Proposals for Kirklees Council’s £210 million Cultural Heart development, which is set to transform the heart of Huddersfield town centre, were approved by the Local Planning Authority. With approval now secured, construction of the first phase of the scheme is set to get underway in Spring 2024. Initial works will
Barbour ABI has completed its latest snap analysis of construction industry performance for January, finding a mixed result across planning with a strong start for contract awards but slower performance across earlier planning stages. Notably, residential planning approvals and applications fell to just £2.7bn and £3.6bn respectively against £3.4bn and
The Hill Group has been chosen as delivery partner by Buckinghamshire Council to build two key housing developments, at Bellfield Road, High Wycombe and Ashwells Field, Tylers Green in an agreement which will deliver over 177 high-quality sustainable new homes for the area. Hill will redevelop land on Bellfield Road
Alliance Investments have announced the official sales launch of their 6th Manchester development, Berkeley Square, located between Manchester City Centre and MediaCityUK. The Manchester based property investment company has launched the sales of the latest luxury Manchester development, Berkeley Square – which will see the construction of 500 one-,
When you picture a casino in your mind, you most likely conjure up images of bright lights, thick carpeting, and an almost haphazard maze of slot machines and gambling tables. But there is nothing random or accidental in the design of these spaces. On the contrary, every detail has been
Proposals for Kirklees Council’s £210 million Cultural Heart development, which is set to transform the heart of Huddersfield town centre, were approved by the Local Planning Authority. With approval now secured, construction of the first phase of the scheme is set to get underway in Spring 2024. Initial works will concentrate on the major refurbishments of the historic Queensgate Market, as well as the creation of a brand-new outdoor public square. The Grade II Listed Queensgate Market building will be sensitively adapted to become a vibrant food hall, with space for around ten independent food stalls. Centred around large communal seating areas, the food hall will be a new social focal point for the town centre and will help provide activity in the area throughout the day and into the evening. Within the same building will be a new contemporary library venue. Designed with the town’s community needs in mind, this flexible, glass-fronted building will feature group meeting amenities, quiet breakout rooms, a dedicated children’s area, a local history room, computer facilities and more. Once complete, a special event space and terrace on the top floor of the library will look out over the scheme’s landmark new public square – an attractive outdoor space with water features that will double up as a destination for community and cultural events and will look out over the park. To enable these initial works, a section of the existing Piazza building along Princess Alexandra Walk will need to be demolished. The remainder of the Piazza building will stay in place until demolition is required to progress work onsite, with units including Boots and WHSmith also staying open during this period. “The Cultural Heart is all about delivering genuine long-term community assets, where friends and families can gather, relax and socialise. We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and we understand that times are challenging right now for many. This reinforces our ambition to grow our town centre offer and give people more reasons to visit and spend time here. The public square, food hall, museum and library will be amazing new spaces that provide free and low-cost activities – ultimately bringing our diverse community closer together,” commented Leader of Kirklees Council, Councillor Shabir Pandor. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Barbour ABI has completed its latest snap analysis of construction industry performance for January, finding a mixed result across planning with a strong start for contract awards but slower performance across earlier planning stages. Notably, residential planning approvals and applications fell to just £2.7bn and £3.6bn respectively against £3.4bn and £4.2bn averages in 2022. This highlights the continued impact of the cost-of-living crisis and suggests annual house-building targets may come under threat. Barbour ABI Chief Economist Tom Hall explained: “Contract awards were £7.4bn in January: a positive rebound after December’s disappointing £5bn. The main contributors to the strong performance were the residential and industrial sectors, with £2.6bn and £1.6bn respectively. Only the commercial sector performed below the historical average, falling back by 18% to £600m following a good finish to 2022. However, January is often a good month and there remain many headwinds to contend with. “Planning approvals experienced a weak start to the year, falling 34% to just £6.5bn, driven by large falls in industrial and infrastructure. Meanwhile, underlying activity for planning applications fell at the end of 2022 with notable falls in commercially sensitive sectors, such as residential. however overall activity held up thanks to the £4.1bn Berwick Bank offshore wind farm in Scotland.” Find out more at barbour-abi.com. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The Hill Group has been chosen as delivery partner by Buckinghamshire Council to build two key housing developments, at Bellfield Road, High Wycombe and Ashwells Field, Tylers Green in an agreement which will deliver over 177 high-quality sustainable new homes for the area. Hill will redevelop land on Bellfield Road which will transform the site of a disused storage facility into a collection of 68 one, two, and three-bedroom apartments. All available through affordable rent, Hill will be finalising a reserved matters planning application for the scheme in the spring. “As a leading housebuilder, we are honoured to have been entrusted by Buckinghamshire Council to play a pivotal role in the transformation of two prominent land sites in the High Wycombe area. This is a testament to our commitment to delivering sustainable and thriving communities that align with the needs and aspirations of residents,” said Andy Hill, Group Chief Executive of The Hill Group. “We wholeheartedly embrace the opportunity to shape the future of these sites and create enduring value for the people of High Wycombe. Our teams will collaborate closely with local stakeholders to bring our shared vision for these communities to fruition, and we are confident that together we can make a lasting impact that will benefit generations to come,” Andy continued. Plans for Ashwells Field feature a range of over 100 two, three, four, and five-bedroom houses set around landscaped gardens and open communal space, including a children’s play area. The homes at Ashwells Field will include private sale, and a mix of affordable tenures. Working closely with the local community and the planning authority, detailed designs will go to planning in the summer. “As a council we are committed to supporting our communities and ensuring that there is enough affordable housing across Buckinghamshire that is accessible for our residents. Using land we own at Bellfield as one of the sites, we are committed to building a range of affordable options for renters and buyers across the two developments in High Wycombe. Not only will we work to deliver high quality designs, we are also ensuring that the new homes will be sustainable to run with an enhanced energy performance. We are pleased to work with The Hill Group and are hoping to produce high quality homes that create thriving communities at these two High Wycombe sites,” concluded John Chilver, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing and Resources. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Alliance Investments have announced the official sales launch of their 6th Manchester development, Berkeley Square, located between Manchester City Centre and MediaCityUK. The Manchester based property investment company has launched the sales of the latest luxury Manchester development, Berkeley Square – which will see the construction of 500 one-, two- and three-bed apartments. Main contractor HG Developments announced this week it has commenced construction on The Heaton Group’s luxury residential scheme, situated between Manchester City Centre and MediaCity, designed by award-winning architects Fletcher Rae. With a forecasted completion date of December 2025 for Block 1 and June 2026 for Block 2, this is another significant development for Manchester to meet the incredibly high demands for living space in the area. Berkeley Square is a superior collection of luxury apartments perfectly located between Manchester City Centre and MediaCityUK, within a secure community suitable for professionals, families and first-time buyers. The modern homes will offer both connectivity and an enviable lifestyle in a stylish, luxury package, with open communal spaces for relaxing with friends, resident events, co-working and exercise classes – all planned to improve residents living environment. All apartments Berkeley Square will be available for sale through Alliance Investments from February 2023, with properties available from £199k. Ronald Garrett, Managing Director of Alliance Investments states: “Our team are delighted to be partnering with The Heaton Group on the sale of apartments within Berkeley Square – our third project with them.” “We have aligned our reputations for excellence, local knowledge and proven track record, and are confident of another successful project within Manchester” John Heaton, Managing Director of The Heaton Group commented: “Launching Berkeley Square with Alliance Investments leading the sales, marks the culmination of success across our previous projects with their sales and marketing teams, who have decades’ of experience across the UK’s residential market, we are confident they will again harness their knowledge to market our development to the correct home buyers and investors” To find out more about investing in Manchester or purchasing a home within Berkeley Square, please contact Alliance Investments here: https://alliance-investments.com/manchester/.
When you picture a casino in your mind, you most likely conjure up images of bright lights, thick carpeting, and an almost haphazard maze of slot machines and gambling tables. But there is nothing random or accidental in the design of these spaces. On the contrary, every detail has been carefully thought out to use the space to maximum advantage. Casinos are big businesses putting millions of dollars into ensuring that their floor space is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Thankfully, gone are the days when the aim of casino design was, literally, to keep visitors disoriented, and in the dark so that they would catch gambling fever and empty their pockets and bank balances at the tales. Bill Friedman, a recovering gambling addict, was the inventor of the ‘Maze Layout’, which dominated in the 1990s. Other ideas to disorient and distract players included low ceilings, dark interiors, and a deliberate lack of decoration. He laid out these ideas in his book Designing Casinos to Dominate the Competition, which became the predominant design standards of the day. Modern casino design is all about providing a convenient, enjoyable user experience where guests stay and gamble because they feel comfortable and safe and not because they can’t find the way out. There are some similarities in the online world, and these even stretch not only for casinos but online bingo sites as well. The only remaining concept of Friedman’s that you will notice in a casino today is the lack of clocks. There is nothing to remind you of the time unless you make a conscious effort to look at your watch or phone. The idea being, obviously, that players will lose track f time and remain at the tables longer. Casinos Interior Design from a Functional Perspective Roger Thomas and David Kranes are the designers who helped bring radical change to the way casinos were designed. They added windows, created extensive areas of open floor space, and placed the tables and slot machines in clusters rather than lining them up in seemingly endless rows as had been the custom until then. The philosophy behind this new approach was that players who felt welcome and relaxed would spend just as much as, or more than, ones who felt overwhelmed and trapped. But in addition to the psychological element, there are several others that have to be taken into consideration when planning a well-laid-out casino. As with any commercial building where large concentrations of people gather, ease of movement and safety are paramount concerns. Both staff and customers must be able to circulate freely, and there has to be clear routes to all exits, main and emergency, in case the premises need to be evacuated. Customer comfort and operational efficiency determine the location of elements like the “cage”, the principal repository for cash and chips and facilities like bathrooms, restaurants, and entertainment, as well as the layout of the games themselves. Everything must be easily accessible, as well as allowing for every inch of the space to be covered by CCTV cameras for security reasons. The last challenge for the designer is the aesthetics of the space. These should be warm and welcoming without impinging on functionality and security. For example, subdued lighting can look great, but if the players can’t see the tables or the cameras can’t pick up every detail, it is not a good option. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
