High-End Retail, Supermarkets and Mixed-Use Schemes Among the Modest Activity Retail construction orders fell to an all-time low during the final quarter of 2023, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Construction orders, a proxy for development activity, totalled £1.3 billion in the fourth quarter of last year
Unite Students, the UK’s largest provider of student accommodation, has received planning approval for a landmark 952-bed property in east London and 500-bed scheme at a key Bristol location. The Stratford development, next to Meridian Steps near Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, is a 41-storey tower targeted to complete in
Mitsui Fudosan UK and Stanhope, as the development manager, have announced the start of construction on two new residential buildings at Television Centre which forms part of the second phase of the Television Centre masterplan in White City, London. Multiplex has been appointed as the construction manager and completion is
Platform Housing Group, the largest housing association in the Midlands, has issued a second sustainability bond from its £1bn EMTN programme. The £250m bond has a 26 year maturity and was priced at Government gilts plus 0.83 per cent, producing a coupon and yield of 5.342 per cent. There was
Network Space Developments (NSD) has let a 17,000 sq ft unit at the flagship Broadheath Networkcentre in Altrincham. A professional services company has taken the last remaining self-contained unit at the Atlantic Street site which means the development, which only completed in February, is already two thirds full. There is
AN environmentally conscious surveying practice is putting sustainability at the heart of its service provision with the creation of a new, bespoke internal training course. Trident Building Consultancy has joined forces with the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) to create a unique course which is aimed at upskilling every building
A VITAL new quay on the south bank of the River Tees is set to be operational in early summer 2024 for the Teesworks industrial development, after the completion of a multi-million-pound investment programme. Building work on the first 450-metre phase of the South Bank Heavy Lift Quay is now
Construction work has commenced on two new residential buildings at Television Centre in White City, London. With Mitsui Fudosan UK and Stanhope, as the development manager, Multiplex has been appointed as the construction manager and completion is scheduled for mid-2027. The two buildings at the Television Centre – the nine-storey
Timber Development UK (TDUK), the UK’s largest trade association for the timber supply chain, is partnering with Carrefour International du Bois, the largest timber trade show in Europe, to offer VIP networking opportunities. Under the terms of the partnership TDUK will be offering limited-edition VIP Tickets (free for TDUK members)
Championing an age-old, low-carbon material in a new form British stone suppliers Albion Stone and Hutton Stone have commissioned architecture practice Artefact to design a 3m tall stone brick installation called Brick from a Stone which will appear at this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week (21-23 May). The installation will showcase
High-End Retail, Supermarkets and Mixed-Use Schemes Among the Modest Activity Retail construction orders fell to an all-time low during the final quarter of 2023, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Construction orders, a proxy for development activity, totalled £1.3 billion in the fourth quarter of last year on a rolling annual basis. The figure is the lowest since the data series began in 1985 and compares to an average of £3.2 billion since then and a high of £6.8 billion in 2006 – heady days when shopping centres Westfield, London and Liverpool One were being built. The ONS statistics are supported by CoStar’s data on new construction starts, which were also at their lowest on record in 2023 at 3.15 million square feet – a gradual slowdown over the past ten years from 14.4 million in 2014. This comes in the wake of the structural changes in the retail sector and development viability issues that are affecting all sectors – high finance and build costs, rising yields and subdued rental growth. Deliveries are also slowing sharply and with the recent trend of converting shopping centres and department stores to other uses, net deliveries have also reached an all-time low. Within the slowdown there are some modest outperforming segments that continue to see activity across the country. High-end retail schemes are among the most prominent, such as designer outlet villages at Scotch Corner and Tewkesbury, and large auto dealerships, including Porsche in Newport. Mixed-use projects, where retail forms part of large new residential schemes, have increased in prominence in recent years, and there are several underway including Lewisham Gateway and Green Haus in Salford. With retail park availability at an all-time low, a handful of schemes are among the key projects being built as well as several supermarkets – Aldi, Lidl and Tesco being the most active. Despite the slowdown in construction, net deliveries are still expected to outpace net demand this year, putting further pressure on the vacancy rate. But the slowdown in construction orders means fewer completions can be expected after that. Coupled with the trend of owners converting retail to other uses, the vacancy rate should then begin to stabilise. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Unite Students, the UK’s largest provider of student accommodation, has received planning approval for a landmark 952-bed property in east London and 500-bed scheme at a key Bristol location. The Stratford development, next to Meridian Steps near Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, is a 41-storey tower targeted to complete in 2028. The construction of a new entrance and exit to Stratford Underground Station is also part of the plans, providing a positive benefit to the local community by helping to alleviate passenger congestion and improve the area’s infrastructure. The Group’s Freestone Island development, in Bristol’s Temple Quarter, has total development costs of £73million, and is set to open in 2026. Unite Students is working in partnership with the University of Bristol through a nomination agreement on the property, which will guarantee rooms for the university’s students. This will assist the university in delivering high quality accommodation to support its growth in the Temple Quarter area of Bristol. Temple Quarter, in the heart of Bristol, is one of the UK’s largest regeneration projects – with 130 hectares of land being redeveloped to create a mixed-use community that includes office and commercial space, as well as pedestrianised green areas, alongside Unite Students’ student housing. The Quarter will be a key contributor to the West of England’s economy by creating new homes, jobs and generating income for the local area. Unite Students’ development, which has received full planning approval, will be close to its 600-bed Marsh Mills site, on Feeder Road, and the University of Bristol’s Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, where up to 4,600 students will be based on completion. The new development will provide 4,500 sq ft of affordable workspace and will be BREEAM Excellent with EPC Ratings of A across the scheme. The Stratford project, which has approval with conditions and is yet to obtain full planning permission, will also deliver 1,151m2 of commercial space which will include workspace and a retail area. Part of the space is earmarked for Canning Town-based You Press, a social enterprise for young people and underrepresented communities. A total of 333 beds will be let at affordable rents; 30 beds will be in self-contained studio flats while the rest are in shared flats of five to 10 bedrooms. One in 10 bedrooms will be wheelchair accessible. The planning application was supported by University College London (UCL) and full planning permission is expected later this year. Unite Students is in the process of confirming a long-term agreement with the university for its students to let the majority of the beds. This will support the university’s recently completed UCL East campus in Stratford. Embodied carbon to practical completion is targeted at 730 kgCO2e/m2 (carbon emission equivalent per square metre), showing further progress towards the Group’s 2030 net zero development targets. Including this project, Unite Students’ total planned investment into Stratford is c£400m. This includes the delivery of 716 new beds and academic space for the London Academy of Excellence at its Hawthorne House property, which is replacing former office block Jubilee House on Farthingale Walk. Tom Brewerton, Group Development Director at Unite Students, said: “Unite Students is leading the purpose-built student accommodation sector and these London and Bristol developments are unique offerings in their respective cities – two cities where we already have a strong footing and are committed to investing in further. “We are excited to get started with construction in the swiftest possible timescale. It is fantastic to have received approval at planning committee for this exciting new Stratford development that will positively contribute to the area’s changing skyline. “Bristol is one of the most undersupplied markets in the UK for purpose-built student accommodation and our Freestone Island project provides Unite Students with the opportunity to grow further in the city by providing high quality, value for money rooms for our students and university partners. “We are trusted by parents, students and universities to provide quality, safe and affordable accommodation that supports the entire university experience and are committed to delivering our record development pipeline to meet this demand.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Mitsui Fudosan UK and Stanhope, as the development manager, have announced the start of construction on two new residential buildings at Television Centre which forms part of the second phase of the Television Centre masterplan in White City, London. Multiplex has been appointed as the construction manager and completion is scheduled for mid-2027. The two buildings – the nine-storey ‘Scenery House’ designed by architects dRMM, and the 25-storey ‘The Ariel’ by AHMM – comprise a total of 347 apartments and townhouses. The accommodation will range from studios to four-bed townhouses with a complementary range of amenities designed by both MSMR and Sella Concepts including residents’ lounges, a screening room, co-working spaces and meeting rooms, as well as a private dining room and roof terrace. Particular attention has been paid to greening the areas in and around the buildings. Landscape architect, Gillespies, has designed a courtyard garden, rooftop terrace and pocket park between the two built elements of the scheme. The announcement comes as Macfarlane Place, the first building in this development phase, nears completion. The scheme will provide 142 affordable homes for Peabody across two predominantly brick buildings designed by Maccreanor Lavington. This brings the number of Stirling Prize winning architects working on the iconic development to three (including AHMM and dRMM) – reflecting Mitsui Fudosan’s commitment to the very best in British architectural design. Tatsu Imamura, Executive Director, Mitsui Fudosan UK said: “We are delighted that construction works for the penultimate residential plots are now underway and we will continue to build upon our existing work on the Television Centre site, which already includes over half a million square feet of office space and 574 private and affordable homes. We are committed, along with our partners Stanhope, to delivering much-needed high-quality new housing on the site, while continuing to explore wider investment opportunities in London and other parts of the UK.” David Camp, CEO at Stanhope added: “It’s great to see Multiplex get underway with work on site and continue to develop this phase of the Television Centre masterplan. Our partnership with Mitsui Fudosan has grown from strength to strength over the years and today marks another important milestone for the project.” Callum Tuckett, MD of Multiplex UK commented: “Commencement of construction on the latest residential blocks at Television Centre signifies a pivotal moment in the project’s progression. Multiplex is extremely proud to be delivering our second project for Stanhope, and we are honoured to play a central role in delivering this crucial component of Stanhope and Mitsui Fudosan’s overarching vision, which will provide 347 new homes on the site.” The cluster of buildings comprising phase 2 of the Television Centre masterplan, are designed to have a distinctive character of their own, complementing each other as well as those buildings already established across the wider estate. The development of phase 2 will complete the masterplan and further open up the site to local residents by the creation of a second entrance on Wood Lane and a pedestrian connection through to Hammersmith Park via interlinking streets. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Platform Housing Group, the largest housing association in the Midlands, has issued a second sustainability bond from its £1bn EMTN programme. The £250m bond has a 26 year maturity and was priced at Government gilts plus 0.83 per cent, producing a coupon and yield of 5.342 per cent. There was significant demand for the transaction, with initial order books just under four times over subscribed and more than 50 investors participating. Jessica Friend, Group Corporate Finance Director at Platform Housing Group said : “The strong performance of this issue is supported by our on going engagement with the debt investor community and reflects Platform’s focus on balancing investment with maintaining financial strength. The proceeds will be used to help fund the provision of more much needed quality, affordable and sustainable housing as we continue to alleviate the housing shortage across the region.” Proceeds will be used in accordance with Platform’s Sustainable Finance Framework to fund the development of new housing that qualifies as ‘Green Buildings’, having an EPC of A and B and ‘Affordable Housing’, homes developed for those who are unable to access the private housing markets. Ben Colyer, Corporate Treasury Director at Platform Housing Group said : “The transaction will complement the £275m sustainability linked revolving credit facilities arranged earlier in the year and means that just under half of Platform’s £2.2bn debt portfolio is now explicitly supporting our sustainability objectives.” Rosemary Farrar, Chief Finance Officer at Platform Housing Group said : “We are incredibly pleased that our debt investors recognise the huge attractiveness of the social housing sector and continue to support funding the excellent projects we invest in. These investments help to make significant social and environmental improvements to the communities in which we operate, as we push ahead with our ambitious development and decarbonisation strategies.” Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets, Barclays Bank and National Australia Bank acted as active bookrunners on the transaction. Bevan Brittan and Addleshaw Goddard provided legal counsel and Jones Lang Lasalle and Avison Young undertook security valuations. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Network Space Developments (NSD) has let a 17,000 sq ft unit at the flagship Broadheath Networkcentre in Altrincham. A professional services company has taken the last remaining self-contained unit at the Atlantic Street site which means the development, which only completed in February, is already two thirds full. There is also strong interest in the remaining units which offer between 2,000 and 9,000 sq ft of high-quality workspace for small to medium sized enterprises. Simon Eaton, Senior Development Manager at Network Space, said: “Attracting yet another high calibre occupier to Broadheath Networkcentre is testament to the quality and prime location the development provides. “It also helps our occupiers meet their ESG aims, due to the high sustainability credentials of the workspace.” On behalf of NSD, Bansco constructed the 206,000 sq ft Broadheath Networkcentre, which provides 25 units. Regenerating a brownfield site, it is a mix of high-quality refurbished space alongside new builds. Achieving BREEAM Very Good and EPC A ratings, significant efforts were made to further improve sustainability during the construction process by recycling and reusing the existing building materials where possible. In operation initiatives include renewable energy provision through solar panels and electric vehicle charging points across the entire scheme. Ultimately it will support some 400 new jobs and was fast tracked with a £23.25 million loan from Trafford Council and, with over 95% of the project budget being invested in a supply chain within 45 miles of the site, a significant number of local training and employment opportunities were also delivered during construction. Will Kenyon at B8 and Jonathan Williams at Savills are the letting agents for Broadheath Networkcentre by Network Space. In addition to this latest deal, a flurry of pre-lets were swiftly secured, with XPand Logistics, Maersk and worldwide event hire company, Options Greathire, moving onto the now thriving business park. Will Kenyon, director at B8RE, said: “Following completion of all works at Broadheath Network Centre, its great to welcome another global occupier onto the estate. Interest has now ramped up across the smaller units with several currently under offer and due to go through shortly. The estate has already become one of the best in the Manchester area & surrounds, proving to be popular to a wide range of businesses.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
AN environmentally conscious surveying practice is putting sustainability at the heart of its service provision with the creation of a new, bespoke internal training course. Trident Building Consultancy has joined forces with the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) to create a unique course which is aimed at upskilling every building surveyor and project manager working in the business. The move bucks the industry trend of having a specialist sustainability individual or small team within a practice that provide advice and input into specific projects. By providing the training across the whole of the business, Trident is ensuring sustainability and reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions is at the forefront of every survey and project it undertakes, helping clients to minimise their impact on the environment. Managing director Dan Roe said the initiative came about because sustainability is the highest topic on everyone’s agenda, particularly clients. The first cohort, comprising of Trident’s senior leaders, has already got started on the programme, with the business aiming to roll out further training to the remainder of Trident’s surveyors over the next year. Mr Roe said: “Many surveying practices and building consultancies have gone down the route of recruiting a small number of in-house staff or small teams that specialise in sustainability. “Whereas we would never rule that out, we want to go beyond that and upskill all of our existing client-facing workforce. We already have a good knowledge and experience of sustainability such as energy performance and how to make buildings more efficient, but we want to turn that into a much wider knowledge so we can advise our clients more comprehensively. “We’re trying to embed sustainability in everything thing we do. A building surveyor’s mindset was traditionally always to fix buildings, but we now want our surveyors not just to be looking at how we repair buildings but how we make them more energy efficient, too. It is a bit of a mindset change and the training programme we’ve developed is designed to facilitate that.” The training course has been developed in partnership with UKGBC, a membership organisation established to transform the sustainability of the built environment. It comprises of online and classroom-based training delivered by experts from the UKGBC, covering topics such as ESG and the built environment, decarbonising buildings, and how net zero strategies can be integrated into commercial retrofits. Mr Roe said it was fantastic to be working with the UKGBC which he described as ‘a leading authority on making buildings more sustainable’. “They have more than 700 members who are all extremely passionate about the subject,” he said. “They lobby government on policy and are at the coalface of developing sustainable solutions that enable people and nature to thrive side-by-side. “Partnering with them for this training means we’re in great hands.” Trident Building Consultancy has nine offices across the UK and Ireland, including Birmingham, Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, and Manchester. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
A VITAL new quay on the south bank of the River Tees is set to be operational in early summer 2024 for the Teesworks industrial development, after the completion of a multi-million-pound investment programme. Building work on the first 450-metre phase of the South Bank Heavy Lift Quay is now complete – with 30,000 tonnes of concrete poured into its construction. A total of c. £114m has been invested into the quay on the back of a loan by the UK Infrastructure Bank, which is to be repaid in full by private partners of Teesworks Ltd, as activity over the quay ramps up. Combined with the recently completed South Bank Link Road, the quay will help serve SeAH Wind’s huge £650m monopile manufacturing facility, which is currently under construction immediately to the south of the quay. With its deep-water capabilities and substantial storage, the quay will offer direct access for SeAH’s monopiles to be shipped out to offshore wind farms in the North Sea. The quay will also enable components and raw materials to be shipped into SeAH’s plant and the wider Teesworks site for use in the manufacturing process. Its capabilities are already attracting significant interest from other companies in the offshore wind sector, as Teesworks Operations Director Garry O’Malley explained. Mr O’Malley said: “South Bank Heavy Lift Quay will be a major strategic facility for the North Sea offshore wind industry over the next few decades. “There’s a real shortage of ports on the east coast which have deep water capabilities and large areas of land for storing and marshalling offshore wind farm components before they are shipped out for installation. “South Bank Quay and Teesworks combines both so there’s a real demand for facilities like this.” The deep-water quay, which has taken two years to build by UK contractor GRAHAM will offer at least 13.6 metres of depth for vessels at any state of the tide. Its 450-metre length means that two of the largest offshore wind installation vessels can be comfortably accommodated at the same time, using the heavy lift platform of 30t psm. Leading up to the quay is the recently completed 1.7km South Bank Link Road which unlocks access to more than 500 acres of land, including the SeAH monopile factory, and allows occupiers seamless transport to the Tees and out to the North Sea. Negotiations are advanced with a potential operator of the quay and the facility is set to be operational by early summer. Teesworks CEO Martin Corney said: “Both of these vital projects will unlock access and help trigger thousands of jobs on the Teesworks site and in the wider Teesside/ North East region. “We’ve had a significant amount of interest from global companies on the back of the progress at the quay – and the end of building work means we’re a big step closer to having direct riverside access to Teesworks and a vital route to the North Sea. “The South Bank Link Road is not only vital to unlocking access for SeAH Wind – it also unlocks 500 acres of land for development.” A mammoth 40,000 tonnes of asphalt and surfacing has been laid by North East firm Rainton Construction Ltd – part of the MGL Group – in creating the South Bank Link Road. The £8million of works also include footpaths and a cycleway within proximity to South Bank Station. This underscores the project’s broader aim of enhancing transportation options, not only facilitating rail connectivity but also improving road, cycling and walking infrastructure in the area. The link road is set to extend further through the South Bank site in future phases with building work on an office hub to serve the quay now well underway. Plans are now being examined for phase 2A of the South Bank Heavy Lift Quay which could increase the length of the quay by up to 300 metres, depending on demand from potential occupiers and users. Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “We simply could not have achieved what we have on the Teesworks site without our Joint Venture partners – they have been crucial in how far we’ve come, and these milestones are perfect examples of that. “All the jigsaw pieces are falling into place for South Bank Quay to serve Teesside as a vital link to the North Sea. We’re also making sure the infrastructure, roads and power are all in place so more huge investors can come to Teesworks to create good, well-paid jobs for local people.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Construction work has commenced on two new residential buildings at Television Centre in White City, London. With Mitsui Fudosan UK and Stanhope, as the development manager, Multiplex has been appointed as the construction manager and completion is scheduled for mid-2027. The two buildings at the Television Centre – the nine-storey ‘Scenery House’ designed by architects dRMM, and the 25-storey ‘The Ariel’ by AHMM – comprise a total of 347 apartments and townhouses. The accommodation will range from studios to four-bed townhouses with a complementary range of amenities designed by both MSMR and Sella Concepts including residents’ lounges, a screening room, co-working spaces and meeting rooms, as well as a private dining room and roof terrace. Particular attention has been paid to greening the areas in and around the buildings. Landscape architect, Gillespies, has designed a courtyard garden, rooftop terrace and pocket park between the two built elements of the scheme. The announcement comes as Macfarlane Place, the first building in this development phase, nears completion. The scheme will provide 142 affordable homes for Peabody across two predominantly brick buildings designed by Maccreanor Lavington. This brings the number of Stirling Prize winning architects working on the iconic development to three (including AHMM and dRMM) – reflecting Mitsui Fudosan’s commitment to the very best in British architectural design. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Timber Development UK (TDUK), the UK’s largest trade association for the timber supply chain, is partnering with Carrefour International du Bois, the largest timber trade show in Europe, to offer VIP networking opportunities. Under the terms of the partnership TDUK will be offering limited-edition VIP Tickets (free for TDUK members) to the conference, taking place from 28-30 May 2024 in Nantes, France. These VIP Tickets allow members to benefit from special networking opportunities, access to the VIP/Press Lounge with free coffee and soft drinks, and an invitation to the closing Gala Drinks Networking event. Speaking about the partnership, TDUK CEO David Hopkins, said: “We’re very pleased to be partnering with Carrefour International du Bois this year. Europe is the UK’s main source of supply for all timber products and Carrefour attracts the widest range of companies covering all product bases. “TDUK acts as a window into the UK market for overseas suppliers, so we are looking forward to the networking opportunities this brings to both sides. These relationships are crucial, and we look forward to seeing many members there.” David will be a key speaker at the Carrefour International du Bois session “Timber Architecture and Global Trends” on Tuesday 29 May alongside speakers from across France. During the session he will outline of the UK Government’s “Timber in Construction Roadmap” as well as a new publication from TDUK, Timber Policy, a comparative study of policies across Europe which aim to encourage a greater use of timber in construction. Carrefour du Bois is the largest timber trade show in Europe, bringing together hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of international visitors over three days in Nantes, France from 28-30 May 2024. Tickets to join TDUK at Carrefour International du Bois as a VIP delegate are very limited, so book your place – for free – now if you wish to join. TDUK Members can apply for these limited-edition VIP Tickets here. To learn more about Carrefour du Bois click here: www.timbershow.com Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Championing an age-old, low-carbon material in a new form British stone suppliers Albion Stone and Hutton Stone have commissioned architecture practice Artefact to design a 3m tall stone brick installation called Brick from a Stone which will appear at this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week (21-23 May). The installation will showcase stone bricks which both companies are launching this year. These bricks have remarkable environmental credentials, with carbon intensity reductions of about 75% when compared to clay-fired bricks – they only have about a quarter of the carbon footprint of traditional bricks. Heritage Portland Stone Brick from Albion Stone Darney Heritage Natural Brick from Hutton Stone Both companies have invested in state-of-the-art machinery and technology to turn ‘unloved stone’ (blocks and slabs that do not readily conform to sanitized ranges that have become the norm for stone today) into a sustainable building material. These bricks meet the growing appetite for more environmentally friendly buildings and the aesthetic specifications of planners across the UK who often prefer new buildings to be constructed or clad with bricks to suit the local vernacular. Stone is increasingly recognised as a stronger, more durable, more recyclable, and lower-carbon alternative to the steel and concrete that has become synonymous with the built environment in the 20th and 21st centuries. The manufacture and transportation of steel and concrete involve enormous amounts of energy which largely comes from fossil fuels. Stone starts as zero carbon as it doesn’t need to be manufactured, although energy is needed to extract it from the ground, cut it into blocks and carve it if needed. The final product has a low factor of embodied carbon. When local stone is used for local construction projects, the carbon footprint associated with transportation is negligible. As we move towards electric machinery and transportation powered by renewable energy, the embodied carbon of natural stone will continue to reduce. Brick from a Stone Brick from a Stone will be installed between two iconic red London telephone boxes on Clerkenwell Green from 21-23 May. The installation will consist of a colonnade of six columns constructed from stone bricks in two rows with a roof to provide shelter. The plinths that support the three slender columns to the rear will reflect the production process from stone boulders at the base, to slabs, strips, blocks and finally bricks. The three more substantial columns at the front looking out over Clerkenwell Green will showcase the beauty and finishes of the bricks. Designs are being developed for a brick table or bench beside the colonnade to encourage dwell time and there are plans to incorporate a dog water bowl into one of the plinths to reference the historic water trough for horses next to the installation on Clerkenwell Green. “Our installation Brick from a Stone celebrates the variety of natural stone that lies in abundance beneath our feet, showcasing stone brick, a beautiful ‘new’ product that will help to decarbonise our buildings and provide an alternative to clay-fired brickwork. Our piece hints at the potential to create a new low-carbon vernacular for masonry buildings in the UK that marries the enduring qualities of natural stone with the hand-made qualities of brick,” said Daniel Marmot, Director of Artefact. “Situated in Clerkenwell Green, the installation picks up on the history of the site, referencing the nearby horse trough with a drinking bowl for local dog walkers, a roof for shelter, benches and a table to place drinks from the pub next door. While the front columns are smooth and finished, the rear columns emerge from a rough-edged boulder, celebrating the production process,” added fellow director Benedetta Rogers. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
