The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), John McAslan + Partners, and the Environment Agency have today (Tuesday 27 October 2015) announced the winners of the 2015 RIBA McAslan Bursary. Umi Baden-Powell has been awarded £5,000 for the project ‘The Zero-Point House: A machine for living in the age of
1) Moscow-Kazan high-speed railway 2) Khorgos-Aktau railway 3) Central Asia-China gas pipeline 4) Central Asia-China gas pipeline, line D 5) China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway 6) Khorgos Gateway China’s “One Belt, One Road” project aims to make central Asia more connected to the world, yet even before the initiative was formally announced China
The company has confirmed it has acquired the freehold of the Accolade Wines bottling facility in Avonmouth, Bristol. According to Keller, the purchase was “pursuant of settlement agreement in connection with a previously announced contract dispute on the property”. In 2013, main contractor VolkerFitzpatrick sued Keller, claiming the company had
A major project has begun to breath some life into Saughton Park. The historic Edinburgh park will be worked on in a scheme of work that is expected to last a year. The work on the park began this week and is the culmination of a great amount of effort
Construction work has started on the new sheltered housing development in Saltcoats. The construction work is being carried out on behalf of North Ayrshire Council and the new unit has been tailored to the needs of the older population of North Ayrshire. The project has recently had their ground-breaking ceremony
Plans that have been put forward to create a completely new community to the East of the Scottish Town of Aviemore are expected to successfully go through the final set of approvals. The project is awaiting approval from the Cairngorms National Park Authority and it is thought the will approve
Develop Training Ltd has received top marks from an audit that was carried out by the Institute of Learning and Management. The expert training provider is based in Derby and focuses of offering training for those working in the construction and energy sector. Develop Training Ltd offers a wide variety
Balfour Beatty, the British multinational infrastructure group, and civil engineering company has revealed that they have managed to move back into profit for the first half of 2017. This year the company has recorded a pre-tax profit of £12 million. In the same period last year, the company was in
A new development of luxury care homes has been completed by Wates Construction. The completed care homes are located in Berkshire and Surrey. Wates carried out the construction work on behalf of Signature Senior Lifestyle. Ascot Grange, the Signature Sunninghill Care Home in Berkshire offers the highest quality accommodation across
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), John McAslan + Partners, and the Environment Agency have today (Tuesday 27 October 2015) announced the winners of the 2015 RIBA McAslan Bursary. Umi Baden-Powell has been awarded £5,000 for the project ‘The Zero-Point House: A machine for living in the age of housing and environmental crises; a cross-cultural solution to housing shortages and rising sea-levels.’ Umi Baden-Powell is currently undertaking her MArch at the Royal College of Art, and will use the bursary to research floating architecture in the Netherlands and in Nigeria in order to produce guidance for specific and sustainable floating architecture solutions in the UK. It is hoped that the bursary is the beginning of a much larger project, which will culminate in a prototype house. During the debate, the jury also highly commended Clementine Blakemore for ‘Project Lacy Green – Phase Two’ and Christopher Bradley and Tom Cole for ‘5sqm of desire: (Designing for a socio and bio-climatic sustainability understanding of the balcony typology)’ who will each be awarded £2,500. The judging panel comprised Jo Ashbridge (AzuKo), David Balmforth (ICE), Sir Phillip Dilley (Environment Agency), Peter Hansford (BIS), Asif Khan (Asif Khan Ltd), John McAslan (John McAslan + Partners), Robert Torday (John McAslan + Partners), John Waldron (RIBA Education Trust Funds Committee) and Georgina Ward (John McAslan + Partners). Sir Phillip Dilley, Chairman of the Environment Agency, said: “The Environment Agency is delighted to support the 2015 RIBA McAslan Bursary. Umi Baden-Powell’s project is a worthy winner and shows great imagination. Indeed all of the winners deserve our warmest congratulations. It is critical that we nurture skills and a spirit of innovation in the next generation to ensure that our industry can provide sustainable solutions for the future. The RIBA McAslan Bursary is helping that happen.” Jane Duncan, RIBA President, added: “The RIBA McAslan Bursary scheme is so important to our portfolio of funding schemes, and I am delighted that we have been able to run it again this year. The potential for these projects to have a real and lasting impact on the future of sustainable design cannot be underestimated. I would like to congratulate Umi Baden-Powell, Clementine Blakemore, Tom Cole and Christopher Bradley, and extend my thanks to the Environment Agency for the funding of the bursary cycle this year, which is clearly supporting diverse and innovative projects.” John McAslan, Executive Chairman, John McAslan + Partners, added: “The judging panel was hugely impressed by the variety and ingenuity of this year’s submissions. Umi Baden-Powell’s winning entry responds directly to the challenge of climate change and her approach and proposed methodology has real vision. We look forward to working with Umi and with the two runners up, Clementine Blakemore, and Tom Cole/ Christopher Bradley, over the coming year. It will be fascinating to watch their respective projects evolve.” ENDS Notes to editors: 1. For further press information contact Callum Reilly in the RIBA press office: callum.reilly@riba.org 020 7307 3757 2. Images of the winners’ work can be viewed at: https://riba.box.com/s/mqezx7idurmn4omjeb3tljxz4hy5lkl5 3. For more information on the RIBA McAslan Bursary, visit www.architecture.com/mcaslanbursary 4. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members www.architecture.com 5. Follow us on Twitter for regular RIBA updates www.twitter.com/RIBA @RIBA Posted on Tuesday 27th October 2015 Source link
1) Moscow-Kazan high-speed railway 2) Khorgos-Aktau railway 3) Central Asia-China gas pipeline 4) Central Asia-China gas pipeline, line D 5) China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway 6) Khorgos Gateway China’s “One Belt, One Road” project aims to make central Asia more connected to the world, yet even before the initiative was formally announced China had helped to redraw the energy map of the region. It had built an oil pipeline from Kazakhstan, a gas pipeline that allowed Turkmenistan to break its dependence on dealings with Russia and another pipeline that has increased the flow of Russian oil to China. Chinese companies have funded and built roads, bridges and tunnels across the region. A ribbon of fresh projects, such as the Khorgos “dry port” on the Kazakh-Chinese border and a railway link connecting Kazakhstan with Iran, is helping increase trade across central Asia. 1) Moscow-Kazan high-speed railway A China-led consortium last year won a $375m contract to build a 770km high-speed railway line between Moscow and Kazan. Total investment in the project — set to cut journey time between the cities from 12 hours to 3.5 hours — is some $16.7bn.Back to top 2) Khorgos-Aktau railway In May last year, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced a plan to build — with China — a railway from Khorgos on the Chinese border to the Caspian Sea port of Aktau. The scheme dovetails with a $2.7bn Kazakh project to modernise its locomotives and freight and passenger cars and repair 450 miles of rail. Back to top 3) Central Asia-China gas pipeline The 3,666km Central Asia-China gas pipeline predated the new Silk Road but forms the backbone of infrastructure connections between Turkmenistan and China. Chinese-built, it runs from the Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan border to Jingbian in China and cost $7.3bn.Back to top 4) Central Asia-China gas pipeline, line D China signed agreements with Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to build a fourth line of the central Asia-China gas pipeline in September 2013. Line D is expected to raise Turkmenistan’s gas export capacity to China from 55bn cu m per year to 85bn cu m.Back to top 5) China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway Kyrgyzstan’s prime minister Temir Sariev said in December that the construction of the delayed Kyrgyz leg of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway would start this year. In September, Uzbekistan said it had finished 104km of the 129km Uzbek stretch of the railway.Back to top 6) Khorgos Gateway Khorgos Gateway, a dry port on the China-Kazakh border that is seen as a key cargo hub on the new Silk Road, began operations in August. China’s Jiangsu province has agreed to invest more than $600m over five years to build logistics and industrial zones around Khorgos.The map below shows how the transport and energy projects link across the region. Or you can visit chad kimball google maps to see more. Source link
The company has confirmed it has acquired the freehold of the Accolade Wines bottling facility in Avonmouth, Bristol. According to Keller, the purchase was “pursuant of settlement agreement in connection with a previously announced contract dispute on the property”. In 2013, main contractor VolkerFitzpatrick sued Keller, claiming the company had installed defective piles on the warehouse, which was completed in 2008. It is expected that Keller will carry out some remedial works on the property before the sale, which it expects to complete before the end of the year. The value of the settlement will be based on the final value of the property after these works are carried out. The contractor said it would purchase the facility with the aim of “recouping most, if not all, of the purchase price of the sale”. The bottling facility, which is the biggest in Europe, is currently fully operational, with Accolade Wines paying annual rent with a yield of 6.8 per cent. The purchase is expected to be reflected in the group’s half-year results. A statement from the firm said: “This purchase has been largely financed by a new bank facility raised for this purpose and will have no impact on the group’s trading or on the implementation of its strategic objectives.” Source link
A major project has begun to breath some life into Saughton Park. The historic Edinburgh park will be worked on in a scheme of work that is expected to last a year. The work on the park began this week and is the culmination of a great amount of effort that has been put in over the course of the last five years to raise the £5.2 million needed for the work to go ahead. The Heritage Lottery Fund were a significant help in the fundraising efforts, contributing £3.8 million to the project. Saughton park was last redesigned in 1908 in order to make room for the Scottish National Exhibition that was then visited by more than 3.5 million people. Hopefully this restoration will have the same amazing effect on the park. The work will revive some of the key features of the Exhibition such as the bandstand, botanic garden and the winter garden. There will be a collection of other improvements made to Saughton Park including the refurbishment and restoration of the stables at the park in order to create a community venue as well as providing a base for project partners the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society. There will also be a new cafe constructed in the park with restorations and additions made to the furniture, lighting and paths on the site. The contractors for the site are P1 Solutions and this week they carried out the ceremonial sod-cutting in the Walled Garden of the park in order to commemorate the start of the project. At the event were a number of council officials as well as staff that work at the park and representatives from the Heritage Lottery Fund. After the work has been completed there will be a management plan created and maintained with a range of events and activities included as well as opportunities for volunteering in order work towards the next target for the park, achieving the Green Flag status.
Construction work has started on the new sheltered housing development in Saltcoats. The construction work is being carried out on behalf of North Ayrshire Council and the new unit has been tailored to the needs of the older population of North Ayrshire. The project has recently had their ground-breaking ceremony and is thought to be the first sheltered housing project delivered by the construction and infrastructure partnership Hub South West for North Ayrshire council. The £6.1 million project will deliver 36 new dwellings and will be located on the former Canal Court site in Saltcoats. When complete, Canal Court will offer 36 one and two-bedroomed flats. All of the accommodation will be wheelchair accessible and on the site will also be a social services hub which will allow older people to live independently in their own homes. There will also be a range of communal areas constructed such as a lounge, dining room, private courtyard and a ‘visiting services’ room. The construction of the Canal Court complex will showcase the excellent supply chain services on offer in the area. Hub South West Scotland have never taken on a housing project before, and this project will therefore be a great way for the organisation to expand into a new sector. The hub; a partnership that seeks to enable the design and construction of community facilities and services, hopes to demonstrate the excellence of the supply chain in this area. The contractor for this project is a local construction business, Ashleigh Building Ltd. The sheltered accommodation is expected to be complete with the handover of the project back to North Ayrshire Council predicted to take place on the 31st of July 2018. The Canal Court complex is a great contract for Ashleigh Building Ltd, as a tier-1 contractor as is allows them to boost their local employment figures and also improve their apprenticeship programme and offering other supply chain opportunities in the area.
Plans that have been put forward to create a completely new community to the East of the Scottish Town of Aviemore are expected to successfully go through the final set of approvals. The project is awaiting approval from the Cairngorms National Park Authority and it is thought the will approve the plans at some point this week. Planning Permission in Principle was first granted for the project in March 2014, which when completed would create a new community filled with 1,500 homes, business and community facilities and the necessary infrastructure needed to support the development at An Camas Mòr. However, since this permission in principle was first granted, the developers have applied to alter a condition of the plans which could lead to a more phased approach to the construction work when carrying out the development. Condition one of the original planning permission states that no development above 630 homes will be carried out before the developer has completed a review into the impact the development has. This means that the developer must review what affect the development is having on the environment, landscape and ecology before building more than 630 homes. It is this condition that the developers want to change, pressing for a Site-wide Phasing Plan to be submitted instead. The planning committee for the Cairngorms National Park Authority will be considering the planning application on Friday the 18th August and will also be looking at the amendments suggested by the development company in order to decide whether to grant planning permission. The National Park Authority Planning department is recommending that the plans be approved, as there have been no significant changes made since the Planning in Principle was granted in 2014. The department also suggest a number of measures and conditions to better monitor the development after the alteration to the conditions.
Develop Training Ltd has received top marks from an audit that was carried out by the Institute of Learning and Management. The expert training provider is based in Derby and focuses of offering training for those working in the construction and energy sector. Develop Training Ltd offers a wide variety of ILM qualifications such as Learning & Management apprenticeships as well as the Level 3 Award, Certificate and Diploma in Leadership in Management. The organisation also offers a range of Mentoring and Coaching programmes. The Head of Corporate Management at Develop Training Ltd, Clive Lawrence-Forbes has said that the successful audit is amazing news and is a true demonstration of the quality of the training facilities and services on offer. The audit results show that the organisation has been delivering ILM qualifications at the highest possible standard. The audit that was carried out looked into the company’s internal processes, which were recorded as being a high standard as well as the range of procedures that support the qualifications that are on offer by Develop Training Ltd. Develop Training Ltd is known for being the leading provider of compliance safety and technical training in the UK. Through the training they offer, the company supports thousands of construction and energy firms by meeting their training needs. The training that is offered by Develop training includes topics such as water and environmental, gas and energy, safety, electrical and mechanical, apprenticeships and management development. The training organisation deliver their sessions in centres across the UK including Romford, York, Derby, Lisburn which is near Belfast and Linlithgow near to Edinburgh. This amazing feedback for the auditors is a seal of excellence for the training offered by Develop Training and rewards the efforts put in by those working for the company to deliver the best training which is vital for assuring quality and safety in the construction and energy industries.
Balfour Beatty, the British multinational infrastructure group, and civil engineering company has revealed that they have managed to move back into profit for the first half of 2017. This year the company has recorded a pre-tax profit of £12 million. In the same period last year, the company was in a worse position, recording a £15 million loss. This amazing turnaround is great news for the group, who have gone through a bad patch with a number of construction contracts not delivering their expected results. The positive financial results for Balfour Beatty has come as the management have been making changes and cuts as part of their Build to Last programme. The business has become more streamlined, offering their services to a narrower market in order to make the most of the capabilities they offer. Through this transformation the company has become more profitable, and these results have surprisingly been made without the disposal of any material investment. In the UK the company has managed to turn itself around from a £69 million loss to a £2-million-pound profit. Another explanation for their recovery is Balfour Beatty’s bidding tactics for contracts. During the company’s loss years, the company appeared to be being too aggressive in their bidding, practically removing all of their margins and then making a loss on the project. With margins vital to maintaining a healthy profit in the construction industry, the company have had to alter this approach in order to improve their financial circumstances before it got any worse. Being more selective when choosing the contracts they bid on has also allowed the multinational infrastructure and civil engineering group to fill their books with contracts offering higher margins and a greater likelihood for profit. It would appear that in order to function successfully as a large multinational organisation the quality of the contract wins out over the number of contracts won.
A new development of luxury care homes has been completed by Wates Construction. The completed care homes are located in Berkshire and Surrey. Wates carried out the construction work on behalf of Signature Senior Lifestyle. Ascot Grange, the Signature Sunninghill Care Home in Berkshire offers the highest quality accommodation across 96 private apartments, with a mixture of one-bedroomed suites and studios. There are also 23 places for individuals who require specialised dementia care. The Signature Camberley Care Home in Surrey is called Pembroke House. In order to complete the construction work of this project, the five storey office building formerly on the site needed to be demolished. In its place is a four storey care home that has 92 bedrooms. The Pembroke House accommodation is close to the town centre, a new type of locations for Signature Senior Lifestyle. Also available at the Care Home is a collection of secret gardens that can be found on the upper levels of the development. Both of the newly constructed projects are fitted with the best possible amenities for residents to make the most of including a cinema room, hair salon, therapy room, bistro restaurant and library. Wates Construction Southern Homes Counties was the division of Wates that completed the work for their client and the construction process has been described as thoroughly enjoyable. Both of the Care Home will now deliver senior living communities that will offer the residents comfort as well as a better quality of life. Wates Construction is a leading name in construction and one of the largest privately owned construction, development and property services. The company’s 4,000 employees work with over 10,000 supply chain operatives in order to deliver a range of different construction projects around the UK. Wates Construction also focuses on delivering the highest quality project possible as well as working with the communities they are operating in in order to leave behind a positive legacy.
