1 Glasgow The City of Design and Architecture 1999 will be welcoming style tourists to a range of events, exhibitions and new buildings. Centrepiece of the year-long programme is the Lighthouse, or Scotland's Centre for Architecture, Design and the City, by architect Page & Park. Call 0141-287 1999 for a programme.
2 Edinburgh Meanwhile, in the Scottish capital, Benson & Forsyth's Museum of Scotland opened last November, Michael Hopkins and Partners' 拢34m Dynamic Earth project is due to open in June, and you can see history being made as the Scottish parliament goes on site in the summer.
3 Dartford Lovers of shopping and sonnets should go to Dartford, Kent, where the 拢350m Bluewater retail park is due to open in March. US-born architect Eric Kuhne was responsible for the oast-house-inspired design and chose the Keats and Shakespeare quotes for the decor.
4 Jubilee Line Extension East End Millennium Dome fans will be the first to benefit from the JLE. The Stratford to North Greenwich section is due to open in spring; visitors from central London will have to wait until summer.
5 Cardiff The Millennium Stadium, site of Laing's 拢20m slip-up, will host its first scrums in June. It will be interesting to see how generous the design-and-build contractor is with corporate hospitality.
6 Royal Opera House, London The 拢220m redevelopment should be complete by December. A mixed opera and ballet programme is planned; construction manager Schal should have some tickets for the dress rehearsals.
7 Earth Centre, Doncaster The eco-showcase opening to visitors at Easter will be a cut-down version of the original grand plan. Phase one includes an Alsop & St枚rmer water purification plant and a Feilden Clegg visitor centre.
8 National Museum of Film and Photography, Bradford Another lottery-funded project due to open in late April, Austin-Smith:Lord's extension to the museum should be a worthy addition to a city starting to thrive again.
9 Dubai For a touch of extravagance, book into Chicago Beach, the 拢300m hyper-exclusive leisure development built on a man-made island.
Or befriend staff at designer and project manager WS Atkins, who may be in line for preferential rates.
Nine new technologies
10 Photovoltaic roofing felts
11 Floors made from recycled glass
12 Porous "breathing" walls and ceilings that regulate humidity
13 Surveying by radar
14 Grey water recycling
15 Prefabricated walls, roofs, floors and services
16 黑洞社区 services controlled by microchips embedded in your body
17 Light-sensitive glazing that cuts solar heat gain by darkening when the sun shines
18 Slushy ice as a coolant in building services systems
Nine people to watch out for
19 Stephen Tompkinson and Robson Green Watch out for more career guidance on being a cowboy builder when ITV's happy-go-lucky Grafters return for a second series.
20 Bob the Builder This man could be the television ambassador the industry has been waiting for. Making his screen debut in April, Bob is a new children's character who manages a construction business with the help of Scoop the digger, Dizzy the cement mixer and Lofty the crane. The team's Eganesque motto is "Can we fix it? Yes we can!"
21 Sir John Egan A new role as chairman of property developer MEPC is unlikely to deter Sir John from taking an active interest in the industry he spent last year rethinking. Expect several conference appearances.
22 Lord Rogers The government's favourite architect and chairman of the urban taskforce will see his political star rise even higher this year. He is due to finalise the group's recommendations by April, and will chaperone John Prescott on a Netherlands housing project tour.
23 Clare Sampson The director of production at the New Millennium Experience Company is in charge of delivering 14 exhibition zones and an all-action central show 鈥� and all under the kind of budget and programming pressures most of us only have nightmares about.
24 Architecture's new champion The government is keen to find someone to take on part of the Royal Fine Art Commission's brief. Applicants should have design sense and an awareness of developers' and communities' needs.
25 Luther Cochrane Bovis' new chief executive was sidelined during the Bovis/Atkins merger talks but can be expected to take a higher profile now that the deal has been called off.
26 Oliver Jones The chief executive of Citex will be launching its new corporate identity, and could be hunting for acquisitions.
27 Clifford Mumm Mumm is the Bechtel project director charged with delivering the JLE without further industrial action, budget shocks or PR gaffs. He replaces Hugh Doherty 鈥� nominated last year as one of 黑洞社区's "Eight for '98". Not that we're superstitious or anything 鈥�
Nine buzzwords
28 Outsourcing
29 Prime contracting
30 "Sustainable" anything
31 "Millennium" anything
32 "e-" anything
33 Whole-life costing
34 Supply-chain management
35 Clustering
36 Brownfield
Nine places to celebrate the millennium
37 In the Caribbean Bookings are now being taken for Thomson's "Millennium Magic" Caribbean cruise. Passengers will sail through the Panama Canal and arrive in New Orleans in time for the millennium festivities. Prices from 拢799; call Thomson Direct on 0990-502555.
38 At the dome Join Tony, Peter and chums at the grand opening ceremony. Ten thousand guests are expected. Senior members of the construction and design team can expect invites, along with representatives of voluntary organisations; 5000 tickets will be made available to members of the public through competitions.
39 In Cleethorpes Did you know that Humberside's finest lies on the prime meridian? New year's eve could be the ideal time to check out its charms. Call the tourist information office on 01472-323111 for details.
40 At home Invite friends and family to watch the television coverage beamed live from Greenwich, along with at least 100 million others.
41 En route to the dome If you decide to absorb the millennial atmosphere at Greenwich, you'll probably see in the new year in a traffic jam. Time is running out for the organisers to establish park-and-ride and river-boat facilities. As for the JLE 鈥�
42 In Edinburgh Scotland will have its own assembly by Hogmanay and the capital will no doubt be celebrating with a special bash.
43 In an architect-designed bar Architects and style junkies should head for one of the new breed of designer bars around the country. Try Denim by Shaun Clarkson in central London, or Branson Coates' Bargo in Glasgow.
44 Down under Be one of the first to see the new millennium by booking a holiday on a Pacific island. Most are already full, so you may have to retreat to New Zealand's north island.
45 On a construction site If you're unlucky enough to have to troubleshoot millennium bug disasters, be sure to profit 鈥� bar staff are earning up to 拢1000.
Nine ways to boost your career
46 Network It's not just about turning up at the odd drinks do. Committed networkers plan in advance, target clubs and events, attend them regularly and keep a record of who they've met. It might not be for everyone, but the canap茅s should be good. (For this and other job hunting advice, see Careers on the back page.)
47 Surf the net It takes a while to get used to searching sites and sending e-mails, but it's definitely time well spent. Whether you're looking for a new job or for ideas to spice up your old one, the Internet is worth exploring.
48 Training People tend to appreciate the break from routine that training days offer more than the course itself. But if you find it hard to get excited about value management, fake an interest 鈥� your boss will appreciate it.
49 Treat yourself With Christmas expenditure still to be paid for, January may not seem the best time to invest in a new outfit and a new image. But it could be the best way to beat the back-to-work blues.
50 Construction overseas Posts abroad tend to come with more responsibility. As a result, returning expats find they can leapfrog UK-bound colleagues.
51 Aim for promotion Mark Hempshell's book Winning in the Job Market suggests that you identify the promotion you want, then give yourself six months to make progress towards it. Enhance your profile by co-operating with the people you would be working with.
52 Work for a client Working for a client with a large property portfolio could be the best way to beat the recession. Even if they stop building, there is a never-ending stream of maintenance work. And wouldn't it be nice to be at the top of the industry feeding chain?
53 Find a niche Finding a place in those professional corners that no one else has noticed can boost your pay and protect you from redundancy. Even amateur experts in IT, marketing, change management or any of the latest buzzwords can add a new line to your CV.
54 Leave the industry Controversial advice, but a growing band of non-industry employers are starting to appreciate the project management skills cultivated by construction. Logistics and transport companies could be targets 鈥� but consult a careers adviser first.
Nine markets to target
55 Corporate private finance initiative The outsourcing trend in major corporations is gathering pace, resulting in more corporate PFI deals, with companies or consortia taking responsibility for all building and estate management.
56 Prefabrication Specifying more prefabricated materials is bound to be popular with cost-, time- and sustainability-conscious clients.
57 Central and eastern Europe This area is becoming a steady market for UK construction firms and is still open to newcomers, so it's not too late for a visit.
58 Hong Kong Hong Kong is re-emerging as a promising destination for UK construction. Transport and infrastructure investment worth up to 拢19bn are the main drivers, followed by housing and other PFI work.
59 Africa Davis Langdon & Everest has joined a growing band of construction firms that are bullish about Africa and linked up last month with South African cost consultant Farrow Laing Ntene.
60 Schools Education secretary David Blunkett last month gave the green light to 拢5.4bn of investment in schools, raised through new local authority borrowing powers and the private sector.
61 Higher education The expanding student population and more frequent link-ups between industry and academia 鈥� already seen with Cambridge and Microsoft 鈥� could make higher education another big spender.
62 Utilities and Railtrack With government regulators taking a tougher line on investment, utilities companies are certain to be valuable clients.
63 Airports New projects are planned in China and South America, and the UK's regional and non-BAA airports are also expanding.
Nine new year's resolutions
64 Do at least one of the things you said you'd do before the millennium
65 Take all your holiday entitlement
66 Read Rethinking Construction 鈥� we know you haven't done it yet
67 Don't forget the millennium bug
68 Get on-line and visit the 黑洞社区 web site
69 Support Construction Week in April
70 Expose a cowboy builder
71 Lose weight, do more exercise, stop smoking
72 Always use an adjudicator
Nine issues that will affect your business
73 Construction Industry Scheme The 714 system 鈥� which meant that individuals and companies subcontracted to larger organisations could be paid gross 鈥� will be dismantled on 31 July. In its place is a new system of mandatory identity cards that will be allocated only to those meeting tough new criteria. The Inland Revenue has already sent out application forms to all existing 714 holders.
74 Design for disabilities Part M of the 黑洞社区 Regulations on disabled access will be extended to cover all new buildings and houses. Projects starting after 25 October will have to ensure a near-level approach, an accessible threshold, and wider doorways and corridors.
75 The euro The onward march of the euro is going to be a key issue for most construction businesses in 1999. Even after companies obtain the necessary upgrades for software, there will be further upheavals of product pricing and currency risk.
76 Lower interest rates As a prerequisite to joining the European single currency, interest rates will fall to meet the European Union average. Lower interest rates 鈥� already 3% in most "Euroland" countries 鈥� will usher in a new business environment.
77 Demonstration projects Projects totalling more than 拢1bn have been submitted to the DETR to be measured against performance indicators on defects, profitability and speed. The findings will be posted on the Internet.
78 Housing Forum Another post-Egan initiative, the Housing Forum will set productivity and sustainability targets for social housebuilding. A 拢10m fund will be set up to encourage technical innovation.
79 Urban taskforce Under the chairmanship of Lord Rogers, the taskforce brief covers design, planning and finance. An interim report is imminent, and the full report and recommendations are expected in April.
80 Woolf reforms These new rules, to take effect in April, aim to speed up commercial cases by setting limits on legal costs and "streaming" them into categories based on the amounts in dispute.
81 Adjudication The principal innovation of the Construction Act has had a fairly low impact in the past eight months. However, as contracts signed after 1 May progress, adjudication is set to become the industry's most common method of dispute resolution.
Nine 黑洞社区 predictions
82 A wave of corporate rationalisations
83 A wave of pre-millennial industrial action
84 Controversy over the new building for the London Assembly
85 Architects rediscovering colour
86 Fewer architect-designed buildings, more design and build
87 Tax changes facilitating brownfield development
88 No new lottery funding for construction
89 Keen media interest in delayed millennium schemes
90 Millennium fatigue setting in about March
Nine reasons to get wired
91 Document management Last year's Chartered Institute of 黑洞社区 survey into the use of IT found that just 4% of contractors that responded were using document management systems to track drawings, contracts and letters. These systems are almost standard in the USA, and the Construction Industry Computing Association predicts that 1999 will see them take hold over here.
92 Construction Industry Scheme When the new scheme arrives on 1 August, the Inland Revenue will be "encouraging" subcontractors to submit their tax returns electronically. The Construction Confederation predicts the move could soon boost the industry's use of IT.
93 Millennium bug The CICA's view is that the technical problems have proved less worrying than the lawyers' and insurers' paper chase. If it comes in your direction, be sure not to ignore it.
94 New technology A fresh generation of gadgets that use infra-red or radio waves to transfer data are set to hit the market in 1999. Also, digital versatile disks and digital dictation machines will follow digital cameras and digital television on to the market.
95 E-commerce The Internet is finally coming into its own as a trading zone.
So far, materials producers' web sites have functioned as info-centres and web catalogues, but on-line product ordering could take off this year.
96 Intranets and extranets Allowing internal data networks, or intranets, to be accessed by outsiders to create extranets could well be the industry's next significant IT step. Consultants that have set up networks for their own use in-house may be tempted to install a similar service for other companies.
97 Internet service providers ISPs will be competing to offer ever-more attractive packages to home and business users, which could help make extranets more affordable. There could also be more "free" Internet access.
98 Voice recognition software You know you want to chat to your computer, so don't be shy. IBM's Via Voice and Dragon's Naturally Speaking are now available in formats to suit home and business users.
99 Enterprise resource planning ERP means fully integrating your IT systems, such as accounts and contract management. A handful of international ERP consultants have made inroads into the US and German construction industries 鈥� expect them to make an appearance here, too.
