Search Results for: construction

March 5, 2014

Nine essays from UK-GBC on transforming the built environment

by Sara Bean • Environment, News, Property

The UK Green Building Council has published its annual collection of essays from its prestigious Leaders’ Network. The nine essays, entitled A defining decade – radically transforming the built environment by 2025, reflect upon the Government’s industrial strategy Construction 2025 and its vision for the UK’s built environment over the next 10 years. It includes contributions from Nicholas Pollard of Balfour Beatty, Bill Hughes of Legal & General Property, Paul Hinkin of Black Architecture and Climate Change Capital’s James Cameron. In his foreword, UK-GBC Chief Executive Paul King writes: “The essays included in this year’s collection come from a hugely influential and diverse group of leaders from across the built environment who all share a sense of the scale of the challenges ahead.” To view the essays click here.

February 27, 2014

UK Government urged to push ahead with zero carbon commercial buildings

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, Legal news, News, Property

The UK’s Green Building Council has fired off its latest salvo in an ongoing battle with the Government over the implementation of environmental legislation for commercial buildings. A new report from the organisation’s Task Group urges the Government to push ahead with plans to ensure that by 2019 all new non domestic buildings will be built to zero carbon standards. The report claims that the implementation of appropriate regulations is hampered by a lack of clarity, including confusion over what zero carbon actually means as well as the government’s own stop-start approach to the environment. The current 2019 commitment to zero carbon buildings falls a year ahead of the deadline specified in European Law, but a recent focus from the coalition on reducing relevant legislation has added to confusion about the overall approach.

February 25, 2014

City of London grants planning permission for ‘Gotham City’

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property

Planning permission has been granted from the City of London for a £12.7 billion scheme at 40 Leadenhall Street. The building – dubbed ‘Gotham City’ – is located beside the Gherkin at the heart of the City’s eastern cluster of tall buildings and will vary in height between 7 and 34 office storeys. It will feature two additional basement levels, a roof level plant (total height 170m AOD), a flexible retail/café and restaurant uses at ground floor level and café/restaurant with roof terrace overlooking Fenchurch Street. The total size of the building is 910,000 sq ft, split between 890,000 sq ft office and c. 20,000 sq ft retail. As part of the design by Make architects; a grade II listed building at 19-21 Billiter Street, built in 1865, will be restored and integrated into the proposed scheme. More →

February 19, 2014

Employment is on the rise but pay not matching the rate of inflation

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

The latest labour market statistics shows employment has continued to rise, but at a slower rate than seen last month. However, at 67.2 per cent, record-breaking numbers of women are now in work, the highest since records began. The figures published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the employment rate in the three months to December 2013 rose to 72.1 per cent, lower than the previous three months and with just a small rise in total pay of 1.1 per cent. This slower pace of growth in employment and pay is reflected in the latest CIPD/ SuccessFactors quarterly Labour Market Outlook survey, which reveals that, although recruitment intentions remain positive, the rate of increase has slowed significantly and the vast majority of organisations expect to give pay awards below the current rate of inflation. More →

February 13, 2014

Fin solution for Walkie Scorchie melting problem submitted by developers

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property

The 37-storey tower at 20 Fenchurch Street – dubbed the Walkie Scorchie last summer, after its sloped design was found to be melting cars in the area, will be fitted with a brise soleil shading system to stop it reflecting damaging sun rays reports the Construction Enquirer. Joint development partners Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group have just submitted a planning application to the City of London to fit horizontal light diffusing aluminium fins from the third floor to the 34th floor on the south-facing façade. The fins have been designed by the building’s architect Rafael Vinoly Architects alongside solar glare experts Loisos + Ubbelohde. Once planning consent is granted, the refit project, expected to cost less than £10m, should take around six months to complete.

February 10, 2014

Architects should accept that other people do have a right to an opinion

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Facilities management

All professions tend to wallow in a mire of their own existential angst, perpetually complaining that they are misunderstood, undervalued and misrepresented. But any members of the human resources, facilities management or other professions which come across as habitually concerned about their role, public image, direction or esteem in which they are held might want to contrast their situation with that of the UK’s architects. This is a profession that wrestles not only with the common professional gripes, but also with what it perceives as a fall from public grace coupled with falling fees and complete disdain for what muggles – non-architectural folk – think. And all in a country in which literally anybody is allowed to design buildings.

February 5, 2014

Corruption in procurement perceived as widespread across EU

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Public Sector

According to the EU’s newly published Anti Corruption Report, around 15 percent UK firms believe that corruption has prevented them from winning a public contract at at least one point during the past three years. Although this rate compares favourably with an EU average of 32 percent, the report concludes that the total cost to the European economy of corruption is some €120 billion. The most commonly cited practices cited by the firms responding to the survey included specifications and procurement processes tailored for certain firms, conflicts of interest in bid evaluation and collusion between suppliers. Although under a fifth of UK businesses claim to have been directly affected, nearly half (46 percent) feel corruption is widespread compared to an EU average of 75 percent.

January 25, 2014

Latest issue of Insight now available to view online

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Newsletter, Workplace, Workplace design

The latest issue of our weekly newsletter is now available to view online here. This week: Ilkka Kakko argues that designing for serendipity is about more than facilitating chance meetings; Mark Eltringham looks for the missing link between offices and avocados; we report on the ongoing recovery in the construction and property markets; raise questions about what happiness at work really means; and Sara Bean argues that we should never assume that working from home is the best way for an individual to work. If you don’t already subscribe, please do by adding your email in the box on the home page and we’ll make sure you see the freshest thinking on workplace design and management each week.

January 22, 2014

Land Securities to submit application for solution to Walkie Talkie solar glare problem

by Sara Bean • Company news, Facilities management, Property

Land Securities has confirmed it will submit a planning application next month for the solution to the solar glare problem at the ‘Walkie Talkie.’ Last year the skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch EC3 was dubbed the ‘Walkie Scorchie’, after it was found its unusual design was reflecting and magnifying the sun’s rays, which were melting parts of vehicles parked in nearby streets. According to the developer, despite its problems, the building is now 64 per cent pre-let, with a further 23 per cent in solicitors’ hands, and just 42,700 sq feet of space remaining. Land Securities has also announced, that due to increased demand for London office space it is to launch two new central London developments. More →