Opinion – Page 388

  • Comment

    We see rays of sunshine amid the gloom, construction buyers tell survey

    2009-02-03T10:26:00Z

    You have got to admire the spirit, we are on the verge of the deepest recession most in the industry have witnessed and yet there are those in the construction who feel the worst may be passed.That seems to be what the latest construction market survey by the buyers' body ...

  • Comment

    Cold snap may prompt early collapse of weakened construction firms, says CEBR

    2009-02-02T12:47:00Z

    It is good to see that the chill wind hasn't frozen the work produced by the economists at the consultancy CEBR.Here is one piece of cogitation that caught my eye.CEBR's chief economist Douglas McWilliams has done a "quick back of the envelope calculation" that suggests an additional two to three ...

  • Comment

    Economists mark 2009 for the biggest fall in house prices

    2009-02-02T08:48:00Z

    If you bought a house in 2003 or afterwards there is a fair change that by 2013 it will be worth just the same or less than as you paid for it.That is the grimmest view taken by the forecasters at the economic consultant CEBR.However, looking at the most optimistic ...

  • Chris Wise
    Comment

    Stop navel-gazing and look up

    2009-01-30T00:56:00Z

    We are so focused on our own disciplines that we fail to see there’s a bigger universe out there. What’s more, this universe is a lot more connected than we think

  • Comment

    Money can’t buy you love

    2009-01-30T00:20:00Z

    Open mike: Successful projects rely on much more than hard cash, says Martin Murphy. Emotional investment by the local community and end users is what ensures success

  • Comment

    ڶ buys a pint … for Structure Tone

    2009-01-30T00:00:00Z

    It’s a tentative start to the evening. The downstairs bar in Smiths of Smithfield is mysteriously shut. There’s an organic beer tasting event upstairs but by the looks on everyone’s faces that’s a non-starter

  • Hansom
    Comment

    The audacity of Hansom

    2009-01-30T00:00:00Z

    Inspired by inaugural events across the pond, we indulge in some gentle globetrotting and encounter a failed QS in China, a cement protest in Greece and a lone Hungarian in the Middle East

  • Tony Bingham
    Comment

    Suds law: Limiting adjudication materials

    2009-01-30T00:00:00Z

    You can throw anything you want at an argument in an adjudication – even the kitchen sink – but it won’t wash if you don’t give the other side time to consider it

  • Comment

    Forever bursting bubbles

    2009-01-30T00:00:00Z

    I was interested to read Gideon Amos’ latest defence of the government’s eco-towns programme (16 January, page 30). However, I fear history will view this initiative as being merely the froth on the top of the last housing market bubble: not amounting to much now that the bubble has burst

  • An eco-town in Freiburg, Germany. Will the UK’s programme ever make it this far or will it be remembered as ‘the froth on the top of the last housing market bubble’?
    Comment

    The passiv approach

    2009-01-30T00:00:00Z

    There is always so much we can achieve by “doing the simple things well” – it’s a widely used sentiment and it’s nearly always true

  • Comment

    An even-handed approach

    2009-01-30T00:00:00Z

    The article Sheep vs Grass (16 January, page 42) was a lovely idea, and a simple, clear list of green duds and gems would be great.

  • Comment

    Parental concern

    2009-01-30T00:00:00Z

    Nick Raynsford (16 January, page 30) you says he is upset with “misleading and pejorative media coverage”. I suspect that most of the upset is with “media coverage” of any kind. The John Roan proposition is flawed and coverage simply exposes the things that you (my MP) and Greenwich council ...

  • Comment

    A little local thinking

    2009-01-30T00:00:00Z

    The item concerning MPs’ call to local authorities to make better use of planning agreements to secure jobs for local people (23 January, page 23) may run into problems

  • Comment

    Pep talk

    2009-01-30T00:00:00Z

    Everyone is looking to cut costs. My advice for folks in whatever profession, employed or self-employed, is to show some initiative and motivation around the workplace

  • Comment

    The rules of the crane

    2009-01-30T00:00:00Z

    The subject of crane safety has been under debate for too many years. I firmly believe the root cause of all the incidents is the lack of planning, monitoring and control

  • Comment

    I hope Spring’s eternal …

    2009-01-30T00:00:00Z

    ڶ has long been distinguished both for the level of its architectural criticism and for the number of its good architectural contributors

  • Chris Shirley, guest editor
    Comment

    Our agenda

    2009-01-30T00:00:00Z

    The recession is not without its fringe benefits. I, for one, have pounced on the opportunity to stop my children’s pocket money (even as I type these words they are combing west London in search of work, and the lessons learned will no doubt prove as important as schoolwork).

  • Comment

    Court intervention

    2009-01-30T00:00:00Z

    The Dorchester Hotel vs Vivid Interiors

  • Comment

    Is the worst of the house price crash yet to come?

    2009-01-29T14:06:00Z

    New Year, new figures from Nationwide showing a new fall in house prices.No surprise there then.But the next few months may prove critical to the final shape of our current house price crash.Will we see a more gentle continuation in the slide in prices or should we brace ourselves for ...

  • Comment

    Buckaroo!

    2009-01-23T00:00:00Z

    One reason we’re in this mess is because the government has loaded developers with a weird assortment of tasks – which suggests an analogy with a well-known game