A social housing scheme in Essex and an eco community centre in Cambridgeshire are among twelve buildings to win one of this year’s RIBA East Awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects, in recognition of their architectural excellence and contribution to society. The East of England buildings that have won an RIBA East Award 2016 are: Bedfordshire St Bede’s Extra Care, Bedford,by PRP, Thames Ditton The Quarry Theatre at St Luke’s, Bedford School, Bedford, by Foster Wilson Architects, London Cambridgeshire 51 Hills Road, Cambridge, by Gort Scott, London Cripps Building, St John’s College, Cambridge, by R H Partnership Architects, Cambridge Gamlingay Eco Hub, Cambridgeshire,by civic Architects Ltd, London Essex Albert Sloman Library and Silberrad Student Centre, University of Essex, Colchesterby Patel Taylor, London Derry Avenue, South Ockendon, by Bell Phillips Architects, London The Avenue, Saffron Walden, by Pollard Thomas Edwards, London Hertfordshire New QEII Hospital, Welwyn Garden City, by Penoyre & Prasad LLP Norfolk Boardman House (School of Architecture), Norwich University of the Arts, Norwich, by Hudson Architects, Norwich Bob Champion Research and Education Building, UEA, Norwich, by HawkinsBrown, London Westlegate House, Norwich, by 5th Studio, Cambridge From the 12 regional award winners, a number of special awards have also been announced. The ultimate accolade of RIBA East Building of the Year 2016, sponsored by Marley Eternit, has been awarded to Albert Sloman Library and Silberrad Student Centre, University of Essex, in Colchester, by Patel Taylor. Derry Avenue by Bell Phillips Architects picked up two special awards, the RIBA East Architect of the Year sponsored by Tarmac and the client Thurrock Council Housing Department was named the RIBA East Client of the Year, sponsored by ET Clay Products. The RIBA East Conservation Award, sponsored by Historic England was awarded to the Cripps Building, St John’s College, Cambridge, by Cambridge-based R H Partnership Architects. The RIBA East Sustainability Award, sponsored by Sika went to the New QEII Hospital, Welwyn Garden City, by London architects Penoyre & Prasad LLP. Last but not least, a special mention went to Gamlingay Eco Hub, by civic Architects Ltd for its outstanding contribution to the local community. The Awards were presented at an awards ceremony at St John’s College, Cambridge this evening (Thursday 14 April 2016), hosted by RIBA Chief Executive Alan Vallance and RIBA East Awards Jury Chairman Peter Williams of Moses Cameron Williams Architects. Speaking today, RIBA East Chairman Nicolas Tye said: “The RIBA East Awards are a fantastic celebration of the inspiring architecture that the region has to offer.  The diversity of these projects and the extraordinary quality of the 25 schemes that were shortlisted says a lot for the creativity and skill of the current generation of architects here in the UK. These awards demonstrate that by engaging with an architect, clients can achieve tremendous buildings that improve our communities, enhance people’s lives and are very good value for money.” -ends-  Notes to editors: For further press information, including access to press images of the winning buildings and judges citations contact:  john.mcmenemy@riba.org  01223 566285 or louise.todd@riba.org  07501 466644. Winners of the RIBA East Awards will go forward as contenders for the RIBA National Awards, the winners of which will be announced on 23 June 2016. Winners of RIBA National Awards are then considered for the RIBA Stirling Prize, announced in October. The RIBA East Special Awards are sponsored by ET Clay Products, Heritage Clay Tiles, Historic England, Marley Eternit, Sika and Tarmac. RIBA Awards have been running continuously since 1966 and are judged and presented locally.  No matter the shape, size, budget or location, RIBA award winning schemes set the standard for great architecture all across the country. RIBA awards are for buildings in the UK by RIBA Chartered Architects and RIBA International Fellows. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members. www.architecture.com and @RIBA on Twitter. Posted on Thursday 14th April 2016 Source link

©Bloomberg Two Chinese state banks have agreed to lend more than $12bn to develop a liquefied natural gas plant in the Russian Arctic, in a boost for one of President Vladimir Putin’s flagship projects after US sanctions targeted its largest shareholder. A financing deal for Yamal LNG, one of the largest in Russian corporate history, had been expected to be signed more than a year ago. But negotiations were complicated by US sanctions against Novatek, its majority shareholder. Novatek is part-owned by Gennady Timchenko, who is also under US sanctions as a member of Mr Putin’s “inner circle”. More On this topic IN Oil & Gas On Friday, however, Export-Import Bank of China and China Development Bank signed two 15-year loans, for €9.34bn ($10.7bn) and Rmb9.76bn ($1.5bn) on Friday, according to regulatory statements from Yamal LNG. For the Kremlin, the $27bn Yamal LNG project has become symbolic of Russia’s ability to execute large deals in spite of western sanctions. With Friday’s Chinese loan, the project — which is due to start producing LNG next year — has now covered its entire expected financing needs. In addition, the deal represents a significant step in Mr Putin’s push to boost commercial ties with China since sanctions were imposed on Russia by the US and Europe over the annexation of Crimea. This “pivot to Asia” has so far disappointed Russian executives and politicians, as Chinese companies showed no rush to invest. “The project has progressed despite the imposition of sectoral sanctions on Novatek and a precipitous decline in prices,” said Mark Gyetvay, Novatek chief financial officer, in a conference call following the company’s quarterly earnings report on Thursday. He noted that the project is already more than 50 per cent completed. But a combination of US sanctions and tumbling oil and gas prices has caused negotiations over the financing package for Yamal LNG to drag on many months longer than expected. Sanctions made financing the project in US dollars impossible and led US banks and several European banks to pull out of the financing deal, according to people familiar with the situation. Even the Chinese banks changed the terms on which they were willing to lend to the project as energy prices fell, the people said. Falling energy prices have put LNG projects under pressure around the world, with Australia’s Woodside Petroleum last month shelving plans for the $40bn Browse project. Yamal LNG’s Chinese financing deal follows a €3.6bn loan from Russian state-controlled banks Sberbank and Gazprombank, and 150bn (€2bn) roubles in support from Russia’s National Welfare Fund, a sovereign fund designed to support the country’s public pension system. Shareholders in the project have also invested a total of $12.8bn to date, according to Novatek. Novatek earlier this year completed a deal to sell a 9.9 per cent stake in the project to China’s Silk Road Fund. Other shareholders in Yamal LNG are CNPC and Total, with 20 per cent each. Signing the Chinese loan deal is a big boost for Novatek, Russia’s largest independent gas producer, which successfully lobbied for an exemption to Gazprom’s gas export monopoly to build the Yamal LNG project. “Yamal LNG is a cornerstone of our ambitious plans to become a global player in the LNG markets,” Mr Gyetvay said. Delays in competing a financing deal have weighed on investor sentiment towards the company, whose largest shareholders include Mr Timchenko and fellow oligarch Leonid Mikhelson, as well as Total, which owns an 18.9 per cent stake. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link