Opinion 鈥� Page 368
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Comment
A royal response
In response to your article 鈥淧rince Charles given say in major London schemes鈥� (19 June, page 9), I would like to point out that the Prince of Wales is not routinely contacted by property developers seeking his opinions or his approval on major projects in London, or elsewhere for that ...
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Comment
What really happened...
I write with reference to your story 鈥淩ogers turned back on project role after design was scrapped鈥� (12 June). This is factually incorrect and I am writing to clarify our position
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Comment
Material concerns
Robert Adam (12 June, page 34) makes a distinction between my reference to architectural style and the use of traditional building materials. Surely he must know the two are closely associated
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Comment
Two steps backwards
One sign of greatness is being able to admit to mistakes and learn from them. It seems that construction cannot or will not learn from past failings and is about to return to single-stage tendering and confrontational relationships (12 June, page 29)
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Comment
The unfairness of frameworks
Our prequalification questionnaire for the East Midlands (SCAPE) Framework, Minor Works 拢10,000-500,000 Derbyshire Sub-region, didn鈥檛 pass muster
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CommentDining and designing
黑洞社区s are consumed by the eye in the same way that food is consumed by the organs of digestion. And in both cases, the important thing is that they鈥檙e tasty
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Comment黑洞社区 buys a pint... for Ryder
Tonight鈥檚 jaunt happens to coincide with London鈥檚 tube strike, so just getting to the venue presents a challenge
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CommentSelf-harming architects
If architects have any time left over after baffling their novice clients, they ought to spend it explaining that it makes sense to pay them what their work is actually worth
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CommentConsider the Australians
Ty Goddard has been looking at schools Downunder, and he has some rather good news for everyone involved in designing new schools in this country...
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CommentIs partnering dead?
鈥淚t took 12 years to put together and 12 weeks to dismantle.鈥� That was one of the more wry comments on BAA鈥檚 decision to turn its back on framework agreements for a good chunk of its work
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Comment
A welcome downturn in construction deaths
In 黑洞社区's health and safety channel this week we have the latest from the Health and Safety Executive, as they release statistics on the number of construction fatalities in the sector for 2008/09.As predicted by 黑洞社区 just weeks ago, the number of fatalities has hit a record low, but everything ...
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Comment
Telford buys contractor... and breathing space
When AIM-listed housebuilder Telford announced yesterday it had paid 拢6.3m for fit-out contractor Clifford Contracting, the news must have caused a few people to do a double-take at their computer screens.In a City statement, the east London developer talked a lot about loan notes, call option agreements and aggregate considerations.Behind ...
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Comment
Average weekly earnings go up in construction
I took a quick glimpse at the Average Weekly Earnings figures out today to see if there was an obvious sign of downward pressure on those employed in construction.Well comparing the average weekly earnings over the three months to this April with the same period a year ago we get ...
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Comment
Housing market medicine working, says CML
The latest forecast from the Council of Mortgage Lenders paints a more positive outlook for the housing market than it did when it last forecast in December.It now thinks repossessions this year will hit 65,000, 10,000 fewer than previously thought, with fewer mortgages falling into arrears and net lending shrinking ...
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Comment
Rightmove figures provide food for thought on house prices
The latest figures divined from the property website Rightmove show that asking prices fell 0.4% in the month. And at first sight this seem a little at odds with most of the data coming from the housing market of late.There is data to suggest that there are growing expectations of ...
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Comment
Power without responsibility
"This meddling member of the royal family is a black stain on our democracy," wrote one reader of 黑洞社区's website.Others described Lord Rogers' scheme as "a herringbone pattern of repetitive blocks with no sense of place" and his defence of it as "tantamount to treason".Never has the death of a ...
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Comment
Recovery a long way off as industry awaits housing recovery
April's improved new orders figures from the Office of National Statistics - up 17% on March - brought some cheer, with encouraging signs of activity from housebuilding and other sectors. However, given that the first quarter numbers were the worst since records began in 1983, recovery is a way off ...
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CommentHansom: Unmasked
Paranoia grips the industry this week as all kinds of things turn out to be all kinds of other things: alien invaders, human statues, sons and, er, someone鈥檚 pet doggie