More Focus 鈥� Page 556
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Features
1999 architects' fees survey
Architects' charges are closer to physiotherapists' than solicitors'. A new study by Mirza and Nacey Research shows that fees are inching up, but after seven years spent qualifying, is an average of 拢55 an hour a fair rate?
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The strength of Sampson
Claire Sampson, production director on the Millennium Dome, is a cool operator. Which is just as well, as she's co-ordinating the backstage elements for the whole shebang
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Spotlight on brickwork
Lead times Although lead times are now steady at six weeks, rising enquiry and workload levels are expected to boost them in the autumn. Brickwork contractors report little difficulty in procuring materials, but cite the lack of qualified operatives as the critical factor in determining lead times. As ...
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Have your say
The Institute of Personnel and Development's Angela Baron on 360掳 feedback, the system that gets everyone talking.
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Appointments
Contractor Birse Construction has appointed Martin Peat managing director, building. He will also join the Birse board. Housebuilder Ronnie Jacobs , previously with Persimmon Homes Scotland, has joined Miller Homes as regional director for west Scotland. Consultants Michael Albright , previously chairman and chief executive of Centex ...
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One up at half time
Coventry City has a mountain to climb – a 拢122m stadium, a controversial site and Cardiff’s example of what can go wrong still fresh in the memory. The good news is that, so far, it’s all working out.
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High noon?
Nick Raynsford is now faced with the crucial decision on how tough to make the quality mark, the centrepiece of his anti-cowboy plan. What factors will he be taking into account?
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Alun Michael
As "prime minister" of Wales, Alun Michael holds the purse strings for development in the country. But will the man once called "Tony Blair's poodle" boost or curtail it?
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Features
Moonbase Walsall
The surreal lunar landscape may look like something out of Space 1999, but it is actually a roof of somewhere far more down to earth – a bus station in Walsall.
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Replenishing the earth's resources
Planted roofs are still a rarity in the UK, unlike in Germany, where planning permission for developments on greenfield sites is granted only if the building’s roof and landscaping can provide greenery equivalent to the square meterage lost under concrete.The UK market for eco-roofs is a fraction of the size ...
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Fluid dynamics
The arching, fluid lines engineered by Buro Happold at Stuttgart Station give the impression that its concrete roof is flowing down to the platforms like molten lava. This is liquid architecture.
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Top priorities
We could put men on the moon but couldn't make roofs that installers didn't fall through, says Brendan Dowd, who wants everyone to take more care of each other.
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Keeping the racket down
Acoustic designers could be costing clients money by over-specifying acoustic solutions. Now, software has been developed that tracks how sound moves through a building and how to stop it.
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Spectacular comeback
A 拢26m cost overrun, a redesign and a row have wreaked havoc at the flagship venue for the Rugby World Cup. But they are all behind it now – just two weeks before the first match.
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How did it go 拢26m over budget?
The main reason Laing lost so much money on the redevelopment of Cardiff Arms Park was that it guaranteed a maximum price on a design that was undergoing change. The original design had masts raking out at 45掳 at the four corners of the stadium, but a row between Millennium ...
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Justice at the speed of light
The new payment rules are getting disputes worked out in only 28 days – none of that hanging around waiting for the other chap to go bust. But the courts can move even faster.
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The trouble with GMP
Just as the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy nor Roman, parties to a guaranteed maximum price contract should realise that price is not really guaranteed or maximum. If they don’t, they could be in trouble …
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Entering extra time
A client makes a change to its building, so the contractor wants more time to build it. Believe it or not, the law was vague on how the extra time should be assessed. Now it may be clearer.
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Cost study: National Energy Centre in Milton Keynes
Low-energy buildings usually mean high capital costs. But not the National Energy Centre in Milton Keynes; it was built for nearly 拢200/m2 below the average unit cost for headquarters buildings. Compiled by Weston Williamson, Ove Arup & Partners, and Davis Langdon & Everest