Commercial real estate developer Network Space has promoted Catherine Chilvers to Development Director, with immediate effect. Catherine joined Newton-le-Willows based Network Space as Senior Development Manager in 2016 and has since developed and expanded her role within the business whilst delivering key projects across the North West. Her recent projects
The design contract for the new £12.5 million extension for Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) has been awarded to Watson Batty Architects. “We are delighted to cement our partnership with Leeds Bradford Airport with our biggest project to date. We have worked closely with the team at LBA over the last
Good design is about meeting the aspirations of the client, while conforming to regulations, technical standards and budget. It is very important to listen to the client’s requirements, to fully understand the brief and respond appropriately. It’s key that designers understand clients’ aims for the project, how the buildings will
When David and Carol Simpson decided to move back to Devon to reconnect with their roots, little did they realise they would need to embark on their second self-build project in 20 years. The Simpsons were not new to self-building – they completed their last project in Marlow – a
Planning permission has been granted by the City of London Corporation for construction of what will be the second tallest building in Western Europe behind the Shard. Aroland Holdings, a developer based in Singapore, has secured approval to construct a skyscraper at 1 Undershaft, which will stand between the Cheesegrater,
The building physics business will now be run as a completely separate entity, with its 12 strong team being known simply as Yonder and moving to Leeds from Harrogate before the end of this year after an amicable separation. The building physics experts of Yonder work with leading construction professionals,
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
Commercial real estate developer Network Space has promoted Catherine Chilvers to Development Director, with immediate effect. Catherine joined Newton-le-Willows based Network Space as Senior Development Manager in 2016 and has since developed and expanded her role within the business whilst delivering key projects across the North West. Her recent projects included the successful completion of Central 23, a 1.75-acre brownfield site providing a single 23,500 sq. ft industrial unit with office provision, located on the northern fringe of Liverpool City Centre. She has also recently taken up a position on the newly-formed Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership’s Built Environment Board. This was established to advise on built environment issues and economic growth across the City Region. Network Space Developments’ Managing Director Stephen Barnes said: “This promotion is very much deserved and is recognition of the significant contribution Catherine has made to the business over recent years. Her experience and commercial expertise will be a great asset to Network Space as well as the LEP’s Built Environment Board as they look to strategically drive forward environmental improvements and economic growth across the city region.” About Network Space Operating across the Northern Powerhouse region, Network Space is a commercial property developer, investor and manager specialising in the industrial warehouse sector. Founded in 1982, the company is now in its second generation of family ownership by Chairman and CEO Richard Ainscough. Network Space has created and modernised over 10 million sq. ft of industrial warehouse property in over 150 locations. The company’s vision is to provide the best and most complete industrial workspace solution for all of its stakeholder partners, whether they are a tenant, investor or government body.
The design contract for the new £12.5 million extension for Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) has been awarded to Watson Batty Architects. “We are delighted to cement our partnership with Leeds Bradford Airport with our biggest project to date. We have worked closely with the team at LBA over the last six years, assisting with detailed collaboration and consultation, to support a series of enabling projects, both airside and landside. It is rewarding to know that our transport expertise is helping to build the future of a critical northern hub,” commented Peter White, Managing Director at Watson Batty Architects. As part of the plans, LBA’s terminal building will be extended, adding to it a transformed international arrivals process, with immigration, baggage reclaim and customs, as well as improved departure gates, seating areas and new retail, food, and beverage outlets. Once completed, construction work will move to the existing terminal building, remodelling it and adding a new centralised security search area and a more intuitive departure lounge layout, with an expanded new retail offer. Work on the extension is expected to be complete in late 2019, while for the existing building it is scheduled for completion by the summer of 2020. A future phase will include the completion of the departure pier, replacing the current passenger walkway. The planned extension works will deliver additional job opportunities at the Airport for local people, including apprenticeship roles in key operational areas. Watson Batty has previously assisted Leeds Bradford Airport to improve circulation and flow of passengers around the terminal. It designed the new departure lounge extension last year which provided an additional storey and mezzanine floor to Gate Five.
Good design is about meeting the aspirations of the client, while conforming to regulations, technical standards and budget. It is very important to listen to the client’s requirements, to fully understand the brief and respond appropriately. It’s key that designers understand clients’ aims for the project, how the buildings will be operated and if they will need to be adapted through their lifetime. This information will inform the level of design, guide any future proofing or flexibility provisions and highlight any particular sustainability and efficiency targets. Communication is key so that the client and designers understand these aims and the technical or regulatory considerations, and agree how to manage the key decisions through the design, construction and putting to use of the buildings. Modular Design I believe that designs should be standardised where possible and that there are benefits to considering a modular approach for off-site assembly and testing prior to installation. A modular approach in the right application can offer considerable benefits by ensuring that the required quality is benchmarked in an approved prototype, which is then used as a template for the repeated elements. The working conditions in a factory environment should be managed to ensure improved safely, quality and speed. The design approach as a whole needs to be analysed carefully from the outset so that a modular approach is applied where of benefit, and equally a bespoke approach is applied where unique solutions are required. Energy Efficiency Energy efficiency is an intrinsic part of good design and is now a key interest of clients, not only because of the Government’s green initiatives, or because of aspirations on corporate social responsibility, but also because of an understanding that an efficient building will reduce energy and water costs and help the company bottom line. With the improvement in metering and visibility of consumption, the results of an energy efficient approach are now tangible and measureable. There is a clear understanding that if a building is designed efficiently and operated well, it will cost less to run. Energy efficiency is an area of rapid change, with new systems and techniques coming onto the market. One interesting are area is smart facades; implementing strategies to manage and reduce radiant and convective heat loads outside the building before they can reach the building interior. A high performing facade or double skin façade can have a significant impact on reducing the loads at source. I am also interested in solar cooling systems which can translate the unwanted solar thermal energy into a cooling source; these have in the past been prohibitively expensive however are likely to become more mainstream as the technology reduces in costs. The debate on renewable energy continues and I feel it is important to analyse each system against the building usage to assess the likely benefits on a bespoke basis; where the systems can add real cost efficient benefit in terms of reducing loads and bills, it makes sense that these are considered. MEP Challenges A key challenge for MEP design is to ensure that the MEP design considerations are considered and included an early stage in the building’s design. We are therefore fortunate to be an MEP team within the multi-disciplinary GAJ office and as such participate in early design discussions and inform design requirements from the outset. The architectural, structural and MEP designs are intrinsically linked and should be progressed in a multi-disciplinary manner from the initial design stages to ensure a successful design. Passive cooling load reduction, primary systems selection, plant space, primary routing and use of renewable energy systems are all considerations that need to be assessed early in the design, with appropriate provisions made. The architectural and MEP teams within also GAJ benefit from having worked together over many years, resulting in a good common understanding. Another key MEP challenge is to ensure that sufficient time is allowed within construction programme to fully test, set to work and commission the buildings systems. This is a skilled and iterative process that requires sufficient time to be successful. Bespoke MEP Services The thing with MEP engineering systems is that each design is bespoke, no two buildings are the same. This is an interesting part of the job and it requires us to have a robust design methodology and gateway process to ensure that each design is completed in a methodical and accurate manner, with the flexibility to adapt to the particular project requirements. Yes, a chilled water system is a chilled water system but the building function and primary cooling system will drive different solutions. A hotel may require cooling to large commercial kitchens and 24/7 operation, whereas a school will require operation primarily during school hours in the week, with facility to operate during out of hours events. These two very different requirements will drive different design solutions. It is a case of assessing from the outset what is required, establishing a design basis and continuously testing this to ensure the assumptions at the outset still hold as the design progresses. The importance of synergy Good communications between the client and the design team is absolutely vital to good design and to the overall the success of a project. A good flow of information and a management of expectations means everyone is on the same page throughout the design and construction process. Projects where this has been a success have a particular drive and energy, the client, designers and construction team take pride in a common goal. On time and within budget Being able to bring in a project on time and within budget is a daily challenge and it is important that we start from firm foundations and manage change carefully and communicate well throughout the lifetime of the project. Easy to say but not easy to do; constant focused effort and awareness is required from the designers not only to design well and meet technical requirements, but also to continuously communicate, interact and respond appropriately to feedback.
When David and Carol Simpson decided to move back to Devon to reconnect with their roots, little did they realise they would need to embark on their second self-build project in 20 years. The Simpsons were not new to self-building – they completed their last project in Marlow – a mock Tudor dwelling – more than 20 years ago and were not really looking to build from the ground up again. However, after only a few months of living in their two-bedroomed Devon bungalow, they discovered that the layout simply did not work for them and extending was not going to resolve the main issue which was the windows. They were not positioned in a way that enabled David and Carol to enjoy the fabulous panoramic views of the coast. So the couple sketched out a plan of the type of ‘future proof’ house they wanted and took it to a self-build show. There they met representatives from Hanse Haus, builders of pre-manufactured, energy efficient houses. The Simpsons were keen for a quick turnaround, so hired the German house builder to fully project manage the scheme. Their sketches were turned into architectural plans on the basis of which, planning permission was received. Work began on demolishing the bungalow and digging in of new footings for the concrete blockwork. With all the hard work that was going to be involved, both David, 69, and Carol, 67 were adamant that they didn’t want to move again. Therefore it was imperative for them to ‘future proof’ their new home, and installing a domestic lift was the perfect way achieve this. Additionally, the plan was for Carol’s elderly mother who is in her nineties, to move in once the build was complete. Adding a home lift had obvious benefits for her too. Although Carol’s mother did not use a wheelchair the Simpson’s decided on a Stiltz Duo Lift as part of their future proofing. The lift, which is a great alternative to a stairlift, travels on a unique dual rail system and worked perfectly with the couple’s original sketched ideas. Additionally, the domestic lift has an integrated drive system and simply plugs straight into the wall, using a normal 13 amp power socket so there was no need to worry about making space for a separate machine room. To compliment the streamlined and modern interior, the Simpsons installed their Stiltz Lift, which are also available in the USA – the company also recently launched a new Lifton brand – behind contemporary wooden doors in the hallway and upstairs on the landing to match the doors throughout the rest of the house. Mr Simpson said: “We decided, even before we started our initial drawings, that we wanted a home lift for two reasons. The first was to ‘future proof’ our home for when we eventually get too old to use the stairs properly and secondly for Carol’s elderly mother. “We came across Stiltz online and they provided us with a floor template so we knew exactly how much space we needed for the lift. This made it easy for us to include the lift in the sketches and plans which we handed over to Hanse Haus. “We did consider a stairlift but our stairs bend halfway up. Stairlifts also take up a lot of space in the stairwell and are a bit of an eyesore, so we are very happy with our decision. It sits behind a door in the hall and goes up to the first floor landing just perfectly.”
Planning permission has been granted by the City of London Corporation for construction of what will be the second tallest building in Western Europe behind the Shard. Aroland Holdings, a developer based in Singapore, has secured approval to construct a skyscraper at 1 Undershaft, which will stand between the Cheesegrater, the Gherkin and the new 22 Bishopsgate tower which is being built by Multiplex. The 1 Undershaft tower will stand at 304.94 metres tall above ordnance datum (289.94 metres in structural height), which will outstrip the 278 metre high tower at 22 Bishopsgate. Across the river next to London Bridge station, The Shard is 309.6 metres high to its tip. At the latest City of London Corporation’s planning & transportation committee meeting, 1 Undershaft was approved by a vote of 19-2. The work will first of all involve demolition of the current Aviva Tower. Designed by architect Eric Parry, the 73 storey structure will provide 130,000 square metres of office accommodation, along with over 2,000 square metres of retail space. Upon completion, around 10,000 workers will work in the building, with 1,600 of them able to park their bikes there. A free public viewing gallery will stand at the top of the structure, which will be served by a dedicated lift service. The public viewing gallery will be home to the highest restaurant in London and will have learning spaces for schools and other groups to discover more about the capital, its growth and history. The Museum of London has had discussions with the developer over a dedicated gallery at the top of the building, using 1 Undershaft’s height to show London’s development. At the base of 1 Undershaft, a new larger public square will be created. The building has an elevated reception, allowing pedestrians to walk beneath the building.
The building physics business will now be run as a completely separate entity, with its 12 strong team being known simply as Yonder and moving to Leeds from Harrogate before the end of this year after an amicable separation. The building physics experts of Yonder work with leading construction professionals, including project managers, architects and contractors, throughout the UK. It will deliver a great amount of sustainability among other benefits to their buildings, including reduced consumption costs, less running expenses – through factors such as minimised energy consumption – better indoor environments and lower carbon emissions. The Yonder team: contributes to buildings’ passive design – their use of natural sources like the sun for heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting; leads on their active design, involving deploying non-natural elements, such as boilers and electric lighting, for these purposes; and defines constructions’ ideal renewable energy sources. Rob Gill, Managing Director at Yonder who founded the business four years ago, explained the reasons for the separation: “Building physics engineering is a specialist discipline in its own right and independence will allow us to concentrate fully on our field of expertise. Mechanical and electrical engineering is concerned with building services, whereas we focus on the whole construction. “Separating will enable us to ensure passive design is rightfully prominent in a project, which maximises benefits for clients. It will also allow us to invest in our own specialism and deliver unbeatable customer care and service.” The building physics team at Yonder has advised on hundreds of constructions in both the private and public sectors throughout the UK. These have included commercial, distribution, education, healthcare, industrial, leisure and retail buildings. A number of these developments have earned prestigious accolades, including Leeds’ First Direct Arena, which won the Royal Institution of British Architects’ Yorkshire Award last year after Yonder was the project’s energy assessor for client BAM Construction.
