News

BRE and China’s largest approved professional certification body, China Quality Certification Centre (CQC), have signed an agreement to support sustainable development in the country through collaborative training. The partnership will initially focus on training related to BRE’s environmental standard for buildings and communities – BREEAM. This reflects China’s growing demand for green buildings with a number of BREEAM projects now being delivered in Beijing, Shanghai and Changsha’s Meixi Lake Eco City. BRE China director Jaya Skandamoorthy said: “Through our partnership with CQC we hope to promote the key principles of sustainability across China as well as fostering a culture of continuous improvement and quality construction across the supply chain.” CQC vice president Mr Liu Yanbin said: “CQC have undertaken several research projects related to energy efficiency …

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The building work includes construction of a new entrance and link building in the space between two existing timber-framed 18th century buildings. The estimated value of the scheme is between £2.75m and £3m.

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Balfour Beatty has begun work on two major sea defences designed to protect 12,000 homes and businesses near Blackpool from flooding. The government has put funding of £85m towards the new sea defences in the area. As well as protecting 12,000 homes and businesses, the work is designed to safeguard roads and railways. Balfour Beatty was awarded a £20m contract for Blackpool’s Anchorsholme scheme and a £53m contract for Wyre Council’s Rossall project in October. The work involves replacing over 2.9km of the original 1930s seawalls as part of the promenade renewal and beach management projects. The sea defence in Rossall will be 2km long, from Rossall Hospital to Rossall Point. The Anchorsholme sea defence will stretch 1km from Kingsway to Little Bispham. Both sea defences …

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Advertised construction jobs have more than doubled year-on-year, according to the latest figures from CV-Library. The first quarterly report of 2014 from the independent job board shows numbers of job postings, applications, job searches and CV registrations are up. Construction is the sector that has seen the biggest increase in terms of year-on-year growth in jobs posted, with the number up 118% on the first quarter of 2013. In the first three months of the year, CV-Library saw more than 48 million job searches and over six million job applications made through their website, 856,000 new CVs registered, and over 300,000 jobs posted. When compared to Q4 of 2013, there were 22.25% more jobs posted through CVLibrary’s job board network, and construction was the fifth growth industries …

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If you want to make an environmental statement there surely is no bigger way to do so than to live in a home that is made entirely of recycled and recyclable materials. There are many examples across the globe of people who have come up with unbelievable ideas and turned them into reality. There are houses made of cans, tyres and bottles. Even old ships and aeroplanes are being used to accommodate some of the more adventurous recyclers out there. Maybe these examples are a little too far-fetched for most of us, but we can find other ways of building our homes in a more sustainable, environmentally friendly way. Many of the popular construction materials that are in use today are recyclable; we just need to …

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Universities across the globe are gaining attention not only through the quality of their academic programs or prestige of their alumni, but also thanks to the beautiful architecture they have on show. Many college graduate facilities, in particular, are housed in attractive buildings that impress and inspire with their design – which may help encourage prospective master’s degree students to step through their doors. These stunning structures can date back to centuries past or they may have been opened in just the past decade. They might contain business schools, faculties of architecture, dormitories, or just a place where postgraduates can work and socialize. Yet they all have one thing in common: they look exceptionally stylish. Here we present 50 of the most elegant graduate school buildings in the…

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Every year thousands of businesses – from construction firms, housebuilders, facilities managers and local authorities – will rip out and replace items such as kitchen worktops, doors, cupboards, shower trays, baths and sinks, metal panels and brickwork as they have been scratched, chipped, punctured or had sections in some way damaged. You might think that much of this is recycled, but Britain only recycles 17% of its waste, so the majority will just end up in landfill. But by choosing to repair the damage instead of buying in new kit, organisations can reduce their carbon footprint, according to the Save Our Surfaces campaign launched by surface repair specialist Plastic Surgeon. The company’s MD, Rob Mouser, explains: “The objective of the Save Our Surfaces campaign is to help …

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A surge in housebuilding since the beginning of the year maintained construction activity in the first quarter at levels not seen since 2007, according to a survey of the construction sector. Housing The Markit purchasing managers’ index (PMI) recorded a rise in housebuilding activity to 64.2 in March, offsetting a slowdown in civil engineering to keep expansion in the sector at historic highs. The survey of 170 construction firms found that overall activity remained steady at 62.5, marginally down from 62.6 in February and well ahead of the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. The improving weather in March after February’s rain and floods also boosted housebuilding, Rob Wood, chief UK economist at investment bank Berenberg, said the construction sector was now roaring ahead, supported by low interest rates, the government’…

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The Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a survey of 170 construction companies, edged down to 62.5 in March, barely changed from 62.6 in February and far above the 50 mark that denotes growth. While economists polled by Reuters had expected a rise to 63.0, the survey showed Britain’s builders in buoyant mood last month, with optimism rising to its highest level since January 2007 and firms hiring staff at the fastest pace in four months. Britain’s construction industry, which accounts for about 7 percent of Britain’s economy, was hit hard by the financial crisis of 2007-09. But it has been recovering since last year thanks to a combination of record low interest rates, government programmes to encourage people to buy new homes and falling unemployment. The government announced last month that it would extend …

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The Merseylink Consortium has reached financial close with Halton Borough Council to start construction of the £450m Mersey Gateway Project. The council claims to have slashed £250m from original cost estimates set three years ago on what is the first project to go-ahead supported by a UK Government Guaranteed Bond. Work will now start next month on a project, 20 years after the need for the bridge was first identified. Kier Infrastructure is one of the three Merseylink partners which include Korean Samsung C&T Corporation and Spanish FCC Construcción. The six-lane approach road and bridge project will employ around 470 permanent full-time equivalent jobs on site during construction. Steve Nicholson, the project director leading up to financial close, said: “When we set out our procurement …

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