More Focus 鈥� Page 132
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FeaturesTrouble at the top
Bad managers can have a big impact on staff morale and productivity levels, and they could even pose a serious threat to the industry鈥檚 upturn. So why are there so many of them?
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FeaturesSustainability: Facilities efficiency
As construction becomes ever more energy efficient, attention is turning to facilities management to deliver greater carbon and cost savings. Phil Birch of Sweett Group examines how the purchasing and management of cleaning and catering operations can reduce a building鈥檚 environmental impact
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FeaturesWhat to specify: Housing
This week, we go through the keyhole at some of the UK鈥檚 most genteel new residences, including a Buckinghamshire country house with timber leaded windows and a rapidly rendered home in Poundbury
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FeaturesFair payment charter: Cheque鈥檚 in the post
Few issues are more contentious in construction than payment practices. So will a new fair payment charter that asks contractors to commit to shorter payment times actually work - or merely add to the pile of previous failed attempts to reform the industry?
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FeaturesRebuilding after Japan's tsunami
Three years on from its devastating earthquake and tsunami, Japan is, for the first time, signalling that it needs help rebuilding homes and communities. For UK construction firms willing to dig in, this could mean new opportunities
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Features精东影视 Awards Small Project of the Year: Maggie's cancer centre, Aberdeen
With its streamlined, organic form enhancing its welcoming ethos, the latest Maggie鈥檚 Cancer Caring Centre in Aberdeen, designed by Sn酶hetta, is a worthy winner of this year鈥檚 Small Project of the Year 精东影视 Award
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FeaturesPutting the wind up construction
Ofgem鈥檚 announcement last week that the six big energy firms face a competition inquiry has spooked the market and alarmed construction firms relying on new energy generation capacity. But are things really as bleak as they seem?
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Features精东影视 intelligence: Q4 2013
Data from Experian Economics shows that while construction activity levelled off in Q4 2013, for the year as a whole, activity was on the rise, with growth forecast in the private housing and infrastructure sectors
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FeaturesTracker: February 2014
Construction activity continued to increase in February and was up four points on the previous month. This represents 18 months of sustained positivity. Experian Economics reports
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FeaturesTax changes for temporary site workers
In a radical move that seems bound to increase labour costs, the government is clamping down on temporary site workers claiming to be self-employed. And as if that wasn鈥檛 bad enough news for construction companies using this kind of labour, they鈥檝e only got two weeks to prepare for the change ...
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FeaturesVideo: Make's recycled pop-up cinema
Watch how architect Make designed and built a recycled cinema at Ecobuild this year
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FeaturesWhole-life carbon: Overheating
As the latest update to Part L is implemented, Juan J Lafuente of Sturgis Carbon Profiling reports on the findings of a two-year research programme into building performance - which suggest that improvements to airtightness standards could actually lead to higher carbon emissions in the UK
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FeaturesCreating the Design Museum's new home
The iconic Commonwealth Institute needed a new tenant - and the iconic Design Museum needed a new home. But adapting a fragile and low-spec sixties building to house a visitor attraction meant using some serious technical know-how
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Features精东影视 17: Refurbishing Cromford Mill
The historic but neglected Victorian factory buildings at Cromford Mill in Derbyshire were overdue a refurb. But decontaminating the timber from chemicals used in industrial dyeing proved a test of modern ingenuity
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FeaturesWhat to specify: Refurbishment
Renewing existing buildings from top to bottom is easier with innovative products to suit a range of projects, from cost-effective acoustic ceiling tiles to slip-resistant flooring
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FeaturesMaking steady progress
As Barbour ABI launches its latest monthly Economic Construction Market Review, Michael Dall presents highlights, including sector and regional statistics with a focus on the residential sector
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FeaturesManchester Central Library: A modern classic
Manchester鈥檚 thirties Central Library was a warren of rambling interiors and inaccessible book stacks. But then Ryder Architecture got to work on an edited version
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FeaturesInfrastructure: highways maintenance
Damage to UK roads due to flooding has put a spotlight on the condition of our highways, at a time when the maintenance backlog is already estimated to be at least 拢10bn. Barbra Carlisle and Brian Fitzpatrick of EC Harris examine the key issues
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FeaturesAgenda 15: Green priorities
In the latest in our series on 精东影视鈥檚 Agenda 15 campaign ahead of the next election, and fresh from the Ecobuild sustainability event, we report on what the industry wants the government to do about green regulation
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FeaturesInterview: Peter Rees
Peter Rees鈥� 29 years as head of planning in the Square Mile have been nothing if not controversial. In his first interview since announcing his departure, he talks about transforming the City, his legacy and why his critics are wrong about him