Opinion 鈥� Page 355
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Worry about Europe
A key point that was not addressed in the podcast on www.building.co.uk was the future ability of the 鈥済uilty鈥� contractors to tender for public works
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Comment
Be ashamed (i)
If a member of the RICS were found guilty of anything 鈥渇raudulent鈥� they would be stripped of their MRICS status and would most likely be fired by their employer
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Comment
Be ashamed (ii)
As a registered architect, all I can say is that if I were found guilty of this sort of practice I would be struck off 鈥� not given excuses by the government
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Comment
Suspend the fines
Although the process of investigation and the resultant findings were necessary to halt bid-rigging, I among many others will be disappointed by the level of fines imposed by the OFT, which may cripple or close some companies
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Learn basic morals
Why do the construction companies seem not to understand their own lack of morality?
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Put your house in order
In a world of short tender periods and poor contract information, clients are expecting contractors to be gamblers
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Punish the guilty
Cover pricing saves the contractors the cost of tendering and they can agree between themselves who will get the next tender
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CommentThe academy in peril
If you find yourself with a spare hour in Piccadilly, go and see Anish Kapoor at the RA: it鈥檚 disturbing, even violent, but it has a lot to say about how art fits into buildings
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CommentWonders & blunders with Fergus Henderson
Restaurateur Fergus Henderson considers a temple to chaos, fine dining and the wet fish trade in the City of London and, er, the City of London
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CommentHansom:聽Claws on the catwalk
As London Fashion Weekend draws to a close, it seems construction is still in the mood, getting huffy about shoe design, contemplating the female form and knocking back champagne. Back to reality, guys
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Comment
Contractors are bagging a third less new work than at peak
The latest new orders figures provide a sobering injection of reality after the barrage of "it's okay the recession is over" talk that seems rife.Yes the rate of collapse has slowed. But it's the level that really matters at the moment.Forgetting seasonal adjusted constant price measures, if we compare the ...
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Comment
How much has the recession cost house builders? um...
During a conversation with a colleague on the recent spate of cash calls by house builders I was quizzed on how much damage the recession had done to their balance sheets.I made a stab (a lucky guess as it turned out), but I should have had a number at my ...
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Comment
Economy not as bad as we thought thanks to construction
The fall in GDP wasn't as big as we thought thanks to stronger than estimated construction activity. That is the assessment of the statisticians who put together the national accounts.But is this good news or bad news for construction?The statisticians take was that construction output in the UK fell 0.8% ...
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Comment
What does the housing market data really mean?
This month has seen several conflicting reports on the state of the housing market - so will the gloom continue or are we at the start of an upturn?Some reports have pointed to recent residential market strength, but can it be sustained? House prices are up 8% since February, according ...
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CommentThe fall guys: Richard Steer on the challenges ahead
So we tumbled off the cliff. But, to look on the bright side, we survived. The task now is to identify what challenges we are likely to face on the long climb back up
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CommentHansom: How predictable
We have an informative and educational selection of items this week, from stripped pine in the Gulf to Libyan seafood 鈥� although I expect you鈥檒l go straight to the one about bear wrestling with Sarah Beeny
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CommentWasted opportunity
As I read your piece about the plight of graduates seeking employment (11 September, page 34), it reminded me of my own horror story during the last recession, when it took me more than 200 job applications and two interviews before I secured the job I wanted