Masters of their own destiny
Three industry heavyweights have joined the ranks of construction professionals setting up on their own. In the teeth of a downturn? Are they mad? Andrew Pring reports. Photos by Tim Foster
» Read full article
News & Views
Containing the cost of defective work claims
ONLINE ONLY A claim brought by Ocado against Carillion highlights some straightforward but essential points that can have a dramatic effect on the financial scale of claims arising from defective work says ...
» Read full articleWarwickshire buys UK’s first off-the-shelf school
ONLINE ONLY Warwickshire County Council has become the first local authority to buy an off-the-shelf school from main contractor Willmott Dixon. The £2.2m school will be built to a design from the ...
» Read full articleShepherd loses first round of £10m court battle
ONLINE ONLY Shepherd Construction has lost the first round of a £10m High Court case against its own lawyer Pinsent Masons, which the contractor accused of “negligence” last year in the drafting ...
» Read full articleExperts attack plans to scrap schools BREEAM
ONLINE ONLY Government plans to drop BREEAM assessments for school construction projects have sparked a wave of criticism from industry experts, including the CIOB’s Alan Crane. The Department for Education is proposing ...
» Read full article45,000 jobs to go this year as construction’s “lost decade” continues
ONLINE ONLY Bleak economic prospects have hit employment with a further 45,000 jobs likely to go this year, according to a CITB-ConstructionSkills report. The training body’s five year forecast found that 2012 ...
» Read full articleFarrell urges incremental airport expansion
ONLINE ONLY One of the UK's most influential architects and master planners has called on the Government to invest more in West rather than east London, and consider an incremental approach to ...
» Read full articleBe glad to be a gay-friendly employer
ONLINE ONLY What do the Rugby Football League, MI5 and Barclays have in common? They have made it into a list of top employers to work for if you're gay. When will ...
» Read full article (1 comment)UK firms eye up Tripoli
ONLINE ONLY The first British construction delegation to post-Gaddafi Libya set out for Libya this week, Building reported. British Expertise lead the expedition which is thought to include 10 of the organisation’s ...
» Read full article (1 comment)FEATURES
My knockout career
The recipient of the first Duke of Gloucester Young Achiever Scheme award is proof that construction still has plenty to offer young entrants — if they’re prepared to fight for ...
» Read full article (1 comment)
It’s got the X-factor
An office block that “hovers” over Cannon Street railway station in central London borrowed a structural solution that was used on the Forth Railway Bridge. Stephen Cousins reports Few city ...
» Read full article
Why we specified...
Anodised aluminium cladding from BWB University of Surrey Integrated Learning Centre Ross Shannon, senior architect, RMJM Architects Located in the heart of the University’s Stag Hill campus, the Integrated Learning ...
» Read full article
Have you thought of…
...DOING THE MARACANA IN BRAZIL? Not to be confused with the eponymous Macarena dance associated with the 1994 pop hit of the same name by Spanish group Los del Río, ...
» Read full article
Dear Santa...
It’s that time of the year again and while the kids might lust after the latest Xbox or Dora the Explorer model for Christmas, you may want something a bit ...
» Read full article
Consuming passions
A combination of hi-tech gadgetry and new shopping experiences provided by the likes of fashion specialists Hollister (above) and Abercrombie & Fitch (right) and electronics powerhouse Apple (below) are among ...
» Read full articleJust what the doctor ordered
It would be hard to imagine anyone more enthusiastic about his job than this year’s CMYA winner Roger Frost. Denise Chevin begins our coverage on the awards by finding out how he delivered the mother of all hospitals.
» Read full article
CMYA 2011
Projects over £60m GOLD: Nick Mann MCIOB, Kier Build Project Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge Value £65m Contract NEC 3 option A World-class building, architectural vision, superb standards, listed setting, intricate interfaces, ...
» Read full article
CMYA 2011: continued
Projects £4m to £7m GOLD: Gary Gibson MCIOB, Colorado Group Project Starlaw Distillery, West Lothian Value £6.1m Contract JCT Construction Management In the complex but comparatively small world of distillery construction, ...
» Read full article
READER POLL
Do you think the 2012 Olympics will lift the industry's spirits?
» View past poll results
Construction Professional
Is commercial property a Deal breaker?
Concerns have been voiced over how the much-vaunted Green Deal will stack up when it comes to commercial buildings. Denise Chevin reports Will the Green deal work for commercial property? ...
» Read full articleGet your head round mental health
Mental health is one of the biggest problems facing businesses today. Yet, as Jamie Patterson explains, the issues are often ignored. Mental health conditions were the most common cause of ...
» Read full articleFive things… you ought to know about energy consumption in the home
01 We spend more on electricity than gas We use three times as much gas as electricity — but electricity costs more than three times as much, so on average ...
» Read full articleGarry Winter’s case notes
Thameside Construction Company v Arthenella Technology and Construction Court 20 October 2011. Thameside was employed by Arthenella to undertake the conversion of Frogmore Hall in Hertfordshire into residential units. The ...
» Read full article
Five ways to… survive the office Christmas party
01 Time your arrival You don’t want to be the first to turn up… or the last, so check you know the itinerary for the evening. Being “fashionably late” might give ...
» Read full article
When actions speak louder than words
Your attitude and the way you communicate on site will have more influence on health and safety outcomes than a rule book written in the office, argues Glen Robertson On ...
» Read full articlePeter Stockill’s Case notes
Witney Town Council v Beam Construction (Cheltenham) Technology and Construction Court 2011 If you start an adjudication, you naturally want to be confident that the decision will be enforced. Under ...
» Read full articleThe right to imply
Two recent cases show that goods and services should be fit for purpose, even where there is no contract, says James Mullen In July 2011 two judgments considered terms being ...
» Read full article
