Buying a property is a significant milestone, and most people who are buying a home for the first time don’t know what to anticipate. The process is sometimes as scary as it is thrilling. High asking prices and increasing interest rates make buying a new house more of a gamble
Real estate sales and marketing are one of the biggest challenges faced by investors in this industry. They have to look for competent marketers who might not understand the tricks to succeed in the industry, and those who do are quite expensive. This is because of the sensitive nature of
You can encounter impressive architecture where you least expect. Usually, city centers boast beautiful buildings with rich and complex histories, and the greatest architects such as Antoni Gaudi and Frank Lloyd Wright, are behind these human-made wonders. Within these astonishing structures, you might even find land-based casinos. Nowadays, despite the
ONE OF the country’s most ambitious residential developments is under construction, with ground broken on Riverside Sunderland’s first housing scheme. Sunderland City Council’s Vaux housing development – the first of 1,000 homes that will eventually stand across the Riverside Sunderland site – is underway, with North East based Tolent building
The Mayor of Havant, Cllr Diana Patrick, was the guest of honour at a new development on Hayling Island earlier this month. Cllr Patrick was invited to the Barratt Homes Pebble Walk on 4th August to lay a ceremonial brick on the foundations of the first plot being built at
As the tunnelling machines under the Chilterns approach the four-mile mark, HS2 completes the first of thirty-eight underground connections between the northbound and southbound tunnels The construction of HS2’s longest tunnels stretching for 10 miles under the Chilterns has begun a new phase with the start of work on thirty-eight
The operating and patient recovery facilities at a private hospital in Bath are undergoing a major refurbishment by Beard Construction. The five-phase project will see three operating theatres at Circle Health Group’s Bath Clinic revamped and a fourth created from an existing endoscopy suite. The associated patient recovery and anaesthetic
The Sirius Group which provides demolition, remediation, ground stabilisation and civil engineering services to the construction industry has invested in fifteen additional SITECH® UK & Ireland Trimble technology systems as their fleet grows because of the greater site efficiency machine control offers. The UK based business with principal offices in
When visitors cross the threshold of Heriot Watt’s new university campus in Dubai, they leave behind the searing heat of the desert for climate-controlled comfort, where diffused lighting offers relief from the harsh glare of the sun. In such an extreme environment, where summer temperatures can reach 50C, this alone
In recent years there has been a focus on producing more efficient buildings that will reduce operational emissions. As it stands it is estimated that 39% of all global energy related carbon emissions comes from the built environment with 28% coming from operational emissions (i.e. heating, cooling and power) and
Buying a property is a significant milestone, and most people who are buying a home for the first time don’t know what to anticipate. The process is sometimes as scary as it is thrilling. High asking prices and increasing interest rates make buying a new house more of a gamble than ever, but here is your help guide. As per the reports of the first half of 2022, the median home price in the United States was $428,700. From 2020 to 2022, home prices in the United States rose by 30 percent. 1. Check Your Credit Report Examining your credit record is the first step to buying your new home. Your credit score determines how likely you are to be approved for a loan, the sort of loan you may be offered, and the interest rate you may be charged on that loan. It’s natural to question what sort of credit score is required to close on a house purchase. It’s crucial to check your credit report to see which sorts of mortgage loans you might be eligible for (Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, and Jumbo). 2. See How Much You Can Afford After you’ve reviewed your credit report, the next stage in the buying process is to set your budget. Online mortgage calculators are the quickest method to get a feel of your budget. A mortgage calculator will help estimate your mortgage payment, including the principal and interest, taxes, insurance, HOA, and PMI. A home affordability calculator can help you determine your maximum mortgage payment. Another essential item to include in your budget is closing charges, typically 2%-5% of the purchase price. 3. Get Approved in Advance You will want to secure a mortgage pre-approval when investigating how to buy a house. Getting pre-approved commences the mortgage process with a lender and helps you understand how much you can borrow. It also allows you to make a quick decision when you’re ready to make an offer. Instead of going with the first mortgage lender you find or even your present bank, it’s in your best interest to compare rates from several different lenders. Finding the best mortgage rate depends on researching the various mortgage alternatives and rates offered by various lenders. 4. Look For a Real Estate Professional Choosing the appropriate real estate agent can be the key to locating the ideal new house and receiving the best deal. Before deciding on a real estate agent to help you buy a home, it’s wise to do some background reading and formulate a list of questions for potential candidates. 5. Check Out Available Real Estate Listings The next step when buying a new homeis to start browsing properties for sale in your region. Make sure your desired list guides your property search. As a result, when looking for houses on the MLS, you can zero in on those that meet your exact criteria regarding cost, architectural style, geographic area, and the like. There is no need for a first-time home buyer to feel overwhelmed by the process if they are prepared with the correct information and tools. By adhering to the guidelines in this article and teaming up with a reliable real estate agent, you may gain insight into the home-buying process and control the situation. By following the suggestions given above, you’ll have more time to do what’s most important: relax in your new abode. With thoughtful planning and execution of the “A place called home” phenomenon, help you find the abode of your choice.
Real estate sales and marketing are one of the biggest challenges faced by investors in this industry. They have to look for competent marketers who might not understand the tricks to succeed in the industry, and those who do are quite expensive. This is because of the sensitive nature of the market. It is also a little bit difficult to capture the attention of potential buyers especially due to the market’s competition. Digitization has also made it difficult to surprise customers with marketing ideas. So what can real estate marketers do? Well, they have to get creative and adapt to the changing requirements of their customers. One way of doing that is by creating outstanding visuals for sales and marketing. Here are a few visual ideas for real estate sales and marketing; Enhancing Visuals Through Storytelling Storytelling is an amazing sales and marketing idea that is rarely used by real estate marketers. You can create amazing visuals and then spice them up with true-life stories that resonate well with potential customers’ memories, emotions, and dreams. For instance, you can tell a story of how a daughter bought a home for her parents and paid in cash. This can appeal to adult kids. You can also tell a story of a homeless person who got his first job and bought a house with one mortgage to give hope to others. When telling these stories, you should add visuals such as photos and videos. Since most people might have reservations about their photos being put up to the public, you can instead turn photos into cartoons and use them. You can even share these photos and stories on social media. eBooks For Target Audience You can use an eBook with visuals such as photos and infographics to solve a single problem faced by your target audience. This does not sell as much as other strategies but gives you an edge over your competitors when it comes to addressing issues faced by your customers. You can use eBooks for things like lead generation and then place them on your landing pages. When preparing an eBook, ensure that you have focused on a single problem and provided a solution to the problem. You then need to ensure that the problem is effectively covered using photos, comparison tables, infographics, charts, and other visuals that make it easy for people to understand you. Do not forget to add CTAs to the eBook. Video Testimonials Trust is gained, and as a real estate business, you need to gain the trust of your existing and potential customers. Trust plays a crucial role for all real estate investors, but is even more important for those who want to buy expensive properties such as luxury homes. One way of gaining trust is by using video testimonials. You can use them to show that you are not only professional but can also be trusted. Using your existing clients, let them share their stories and how amazing working with you has been. They can even mention some of your agents by name, talk about their new property and how happy it makes them, and recommend you to any future clients. They should also mention the benefits of working with your agency. You can share these videos on social media and on your website. Virtual Tours A real estate agency that uses virtual tours when showcasing a property will sell more compared to one that does not. A virtual tour involves taking 360° images that allow potential customers to virtually walk through a property. This way, they can see all corners of the property and ask any questions that they might have. It is also convenient since the clients and real estate agents save a lot of time – they would otherwise have visited the property physically. Virtual Staging Virtual staging is a modern sales and marketing technique that is driven by advancements in technology. You can virtually stage the design of a house and highlight everything good about the house. These are also referred to as the selling points of the house. Initially, real estate agents had to physically stage a home and then take photos. This has now changed. With virtual staging, you can get as many photos as you want, from different angles. These photos can be changed as much as you want until you get exactly what sells. You can even use professionals to remove or add new things to the virtually staged house. This helps you show the potential of the house. Using these images, you can showcase the house to your potential customers. Looking at the visuals discussed above, you will realize that they are all creative ways and can generate a lot of sales for real estate businesses. So, what are you waiting for?
You can encounter impressive architecture where you least expect. Usually, city centers boast beautiful buildings with rich and complex histories, and the greatest architects such as Antoni Gaudi and Frank Lloyd Wright, are behind these human-made wonders. Within these astonishing structures, you might even find land-based casinos. Nowadays, despite the ever-growing popularity of online, top-notch gambling sites of the likes of Casino.online, land-based casinos remain quite frequented due to their atmosphere and rich interiors. Below, we explore three of the most remarkable casino buildings in the world. Monte Carlo Casino, Monaco Designed by legendary architect Charles Garnier, the opulent Monte Carlo casino has been recognized as one of the most beautiful casino buildings across the globe. The building itself was built during the Belle Epoque and preservers a clear influence from the era to this day. What’s more, the casino’s style organically corresponds with Monaco’s local architecture as observed in its grounds, which include a French-style garden, several statues, and tropical flora. The entirety of the casino and hotel complex are dressed in marble with slick tabletops, antique columns, and sophisticated chandeliers. To descend to the casino below the hotel, guests can use a unique marble staircase that will lead them to the various blackjack, roulette, and poker tables, as well as numerous slot machines. Every inch of this outstanding casino evokes status, wealth, and adventure. So much so that several Hollywood productions have been filmed on the premises, including James Bond’s “Never Say Never Again” and “Golden Eye”. Caesars Palace, Las Vegas Caesars Palace is also a world-famous casino with an extensive history. Ever since opening its doors in 1966, it has remained one of the go-to places to visit in Las Vegas. As the name rightly suggests, the Caesars Palace’s architecture draws inspiration from ancient Rome as owner and designer Jay Sarno wishes for every guest to feel like a Caesar during their visit. Nowadays, the casino boasts an oval form and marble columns with surrounding gold leaves. In the center, visitors can observe a twenty-foot-tall Julius Caesar. The Caesars Palace’s complex also includes a 141-foot fountain and a spa complex with baths and pools with mosaics in the Roman style. Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Conceived by renowned architect Moshe Safdie, the Marina Bay Sands Casino complex is one of the most expensive casinos in the world. In fact, the budget for its construction is estimated to be around five billion dollars. Not only does Marina Bay Sands rank among the most expensive casinos ever, but also among the biggest with an area of 845,000 square meters counting the three towers that are connected by a sky garden at their very top. Additionally, the atrium casino of this remarkable building is one of the biggest on earth with its hundreds of gaming tables and thousands of slot machines. To conclude We have gone over three of the most famous and remarkable casino buildings in the world. Even if you aren’t an avid gambler, these land-based casinos will certainly impress you with their astonishing architecture and make your visit worth the while.
ONE OF the country’s most ambitious residential developments is under construction, with ground broken on Riverside Sunderland’s first housing scheme. Sunderland City Council’s Vaux housing development – the first of 1,000 homes that will eventually stand across the Riverside Sunderland site – is underway, with North East based Tolent building 132 ultra-modern homes. Vaux is the first of four new residential communities being delivered by the council at Riverside Sunderland that will eventually provide city centre housing for up to 2,500 residents. Tolent will build the stunning houses – comprising apartments, townhouses, and maisonettes – using modern methods of construction, renewable energy systems and smart technology to reduce the carbon footprint of the development, producing high quality, energy efficient properties in the heart of the city. Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “It’s brilliant to see work get started on these new homes, which will help us to build a larger residential community in the city centre, in turn, driving more footfall and spend in the area by day and night. “These homes will be truly trailblazing too – made sustainably and able to support people to reduce their carbon footprint and energy costs. It is a real statement development in lots of ways and one we’re proud to be leading. “And as we move forward with the Housing Innovation and Construction Skills Academy (HICSA) in partnership with Sunderland College and MOBIE (Ministry of Building, Innovation and Education), we’ll begin to create a new housing ecosystem, that will see the city’s next generation of residents building the homes of the future that will deliver on our advanced manufacturing and low carbon aspirations.” HICSA is backed by the Government’s Levelling Up Fund and will create a state of the art learning space at Sheepfolds where students will be trained up in modern methods of construction that will enable them to build many of the future phases of homes on Riverside Sunderland, as well as elsewhere in the city. All homes at Riverside Sunderland will provide a future living offer that will attract new and existing Sunderland residents to live in the vibrant city centre, with the properties sitting alongside the orchards and allotments of Kingsley Gardens and nearby Riverside Park, which is continuing on its journey towards becoming an accessible, attractive and ecologically diverse parkland. The Vaux neighbourhood will be the site of the Expo Sunderland in 2024, showcasing the homes of the future and the aspirational lifestyle that Sunderland will provide. Included in the scheme will be a cluster of award-winning dwellings, that were selected as the best in the national Homes of 2030 Design Competition – which explored how homes will look and function in the future. The Homes of 2030 competition, which was launched in March 2020, and managed by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), to encourage the design of environmentally-friendly homes that support people in leading independent, fulfilling lives as society ages. +Home designed by igloo Regeneration with Useful Projects, Expedition Engineers and Mawson Kerr and Connector Housing designed by Openstudio with Hoare Lea, LDA Design and Gardiner & Theobald were the joint winners of the competition, and it is their designs that will stand proudly on the site, shining a spotlight on future living and showcasing the ambitious plans the council has to make Sunderland a world-class place to live, work and play. Peter Connolly, chief executive of igloo Regeneration, said: “Working closely with the council, we have created a scheme that will be transformational for Sunderland, so getting to this point when we will start to see the first homes come out of the ground is a huge milestone for everyone involved. Not only because of the quality of the housing being delivered but also because of the positive impact that these homes will have on people’s lives. “We are very proud to have have brought together a team of local professionals who are working together effortlessly to set a real precedent for how new homes should be constructed and delivered across our UK cities in the future.” The first tranche of homes will be completed by Tolent towards the end of 2023. 111 of the homes will be built to 2025 Future Homes Standard and 21 to PASSIVHAUS standard, delivering high levels of energy efficiency. Hyperfast fibre will connect each home ensuring they’re fit for modern living and homes will also come with bike storage and a ‘city growing space’ to encourage people to grow their own herbs, fruit and vegetables. Paul Webster, chief executive officer of Tolent, said: “As a truly local contractor, we are proud to be involved in this landmark project and continue our legacy in the City of Sunderland. The delivery of these ultra-modern and sustainable homes pushes the boundaries of conventional housing projects and demonstrates the skill and vision of the entire project team. I look forward to seeing the historic site develop over the coming months as the buildings become established which will contribute to the changing skyline of the city centre.” Tolent has committed to delivering significant social value during construction, working with local people and supporting the local supply chain, as well as voluntary and community organisations across Sunderland. In all, over £17m of social value activity – including supporting local jobs for a range of people including apprenticeships and placements, a commitment to spend in the local area through the growth of regional supply chains and a variety of schemes to engage with local community groups – will be delivered during the construction phase of the project. Louise Dodds, Client Relationship Manager at Procurement Hub, said: “Procurement Hub is delighted to be the Procurement partner of choice to deliver a solution for Sunderland City Council on such a forward thinking scheme, and to be part of such a high-profile project which is being delivered by Tolent and will be showcased at the Housing Expo in 2023. We are excited to see the progress on site now that ground has been broken and works are commencing.”
The Mayor of Havant, Cllr Diana Patrick, was the guest of honour at a new development on Hayling Island earlier this month. Cllr Patrick was invited to the Barratt Homes Pebble Walk on 4th August to lay a ceremonial brick on the foundations of the first plot being built at the new site, which is bringing 195 new homes to the Island. Donning her hard had and high vis jacket, the mayor was introduced to the new development by Barratt Homes Finance Director, Glen O’Nion, and was delighted to have the privilege of marking the start of construction in the popular coastal location. Cllr Patrick said: “It’s great to see this brand-new community coming to Hayling Island. This is a wonderful location, and the development will be delivering a mix of high-quality homes that the region desperately needs. “I’m delighted to have been given the responsibility of laying the first brick of the very first home being built here, and I’m looking forward to seeing things progress in the coming weeks and months.” Tammy Bishop, Sales Director for Barratt Homes, Southampton Division, said: “It has been wonderful to welcome the Mayor of Havant to our new community here on Hayling Island. The construction team were especially impressed with her bricklaying skills. “Pebble Walk will be officially launching this Autumn and with buyers already eager to secure a new home here, we are selling off-plan from our neighbouring Saxon Corner site in Emsworth.” Pebble Walk will be a collection of two-, three- and four-bedroom homes located just a mile from the beach. There is a great choice of local schools, shops and restaurants close by, and the development is just a short drive to the nearby cities of Portsmouth and Chichester. To find out more about Pebble Walk, visit www.barratthomes.co.uk.
As the tunnelling machines under the Chilterns approach the four-mile mark, HS2 completes the first of thirty-eight underground connections between the northbound and southbound tunnels The construction of HS2’s longest tunnels stretching for 10 miles under the Chilterns has begun a new phase with the start of work on thirty-eight cross passages linking the northbound and southbound tunnels. The Chiltern tunnels will carry high speed trains between London and the North at speeds of up to 200mph (320km/h). The trains will travel through two parallel tunnels linked by short passages for use in emergencies. With the two giant tunnelling machines – named Florence and Cecilia – now almost four miles into their journeys, attention has turned to the first cross passages. An expert team of miners used a remotely controlled excavator to break out of and excavate from one running tunnel to the adjacent tunnel. As the excavation is progressed the ground is supported using a sprayed concrete lining (SCL). Delivered by HS2’s main works contractor, Align – a joint venture formed of Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick – each passage is between 15 and 20 metres in length. Once the team had completed the SCL lined tunnel, a water-proof membrane was installed followed by a secondary concrete lining constructed by placing concrete behind formwork installed in the cross passage. Martyn Noak, HS2 Ltd’s Head of Tunnel Engineering, said: “HS2 is making huge progress, with 25,000 jobs supported by the project, construction in full swing between London and Birmingham and now the start of this new phase of tunnelling work under the Chilterns. “While invisible to the travelling public, the cross passages have a key role in providing a safe operational railway. In an emergency they allow the safe evacuation of passengers into a place of relative safety – the other tunnel. Constructing cross passages is different than using a tunnelling machine as the ground is excavated in short lengths with each advance being left unsupported for a short period of time until the sprayed concrete lining is installed. It is a different set of risks and a specific skilled workforce is needed. “It’s great to see the first one complete and I’d like to congratulate everyone involved in this important milestone, one down 37 to go.” Daniel Altier, Align Project Director said, “The completion of this cross passage is a significant milestone for the team at Align JV, delivering the first mined cross passage on HS2 phase 1. I’m proud of the team, their hard work and collaboration to get us to this point. “In partnership with our supply chain; KVJV responsible for the ground treatment, specialist contractor Euro Diamond Drilling and waterproofing specialist Rennesco, the sub-surface team at Align have already commenced preparation work on several other cross passages and are making good progress.” Once the passageway is complete, the safety doors can be installed at either end. These are being manufactured by Bolton-based Booth Industries who won the contract to provide more than 300 units for all the tunnels between London and Birmingham. The win allowed Booth Industries to establish a new facility in the town and create up to 50 jobs over the next 10 years. The sliding doors have been subjected to rigorous fire and fatigue testing to take account of the train speeds, associated pressures and frequency of the trains. Each running tunnel has an emergency walkway that allows passengers to safely evacuate the train and walk through the cross passages into the other tunnel where they can be rescued on a passenger train. Access for emergency services is from either the portal or one of the five ventilation/emergency access shafts.
The operating and patient recovery facilities at a private hospital in Bath are undergoing a major refurbishment by Beard Construction. The five-phase project will see three operating theatres at Circle Health Group’s Bath Clinic revamped and a fourth created from an existing endoscopy suite. The associated patient recovery and anaesthetic rooms will also be transformed, alongside new staff changing and toilet areas and the installation in a new roof of the significant new infrastructure needed to power and operate the state-of-the-art equipment in the new facilities. The challenges of the £3.5m refurbishment are calling upon Beard’s extensive experience of working on medical developments. Three of the four operating theatres will always remain in use while the work is undertaken and the entire project will take place alongside the clinical environment of the hospital – with minimum disruption to the on-going, 24/7 patient services. Beard is also pulling together and managing a range of expert sub-contractors providing specialist equipment including medical gas supplies, surgeons panels, hospital building management system panels and nurse-call systems. The work is on track to be completed by July 2023. Three of the theatres sit in the basement of a two-storey building with patient recovery facilities on the floor above. Beard has re-felted, insulated and re-purposed the crinkle-tin roof above this building to hold the new infrastructure needed to run the operating theatres and recovery areas below. This roof area will also house new a standalone air-heating unit as well as parallel unique and isolated power supplies. The installation will include several 300-tonne crane lifts, as the control systems are lowered into place above the patient recovery areas. The project is currently in phase one, with phase zero seeing the roof conversion and installation of system infrastructure and the stand-alone endoscopy unit converted to a fully-fledged operating theatre. The remaining four phases will now work through the conversion of the existing three operating theatres. Beard Swindon director Jamie Harwood said: “Beard’s commitment to minimising the impact of our work on the local environment has already been taken to new levels on this project. “To carry out this extensive refurbishment alongside or above a working, clinical environment is exceptionally challenging. But we’re working with the hospital staff and our sub-contractors to make it happen. “The final product will transform the operating environment and facilities for patients and staff at Bath Clinic.” A spokesperson for Circle Health Group said: “The refurbishment work taking place at Bath Clinic is making good on our promise to offer our patients the very best facilities and services. As the hospital enters its 40th year treating and serving the community, this investment project is a commitment to continuing to deliver outstanding care to patients in Bath and further afield for another 40 years.”
The Sirius Group which provides demolition, remediation, ground stabilisation and civil engineering services to the construction industry has invested in fifteen additional SITECH® UK & Ireland Trimble technology systems as their fleet grows because of the greater site efficiency machine control offers. The UK based business with principal offices in Durham, Leeds, and Warrington, operates nationally and began fitting their machines with SITECH Trimble technology more than a decade ago after realising how GPS systems save time, fuel, labour, and improve the quality of the work and site safety. With clients including Taylor Wimpey, Keepmoat Homes, Miller Homes, and Gleeson Homes, SITECH Trimble technology is used in site surveys and throughout the project development. The Sirius earthmoving fleet of more than 130 diggers, dozers, scrapers, and compactors use the GPS technology across the fleet. Stuart Kirk, Plant Director at The Sirius Group, responsible for all equipment and investment in the Sirius plant division, was an early adopter of site GPS technology after seeing it in action on a dozer back in 2001. In 2010 Sirius purchased a new Caterpillar D6 fitted with machine control, and over the last decade Sirius has continually invested in GPS technology to remain at the forefront of machine control. Stuart said: “We’ve just taken delivery of fifteen new Kobelco machines which are all fitted with SITECH Trimble technology because machine control helps us to make efficiencies in all areas. “Back in 2001 people struggled to see the savings having a site sat nav provides and I had to push to get investment in them, but slowly things began changing. People began to see how much production can improve with efficiency savings on fuel, maintenance, tighter tolerances, engineer time on site and safety as your operator can stay within the machine. “When you’re running on Trimble machine control there’s less supervision needed. Operators can see exactly where they are on site, what depth they’re digging to, and can refer to the plans so they can be confident they’re doing the job right first time which means they’re not tracking about using fuel or increasing wear and tear on the machine. “Having our engineers, surveyors and machine operators all using the same systems means we have complete confidence when tackling some of the most complex and challenging brownfield or greenfield sites.” The Sirius Group has invested around £400,000 on SITECH Trimble technology over the last 12 months, and they currently operate fifteen Trimble GPS rovers, fifteen base stations, a site surveying system and they have twenty-five excavators installed with the machine control system. Stuart added: “Thanks to Brent Taylor at SITECH our team of three scrapers are also up and running with Trimble technology after he was able to create harnesses for them for us, and we’ll continue to invest in future technology. We’re now looking at the Trimble Business Centre to create the 3D models for our machines.” To find out more about the construction technology, software and specialist services and training SITECH UK & Ireland offers, visit the website at www.sitechukandireland.com.
When visitors cross the threshold of Heriot Watt’s new university campus in Dubai, they leave behind the searing heat of the desert for climate-controlled comfort, where diffused lighting offers relief from the harsh glare of the sun. In such an extreme environment, where summer temperatures can reach 50C, this alone would create a sense of ease, but it is just the first in a series of subtle features and carefully considered themes that run like a green thread through every level of the campus. The redevelopment of a seven-storey office block overlooking the Arabian Gulf into a unified vertical campus for a Scottish university, has been realised using biophilic principles. Here, human affinity with nature has informed the orientation of learning spaces; the choice of materials for walls, floors and furniture; the flow of air, and even hanging felt screens that absorb sound and provide privacy in open-plan staff areas. Biophilic design has been shown to enhance wellbeing, and it’s not just about plants although, as in Heriot Watt’s Dubai Campus where interior green walls run through all levels, these can form an important part of the design. It is also about textural elements, a rich variety of patterns, the choice of natural over synthetic materials and the inclusion of ‘biomimicry,’ which in this case includes carpets that recall stone, moss and grass. The human brain has been programmed over millennia to detect subtle differences in the natural environment, allowing us to feel the breeze on our skin and sense the light change as the day progresses. Indoor environments, by contrast, are more static and it’s that disconnect with nature that biophilic design seeks to redress. BDP’s inspiration for the design of the Dubai campus was the designed landscape of Heriot Watt’s Riccarton Estate. Its lush green parkland has an exceptional tree collection and provided a compelling context for the application of biophilic principles; referencing Scottish standing stones and the pavements of Edinburgh in the slate-lined walls and monolithic reception desk that welcome visitors to Dubai. Biophilic design has succeeded in giving the Dubai campus a sense of identity, orientating staff who travel between the Gulf and Edinburgh, and offering its students a unique connection to the heritage of this ancient Scottish university. Arabic culture is referenced in elements that include an interpretation of traditional mashrabiya screens – a laser-cut, gold anodised aluminium veil encircling the welcome space. Its pattern is lifted from the Heriot Watt coat of arms and filters the sun, recalling the dappled light passing through Riccarton’s tree canopy – while the choice of wood for furniture provides another grounding element within the borrowed landscape. An important aspect of biophilic design is its ability to unite interior and exterior environments, and BDP has located social learning spaces where to provide views through palm trees toward the Gulf. To visitors, staff and students, not all of these features will be immediately evident, but they combine on a subliminal level to instill a sense of belonging. And the client, Heriot Watt University, was open to the philosophy. They understood that biophilic design would enrich the learning environment, infusing the Dubai campus with an identity that links it to its Edinburgh roots. In Dubai, this approach has provided a way of uniting nature, culture and heritage in a contemporary setting, creating a sense of belonging and making students and staff feel comfortable in their surroundings. Bruce Kennedy is an architect director at BDP Glasgow
In recent years there has been a focus on producing more efficient buildings that will reduce operational emissions. As it stands it is estimated that 39% of all global energy related carbon emissions comes from the built environment with 28% coming from operational emissions (i.e. heating, cooling and power) and the other 11% from embodied carbon emissions (from the construction of the building). As the population of the world quickly approaches 10 billion, the global building stock is expected to double in size. But now, we are starting to see a coordinated action to tackle embodied carbon, with the World Green Building Council promoting a bold new vision: by 2030, all new builds, infrastructure and renovations will have at least 40% less embodied carbon, and all new buildings should be net zero operational carbon, andby 2050, new buildings, infrastructure and renovations will have net zero embodied carbon and all buildings, including existing buildings, must be zero operational carbon. Closer to home, to help meet embodied carbon benchmarks, there is increasing pressure for London’s large scale projects to prioritise retaining existing buildings over demolition. For example, under updated planning guidance published by London Mayor, Sadiq Khan in March 2022, as part of the London Plan: “Retention should be seen as the starting point,” and “Retaining existing built structures for reuse and retrofit, in part or as a whole, should be prioritised before considering substantial demolition, as this is typically the lowest-carbon option.” Where refitting is not possible, Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee has recommended more effective use of low-carbon building materials, including recycled steel and timber or using second-hand materials such as brick, metal, wood and even broken concrete. While there is a degree of political consensus on the issue, this position is perhaps supported more strongly by the Labour Party and that may accelerate the impact on planning applications in London. Having for the first time taken control of Westminster City Council in the May 2022 elections, the new administration is introducing a Net-Zero Test for every major decision, which will assess social, economic and environmental impacts to help make more informed choices and improve outcomes.At the same time, M&S’s plans to demolish and redevelop their flagship store in Oxford Street have been caught up in the process. Initially approved in principle by Westminster Council and the GLA, the plans were then put on hold by Communities Secretary Michael Gove following a report published into the potential carbon footprint of bulldozing the building. This revealed the scheme carried an embodied carbon cost of almost 40,000 tonnes – the equivalent of driving a typical car 99,000,000 miles, further than the distance to the Sun. The report’s author Simon Sturgis called the plan “absolutely crazy”, believing a better idea would be to refit and renovate the existing shop. In June Mr Gove decide to ‘call-in’ the application for scrutiny by a public inquiry and for him to take the decision himself. The Government’s net zero targets and the policies to achieve them mean that changes will inevitably be forced on those who operate in the development sector. As is so common with planning, it’s an evolving picture.
