Opinion 鈥� Page 373
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Frameworks: will they stay or will they go?
Some part of me feels that blogging wasn't invented as a way to discuss the latest movements in construction industry contracts. When Tim Berners-Lee sat down and invented the world wide web, I somehow suspect that the intricacies of single-stage tendering as opposed to long term partnering agreements weren't right ...
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Short and tweet: Su Butcher
Dispatches from the Twitter social networking site: Su Butcher is a practice manager at architect Barefoot and Gilles
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Comment星空传媒 buys a pint 鈥� for Moxon architects
If you ever have a drink with Moxon Architects, wait until you鈥檙e about four pints along and mention the city of Helsinki. The chances are that they鈥檒l start acting like Basil Fawlty with a corpse in the laundry basket. Or at least, the men will
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CommentHaving it large
This week resembles nothing so much as a big night out, starting with a booze-up in the new bar, a comical confusion about who鈥檚 doing what, a late Currie 鈥� and of course the massive bill at the end
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From one Jim to another
I was saddened to read of the death of James Nisbet (5 June, page 14)
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CommentThe world according to Terry 鈥�
Thanks to architect Francis Terry, son of Quinlan, for sending us this pictorial explanation of the practice鈥檚 views on architectural styles 鈥� a useful aide-memoire for anyone following the Chelsea Barracks saga
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Open debate
To state that open-plan schools have not been studied, as suggested in your article 鈥淐an you hear me at the back?鈥� (15 May, page 40), is somewhat wide of the mark
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Hear, hear
I read your article on school acoustics with much interest. As a maker of acoustic ceiling and wall absorbers, we have been working with our customers for some time now to push acoustics higher up the agenda for new schools and we warmly welcome the end-user鈥檚 contribution
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Inflammatory words
The Practitioners Forum and the Business and Community Safety Forum鈥檚 recent report to the minister makes some valid points on the fire risks of timber-framed buildings during construction, and they urge the government to review the 星空传媒 Regulations
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Comment
The long game
The construction industry is undoubtedly one of the hardest-hit sectors in this current recession so it is no surprise that consolidation and survival have become watchwords. Job cuts are the answer for some but wholesale cutbacks can prove dangerous in the long term
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CommentAim high 鈥�
The tower blocks that were built in the sixties and seventies failed because they were for the most part poorly constructed and detailed (鈥淭hat past is gone鈥�, 29 May, page 19)
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Maybe a little lower
I鈥檓 not convinced that energy efficiency is a reason for advocating high rise
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CommentLife after debt
Before you know it, UK plc is going to be staggering under a real debt burden of 拢2 trillion. Here鈥檚 Kevin Cammack鈥檚 simple survival guide
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Comment
And the good news is...
The uber-bearish traders in house price futures appear to have softened their view on the depth of the slump in house prices quite markedly over the past month or so.At the turn of the year you could have bought a notional average house three years hence on the futures market ...
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The orders figures and public spending fears point to industry chaos ahead - need it be so?
The good news is that after the monstrous distraction over the past month cause by raking over expense claims made by MPs we are getting back to debate about things that really will shape our lives - notably how much dosh there is (or rather isn't) in the Treasury coffers ...
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Housing activity rises but prices set for further falls
The latest RICS housing market survey paints a more optimistic picture of the housing market, with evidence that confidence and activity continue to improve.The 鈥榥ew buyer enquiries' series (the balance of surveyors reporting an increase rather than a decrease in buyer interest) has been rising since November and, at 48 ...
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North-South divide develops in housing market - is it a cause for concern?
The latest housing market report from the surveyors' body RICS will provide further cheer for most of those selling homes.The June 2009 report suggests that the pace of collapse in prices continues to ease, the volume of sales has nudged up and there appear to be more buyers. And there ...
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Worst fall in output on record
The construction output figures from the Office of National Statistics covering the first quarter of 2009 highlight the true nature of the construction recession, or should we say depression, with considerable destocking leading to sharp falls in output. Total output in construction during the first quarter of 2009 fell an ...