Together Has Changed is co-living and co-working experts, Cutwork’s manifesto about post-confinement architecture, design and living. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, it explores and acknowledges how physical distancing may transform how we live in the future and change our lifestyles for far longer than we might at first imagine. Divided into five core
Esh Construction, the contractor of seven Sunderland regeneration projects, has released figures that show the projects provided a £12.4m boost the the city’s economy since the start of work. The economic impact of works on council-led projects – Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor (SSTC3); the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP); Port
BSI, in its role as the UK National Standards Body, announce a new National Standards programme to raise professional competence in the built environment sector. The standards aim to tackle the competence shortcomings identified in the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, Building a Safer Future, conducted by Dame Judith Hackitt. They
A 40-acre development site in North Wales, which has planning permission for holiday lodges of which more than ten have been constructed, has been sold to Darwin Leisure Development Fund. Plas Isaf Lodge Park, which is located in a woodland setting to the south of the Flintshire town of Caerwys,
Following the agreement of major funding and contractor deals, a £185 million scheme in the heart of Manchester city centre will start on site next month. A major institutional investor will forward fund the 450,000 sq ft residential phase of New Victoria for an undisclosed sum. Elsewhere, VINCI Construction UK
Sealants and adhesives retailer SPC Supplies has seen its online sales rise by 700% during the UK national lockdown, following unprecedented demand from domestic households. The company, which primarily supplies materials to commercial businesses and contractors has shipped a record number of domestic orders this quarter, as homeowners around the
An urban village plan which could bring 900 new homes next to the Mamhilad Park Estate has been approved. Hundreds of jobs will be created during the construction of the multimillion-pound scheme. The mixed-use scheme, which includes construction on the former Parke-Davis site in Pontypool, will also bring forward a
Building materials supplier CEMEX is proud to present STREETPAVE, a complete three-stage bedding, bonding and jointing mortar paving system. The range consists of BS 7533 compliant products for rigid pavement construction. All three products in the system are high performance and offer rapid strength, including; STREETPAVE PaveBase bedding mortar; PaveGrip
Offsite construction specialist Premier Modular has won a £7.5 million contract for a development of apartments that will provide facilities for homeless people and their families. The East Yorkshire company has been awarded contract for the development in the Desborough area of High Wycombe by Buckinghamshire Council. The project is
Renaker’s plans to build a pair of 52-storey skyscrapers in Manchester look set to move ahead next week. The application concerns the developer’s Crown Street project, with the buildings forming the last phase. Between them, they would comprise 855 apartments. Also earmarked for the site is commercial space, a primary
Together Has Changed is co-living and co-working experts, Cutwork’s manifesto about post-confinement architecture, design and living. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, it explores and acknowledges how physical distancing may transform how we live in the future and change our lifestyles for far longer than we might at first imagine. Divided into five core subjects and accompanied by studio co-founder, Antonin Yuji Maeno’s beautiful illustrations, Together Has Changed examines the more typical topics of office and home working but also how this may even affect our intimate relationships such as attitudes towards monogamy and how we might prepare for life within a future pandemic. i) Liquid Territory “The rising costs of rent and shrinking size of spaces are exposing systemic weakness of our cities. How good are our cities if they only become more and more exclusive? How good is a city if it is a system that increasingly deepens inequalities?… The call for open space and fresh air is not just a trend that reflects those conditions. New forms of flexibility and distance in our ways to live and work may bring a shift to a decentralized living – blending lifestyles between urban and rural in emerging ‘liquid territories’.” ii) Fiction of Together “Our cities are built on fictions of exclusivity and division of our differences. Yet, collaboration is at the heart of what makes us human. Large-scale flexible cooperation is exclusive to our species and is what allowed us to expand from small tribes into moon-landing civilisations.Why should we only fall back on our astonishing ability to collaborate in times of crisis? How can we re-imagine today’s habitats to be inclusive to our differences, encourage interactions, and comfortably make space for our vulnerabilities?” iii) End of Work “The ability to work from everywhere has already impacted the home, public spaces, and offices, but also mindsets: deciding when and where to work is a cultural shift that reflects a will to question the importance of work in our lives, as well as the notion of productivity.At the core of our contemporary system, one’s productivity is proportional to their financial retribution. With structural unemployment, AI peering over the horizon, and more and more jobs disappearing, this current conception of work seems illusory at best.How can we design our spaces to help us adapt to work from anywhere? What if we decoupled our traditional relationship between money and productivity? What if we adopted whole new systems and relationships to work?” iv) After the Family “In the US, over 20% of people have attempted some form of non-monogamy at some point in their lives. For Esther Perel: “our partner’s sexuality does not belong to us. It isn’t just for and about us, and we should not assume that it rightfully falls within our jurisdiction.”We have entered the era of exploration. The family as we knew it, based only on bloodline bonds, is being replaced by the chosen family – a response to individual choices, economic constraints, and life accidents. These dynamic and new liquid relationships are challenging our whole conception of home. They have pushed us to reinvent our shared habitats and the relationship between access and ownership.” v) Confronting Nature “How can our cities act as conduits for the natural blossoming and proliferation of life? How to conceive buildings like trees that could activate biodiversity in our cities? How to design our shared habitats … toward other (non-human) living beings?”
Esh Construction, the contractor of seven Sunderland regeneration projects, has released figures that show the projects provided a £12.4m boost the the city’s economy since the start of work. The economic impact of works on council-led projects – Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor (SSTC3); the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP); Port of Sunderland; Greenwells Quay, the city’s new football hubs; Potter’s Hill and the Minster Quarter – has been calculated based on the money spent with local suppliers and sub-contractors who have supported Esh on the schemes to date. Sunderland residents make up 15 per cent of Esh’s workforce and the contractor has also recently opened an office in the city. “The importance of protecting the ‘local pound’ is paramount in the current climate – as a local contractor we strive to deliver economic benefit for our clients and their communities. Across these seven regeneration schemes, we have re-invested 16.5 per cent of the total project spend back into Sunderland’s economy through responsibly procuring local suppliers and sub-contractors,” said Ross Markwell, director of business development at Esh Construction. Sunderland City Council has worked with Esh on projects worth an estimated £75m since 2018. “With every project we deliver in the city, we explore the potential to gain added value through local commissioning and supply opportunities, and in particular, we are keen to see them deliver job opportunities for our people, both during the construction phase and when they are completed,” added Cllr Paul Stewart, cabinet secretary at the city council. “Projects like those we have commissioned Esh to undertake bring about major benefits for our people, delivering the maximum possible return for every pound spent, and offering sustainable employment opportunities for our young people.” Esh was appointed to SSTC3 project – a £35m contract as part of a £70.8m programme to improve connectivity in the city – which is due to complete in autumn 2021. The company has also won a number of competitive tenders to support with infrastructure works at IAMP and Potter’s Hill – a housing scheme close to Chapelgarth – as well as work at Port of Sunderland, the city’s new football hubs, and the High Street West area of the city.
BSI, in its role as the UK National Standards Body, announce a new National Standards programme to raise professional competence in the built environment sector. The standards aim to tackle the competence shortcomings identified in the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, Building a Safer Future, conducted by Dame Judith Hackitt. They are a part of the package of measures recommended by the Steering Group on Competence for Building a Safer Future (CSG) which were set out in Raising the Bar. The government-funded programme is designed to support the delivery of regulatory policy and the new regulated roles responsible for building safety set out in the forthcoming Building Safety Bill, while also enabling the large-scale industry-led programme to raise competency across the sector. It includes an overarching competence framework standard for everyone working on a building. This is intended to be used by key professions and trades including designers, contractors, fire risk assessors, building managers and others in specialist technical or corporate roles. The framework will provide a set of core principles of competence, including leading and managing safety, communicating safety, delivering safety, risk management, regulations and processes, building systems, ethics, and fire/life safety. The framework will be developed and made available for use from this Autumn. After three periods of public consultation and refinement, it will then be published as a British Standard. It will also include a set of competence requirements for the three newly-regulated roles: Principal Designer, Principal Contractor and Building Safety Manager. A set of fast track PAS standards will be produced to meet the urgent need for competent individuals to fulfil these roles set out in the government’s new Bill, to ensure the safety of residents. These key roles have overarching responsibility for the main activities affecting building and life safety at each stage of a building’s life-cycle: design, construction and operation. They require enhanced competences in addition to any discipline-related competences, relating to their overarching role to ensure that the design intent of the building is maintained and that workers employed and used in design, construction, refurbishment, maintenance and operation are suitably competent. Scott Steedman, Director of Standards at BSI said: “Dame Judith Hackitt’s report asked the Built Environment industry to change its culture to safeguard people and their properties. In response to the call to put clear responsibility at the heart of the system, BSI as the UK’s National Standards Body, has launched the Professional Competence standards programme. The new industry-led standards will support the Building Safety Bill by ‘raising the bar’ across workforce competence.” Dame Judith Hackitt, Author of Building a Safer Future: Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety said: “The work of the Competence Steering Group has been a “tour de force” and all of those who have been involved thus far are to be congratulated. As the baton is handed over to BSI to lead us through the standards development process, the whole industry needs to keep up the pace – not just to agree on the new standards, but to make them a reality in practice. That will require collaboration and cooperation, and demolition of silos – part of the culture change that is so urgently needed.” Since the standardization programme began in April 2020, it has been overseen by a newly established BSI Built Environment Competence Standards (BECS) Strategy Group. The group consists of strategic, senior-level technical and policy experts from a broad range of organizations involved in the design, construction and management of higher risk buildings. The programme will run until 2022.
A 40-acre development site in North Wales, which has planning permission for holiday lodges of which more than ten have been constructed, has been sold to Darwin Leisure Development Fund. Plas Isaf Lodge Park, which is located in a woodland setting to the south of the Flintshire town of Caerwys, has permission for 57 holiday lodges of which 12 have already been constructed. It was sold for an undisclosed price, which was agreed prior to lockdown and will join the ‘Darwin Escapes’ portfolio of 22 lodge resorts and holiday parks around the UK. “The completion of the sale of Plas Isaf, at a price agreed pre-lockdown without any adjustment, confirms confidence in the UK holiday parks market as an alternative asset class. This is a sector that was already showing impressive growth prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, and it now looks set to bounce back strongly following the disruption caused by lockdown,” said Ben Jones, director in the parks and leisure team at real estate firm Colliers International, which acted on behalf of the private vendor. “Holiday parks are ideally suited for maintaining social distancing measures, as they provide self-contained accommodation that is subject to minimum spacing requirements, and are surrounded by plenty of fresh air and recreation space.” Darwin Leisure Development Fund is a specialist fund that focuses on investing in holiday parks. Investors include a number of UK local authority pension funds. “Plas Isaf is a beautiful lodge resort in an idyllic setting and we are delighted that it will join the four other Darwin Escapes locations in North Wales. “Whilst the past few months have been challenging for all operators, demand for UK staycations has surged and confidence in the market is strong. “We intend to invest in the Plas Isaf site to maximise the planning permission that is already in place and ensure that Plas Isaf becomes one of North Wales’s leading luxury lodge resorts.”
Following the agreement of major funding and contractor deals, a £185 million scheme in the heart of Manchester city centre will start on site next month. A major institutional investor will forward fund the 450,000 sq ft residential phase of New Victoria for an undisclosed sum. Elsewhere, VINCI Construction UK has also signed to build the scheme – which will be completed within current government guidelines over a three-year period – on behalf of project partners. “VINCI Construction UK is absolutely delighted to be delivering this landmark scheme with Muse and it’s been a great team effort throughout the preconstruction stage to finalise the design, agree the contract and secure the project start on site date. VINCI will utilise our key skills in civil engineering, railways interface and high-rise construction on this project as we further develop our position within the Manchester market,”commented Gary Bowker, regional director for the North West at VINCI Construction UK. Earmarked for a site adjacent to Manchester Victoria train station and being brought forward by Muse Developments in partnership with Network Rail and Manchester City Council, New Victoria will comprise 520 homes over two 20 and 25-storey buildings. Morgan Sindall is also attached. “These latest two deals mark a significant achievement for all partners in bringing forward this innovative gateway development, which also highlights investor confidence in our long-term vision to transform an underutilised site in the heart of the city centre into a vibrant new community. We look forward to continuing to work with our investor and Vinci to deliver this first-class scheme,” said David Burkinshaw, development director at Muse. John Morgan, chief executive of Morgan Sindall Group, also added: “We are pleased to have agreed our second major forward funded deal in recent weeks, which further reinforces our regeneration strategy. We look forward to working with our partners to deliver a transformational scheme on an underutilised site in the heart of Manchester’s city centre.”
Sealants and adhesives retailer SPC Supplies has seen its online sales rise by 700% during the UK national lockdown, following unprecedented demand from domestic households. The company, which primarily supplies materials to commercial businesses and contractors has shipped a record number of domestic orders this quarter, as homeowners around the UK take on DIY and garden projects. “These last few months have been really testing for businesses across every industry, and to have so much interest in our products at a time that could have been really difficult for us has been amazing,” said Henry Blunt, Sales and Marketing Manager at SPC Supplies. In the weeks since national lockdown was introduced at the end of March, SPC have seen a surge in customer orders for products designed for paving, patios and decking projects in particular, as people across the UK make the most of the warm weather and take on garden DIY. “The uptake has really been nationwide so we’ve taken on additional freight firms in England, Scotland and Wales to make sure we meet the extra demand, and to allow us to continue to provide unrivalled levels of customer service,” Henry continued. SPC Supplies is owned by SD Sealants, the UK’s leading sealant and cosmetic repairs company headquartered in Caldicot, Wales. “We could not be happier with the increased interest we’ve received in SPC Supplies since the lockdown began. We’re very fortunate to have had such a successful few months and on top of that its fantastic to see so many people taking on DIY jobs at home, as well as commercial businesses slowly regaining momentum with their construction projects,” Managing Director of SD Sealants, Nick Jones, commented. SPC Supplies has over 40 years’ experience in the adhesive and sealants sector. As an official Sika UK retailer, SPC holds a unique understanding of the needs of a wide range of construction industries, offering expert product knowledge and a 24-hour delivery service.
An urban village plan which could bring 900 new homes next to the Mamhilad Park Estate has been approved. Hundreds of jobs will be created during the construction of the multimillion-pound scheme. The mixed-use scheme, which includes construction on the former Parke-Davis site in Pontypool, will also bring forward a primary school, a multi-use neighbourhood centre and play and recreational facilities. The development, which has been approved by Torfaen County Borough Council, is located on the A4042 between the M4 motorway and Abergavenny. It will include approximately 47 acres of residential development, including a range of family homes and affordable homes. A series of open spaces are incorpoeared linked by tree-lined streets to create walking and cycling routes connecting with the Brecon and Monmouthshire Canal. The proposed green spaces include a neighbourhood park at the heart of the site, retention of ancient woodland, as well as a range of ecological measures associated with new housing. Property company Johnsey Estates, which owns the brown field development land and the neighbouring Mamhilad Park Estate where about 1,700 people work, submitted the outline application to Torfaen County Borough Council. Torfaen County Borough Council’s planning committee agreed with their officers’ recommendation to approve the scheme on the brown field site. Andrew Wilkinson, chairman of Johnsey Estates, said: “This isn’t simply a straightforward housing development, it is an imaginative regeneration project which will see the creation of an urban village. “This village will create a community which is a great place in which to live, to bring up a family and in which to work. It will deliver an exceptional and enviable quality of life.” Johnsey Estates chief executive James Crawford added: “We are really excited about the potential for this development due to its unique location, its fabulous setting and its accessibility, which all make it a really attractive place to live and work. “Johnsey Estates has been on site at Mamhilad Park for more than 30 years and in that time we have made a huge amount of investment, which has resulted in the creation of a marvellous business park where hundreds of people are now employed in a variety of jobs and forging a huge range of careers.” He added: “Now outline planning permission has been granted we’re looking forward to progressing to the next stage and to realising the true potential of this magnificent location.”
Building materials supplier CEMEX is proud to present STREETPAVE, a complete three-stage bedding, bonding and jointing mortar paving system. The range consists of BS 7533 compliant products for rigid pavement construction. All three products in the system are high performance and offer rapid strength, including; STREETPAVE PaveBase bedding mortar; PaveGrip priming slurry; and PaveFill flowing joining mortar. These products can be used together for pavements constructed with clay, natural stone or concrete pavers. STREETPAVE PaveBase bedding mortar is made from cement and graded aggregates, and is available in a silo, bulk and 25kg bags. Once applied it is highly durable, suitable for walking on in 12 hours and driving on in 24 hours, and can be laid from 10-75mm in one pass. It is perfect for paved areas of mixed foot and vehicular traffic alongside general private and public hardscape areas. Meanwhile, STREETPAVE PaveGrip priming slurry uses specially selected aggregates to create the essential bond between the bedding and the paving element. Delivered in bulk or 25kg bag, it is applied with a brush at 1-2mm thick and is suitable for high-trafficked pavement. STREETPAVE PaveFill flowing joining mortar is the final step in this premium quality system. It is fast-setting and frost resistant with a 40MPa compressive strength and low shrinkage. Simple to mix and apply, PaveFill can be applied in joint widths of 5-50mm and up to 200mm deep in a single pass. “CEMEX is a UK leader in specialist mortar systems for hard landscaping and our new STREETPAVE system is a further demonstration of our expertise; allowing our customers to construct resilient pavements that meet and exceed the strict demands of BS 7533, ” commented Michael May, Sales Manager for CEMEX Mortars Europe. “The STREETPAVE system has been designed so it can work as a three-stage process with each product tested individually and collectively. The long-term value of using such high-quality products is clear; BS 7533 compliant systems are more robust and provide better overall value than non-compliant systems as they require less maintenance and last longer, in some cases exceeding 40 years. We know our customers want reliable, effective products and we are proud to offer the STREETPAVE system to help meet their paving requirements.” CEMEX R&D, Innovation and Business Development projects are part of the global R&D collaboration network, headed by CEMEX Research Centers, based in Switzerland.
Offsite construction specialist Premier Modular has won a £7.5 million contract for a development of apartments that will provide facilities for homeless people and their families. The East Yorkshire company has been awarded contract for the development in the Desborough area of High Wycombe by Buckinghamshire Council. The project is being brought forward by a partnership between principal contractor Premier and Claritas Group, and is designed to be completed in a much shorter timescale than with traditional build. The 58 one-bedroom apartments will be fully fitted out offsite at Premier’s factory in Brandesburton and will arrive on site late autumn, complete with shower rooms and kitchens pre-installed. “There is an urgent need across the UK for emergency accommodation for people, who, often through no fault of their own, have become homeless. These individuals and families need housing for a short period of time, while a more permanent place is found for them to live,” said Dan Allison, director at Premier Modular. “Offsite construction is very well suited to building this type of accommodation. As well as meeting the required standards for quality and sustainability, we can reduce the completion time to deliver new temporary homes more quickly for people on emergency housing waiting lists.” The homes will be constructed around a central courtyard which will provide amenity space for residents. A housing management office, offices for the relocated British Red Cross, and laundry will be located on the ground floor, with refuse stores and cycle storage in the plaza.
Renaker’s plans to build a pair of 52-storey skyscrapers in Manchester look set to move ahead next week. The application concerns the developer’s Crown Street project, with the buildings forming the last phase. Between them, they would comprise 855 apartments. Also earmarked for the site is commercial space, a primary school and a multi-storey car park with 633 spots. It would be brought forward in four phases, with outline permission sought for the education aspect of the scheme. Full permission is sought for the bulk of the project. Phase A would comprise the first tower of 414 homes, with phase B made up of a further 441 in the second tower. Phase C would be the school, leaving phase D as a three-storey car park. “The forecasted economic growth indicates the employment opportunities will be concentrated in the city centre. Suitable housing is needed to support these jobs and to retain existing skill sets,” said a planning statement drawn up by Deloitte Real Estate. Manchester City Council’s planning committee – meeting, albeit virtually, for the first time since early March – has been advised to back the plans, with a report from its planning officer adding: “It is considered that a mixed-use development incorporating tall buildings and the proposed level of residential and commercial units would be consistent with national and local planning policy, and would promote a quality neighbourhood, economic development and sustainable travel patterns. “The site is appropriate for tall buildings and the development would be well designed and of a high quality development at this important gateway site. It would fulfil an important role in providing residential accommodation within the city centre.”