve already focused today on the role individuals can play in supporting the green agenda of their employers, but for those working within the built environment they may have particular responsibility when it comes to helping to reduce energy consumption and provide for the adaptation of buildings that respond to the challenges of climate change. This is the message from incoming CIBSE President, George Adams Engineering Director for Spie Matthew Hall, in his Presidential address, “Whole Life Thinking” where he stresses the need for a new energy engineering conscience and calls for an increased pace of action to improve the industry and reduce its environmental impact.