Search Results for: sustain

October 28, 2013

Global urbanisation trends present UK cities with new opportunities

by Charles Marks • Comment, Environment, Property, Technology

There is a great deal of talk about the growing urbanisation of the world right now, and its effects on societies, economies and individuals. The numbers of people involved are daunting, especially in the developing world. As a result, many countries are currently experiencing the sort of upheaval we in Britain experienced nearly 300 years ago, and they are doing so in a very compressed time span compared to the 150 years it took in Britain. But the changing nature of cities is also apparent in the UK where it is having an effect not only in the country’s only megacity but in regional centres too. For places such as Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Glasgow the challenges presented by a new generation of initiatives focussed on urbanisation can be profound and mark an opportunity to shift at least some of the UK’s economic focus away from London.

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October 21, 2013

Co-op’s One Angel Square in Manchester wins RICS’ Project of the Year

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Environment, News, Property

One Angel Square in Manchester has been awarded Project of the Year in the RICS Awards that celebrate the built and natural environment. More than 600 building projects entered the awards which also saw category awards presented for building conservation, community benefit, design and innovation, and regeneration. The overall winning project – a £100 million new headquarters for The Co-operative Group – is the largest commercial office building in Manchester and has also achieved the highest scoring BREEAM ‘outstanding’ office rating in the country, setting a new national benchmark in sustainable design in the commercial sector. RICS judges said every aspect of the building has been constructed with sustainability at heart. (more…)

October 15, 2013

Task group launched to define zero carbon for non-domestic buildings

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

A policy for all new non domestic buildings to be zero carbon from 2019 was introduced by the Labour government in 2008. Although the Coalition Government recommitted to this target, announcing in July it would strengthen energy efficiency standards for new non-domestic buildings from April 2014, they had yet to come up with a definition of zero carbon for non-domestic buildings. The UK Green Building Council, whose membership includes the architects, developers, contractors, product manufacturers and others who will be tasked with delivering zero carbon buildings from 2019, is therefore launching a new Task Group to help define and build support for a definition of zero carbon for non-domestic buildings that works for industry. (more…)

October 9, 2013

Joint survey investigates where energy use is on the FM agenda

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News

The British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) and the National Energy Foundation (NEF) have announced a joint survey exploring FM professionals’ experiences and expectations of improving the use of energy in the buildings. Both organisations hope the findings, which will be made available in a report in January 2014, will identify new areas of focus and shed light on how FM professionals are tackling the gap between actual and predicted energy performance in the buildings for which they are responsible. According to Lucy Black, Chair of BIFM’s Sustainability Special Interest Group (SIG), the survey should help identify areas where barriers persist, and FM knowledge is strongest or needs further support. (more…)

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 2, 2013

Refurbished office named ‘best of the best workplace’ in BCO awards

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

A refurbished building which houses the manufacturer of the hi-tec GoreTex fabric range has been named the best of the best workplace in the British Council of Offices (BCO) annual awards. W. L. Gore’s Edinburgh headquarters was recognised for its transformation from a building which was no longer fit for purpose to a modern, green and inspirational workplace. National winners in the BCO 2013 awards include the Crystal in London for innovation; Birmingham City Council offices for fit out of workplace; Cannon Place in London for refurbished workplace; and Astellas in Chertsey and Nestle Product Technology Centre in York for projects up to 2,000m²

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October 1, 2013

Norway’s tallest tower named as one of the winners of the Nordic Built Challenge

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, News

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects has been announced as one of the five winners of the Nordic Built Challenge with plans for Urban Mountain – the tallest tower in Norway. Nordic Built Challenge is a design contest based around the refurbishment of existing buildings. The objective of the competition is to encourage the sustainable refurbishment of some of the most common building types in the Nordic region by showcasing innovation in major projects across the region. The other four winners of the competition were Ellebo Garden Room in Denmark, Cape Green in Iceland, Fittja People’s Palace in Sweden and Equlibrium in Finland. All of the winning entries can be viewed here.

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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 30, 2013

Bad management tolerated to a “shocking degree” say employment experts

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Employers wouldn’t dream of appointing a person to a senior role for which they have no experience, yet in a new study nearly half admit individuals within their organisation have been promoted into a managerial role based on their performance record rather than people management or leadership skills. According to a report from the CIPD, 36 per cent of line managers have not received any training for their role, with any time for effective line management often squeezed or lost in favour of more immediate task oriented priorities. With 24 per cent of managers facing situations where they often have to put the interests of their organisation above the interests of team members, many might be left confused and aim for quick wins over the interests and wellbeing of team members. (more…)

September 25, 2013

Growth forecast for the commercial architecture sector in RIBA survey

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property

The commercial architecture sector is forecast for steady growth throughout 2013 according to the latest Future Trends Survey by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The survey, which uses an index to gauge workloads, reports that all sector forecasts remained in positive territory, with the workload balance figure for the commercial sector moving further into positive territory, (to +9). All categories of practices by size, and all the nations and regions in the UK, returned positive workload forecast balance figures in August 2013, suggesting that the sustained improvement in confidence levels is widespread and no longer confined to particular sectors and geographical locations. (more…)

September 16, 2013

World Green Building week launches with a breath of fresh air

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

Making sustainability sexy is a tall order. Look up the topic “green building” and you’ll invariably come across in depth descriptions of energy saving schemes and achieving a BREEAM rating. All these considerations are of course very important, but they make it difficult to engage building occupants. With the theme “Greener buildings, better places, healthier people”, World Green Building Week, which begins today (16-20 September), should do just that, by concentrating on the tangible benefits to building occupants of a green office. Paul King, Chief Executive of UK-GBC, said: “We often hear about the environmental and financial benefits of green buildings, but less attention is paid to the impact on those who live and work in them.” (more…)

September 2, 2013

New standard published on costs of owning and operating buildings

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

A new standard is being published by BSI offering expert guidance on estimating the long term costs of owning and occupying a building. BS 8544 Guide for life-cycle costing of maintenance during the in-use phases of buildings extends the guidance already provided by the existing standard PD 156865:2008, for buildings which are already operational, allowing users of the existing guidance to develop the life-cycle plans into the operational phase. To launch the standard, BSI is running a free half-day event on Wednesday 18 September to explain what the standard’s all about and its benefits. You’ll be able to hear case studies from leading professionals who are already using the principles of the standard, as well as a panel discussion with industry experts. Click here for more information.