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Last week, the UK’s green plans were dealt a substantial blow when Atlantic Array was shelved. The project was set to provide power for one million homes and would have created thousands of jobs. Npower have pulled the plug on the offshore project as political uncertainty and cynical political point scoring once more threaten to severely hamper green construction investment. Struggling to Meet 2020 Targets Npower’s move is undoubtedly bad news for David Cameron and his government who had previously been banking on wind farms to generate low carbon power. By 2020, the government had expected to generate 15% of its energy through renewable sources, but the cancellation of the npower project calls this target into question. The Renewable Energies Association (REA) believes that npower’s withdrawal is purely down …

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The notoriously congested M25 has undergone a revolution of late. Recently, a new concrete repair technique has been trialled on a stretch of road that saw countless crashes over the past couple of months, and the results are outstanding. The trial, surprisingly, involves a new concrete repair system, and initial testing shows that it is cutting driver delays by around 80%. The joint venture on behalf of a number of companies has seen lane closure fall from 1,500 hours a year to just 300 and has significantly reduced traffic congestion in the area as a direct result. How Does it Work? First used in the aviation industry, rapid cure concrete works has lowered road closure times by limiting the amount of time that it takes for the concrete to …

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As an accountant to the trades and trade merchants for a number of years, I’ve seen my fair share of poorly managed finances. Maybe it’s that those working in the trades are too busy toiling away on the ground that there just aren’t enough hours in the day to worry about keeping numbers in order. I’m clearly not ‘in the trade’ but I do understand the industry and know the tight margins that folk have to work with. Or, maybe it’s a case of deferred responsibility. I’ve had a client – or ten – tell me, when I’ve raised a brow at their books, that this was exactly what they were hiring me for. A fair point I guess, but you wouldn’t wait to hire in a …

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To help address the current skills gap in the West Midlands, Solihull College has made a significant investment in state of the art facilities for both construction and engineering disciplines to ensure it can train work ready employees. This commitment to both students and local industry was solidified last week at the official VIP launch of the College’s new £8.5 million motor vehicle and construction facility at the Woodlands Campus. Some of the West Midlands top industry names, including Jaguar Land Rover, Arup, Mansell Construction, Monarch Airlines and Snap-On Industrial joined the College to celebrate the launch. The new facility in Smith’s Wood houses twelve new workshops, enhancing and supporting the College’s offering in subject areas including motor vehicle, motor sport, engineering and construction. To celebrate …

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The government’s decision to require that all suppliers involved in public sector construction projects use Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools and techniques by 2016 makes sense. This should help drive improvements in value and performance, whilst supporting environmental commitments by facilitating a more integrated approach to design, construction, and facilities management. However, misinformation is rife. BIM is not just about 3D data but about creating a holistic information resource that also includes 2D data sources, documents, spreadsheets, and more. Nor is BIM best realized by a single, lowest-common-denominator data model imposed on every organisation in the supply chain. BIM is a business process, not a technology. As Neville Glanville, industry sales director, Bentley Systems, explains, the key to realising the compelling BIM vision is simply ensuring …

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FINAL PART  – the Top Ten 10. Savonnerie Heymans – Brussels, Belgium Image Source The Savonnerie Heymans social housing project is an attempt to create an entire environmentally friendly neighborhood consisting of public housing. Designed by local firm MDW Architecture, the development offers various apartment types, including lofts, maisonettes and duplexes, all of which incorporate energy-efficient qualities. Solar power and rainwater harvesting are just two of the eco-conscious features of the complex, which is built on the site of an old soap factory and utilizes the original structural elements where possible. You can see the old chimney for yourself. The 42-unit complex, which was completed in 2011, won a 2012 Prix Bruxelles Horta Award and earned a special mention at the 2012 Belgian Building Awards. 9. Les Loggias – Paris, …

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PART TWO  19 – 11 19. Angers Social Housing – Maine-et-Loire, France Image Source French architectural firm Studio Bellecour designed the Angers social housing project in France’s Maine-et-Loire department, aiming to break the mold of the stereotypically negative “concrete block” synonymous with schemes of this nature. Hence, the studio came up with a dynamic design that is both unified and intimate yet still clearly separated and defined for the different units and structures – each of which has an asymmetrical rooftop over an attic. The idea was to create a close-knit and positive environment that retains residents’ privacy, and the development was completed in 2010. 18. Vivazz, Mieres Social Housing – Asturias, Spain Image Source For its Vivazz, Mieres project in Asturias, Spain, French/Belgian design …

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PART ONE  30 – 20 As populations grow and cities become more crowded than ever, public housing has become an increasingly important issue for governments around the world. However, social housing is no longer limited to characterless blocks of concrete. These days, the aim is often to provide low-cost housing to individuals and families who need it – while still affording them the dignity of well-designed and distinctive homes. These modern public housing projects frequently incorporate eco-conscious designs and elements, as efficient energy usage tends to be a priority. Here we look at 30 of the world’s social housing developments that break the mold, undoing negative stereotypes and serving as remarkable works of architecture in their own right. 30. Mirador Housing Project – Madrid, Spain Image Source …

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Crossrail is not just about engineering: artists, designers and archaeologists are all involved in the £15bn new railway. The amazing tunnel-boring machines now approaches halfway. Sometimes, when flying over a landscape, you see a seam of unexpected fecundity – lush trees, richer green – that indicates the presence of water or a change to a more fertile soil. Something similar is happening across London. If property values could be made visible (and often they are, by increases in new construction), you would already see a long strip of intensification, in a city that already is hardly a desert, running from east to west. Over the next few years, it will become more and more apparent. This is the effect of the underground Nile called Crossrail and it …

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Help to Buy is a start – but we can never build enough homes unless the State lets go of its land: Barratt boss calls on Ministers to help ease property crisis Mark Clare may be the boss of Britain’s biggest housebuilder, but he has to admit that he has never bought a Barratt home. As perhaps is more fitting for the chief executive of a company whose profits rose 74 per cent last year, he lives in a five-bedroom Edwardian house in the leafy commuter town of Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. Then there is the 60ft motor cruiser moored in the Solent. The boom in profits at Barratt is of course thanks to the resurgence of the British housing market. Official mortgage lending figures last week showed a 37 …

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