Vivalda Group plc, the UK’s largest distributor of high performance facades, has successfully completed an investment project that brings the benefit of digitally-controlled cutting technology to all eight of its locations across the UK and Ireland. As part of its strategy to increase its pioneering offsite fabrication capacity, the £250,000
There are serious challenges ahead to finding suitable properties to convert into much-needed hotels, Ed John, a real estate partner in Shoosmiths’ hotel practice, will tell industry experts at an event hosted by Colliers International in London today. Ed will tell invited guests that due to undersupply of development land,
GRAHAM has been awarded a scheme to install conventional noise barriers on the M40 motorway as part of a series of improvements on behalf of Highways England. The scheme will take place between Junctions 3 and 8 of the motorway, with the ultimate goal being to reduce noise pollution along
More than 160,000 new homes were registered to be built in the UK last year, an increase of 6% on 2016, according to NHBC latest new home statistics. 160,606 homes were registered throughout the course of 2017, up from the 152,017 the previous year and the highest since the pre-recession
A partnership led by Architecture and Design Scotland and supported by Forestry Commission Scotland, Zero Waste Scotland, Construction Scotland Innovation Centre, and BRE, features a new online resource platform for construction professionals, architects, builders, and homeowners. The Materials Library online resource will allow users across the country to access information
UK’s largest distributor of high performance facades, Vivalda Group plc, has brought the digitally-controlled cutting technology to all eight of its locations across the UK and Ireland. The £250,000 investment in this project consists of the acquisition of an additional seven beam saws, supplied by Schelling and Mayer, and incorporated
After a fire eruption at the King’s Dock multi-storey car park in Liverpool, Joe Anderson, the Mayor of the city, questioned whether the existing building regulations are fit for purpose. The fired reached temperatures of 1000oC; it destroyed more than a thousand vehicles inside the car park and damaged the
Credit: Assemble / Simon Terrill This summer the RIBA will present The Brutalist Playground – an exhibition that is part sculpture, part architectural installation, which invites people of all ages to come and play, the Brutalist way. Occupying the entire Architecture Gallery, the immersive landscape is a new commission by
A vehicle body manufacturing company in Stoke on Trent has been fined after two workers were seriously injured when they were crushed between a moving vehicle and stationary vehicles. North Staffordshire Magistrates’ Court heard that a colleague of the two men was attempting to manoeuvre an 18 tonne vehicle in
Quest Industrial Flooring installed a Sika Comfortfloor Decorative Pro for Stick ‘n’ Step. The charity puts great price on having its classes fit with the right floor, as most of their work takes place on it. A fit for purpose and high performance replacement was necessary so that they can
Vivalda Group plc, the UK’s largest distributor of high performance facades, has successfully completed an investment project that brings the benefit of digitally-controlled cutting technology to all eight of its locations across the UK and Ireland. As part of its strategy to increase its pioneering offsite fabrication capacity, the £250,000 investment comprises the acquisition of an additional seven beam saws, supplied by Schelling and Mayer, with Magi-Cut computer controls ensuring total accuracy. Minimal wastage through better template design and off-site fabrication are core elements of Vivalda’s added-value offer and this investment will reinforce the company’s leadership position in the high-performance cladding sector. Vivalda’s investment in plant and technology also includes the addition of new dust extraction equipment, fork lift trucks and scissor lifts to each of its operating sites. Ben Jayes, managing director of Vivalda Group plc, said: “While terms such as construction 4.0, BIM and DfMA are becoming part of the industry’s new vocabulary, accuracy, quality control and offsite fabrication have been part of our DNA for nearly two decades. “This major investment demonstrates Vivalda Group’s core strategy to set new quality standards for the off-site fabrication sector. Contractors and specifiers are demanding total accuracy and zero defects on site. This technology ensures we continue to operate at the highest levels of performance in the industry. “Given the fact that manufacturers are now producing board sizes of up to 5.0m by 3.0m, Vivalda Group has a continuous programme to make sure we have the appropriate cutting technology and logistics in place. Our customers know they can rely on the Vivalda Group to supply their orders on time, accurately cut and knowing each panel will be individually labelled so it can be lifted off the pallet and placed directly on to the wall.” As the UK’s number one supplier of rain screen cladding and facade panels, Vivalda prides itself on offering a genuinely independent service to contractors in support of specifiers and architects. Products supplied by Vivalda include Marley Eternit, Cembrit, Rockpanel, Trespa and Fibre C. Vivalda also owns the PURA Facades brand. VivaIda Group has a turnover in excess of £30m and employs more than 100 people. With a new HQ in Birmingham, the group operates from eight locations across the UK and Ireland. Vivalda was named as one of its ‘1000 Companies to Inspire’ by the London Stock Exchange in 2017
There are serious challenges ahead to finding suitable properties to convert into much-needed hotels, Ed John, a real estate partner in Shoosmiths’ hotel practice, will tell industry experts at an event hosted by Colliers International in London today. Ed will tell invited guests that due to undersupply of development land, pressures to preserve the character of the local built environment and conserve existing buildings – particularly in urban settings – in some locations the only feasible option is to convert old and sometimes historic buildings, preserving the character of towns, cities and wider communities in the process. “There’s no doubt that the business of converting existing buildings into hotels faces a number of challenges however, with constructive dialogue with local stakeholders, early engagement on design and planning as well as careful consideration of the issues well in advance of implementation, a conversion can yield some tremendous results” he said, ahead of the invitation-only event at Colliers International’s centre in George Street. “We have seen how some truly iconic buildings can be enhanced and their heritage preserved while at the same time boosting local economies and turning some former eyesores into hotels of which our communities can be proud. You only need to look at buildings like The Ned, the former Midland Bank head office in the City – named after Edward ‘Ned’ Lutyens, or The Dixon, after John Dixon Butler – the architect who originally constructed the building in 1905 as the Tower Bridge Magistrates’ Court and police station to see what can be achieved with imagination – and a lot of hard work. “This event will be a perfect opportunity for some of the industry’s brightest figures to get together, celebrate its successes but, more importantly, to share ideas for how we can continue to grow in this space and to develop ideas on how to tackle these challenges head-on.” Marc Finney, head of hotels and resorts consulting at Colliers, said: “We are in a window of opportunity right now for hotel development. Three or four years ago, following the financial crash, you could buy an existing hotel for less than the cost of construction – it didn’t make sense. “Since then, starting in London but spreading quickly to Edinburgh, Manchester and other major markets, we can now see a plethora of UK cities and towns where development profits are available again. “With the availability of clean sites few and far between in good central locations, there is an obvious spotlight on the opportunities that conversions can bring.” As part of the event, hospitality industry expert Jonathan Langston will be interviewing keynote speaker Dexter Moren, founding director of Dexter Moren Associates, who will be lending his insight on the 25 years of his leading hotel architecture practice. Other speakers include Marc Finney, head of hotels and resorts consulting at Colliers International, Ben Turner, a partner in Shoosmiths LLP’s hotel practice; Paul Cook, head of technology at ISG; Jonathan Manns, head of the UK regeneration team at Colliers; as well as Colliers’ head of UK hotel valuations David Hossack; Ben Godon and Allan Davidson, directors of Colliers’ specialist hospitality asset management practice. Andrew Sangster will moderate a panel with industry experts, which includes Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank’s head of hotels Shona Pushpaharan, Colliers International’s head of hospitality management Clive Hillier, PPHE director of acquisitions and development Sabina Wyss di Corrado, and Adela Cristea, senior director, head of business development, UK and Ireland at Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group for Radisson.
GRAHAM has been awarded a scheme to install conventional noise barriers on the M40 motorway as part of a series of improvements on behalf of Highways England. The scheme will take place between Junctions 3 and 8 of the motorway, with the ultimate goal being to reduce noise pollution along the route. The commitment to deliver these improvements is set out in Highways England’s Delivery Plan. Highways England has been working in partnership with the M40 Chiltern Environmental Group (M40 CEG), Wycombe District Council and South Oxfordshire District Council, to develop proposals to reduce noise along the M40 corridor between Loudwater (near junction 3 of the motorway) in Buckinghamshire and Wheatley (near junction 8) in South Oxfordshire. The organisation has been liaising with the M40 Core Group since 2005 over road noise along the M40 corridor. Following feasibility reports into using photovoltaic enabled noise barriers and PV panels, Highways England asked suppliers to develop a more cost affordable solution, and in 2016 the decision was made to revert to conventional noise barriers. Noise barriers are planned for sections of the M40 as it passes near High Wycombe, as well as near the Buckinghamshire villages of Lane End, Stokenchurch and Chepping Wycombe. Five of the sites involve direct work to highway structures, and account for 1.9km of the proposed 4.9km of barrier. The contract will be overseen by Dave Brown, who was recently appointed to lead on GRAHAM’s collaborative delivery framework (CDF) with Highways England. Upon award of the scheme, Dave said: “GRAHAM is pleased to be leading on this scheme for Highways England, which will make a huge difference to residents based along the M40 motorway. “To ensure the scheme is as cost effective as possible, the supplier has identified innovative solutions at Loudwater Viaduct, limiting barrier height while still maintaining a reduction in noise. “GRAHAM is committed to undertaking schemes like this in a collaborative manner, engaging the local community and working closely with Highways England to deliver improvements which will be beneficial for those who reside in the area.” GRAHAM’s civil engineering team has been involved in some of the most prestigious projects within the UK and Ireland, including the Tennison Road Bridge Replacement for Network Rail, the A138 Chelmer Viaduct for Highways England, and the high-profile M80 Stepps to Haggs Upgrade in central Scotland. The company has a very strong civil engineering track record which is underscored by two recent short-listings in the Major Civil Engineering Project of the Year (over £50m) category at the 30th British Construction Industry Awards 2017.
More than 160,000 new homes were registered to be built in the UK last year, an increase of 6% on 2016, according to NHBC latest new home statistics. 160,606 homes were registered throughout the course of 2017, up from the 152,017 the previous year and the highest since the pre-recession levels of a decade ago. The private sector grew by 3% with 118,825 new homes registered, with the affordable sector increasing by 14% to 41,781 – the highest yearly total for the sector since NHBC electronic records began 30 years ago. New home completions also increased by 4% from 141,685 in 2016 to 147,278 last year. Nine out of 12 UK regions experienced an increase in registrations, with the East Midlands (+19% ;14,481), Wales (+19%; 5,470) and North West (+12%; 16,947) among the areas which saw noticeable growth. Figures for London showed the rate of new homes being registered was slightly up on 2016, with 17,850 units compared to 17,587 the previous year, the first increase year-on-year in the capital since 2014. As the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK, NHBC’s registration statistics are a lead indicator of the UK’s new homes market. Commenting on the new home registrations statistics for 2017, NHBC Chief Executive Steve Wood said: “Our figures show the market has delivered strong growth resulting in the highest new home figures for a decade and growth across the majority of the UK, including London for the first time since 2014. “Looking ahead, NHBC will continue to work with the industry to help raise the standards of new homes. With 6% growth in the quantity of new home registrations, the focus on delivering quality for consumers remains critical.”
A partnership led by Architecture and Design Scotland and supported by Forestry Commission Scotland, Zero Waste Scotland, Construction Scotland Innovation Centre, and BRE, features a new online resource platform for construction professionals, architects, builders, and homeowners. The Materials Library online resource will allow users across the country to access information about construction innovation, sustainable design and architecture, resource efficiency, and low carbon building, as well as compare and discover a wide range of building materials. The digital resource is an addition to the physical library at The Lighthouse in Glasgow. “The digital materials library is a powerful tool for finding out about sustainable materials and technologies wherever you are. Building on the success of our library at the Lighthouse, I am delighted that more people will be able to learn about building sustainably and benefit from the knowledge, experience and resources of key partners involved in sustainable design and architecture,” said Jim MacDonald, Chief Executive at Architecture and Design Scotland. The new digital platform will allow its users to browse, search, and compare materials by type, origin, and typical use, view case studies of the materials used in various Scottish projects, as well as find events and training opportunities or download publications and guidance on construction innovation, low carbon building, and sustainable design. “Innovation in construction products and materials is part of Scotland’s heritage and critical to our future. The creation of the digital materials library means that emerging products and materials can now be showcased locally, and to the world. This excellent resource complements our recently opened Innovation Factory where Scottish businesses can prototype and test their products before going to market,” said Rohan Bush, Business Relationship Manager at Construction Scotland Innovation Centre. All companies involved in this project are happy they have been able to help with the development of Materials Library and provide opportunities for a larger audience.
UK’s largest distributor of high performance facades, Vivalda Group plc, has brought the digitally-controlled cutting technology to all eight of its locations across the UK and Ireland. The £250,000 investment in this project consists of the acquisition of an additional seven beam saws, supplied by Schelling and Mayer, and incorporated with Magi-Cut computer controls that ensure total accuracy. Vivalda added more value to its offer by providing minimal wastage through better template design and off-site fabrication. An additional investment was made in plant and technology, including a new dust extraction equipment, forklift trucks, and scissor lifts. These acquisitions reinforce the company’s leadership position in the high performance cladding sector. “This major investment demonstrates Vivalda Group’s core strategy to set new quality standards for the off-site fabrication sector. Contractors and specifiers are demanding total accuracy and zero defects on site. This technology ensures we continue to operate at the highest levels of performance in the industry,” said Ben Jayes, Managing Director of Vivalda Group plc. The manufacturing industry is changing as well and the company has to make sure that the appropriate cutting technology and logistics are used. “Our customers know they can rely on the Vivalda Group to supply their orders on time, accurately cut and knowing each panel will be individually labelled so it can be lifted off the pallet and placed directly on to the wall,” added Ben. Vivalda is the number one supplier of rainscreen cladding and facade panels in the UK, offering an independent service to contractors in support of specifiers and architects. Marley Eternit, Cembrit, Rockpanel, Trespa, and Fibre C. are all products supplied by Vivalda. Established in London in 1999, the supplier employs more than 100 people and has an annual turnover of approximately £30 million. The group operates from eight locations across the UK and Ireland, including the new headquarters in Birmingham. In 2017 it was named one of the ‘1000 Companies to Inspire’ by the London Stock Exchange.
After a fire eruption at the King’s Dock multi-storey car park in Liverpool, Joe Anderson, the Mayor of the city, questioned whether the existing building regulations are fit for purpose. The fired reached temperatures of 1000oC; it destroyed more than a thousand vehicles inside the car park and damaged the building itself, causing a financial impact of over £50 million. The absence of sprinklers in the building only made the situation worse, with people claiming that if they had installed them, the vehicles and the construction could have been saved. According to the UK Fire Statistics, between 1994 and 2005 there were 162 car park fires, in which a fixed fire suppression system was present. In 100 of these cases, automatic sprinklers extinguished or contained the fire and in only 1% of these situations they failed because the fires were to small to activate the sprinklers. Although the car park met current Building Regulations, the lack of focus on property protection led to £20 million being paid out to insurance customers and £15 million going to the construction cost of the building. However, if the impact it will have on the city is taken into account, the total cost of the fire will be a lot larger. The 1,600 spaces that charged £15 per day used to bring a potential revenue of £24,000, which is now lost. If it takes 18 months to reopen, then that means potential lost earnings of approximately £13 million. The installation of a sprinkler system in the car park would have costed between £600k and £950k, which is significantly lower than the cost of the fire. Despite the evidence of the effectiveness of sprinklers in car parks, the regulatory guidance for building safety does not make them mandatory. These regulations only look into life safety and do not take into account the impact a fire has on the wider economy.
Credit: Assemble / Simon Terrill This summer the RIBA will present The Brutalist Playground – an exhibition that is part sculpture, part architectural installation, which invites people of all ages to come and play, the Brutalist way. Occupying the entire Architecture Gallery, the immersive landscape is a new commission by Turner Prize nominated design and architecture collective Assemble and artist Simon Terrill. It explores the abstract concrete playgrounds that were designed as part of post-war housing estates in the mid-twentieth century, but which no longer exist. They became playgrounds unsuitable for play. The exhibition draws on features from a number of London estates including Churchill Gardens, Pimlico; the Brunel Estate, Paddington and the Brownfield Estate in Poplar. The playgrounds were often made from concrete, cast into sculptural forms, which presented a distinct move away from previous playground design. They were envisaged as a key aspect of the estate layout and design and as such reflect the preoccupations and social theories of society at that time. Assemble and Simon Terrill have drawn inspiration from photographs and visual material in the RIBA’s collections, documenting the playgrounds when they were newly built and in use. The exhibition installation will recreate visual elements from the playgrounds in reconstituted foam, creating an interactive, contemporary space where the viewer becomes participant and in this way completes the work. Archive images of the original playgrounds will be projected on the walls. Assemble on the creation of the installation: “The challenge of reconstructing elements of now forgotten Brutalist play structures within the RIBA gallery is an exciting opportunity for us to explore contemporary issues surrounding play, by looking at the often surreal objects from the past. Working closely with the RIBA collections and the artist Simon Terrill, the interpretation of these spaces has allowed us to ask questions around materiality and the nature of risk in play, while also giving greater visibility to the incredible original images of the playgrounds that can be found in the collections.” Artist Simon Terrill: “The original playgrounds evoke a disappearing world of concrete mazes and windswept walkways. Like a Brechtian stage set rendered in concrete, they speak to a time before soft play and highly regulated public space. The recreation of these forms is a kind of inverted hyper-Brutalism. Playable structures reveling in the sharp edged bush hammered concrete forms they reference. The surreal edges of the Brutalist aesthetic are seen here in the form of the playground.” The Brutalist Playground will be accompanied by a public programme of talks, debates and film screenings as well as workshops and events for families. Part of the London Festival of Architecture. Notes to editors: 1. For further information contact Beatrice Cooke in the RIBA Press Office: beatrice.cooke@riba.org; 020 7307 3813. 2. Press images of the original post-war playgrounds can be downloaded here: https://riba.box.com/s/w7w7cr7m6mbysqq114s77o5inm38ac2w 3. Press/Private view: Tuesday 9 June, 6-10pm, Tuesday Late ‘Welcome to the Playground’. An evening of talks and films with Assemble, Simon Terrill and others: http://www.architecture.com/WhatsOn/June2015/LATETUESDAYWelcometothePlayground.aspx 4. The Architecture Gallery at RIBA is open from 10am – 5pm Monday to Sunday and until 8pm every Tuesday. Free entrance. RIBA is at 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD. Nearest tubes are Oxford Circus, Regent’s Park and Great Portland Street. The exhibition is part of a RIBA season of wide ranging events and workshops, designed for all ages and experience levels. For further information go to www.architecture.com/whatson The Architecture Gallery opened in February 2014 in the RIBA’s Grade II* listed Art Deco HQ. Through regular, free exhibitions that explore the past, present and future of our built environment the gallery programme will help visitors discover and explore architecture. The gallery offers the opportunity for the RIBA to display its world class collections contained in the British Architectural Library. To explore the RIBA collections online go to: http://www.architecture.com/RIBA/Visitus/Library/Collections/Collections.aspx 5. About the artists: Assemble are a London based design and architecture collective founded in 2010. Assemble design and build interventions as a way of critically addressing the typical disconnect between the public and the process by which spaces are made. Championing a working practice that is interdependent and collaborative, they seek to actively involve the public as both participant and accomplice in the on-going realisation of the work. http://assemblestudio.co.uk/ Artist Simon Terrill works with groups and crowds through the photographic medium, involving large scale orchestrated gatherings of communities in specific sites. The focus on the crowd is centred around an idea of a contrasting and oscillating space between the personal and the public, the individual and the collective and the impact of these fluid definitions on architecture, portraiture and the photograph. www.simonterrill.com 6. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England 7. RIBA champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members. www.architecture.com Follow @RIBA on Twitter for regular RIBA updates http://twitter.com/RIBA The RIBA is a registered charity and it relies on the generosity of individuals, companies, trusts and foundations to preserve its world-class collections, to maintain free public access to its exhibitions and develop a diverse and exciting public events programme. Posted on Friday 5th June 2015 Source link
A vehicle body manufacturing company in Stoke on Trent has been fined after two workers were seriously injured when they were crushed between a moving vehicle and stationary vehicles. North Staffordshire Magistrates’ Court heard that a colleague of the two men was attempting to manoeuvre an 18 tonne vehicle in the work shop of Commercial Body Specialists Limited on 12 January 2015 when two employees were pinned and crushed between the manoeuvring vehicle and two other stationary vehicles. One other employee jumped out of the way. One worker suffered several fractures to his pelvis and ribs as well as internal bladder and kidney lacerations. The other worker suffered crush injuries to his legs. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident found that the company had failed to identify and assess workplace transport risks and had failed to put in place protective measures, safe systems of work and proper instruction and training to ensure employee pedestrian safety during vehicle movement. Commercial Body Specialists Limited, of High Street, Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,461. For further information on workplace transport visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/separating.htm Notes to Editors: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases. Source link
Quest Industrial Flooring installed a Sika Comfortfloor Decorative Pro for Stick ‘n’ Step. The charity puts great price on having its classes fit with the right floor, as most of their work takes place on it. A fit for purpose and high performance replacement was necessary so that they can keep supporting the young people with cerebral palsy with the right education. “The team at Stick ‘n’ Step needed to replace an old, uneven, and sloping floor with a brand new, state-of-the-art flooring solution for our work with children and young people with cerebral palsy. From quote to completion our team was kept up to date with progress and had regular explanations of the different phases involved in the work,” explained Matt Meaney, Development Manager at Stick ‘n’ Step. The new system is smooth, durable, slip resistant, and resin based, while holding excellent shock absorption properties. Its cushioning layers provide a comfortable surface to learn and play, while its durability and easy to clean benefits help maintain the health and safety standards, which is paramount for a children’s learning environment. Quest Industrial Flooring had only four weeks to complete the project and the discovery that the sub-base underneath the existing wood and vinyl flooring required a week’s worth of repairs, turned it into a difficult challenge. However, the company managed to do it and the new floor was ready at the start of the new school term. “Thanks to Sika’s advanced floor system, the technical know how and attention to detail of our installers and the understanding of close collaboration between client, contractor and manufacturer, the ideal solution for the school’s 90m2 classroom floor was created,” said Mark Jones, Contracts Director at Quest Industrial Flooring. Sika is a specialty chemicals company that holds a leading position in the development and production of bonding, sealing, damping, protecting, and reinforcing systems and products for the building sector and the automotive industry. It has subsidiaries in 97 countries and manufactures in over 190 factories.