Opinion 鈥� Page 373
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CommentHealing the healthy
In the second of his series on the deadly sins of architecture, Robert Adam tackles conceit, which takes the bizarre form of designers pretending be members of the medical profession
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Comment黑洞社区 buys a pint... for Mace graduates
At what moment do you realise that you鈥檙e losing your youth?
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CommentWe should listen to the cynics
We鈥檝e heard a lot in the past week or so about people who follow the letter of the rules but not their spirit. Rather too much, in fact
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Latest official figures reveal extent of the house building challenge
The release of the first quarter 2009 house building figures for England will most likely provide a bit of everything for commentators, pundits and truth spinners.Chances are there are reasons to be more cheerful and reasons to be more depressed than you were after reading them.But for my money what ...
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Figures show more Eastern Europeans are giving up on the UK
The post credit crunch squeeze on the UK economy does appear to be encouraging more Eastern Europeans to call it a day and return home according to the latest information produced by the official statisticians at ONS.This does fit with the anecdotal evidence which suggests that the weak pound and ...
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Inflation fell more than expected in April
The rate of inflation measured on the consumer prices index (CPI) fell sharply in April from 2.9% to 2.4%.This should be seen as good news for those operating in the housing market as a persistence of over target inflation may have hastened the time when interest rates return to more ...
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Is everyone being too positive?
Apparently, slowing negative is now the new positive. Contraction is pass茅. The only problem is, that the evidence doesn't appear to suggest that.Just two examples, of many recently, spring to mind.The latest Key Purchasing Managers Index for construction from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) rose from 30.9 ...
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Report shows 10-fold increase in 2008 in unsold new homes in London
The more you scratch the available data on residential development the more astounding seems the transformation in market conditions over 2008.I was invited to be the editor of The Red Book for this year's edition. For those not familiar with the book it is produced annually and provides analysis and ...
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And this year's new optimism is...
Everything becomes this year's new black at some point.Nothing is ever simply itself anymore. That's fine in a postmodern culture of moral relativism that is accepting of a laid back usage of language and grammar. I'm fairly relaxed about that.But there comes a point when it all gets a bit ...
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CommentWe can't afford cheap and nasty
The recession is turning us, and our politicians, into mean, short-sighted people. And this is exactly the right way to make sure it lasts a long, long time
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CommentWonders & blunders
Tom Foulkes salutes Hadrian鈥檚 2,000-year-old Pantheon in Rome, but quietly hopes the brutalist Southbank Centre has a somewhat shorter lifespan
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CommentVoices from the abyss
As the recession drags on, we hear the sound of lamentation from losing Crossrail bidders, wailing from architects鈥� competition lists and saucy ad libs from property professionals
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Overcoming overload
I read with interest Cedric Sloan鈥檚 article in 黑洞社区 on 1 May (page 33). He draws attention to the information that is provided with most invitations to submit a tender. One of the points he makes is that far too much information is provided
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Off-site really is the answer
So the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is launching a drive to boost the private rental sector. As residential property prices fall, rental yields are starting to look more attractive to investors and pension funds, so the opportunity is there for the taking
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The usual victims
The Verry debacle (8 May, page 24) is just the same old, same old 鈥� look at Eugena, Wiltshire and the others. Who gets hurt? Yes, you guessed it, the 鈥渟pecialist trade contractor鈥� and the small subbie
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More egg baskets required
I worked for Taylor Woodrow International from 1975 to 1980 in various parts of the world and its geographic and sectoral diversification was one of its greatest strengths
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Ten into six doesn鈥檛 go
It was a shame to see that CNP has become the first big-name QS/project management casualty. At the end of the day consultants are all about people and my sympathy goes out to all who have and will lose their jobs, shareholdings, and so on. Consultants have been hanging in ...
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CommentArchitects, take a bow
Prince Charles didn鈥檛 say he鈥檇 employ Lord Foster to make over Highgrove 鈥� that would really have been a great way to make up with the modernists