Build August

MFM Building Products Humble Beginnings, Ground-Breaking Future at Acqualina in Miami.

MFM celebrates the company’s 55th Anniversary in 2016.

- Page 12

Also in this month’s issue...

Yoshie Takeo Most Innovative Designers of 2016 - Creativity over Conformity - Page 16 Mabey The Importance of Bridge Construction - Building Bridges with Clients - Page 42 Cross Trade Spotlight: Green Growth in Europe - Success and Sustainability - Page 56 DeScipio & Associates, Inc. Ones to Watch for 2016: Architecture - CostEffective Commercial Champions - Page 14 Linebacker UK Ltd t/a Terraplas Maximising Sustainable Legacy - A Legacy of Quality: Terraplas - Page 58 Build Magazine: August 2016

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Editor’s Letter Welcome to the newest issue of BUILD Magazine.

The construction industry is an ever-changing one, which is probably expected, given just how many facets are involved. Alongside those firms devoted to erecting towering new structures, there are those whose passion lies more on the interiors and on designing pleasant abodes. Some have carved out a notable presence for developing bespoke technology to assist in comprehensive planning and execution of complex projects.

The evolution of the construction industry, in all of its components, is indeed intimately tied to the progress of modern technology – the one informs the other in a great many ways. In particular, the development of new materials has opened many a chance to diversify the market through innovative solutions.

While this is certainly nothing new, there is an emerging realisation that in this competitive industry, the firms that are able to develop niches, and bring a well-tuned, specialised product or service to the wider market, are those that make the biggest impact. Terraplas’ wide range of long-life ‘turf protection’ tiles, as well as Mabey’s devotion to efficient, client-friendly bridge-building, are among those that have succeeded in becoming hallmarks of their trade.

Business practices that were once cutting-edge are increasingly common, as firms strive to match the demands of their discerning clients and expand their foothold in a highly competitive industry. We draw especial attention to the growing momentum behind the practices of Building Information Modelling (BIM) that are sweeping across the construction industry.

The ability to generate digital representations of a construction project has come about as a direct result of new advances in technology, and firms across the world, from County Conwy to Adelaide, South Australia, have embraced its holistic approach with open arms.

These represent but a selection of the trends that are apparent in today’s construction industry. Doubtless, future technology and disciplines will continually shape our understanding. In the present, meanwhile, we hope that you enjoy this issue of BUILD Magazine.

Contact the Editor at: george.millar@ai-globalmedia.com +44 (0) 203 725 6842

Build Magazine

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Contents 4. News

Design 12. MFM Building Products 14. DeScipio & Associates, Inc. 16. Yoshie Takeo 18. Burchdaume 20. Waldeck Consulting 22. Aliva’s stone cladding wraps Scottish student flats in local heritage 23. Homeowners embark on Renovation spree to Modernise Homes and increase ‘Family time’ 24. Pod Lodge Innovation from The Hideout House Company 25. Prindiville Marine: the urban waterfront housing revolution

Architecture 28. Kebony adds sustainability to city hang-out

Real Estate 32. Opening of 101 riverside apartments 33. Deepening New Build Crisis in London

Investment 36. Hunter invests in Barnet

Construction 40. Avian Ecology Ltd. 42. Mabey 44. Sunray Engineering Ltd. 46. Skills, not Brexit, the main threat to construction industry 47. Building the digital skyscraper 48. Brexit Comment on Self-Build and Property Sector 49. Dispelling the Myths of Single Ply

Finance 52. Beating the Brexit blues with new funding models for build-to-rent 53. Housebuilder Shares Rise to Defy Brexit Fears

Sustainability & Eco 56. Cross Trade GmbH 58. Linebacker UK Ltd t/a Terraplas 60. Time for Clarity

Tech 64. Imagine Computation 66. NWP Electrical, Mechanical & Utility Services 68. Redstack BIM Services 70. TenderSpace: The business case for transparency

Transport 72. Complete Peace of Mind without Compromise Build Magazine

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News AECOM’s Tishman Construction Teams with TRINITY Group Construction for First Phase of Future ‘Smart City’ in DC Metro Area AECOM, a premier, fully-integrated global infrastructure firm, announced today that its Tishman Construction unit has been named joint general contractor of Phase 1A of Gramercy District, 2.5 million square foot, technology-focused, mixed-use development in Loudoun County, Va. The project is valued at over $US500 million and Tishman will serve as general contractor in association with TRINITY Group Construction, a top commercial general contractor headquartered in Herndon, Va.

22 Capital Partners, a venture builder company and global private equity firm investing in commercial real estate, technology, and clean and renewable energy, is the lead investor and master developer of Gramercy District.

“We’ve put together a team known for their expertise in the design and construction of commercial, residential and retail developments, who are forward thinking, ready to embrace how technology can improve our city’s overall experience,” said Tom McConnell, executive vice president of Gramercy District. “Creating a seamless integration of technology and real estate infrastructure design from the start of the construction, combined with a holistic approach to development is the most critical piece when designing a smart city. Our goal is to

integrate the 22 CityLink Platform (www.22citylink. com) with existing real estate protocols to create a ‘Smart City In-a-Box,’ and to build a repeatable, highly efficient, sustainable and economically viable model,” said McConnell. Gramercy District will be the first smart city in the region and one of the first in the country.

Phase 1A of the project includes a 268-unit, sevenstory luxury apartment building, 26,000 square feet of retail, rooftop amenities and five stories of structured parking. Technology will be closely integrated with every aspect of the project, from the building systems to the parking and retail.

Other key focuses of the project will be sustainable land use, community transformation, and work-life integration.

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“This exciting project highlights the transformative role cutting-edge technology is playing in today’s society – and we are thrilled to be at the forefront of constructing a new wave of smart cities,” said Dan McQuade, Group President, of AECOM’s Construction Services. “Particularly noteworthy about the Gramercy District is that this project brings experts from a wide range of industries together to utilize innovations in technology that will better the way a community lives, works, and socializes.”

Construction is expected to begin in the Spring of 2017 and be completed by late 2018.

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UGI Energy Services Marks Start of Construction for Its Sunbury Pipeline UGI Energy Services LLC, the midstream and energy marketing subsidiary of UGI Corporation, today celebrated the start of construction of its Sunbury Pipeline with a ground-breaking ceremony near the Panda Hummel Station power plant it will serve. The event featured remarks from several public officials and community leaders who praised the Project and its benefits to the region.

UGI Energy Services President Brad Hall welcomed nearly 100 guests to the ceremony. UGI, he told the gathering, is pleased to be a part of a partnership with Panda Power Funds that will result in cleaner power generation and jobs for central Pennsylvania.

“The Sunbury Pipeline Project represents an incremental step forward for Pennsylvania natural gas infrastructure, and a major step forward for Pennsylvania’s energy future,” Hall said. “UGI is excited to continue its more than century-long tradition of putting natural gas to work for Pennsylvania by fueling the state-of-the-art Hummel Station along with enhancing local natural gas supplies.”

Gladys M. Brown, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, stressed the importance of new pipeline capacity such as the Sunbury Pipeline to transport local energy to Pennsylvania families and businesses.

“Pennsylvania continues to set new records in natural gas production, breaking 4.6 trillion cubic feet last year. Projects like the Sunbury Pipeline provide new capacity to leverage that record production,” Chairman Brown said. “The Sunbury Pipeline Project will not only help bring more local energy to local users, but also help meet our clean power goals by fueling efficient natural gas-fired electric generation.”

State Senator John Gordner, who serves Pennsylvania’s 27th Senatorial District that includes the site of Hummel Station and much of the Pipeline’s route, said the Project’s implications reach well beyond the Greater Susquehanna Valley. “As Senate Majority Whip, I’ve worked with the General Assembly to craft policies to encourage development of this natural resource. Consumers will benefit from the Sunbury Pipeline as it ensures continued reliable generation of electricity to the regional grid, as well as from economical natural gas prices thanks to the new local supply entering the market.”

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SPRA Commissions Waste Recovery Research Resource recovery specialist, Axion Consulting has recently completed a project commissioned by Single Ply Roofing Association (SPRA), to obtain data on waste volumes generated in the growing single ply roofing sector.

Established in 1978, the (SPRA) is the industry’s UK trade association, and is focused on promoting single ply roofing systems as roofing of choice and ensuring the highest standards of products and application to ensure the long-term sustainability of the sector. Its membership is made up of roofing contractors, distributors, suppliers and manufacturers and as such promotes employment and training opportunities and the export of its members’ products and services. SPRA provides help and guidance to all users and specifiers of single ply roofing systems in addition to co-operating with other trade bodies for the purpose of improving the UK roofing industry.

The brief of this latest project recognised the need to understand trends in both new waste (from site and training programmes) and end-of-life waste removed from roofs during refurbishment and demolition. The proportion of the latter is expected to rise as the sector growth in the 1980’s and 1990’s reaches the end of its design life. Key determinants include regulatory incentives to overlay rather than remove the existing and logistics which are seen to be economically viable.

The objective is to prepare the groundwork for a pilot waste recovery and reprocessing scheme. SPRA member manufacturers account for at least 70 per cent of the sector’s overall annual coverage. The report estimates that SPRA members generate approximately 250 tonnes of new highquality polymeric membrane waste per annum and an as-yet unknown quantity of end-of-life waste.

Axion Consulting Project Manager, Jane Gardner comments: “There was strong support for a recycling scheme amongst the twelve membrane manufacturers interviewed, with some citing main contractors’ Site Waste Management Plans as well as client policies as key drivers to account for the end use of waste. At this stage, we need greatly improved data on material types, their condition, and geographical distribution.”

SPRA Technical Director Jim Hooker adds “Although SPRA membrane manufacturers are required to register all projects, our roofing contractors are key to a scheme’s viability. They must be confident that a waste recovery scheme will be costeffective.”

SPRA has agreed a range of actions to improve data collection and is now working with re-processors to develop viable options. Further research is planned.

Contact: Louise Burke THRiVE STUDiOS T: 07917176095 W: www.thrivestudios.co.uk

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Storey Homes Selects Mark Plowman as New Head of Construction Milton-Keynes based Storey Homes has appointed Mark Plowman, formerly of Crest Nicholson, as its new Construction Manager to oversee all its residential developments. Mark will also help identify new land investment opportunities, oversee all sub-contractors, materials and on-site Health & Safety, and work to recruit construction site staff in line with the company’s growing business model.

Mark who started his career as a bricklayer, has been in the construction industry for over 34 years. He has worked on numerous developments over his career, working with developers such as McClean Homes East Anglia, George Wimpey, Miller Homes and Crest Nicholson where he progressed from site manager up to build manager, eventually heading up the construction department of the Chiltern region.

Mark comments: “One opportunity I am most keen to work on is to further develop our strategic partnerships with subcontractors, building our portfolio of partners and the relationships we have. I am also keen to recruit new, quality staff who can help grow our construction team.”

Storey Homes is currently constructing two developments, a 14-home gated development in the sought after town of Ampthill, Bedfordshire and a 152 multiphased development in Bedford on the former De Montfort University site.

Further planning applications are also in the pipeline across Milton Keynes and Storey Homes’ surrounding heartland. To date Mark’s largest managed site consists of 1,200 homes and apartments over several phases in 2006 and the biggest phase including 165 homes, in 2010. He also won the NHBC Eastern Regional award for Pride in the Job in 2006 while working as a site manager.

Mark continues: “I am really excited to be heading up the construction department for a smaller company like Storey Homes so that I can help it grow into something different to the mainstream. Storey Homes is renowned for producing quality homes with a different design edge and I am keen to be a part of moulding the Storey Homes teams to do just that.

Reporting to managing director Katy Jordan, Mark will manage a team of site managers and a 75-strong construction team. Speaking about the opportunity Katy comments: “Mark’s expertise and pride in his work is second to none. We are glad to have him on board to take Storey Homes to the next level and grow our residential portfolio of luxury homes. We have ambitious growth targets which focus on quality builds and customer service. Mark will be a crucial member of the team in developing further opportunities for our residential investments and strategic partnerships.”

For press information, please contact Vicki O’Hare at Oracle Group.

Tel: 020 8394 2821 or Email vicki@oraclepr.co.uk

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Job Cuts Would Be ‘First Nail in the Coffin’ for Construction Cutting thousands of construction and housebuilding jobs would be the ‘first nail in the coffin’ for the industry, according to One Way. An analysis by the construction and rail recruitment specialist outlined that a further loss of jobs would prove critical for the construction sector. This comes at a time when the National Housing Federation has said any slowdown in housebuilding would result in the loss of nearly 120,000 construction jobs over the next decade. The UK’s construction sector has also slipped into recession for the first time in four years, with many commentators suggesting the industry is in turmoil and that the government must do more to support housebuilding.

Paul Payne, Managing Director of One Way, agrees.

“The news that the construction industry has slipped back into recession after four years isn’t particularly optimistic and a loss of jobs on the scale that has been suggested would almost certainly be the first nail in the coffin for the sector. We simply can’t afford to lose any more professionals from both construction and housebuilding and the government needs to do considerably more to support these industries before it’s too late.

“We all saw the potential impact of job losses in the steel industry and the scale of this for construction would be far greater. We need more professionals operating in the sector if we want it to recover, not less, and the potential impact of these cuts could be devastating if something isn’t done soon.

We’ve been very vocal about how the government, employers and trade bodies need to do more to engage with youngsters and promote greater interest in construction, because at the current rate there will barely be an industry left in a few years’ time.

“Confidence is the only way to get through this difficult period and we need more investment and more projects to be given the green light. If we take a step back and allow programmes to be put on hold and jobs to be cut it could have a hugely damaging effect on the economy and on thousands of peoples’ lives. As Winston Churchill once said, ‘If you’re going through hell, keep going’.”

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Be part of the one of the UK’s leading areas of economic growth and development The Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire area boasts one of the fastest growing economies in the region. Now’s your chance to be part of its exciting future as the second most influential powerhouse in the South of England.

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Design

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Design

Humble Beginnings, Ground-Breaking Future

MFM is celebrating the company’s 55th Anniversary in 2016. The manufacturer is located in Coshocton, Ohio, USA, and provides the HVAC and construction industry with innovative waterproofing products. All of the company’s products are self-adhering membranes that provide quick and easy installation, reliable performance and outstanding cost savings. ounded in 1961 by Robert E. Simpson, MFM quickly established themselves as a robust, reliable supplier of waterproofing and weather-barrier products, belying their humble origins. Today, MFM products are shipped globally and are sold through HVAC and building supply wholesalers or distributors.

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Having initially started through producing sub-grade pipe waterproofing membranes, the company today offers more than 30 different product lines to cover virtually any exterior waterproofing application.

These include low-slope roofing membranes, roofing underlayments, window and door flashing tapes, multi-purpose waterproofing membranes, specialized waterproofing tapes, and HVAC duct and pipe wrap. In particular, though, its their FlexClad™ line that give MFM a focus of pride in the company.

FlexClad™, manufactured in the United States

by MFM Building Products (MFM), is a multilayered, flexible jacketing system that protects critical duct and piping against the toughest environments. This pre-fabricated, self-adhering waterproofing membrane resists water leaks and vapour transmissions, preserves the efficiency of thermal insulation, and the UV-resistant embossed aluminium top surface reduces energy costs.

Whether it is a new project or seeking protection for an existing installation, FlexClad can provide the ultimate waterproofing protection.

FlexClad provides protection at any extreme with its unique composition that remains waterproof in the toughest environmental conditions such as winddriven rain, sleet, snow and damaging sunlight.

It boasts a well-rounded list of attributes, making it a strong competitor on the wider market. These include: • • • • • • • •

Interior or exterior applications Easy “peel and stick” installation Firmly adheres to clean, dry surfaces Self-seals around fasteners Conforms to difficult shapes Adds years of service life Professional, neat appearance 10-year limited warranty

The FlexClad design is itself a small miracle, comprising a UV-resistant embossed aluminium top surface to reflect heat and lower energy costs.

The cross-laminated polyethylene reinforcement material is extremely tough and flexible, while the rubberized asphalt adhesive system is aggressive and provides a tight seal. All of this combines to make a robust system that resists water leaks and vapour transmissions, preserves the efficiency and integrity of thermal insulation, and exceeds 25/50 Flame/Smoke Rating.

To offer its client base more choice and MFM offers two FlexClad product lines. FlexClad-400™ is a 45mil product that is available in 36” x 33.5’ (91cm x 10.2m) rolls. FlexClad-250™ is a thinner, 25-mil product that comes in 36” x 50’ (91cm x 15.2m) rolls. Both products are available in Aluminum, White and Almond surface colors. The minimum installation temperature is 40°F (4.4°C) to clean, dry surfaces for best adhesion properties. The company offers architects and builders with Guide Specifications, technical documents and warranty information at www.flexclad.com.

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The company is adamant that FlexClad will not deteriorate like fabric or mastic sealing products, and is more economical than metal jacketing systems. The “peel and stick” installation saves the contractor time, material and labor costs, while offering excellent waterproofing protection. As such, FlexClad typifies the long-lasting nature of MFM’s products.

The versatility and sturdiness of FlexClad further underpins the company’s commitment to continually investigating and manufacturing new ways of improving product performance, reducing overall costs for their clients through their value-based philosophy.

David Delcoma Product Marketing Manager

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Company: MFM Building Products Email: info@mfmbp.com Phone: 800-882-7663 / 740-622-2645 Web Address: www.mfmbp.com Address: MFM Building Products Corp.

PO Box 340 • 525 Orange Street Coshocton, OH 43821

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Design

Cost-Effective Commercial Champions Joe DeScipio’s architectural design firm provides commercial architectural design services to a wide variety of clients across the mid-Atlantic region.

From his company office in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania, the services his firm offers range from code reviews to building design, as well as mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering. Founded in the Fall of 1991, Joe uses the upcoming celebration of his company’s 25th anniversary in October as a chance to reflect upon the projects and great clients the firm has assisted over the years. ince we started,” he begins, “the size and complexity of our projects has been the main cause of our growth over the years. The actual size of the company has not increased by very much – we actually decreased our staff recently – but the types and sizes of our projects have continually expanded in scope.

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“Our services have also typically included construction management, in which we became the general contractor for the project; we also team up with other contractors to offer design-build services, which is somewhat unique for architects. Over the years, we have also provided expert testimony on construction claims –another little niche for us. What really sets us apart from our competition, however, is the fact that we tailor the service to meet the clients’ needs.

“Our approach to ensuring a good outcome begins with first finding if we are a good fit for the client.

Not all inquiries result in projects for us, due to the simple fact that we focus on our areas of expertise and not all inquiries match up. Really, it is a matter of pre-qualifying the client, to see what their goals and objectives are, and to determine if we are in a position to meet those needs.”

“If we see ourselves as being a good fit for the client after the pre-qualifying stage, only then will we take on the contract. After this point, we are intimately involved in the project – we regularly meet with the client at every stage, to ensure that they are getting what they want. I would say that what separates us in the wider market is the level to which we engage in direct interaction with our clients.”

Joe has a number of past projects that he can happily point towards as hallmarks of these business principles. One of DeScipio and Associates’ most successful projects, as he relates, was the

headquarters for the Northeast Pennsylvania Centre for Independent Living, which was started in 2009 and completed in 2012.

“We not only submitted the designs for this project, but we were also the project managers, and the owner’s representative. We were involved very early on, and over the three-year period, we delivered an all-inclusive service: assisting the client in selecting the property, fully renovating it, and then overseeing the post-construction phase of monitoring the performance of the building from an energy perspective.”

“This is one of the projects that we feature on our Facebook page, and for good reason,” Joe boasts.

“That project got an EPA Energy Star rating, and is one of only a select few in the region to have done so.”

“It earned this rating because of its utility bills – the energy performance of that building is verified for up to one year after occupancy.” This energy performance is testimony to DeScipio’s employing of scientific building enclosure detailing, combined with advanced mechanical and electrical systems.

Joe recognises that an increasing number of industries these days are finding ways to accomplish more with less. “We need to match this by being cost-effective, and strive to deliver exceptional services at reasonable prices,” he says boldly. “This is a challenge that all industries face, but what we hope to do is to become more efficient in the way that we operate, so that we simply do not fall behind the curve.

This ambition is certainly not untenable. Thanks to the advent of a digital age of business, in which social media has enabled closer contact with prospective clients and enthusiastic followers, Joe has been able to achieve a greater level of exposure for his business.

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“The way in which we expand our client base is predominantly through word of mouth, through our clients. We have also enjoyed some good responses via social media – we post a lot of interesting photos, including some of our ongoing projects, which our 1,000 Facebook followers seem to really enjoy.

Being able to get that kind of audience feedback gives us the ability to continually adjust to the clients’ interests, and that has been really beneficial to us.”

Technology has had a notable effect upon the way that Joe manages his firm; because he and his consultants take advantage of the ability to conduct business online. In this sense, technology has acted as an effective counterpoint to the mounting number of projects in which DeScipio and Associates are becoming involved in. This signals a clear direction for the future of the firm.

“The Internet has introduced us to new frontiers through which to communicate and collaborate,” he explains. “Our model is one based around the hiring of consultants to fit the needs of the project, and through the Internet, we have discovered that we work better as a ‘virtual office’ – we might have ten or twelve consultants on any one project, without requiring any of them to be in one location in order to fulfil their roles.

Currently, his firm is involved in a multi-milliondollar industrial additional project, for which they have teamed with a contractor to provide a Design-Build solution.

This has signalled a new and exciting shift for the company, because moving towards Design-Build is certainly an area in which Joe thinks that he and his team can and should make a big impact.

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Ones to Watch for 2016: Architecture

Company: DeScipio & Associates, Inc. Email: joe@descipio.com Phone: 570-842-0407 Web Address: www.descipio.com Look us up on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DeScipio-Associates-Architecture-148346885197960 Address: DeScipio & Associates, Inc. Architecture, PO Box 104, Elmhurst, PA 18416

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Design

Creativity over Conformity Yoshie Takeo's design journey began when she was studying Environmental design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong. Driven to deepen her knowledge of interior architecture, Yoshie pursued her Master’s in Interior Architecture & Design at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Graduating at the top of her class, Yoshie quickly gained recognition taking first place in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute Mobile competition.

oshie’s winning concept was adopted, benefiting the Autism community in Philadelphia by becoming the first mobile autism unit to provide testing and diagnosis for under-served communities. The project was widely reported in The Philadelphia Tribune, Metro Newspaper, and The Triangle (Drexel University Newspaper).

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Yoshie was also awarded the “Best of thesis” award within the MS IAD program at Drexel; the project won the International Design Award for “Emerging Interior Designer of the Year- student.” The award recognizes those who have demonstrated devotion to elevating the art of interior design. Yoshie’s work has been published in the IDA Book of Designs and has been distributed to museum bookstores nationwide along with promotion in newsletters and on the IDA website.

The thesis project marked Yoshie’s capstone of the MS Interior Architecture & Design program, but also showed her exemplary design. Yoshie’s thesis investigation explored the neural plasticity of the human brain. Yoshie discovered that creativity was a result of the neural network allowing our ideas to wander freely, collide and find new connections. The idea that this neural network could be nurtured and enriched through exercising our plastic brain was expressed in a new model of institution- the Neuro-Creativity Center. This solution embraces the fundamental neuroplasticity of our human brains. The Center bridges the gap between creativity and neuroscience in an innovative and dynamic built environment. The goal was to have diverse groups of people challenged via a vast array of creative outlets balanced with areas of meditative respite- all housed in a space designed to transform its inhabitants on a sub-conscious, neural level and to ultimately be a vehicle for their personal and creative brain expanding journey. Yoshie successfully communicated her research, developing an unconventional and unique solution recognized by jurors and faculty.

Yoshie’s Thesis project serves as her benchmark of excellence. Possessing a strong work ethic, personal drive and passion towards developing creative solution -Yoshie’s work surpasses expectation with sophistication and flair. Her approach to design is creative and inventive without succumbing to the trends of the times.

Yoshie Takeo has worked in both Hong Kong and the United States based projects involving: hospitality, residential and commercial spaces. She also earned the LEED AP ID+C credential after completing her masters.

Yoshie Takeo transcends conformity, creating designs that inspire others. In her philosophy on design, Yoshie believes that, “there should be no boundaries or restrictions when design is expressed at an elevated level. One should be daring and unafraid to challenge existing connotations in order to break away from what seems impossible. It is like art, where creativity, personal style and aesthetics can be expressed.

Through her designs, she hopes to create solutions that are beautifully functional and yet emotionally thought provoking”.

Each project is a new opportunity to experiment and push the client’s comfort zone. When one has a vision and passionately believes, then anything becomes possible. A recent office project involved clients that were afraid to step out of the traditional office mindsetyet they wanted to transform the office into a complete open office design. Having close interaction with the client, Yoshie created an office that delighted the clients with positive feedback. By slowly shifting the client’s traditional ideas on office design, the end users were ecstatic with the outcome not only because of the unconventional design approach, but doing so under fast track scheduling with difficult budget constraints.

Yoshie’s first professional office project is a testament to her ability to create beautiful works using her hospitality experience.

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The industry pushes interior designers to narrow themselves to such categories as hospitality, residential or commercial spaces and work years to gain experience in that focus. Interior design should not be thought of as separate fields, but as a whole.

Designers should be free to tackle any project type regardless of their experience. Experience can make a designer more skillful, but not necessarily a better designer. Possessing an individual voice and vision is what people will notice. No matter how big or small if a design is compelling, people will take the time to observe. Unsatisfied with being categorized, Yoshie Takeo tackles each project with a unique perspective and solution. Unafraid to try something new, Yoshie strives to be a trailblazer. Yoshie wishes to create works that nobody has thought of and thus setting the standard. Yoshie believes designers have the power to conjure up anything and that very creation has the ability to impact society and people’s lifestyle in positive ways. This can only be done through thoughtful and innovative designs, which underlie all of Yoshie Takeo’s projects.

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Most Innovative Designers of 2016

Email: yoshie.takeo@gmail.com Phone: 6269752296 Address: 137N 9th Street, Philadephia, PA 19107, USA

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Design

Crafting an Architectural Narrative Burchdaume was first set up in 2013, under Director Alex Ford. Alex, who has worked in the interiors industry for more than 20 years, both on the retail side and in high-end residential design, has built the company to provide a dedicated Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment (FF&E) service, which provides residential interior design and conservancy to businesses and individuals, often as part of a client’s larger design team.

n explaining his approach to business, Alex demonstrates his experience by singling out the clientele that he aims to attract. “Clients want a personal service via their family office and a single point of contact. They do not always want a large established practice when something uniquely personal, practical and simple is what is required.“

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“These days, clients understand quite well what they want; they have all seen the best and latest product.

This means that the detail and nuance in visual presentation is even more important. Deciding where creatively you want to position the clients project is crucial and not an easy decision to make or execute with precision.”

In response to this, Burchdaume focusses on building a strong creative narrative, often based on history, location or sensibility, combining the interests and requirements of the client and aligning those the original creative direction of Alex and his staff. “We tend to mix contemporary with antique or vintage, pulling together an interesting collection of pieces which are both relevant today and can make good long term investments. We deal with the personality driven elements of a home, research each project thoroughly to create warm, interesting rooms that reflect the story of the building and the client.

“Ours is a specific skill set which can add a lot to the overall success of a project, but of course we interface with other contractors in the traditional way.”

With a strong focus on targeting a niche of customers demanding a more personal touch, Alex creates contrast between Burchdaume’s business model and that of its rivals. “Ultimately, what sets all design work apart is the handwriting of the designer. We, as a business, focus on a few clients who want a personal service, who want access to the designer throughout the project, not just at the first meeting – they expect

a very tailored result. We are the best option for those clients, because we consider the creative narrative of the project in relation to the client probably in more depth than most. We build a story of the past and pull together a coherent collection that can be added to or rearranged in time.”

Indeed, some of Burchdaume’s most notable projects have required a flair for reimagining the décor of decades past. For their latest project, a 1930’s detached harbour-side house in the Channel Islands, refurbishment rather than rebuilding was the more expensive option, which the client considered well worth the effort.

“We saved the original house and layout,” he describes, “extending it with only a modest conservatory. We looked at Scandinavian and English furniture that described the dramatic period of change from the 1930s to the 1950s. Elements such as the sanitary ware were chosen because they were finished by hand so that they feel more tactile. We also mixed in vintage textiles for the same reason, just as the artwork by Julia Hutton, really shows the hand of the artist.

“It is not what most people would have done, but it now has a renewed elegance and personality that will last for generations.”

periods, but usually one period, style or provenance will dominate.”

As more modern artistic forms continue to emerge in new architectural projects, there is a certain trade-off to be considered – balancing the old with the new is often an architect’s worst nightmare. To Alex, however, the opportunities this brings to inspire new, innovative solutions is a principal manner in which Burchdaume has achieved such success.

“Obviously, we want to achieve progression and evolution on every project, developing strong narratives from our research and better understanding products and materials so we can use them to describe what we want to achieve for the client.

“Of course, it is also necessary to work with the right clients, hence most of our work comes via recommendation.”

The future of Alex’s target market remains in fluctuation.

While the long-term impact of Brexit remains unclear, indications point towards uncertainty in land and property values in the UK. The future for Burchdaume, however, according to Alex, is not overshadowed by such things.

While the company is based in London, most of Burchdaume’s projects take them outside of the city.

Learning from working in new locations, “the more time we can have to immerse ourselves in the location, the better - that is clearly going to be a benefit, and I would say probably result in savings.”

“There will be plenty of movement in property markets in Europe and the US; land management and the value of such land will occupy our minds even more acutely in the next few years. Those that can, may consider their portfolios also for enjoyment and preservation rather than short term investment and we think this will shape interior design development at our end of the market.

That is not to say that London goes unnoticed, however.

“We are currently working on a Central London townhouse; it is a more urbane project, with high sheen luxurious textiles and really contemporary fittings. We are using confident but simple colour palettes and continental furniture from the mid-1950s. We will mix

“We are certainly open to speciality homes - mountain and waterfront in particular play to our strengths, but also smaller boutique hotels or activity hospitality would be a very interesting next avenue for us.”

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BUILD’s Design Top 10 Burchdaume

Company: Burchdaume Email: info@burchdaume.com Phone: 020 8014 1445 Web Address: www.burchdaume.com Address: 68c Kings Avenue, London, Greater London, SW4 8BH

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Design

Creating Certainty and Sustainability Waldeck are a unique specialist multi-disciplinary engineering, technical and management consultancy, who support private and global blue-chip corporations with Heavy Infrastructure and major projects across a wide range of industries including Nuclear, Renewable Energy, Utilities, Logistics, Rail, Manufacturing and Defence. cross these Heavy Industries, and in particular for nuclear clients, Waldeck’s people understand the importance of “starting with the end in mind”, creating certainty and mitigating risk throughout the delivery of capital assets and enterprises. Since the company was founded over 20 years ago by Paul Waldeck, its dedicated staff have achieved these objectives in a number of ways, the most notable of which is through encouraging and insisting upon the highest standards of Health & Safety; which is considered from the outset, whether it be for BIM based digital design solutions, CDM Principal Designer roles, or enforced through effective project management.

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Furthermore, a conceited drive to operate to the highest security standards provides Waldeck with a robust safety net, ensuring that all their personnel, offices and systems are properly vetted, compliant, and that their solutions have security considerations addressed from the outset. Upholding such exceptional engineering, procurement and construction standards ensures that all of their solutions and advice facilitates clarity, conformity, control, and collaboration to drive value and certainty throughout the entire lifecycle of a project.

Glowing testimonies come from such figures as a past board member of the Major Projects Association, who additionally functioned as a government advisor on BIM and digital engineering. Waldeck’s place as a leading strategy, design and implementation Consultancy “is clearly evidenced by their top table credentials in delivering creative and yet, practical solutions for challenging construction and infrastructure projects of virtually any scale for world class clients, the likes of whom demand absolute certainty in the highest levels of safety, security, quality and of course, value added across the efficient lifecycle performance of their investments.”

Now, in the advent of a BIM revolution rocking construction markets the world over, Waldeck realises its true place in the industry. It is already one of the first engineering consultancies to have recognised how the implementation of BIM adds value to projects and the

company has ensured that all of its activity reflects this.

From investing money in the latest technologies and constantly pushing forward with new analytical software to designating a large proportion of its engineers’ time to training the BIM specialists of tomorrow, it is clear that the company rightly recognises BIM and its offshoots as the future of engineering.

To spur on the dissemination of knowledge that will one day make BIM industrial standard practice, Waldeck have engaged frequently with the wider industry in the form of speaking events and thought pieces, designed explicitly to cultivate new minds that will reflect the very best in BIM practices, as authored by Paul Waldeck himself. The founder of Waldeck was a keynote speaker at April’s Annual International Small Modular Reactor and Advanced Reactor Summit in Atlanta – the largest in the world for bringing together authoritative nuclear industry figureheads.

Representing such a bold step forward also comes with the requisite of demonstrating a fluid and commanding use of modern technology to enhance the operation of the business. Adopting the Revit design software as standard across all disciplines enabled closer co-ordination of activity between third party suppliers, improving on-site efficiency and health and safety standards, with opportunity for human error substantially reduced.

All of this, and more besides, is a driving force behind Waldeck’s commitment to developing pioneering solutions, to satiate the interests of clients and create a sustainable endeavour that takes full advantage of what modern technology has to offer. “Our key driver,” Paul Waldeck explains, “is our market leading Building Information Modelling (BIM) capability, which we are able to interface with our clients Product Lifecycle Management systems, enabling us to provide solutions for a projects whole lifecycle – this is called ‘Enterprise Lifecycle Management’.

“BIM enables components within a model to be tagged with relevant data. When this concept is interfaced with traditional Product Lifecycle Management, enhanced intelligence is created, allowing Waldeck to provide

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improved efficiencies to the lifecycle of an asset or enterprise. The interfacing of these two concepts allows Waldeck to offer a BIM-based cradle-to-grave solution to clients, which adds value, creates efficiencies and reduces risk – known as ‘Enterprise Lifecycle Management’ (ELM).

“Waldeck offer fully integrated BIM based Enterprise Lifecycle Management solutions as we understand that BIM is most effective when aligned with project control procedures. We ensure that we provide our clients with models and data that are fit for purpose, at the agreed milestones, ensuring our clients benefit from reduced risks and maximised certainty of outcome.”

In fact, the recent enforcement of the government’s BIM Level Two mandate means all publicly-funded projects must be procured on a BIM-compliant format.

This directive is critical for transforming the industry through adopting a digital collaborative way of working in the UK. This is beneficial for all stakeholders and suppliers, as the UK Government expects a 70% increase in construction output by 2025. The recentlydeveloped Construction 2025 strategy sets targets to reduce costs of construction and assets by 33%, alongside a halving of greenhouse gas emissions and a 50% improvement on exports.

For Waldeck, the key focus remains helping clients to understand how BIM can support safer and more efficient facilities management. A number of major new projects are already underway, and a confirmed UK government infrastructure investment reaching £400 billion across the Heavy Industries, lends further momentum to Waldeck as the company continues to strengthen its nuclear and energy teams, ahead of expanding into their new Bristol office at Colston Tower in the Autumn.

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BUILD’s Most Innovative Designers Company: Waldeck Consulting Email: enquiries@waldeckconsulting.com Telephone: 08450 990285 Web Address: www.waldeckconsulting.com Address: Kesteven Business Centre, 2 Kesteven Street, Sleaford, NG34 7DT Build Magazine

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Design

Aliva’s Stone Cladding Wraps Scottish Student Flats in Local Heritage A

liva UK, the privately owned London- and Reading-based subsidiary of IVAS Group, has honed stunning lightweight stone finishes for two student accommodation blocks set in the imposing architectural heritage of Scotland’s two major cities.

Local planning regulations in Edinburgh and Glasgow required Aliva, the UK leader in façades and interior finishes, to deliver stone cladding that harmonised with the existing traditional architecture. The company responded with traditionally-detailed facades using its state-of-the-art Aliva Air lightweight solution.

For the ten-storey new-build West Village on Beith Street in Glasgow, architects Falconer Chester Hall specified a curved façade using 1,000 square meters of red sandstone sourced from a local quarry. The façade incorporates double soffits and a bespoke fan-shaped radiused facade.

For Elliot House in Edinburgh, architect’s 3D Reid commissioned Aliva to craft a 1,000-square meter buff sandstone finish for the £6.6m conversion of a six-storey office block on the corner of Hillside Crescent and Brunswick Street. Detailing on the façade included reveal panels into the windows and monolithic corners to add depth and historical context.

Aliva UK Sales Director Justin Price said: “For both projects, the architects wanted a luxurious, contemporary façade that was suitable for modern lightweight construction methods, while paying homage to the majestic heritage of these great cities. Aliva Air was perfect for the job. We are particularly pleased to have sourced the stone for both projects from British quarries, contributing to the eco-credentials of these buildings.”

Backed by six decades of Italian flair from its parent company, Aliva UK designs, manufactures and supplies bespoke façades, rain-screen cladding, insulated render, and render-only systems, paints, and polished plaster. The subsidiary works in close partnership with its customers to ensure they get the most from its expert end-to-end service, which combines highly-developed design skills with detailed technical knowledge. It means that Aliva follows through to a firstclass finish on every project.

Aliva Air panels comprise a 10mm panel of natural stone veneer (or ceramic or glass) with a PET composite core and a stainless steel backing. The result is a lightweight cladding solution with the look and feel of solid stone, enabling Aliva to offer larger format modules of up to 4.5m x 1.5m. The company works with key quarries around the world to source limestone, sandstone, granite and marble.

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Design

Homeowners Embark on Renovation Spree to Modernise Homes and Increase ‘Family Time’ - VELUX® launches campaign to help homeowners bring extra daylight in to their extensions -

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early half (47%) of the UK’s homeowners taking part in a survey by leading window manufacturer VELUX® are planning to carry out home improvements over the next six months.

Grant Sneddon, Product Manager from VELUX said: “As VELUX roof windows can bring in twice the amount of daylight to an extension as vertical windows of the same size, bringing the outside in when creating extra space is becoming more attractive to homeowners across the UK.

For the majority of home improvers (59%), the main reason for renovating is to either update their interior décor or modernise their homes. However, one out of every 10 (10%) ‘home improvers’ is embarking on a project to create or improve space that they can spend more time together in as a family.

“For the 20,000 existing extensions without roof windows in the UK and Ireland, there’s always a solution to inject brightness by letting daylight in through the roof. Through our new extensions campaign we aim to educate and inspire homeowners to consider the benefits of adding more daylight to their homes by utilising VELUX roof windows to accompany vertical and bi-fold doors.”

For this particular group of ‘family time’ seekers, they are willing to spend big to make their dream a reality, with a planned average spend of £15,589. This is more than double the planned average spend of £6,444 for all home improvers.

To coincide with the extensions campaign, VELUX is launching a competition for home improvers with the chance for eight regional winners to win VELUX roof windows and £1,000 of John Lewis vouchers.

The home improvement survey supports the launch of a new campaign from VELUX to inspire and support homeowners with practical tips, advice and tools, to help them plan for and create their dream single-storey extension with VELUX roof windows.

For ways to bring more daylight into your home and to see the difference daylight makes using the VELUX 360° Extension Experience, visit www.velux. co.uk/extensions and watch here www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBCT02Wr1Cs

Other key survey findings include: • • •

Almost three quarters (72%) of home improvers are planning to begin their work over the next three months (July, August and September).

Almost half (47%) of home improvers are planning work on their kitchen, with slightly less (42%) planning work on their living space.

Three in 10 home improvers in London (30%) are planning either an extension or conservatory.

Architectural designer and television presenter Charlie Luxton has given the campaign his backing by sharing his own bright ideas and extension tips online at www.velux.co.uk/extensions Charlie Luxton said: “More and more UK homeowners are choosing to make home improvements instead of moving to bigger and better spaces.

This desire to extend and renovate rather than buy and sell is influenced by many factors such as cost and increased ability to personalise existing living space.

“For family households looking to renovate, this research from VELUX shows that enjoying more time together as a family was an influencing factor when deciding to spend money on improvements.

“It’s never too late to add daylight to a single-storey extension no matter what stage the project is at. When planning a new extension, it’s important to consider the impact of your plans on daylight in the home. Adding roof windows to your extension allows you to bring in daylight from above, ensuring that both your existing home and your extension stay light and bright.”

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Design

Pod Lodge Innovation from the Hideout House Company

he Hideout House Company has launched a brand new concept in the way we view holiday accommodation, be they ‘staycations’ or short breaks: Superglamp. With customers becoming increasingly discerning and sophisticated, Superglamp consists of innovative ‘pod lodges’ or ‘tiny houses’, which address the current gap in the market for accessible & affordable accommodation, with a point of difference.

The pod lodge range is comprised of two designs, namely the Hideout House Cottage and the Hideout House Cabin, costing from £15,000 up to £30,000, and is also targeted at private and residential customers, as well as the hospitality market. Building on the company’s expertise and knowledge in the educational sector, Superglamp guarantees eco-friendly, quality and original accommodation that can be enjoyed all year round.

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For the second year running, the number of Britons taking a short break within the UK continues to increase – 73 per cent are currently intending to take a short break in 2016 and 27% find a UK holiday more appealing than in 2015. Brexit, fears of overseas terrorism and the weak pound are also key drivers in fuelling an interest in unique staycation breaks that combine comfort with character, and this offers businesses an opportunity to expand and diversify their current offering.

For sales enquires contact Hideout House on 01865 858982 or email info@ hideouthouse.com

Founder and Director of The Hideout House Company, Simon Fearnehough, said, “We have noticed a real gap in the market for something as pioneering as Superglamp, which has been reflected in the rise of Britons holidaying in the UK. The buoyant hospitality industry can capitalise on this by offering quirky and unique on-site accommodation.

“The feedback to date on Superglamp has been really positive and our pods have been fully booked over the summer at select holiday and camping parks. We are confident that the concept will appeal to other venues including country pubs, golf clubs, hotels or bed & breakfast offerings and are looking forward to the opportunity to work with customers to offer guidance and inspiration.”

All pods can be customised to meet specific needs and business requirements, and can be easily moved and installed. Conforming to the Mobile Home and Caravan Acts, the pods are pre-manufactured mobile units, which are not only environmentally friendly due to their high levels of insulation, but are also built to last, requiring very little ongoing maintenance. Fearnehough adds, “the practical convenience and originality of the pod lodges also ensures a strong return on investment and reassurance for businesses who are keen to stand out from the crowd.”

To ensure maximum comfort, each lodge is its own self contained unit and includes a shower room and toilet, a kitchenette and dinette and is able to sleep up to four people. The pod lodges come with varying options of adding an extended deck area with sunken hot tub, hammock, welly storage crate, reclaimed drinks table with built-in ice box, and other attractive features.

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Design

Prindiville Marine: The Urban Waterfront Housing Revolution w

hen luxury automotive specialist Alex Prindiville struggled to find a suitable property to buy near his Limehouse Marina supercar showroom, he came up with a revolutionary solution.

“You can live in some of the most desirable parts of any city with a waterfront, with the freedom to go up and down the river or the canals, and you have all the benefits of a luxury apartment.

“The boat has a has a real holiday feel to it. It is very romantic, a great way of destressing, and the kids love it,” he adds.

Alex gave up his search for bricks and mortar and instead commissioned master boatbuilders to construct a floating apartment – a fabulous new-build, 1,000 sq ft, two-bedroom luxury dwelling, delivered within four months of order. Alex was so pleased with the result that he founded Prindiville Marine http://www. prindivillemarine.com.

What makes it unique is the way onboard space and storage has been maximised – a focus Alex admits proved tricky during the design stages.

“My background is in manufacturing and engineering, and I was personally involved in much of the design of the boat,” he said.

With the apartment – now moored in St Katherine’s dock ¬– having proved a resounding success, Alex is convinced he’s hit upon a groundbreaking residential concept, and is now taking orders for the vessels from customers.

“How do you maximise the storage space on a boat that has approximately 1,000 square feet? It was very difficult and very challenging, there were hours and hours of reconfiguring the design. Yet from that process we have managed to develop an apartment that is incredibly spacious.”

“I always thought the idea of living on a boat was romantic, and my thoughts originally turned towards a Sunseeker-type luxury yacht,” Alex explained.

“But whilst they look very sexy, I quickly realised they are designed for the sea, and internally the amount of space and layout doesn’t make them practical to live on.

“I also looked at traditional large barges and houseboats, but found that everything on the market was a bit tired and not particularly well thought out. So I found the best boatbuilder in the UK and embarked on producing this wonderful vessel.”

Constructed with a hand-crafted ‘Sheffield Keel’ hull, each wide-beam vessel is built as a completely new, purpose-built unit. The configuration provides a fully functional kitchen, fully functional bathroom, living room and two bedrooms. It comes with central heating, hot and cold water, telecommunications systems and all the modern conveniences one would expect from a luxury apartment. Some of the optional extras include a log fire and additional television units.

The design is fully flexible; one of the bedrooms can instead be built as an office – one customer has even used the second bedroom space for a recording studio – whilst the interior, including furnishings, worktops, kitchens and flooring, can all be customised.

Whilst Alex himself uses his apartment as his primary residence, he says the boat is an ideal solution for anyone looking for a city crash-pad, parents with a child heading to university – one couple are buying a boat for their teenage daughters to use as undergraduates – or simply anyone with a love of the water.

“We’ve had huge interest from a wide range of people – young professionals, retired couples, divorcees, students and romantics. The demographics really are very varied,” he explained.

Prindiville Marine will initially look to supply 15 apartments a year, and already has plans to produce a number of other versions of the boat. This includes a sea-faring version for longer trips, and a larger vessel with 3-4 bedrooms.

“Urban property prices continue to escalate, especially in the most desirable waterfront areas. The Prindiville Marine floating apartment offers you a bespoke, luxury lifestyle at an affordable price, and we look forward to continuing to make waves within the property industry with our luxury houseboat offering,” Alex said.

Outside, the boat is equipped with an al fresco dining area at the rear of the vessel and a sun-deck area on the roof. A propulsion unit can also be fitted for those who wish to experience the adventure of travelling Britain’s picturesque canals and waterways.

It cost Alex £300,000 fully furnished, a fraction of the price he would have paid to buy an apartment in central London. Permanent mooring costs are typically £10,000-£13,000 or you can buy a £700 annual canals mooring licence, which allows you to stay in the same location for two weeks at a time.

“The floating apartment offers some experiences that simply cannot be captured with traditional bricks and mortar,” Alex explains.

“When you’re standing inside, the port-holes and water are at eye-level. The light shimmering off the water is magical, and you’ve got a fantastic outside living area for entertaining guests.

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Architecture

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Architecture

Kebony Adds Sustainability to City Hang-Out Slussplan Urban Park celebrates one-year anniversary

ast year, the Malmö Municipality in Sweden unveiled the opening of Slussplan, a brand new urban park.

One year on, Slussplan Urban Park has proved to be a great success, offering a public space without the use of tropical hardwood, ensuring sustainability at its core. The park combines a unique stairway providing access to Malmö’s historic canal, green space for the residents of the surrounding neighbourhood and triangular seating made from sustainable Kebony wood.

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Bordered by the existing buildings, the triangular park is divided into two parts featuring circular vegetation beds adorned with shrubs and plants on one side and an active urban square on the other. The park vaunts an art installation by David Svensson, which was unveiled at the park’s opening last year by Ola Melin, director of Urban planning division in Malmö.

Designed by Mandaworks for the Malmö Municipality, this project is a triumph of landscaping architecture, weaving together infrastructure to create a new area for urban ecology and recreational space. Following the outright ban imposed upon tropical hardwood in Stockholm, and a growing trend in European cities of legislating against, and voluntarily avoiding the use of timber imported from the tropics in public projects, Mandaworks wanted to ensure that the materials chosen were sourced from sustainably managed, non-tropical forests. Kebony’s sustainable wood was therefore selected for the ‘urban hang-out’ benches along the promenade, due to the material’s positive impact in reducing demand for high performance tropical timber.

A recent study by environmental consulting firm Bergfald & Co. demonstrated that Kebony has a substantially lower carbon footprint than its tropical hardwood equivalents. The study shows that the carbon footprint for clear-fell Brazilian Ipê is in the range of 7,500–15,000 kilograms per cubic metre; whilst the carbon footprint of Kebony is approximately 459 kilograms per cubic meter, both figures include treatment and transportation to Northern Europe.

This paves the way for a future in which wood is an integral and, most importantly, sustainable part of the construction industry.

Developed in Norway, the patented Kebony technology is an environmentally friendly process, which modifies sustainably sourced softwoods by heating the wood with furfuryl alcohol - an agricultural by-product.

By polymerising the wood’s cell wall, the softwoods permanently take on the attributes of tropical hardwood including high durability, hardness and dimensional stability, without the need for tropical deforestation.

For Kebony, this waterside urban landscaping project follows another recent project at Fjord City, Oslo, a publically accessible park and bathing complex. Here there was a similar effort to capitalise on Kebony’s strong eco-credentials and durability to transform a post-industrial waterfront into a recreational space of this nature. In both cases, Kebony’s versatility as a material has rendered it invaluable for the construction of everything from street furniture to public boardwalk.

The silver-grey patina that the wood develops over its elongated life-span has also singled it out as a popular material for architects in marine settings like these, where its matured colour is frequently a perfect complement to the setting.

Martin Arfalk of Mandaworks commented “We wanted the park to be a lasting space for public recreation and Kebony’s wood is suitably durable that it will stand up to wearing and weathering. Its attractive natural aesthetic also perfectly complements the park’s character.”

Per Thyberg, Country Manager of Kebony Sweden, commented “It is gratifying to see Kebony once again selected for the development of a recreational public space like this where its durability and beautiful aesthetics will contribute to the public’s enjoyment of the Slussplan Urban Park.”

Visit www.kebony.com and www.mandaworks.com for further information.

Media Enquiries: Bea Garwood/Melissa Carver The Communication Group T: +44 (0)20 7630 1411 E: kebony@thecommunicationgroup.co.uk

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Real Estate

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Real Estate

Opening of 101 Riverside Apartments in Landmark Residential Tower, Adjacent to Luxury London Hotel and London O2 Arena Arora Group’s first end-to-end residential project, officially re-named “Arora Tower” (formerly “The Peninsula Tower”), builds on expertise from management of exclusive Berkshire residential development, “Charters” and ongoing West Sussex gateway development, to offer exclusive access to the connected luxury hotel, InterContinental London.

he Arora Group (“Arora” or the “Group”) today announces the opening of the landmark residential “Arora Tower”, on the Greenwich Peninsula, London which offers unique, direct access to the Group’s luxury InterContinental London – The O2 hotel. Construction was completed on 26th July and the sales will complete over early August.

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The 106,000sqft development consists of 101 luxury apartments, including four penthouses and 40 serviced apartments. Residents benefit from exclusive access to a wide range of premier services from the InterContinental London – The O2 hotel which is connected by a private corridor, including full-access to its pool, gym, spa, restaurants and bars.

This high-profile development showcases Arora Group’s expertise and leverages the synergies across its property, construction, and hotel divisions.

The end-to-end delivery of the Arora Tower builds on the Group’s expertise in managing the exclusive 34 luxury apartments and penthouses residential development in Berkshire, ‘Charters’ - “One of the last great country houses to be built in Britain” according to Country Life in 1944. It is also the forerunner to an inspirational residential development of 308 apartments including associated public realm improvements and a new railway station gateway at Crawley, West Sussex as part of a wider regeneration scheme of the town centre.

Surinder Arora, Founder and Chairman of the Arora Group said: “Arora Tower is an extremely exciting, large-scale residential scheme which reflects our reputation for building high quality developments. It combines the unique opportunity to benefit from the top-tier services of the connected luxury InterContinental London - The O2hotel with commanding views of Canary Wharf from the prime riverside frontage of the Greenwich Peninsula.

“The successful sale of all of our released apartments reflects the extensive demand for prime-residential apartments in this flourishing zone of London and the appetite for the top-tier amenities offered by the luxury InterContinental London – The O2.

“Completing and opening this landmark tower is a proud moment for the Arora Group and this success lays testament to the breadth and depth of our different divisions’ capabilities. It underlines the group’s growing presence in the residential development sector and we look forward to providing further updates on our growth pipe-line.”

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Real Estate

Deepening New Build Crisis in London: Sales 43% down on Last Year and Huge Increase in New Stock Inner London’s planning pipeline is up 20% since 2013 with 106,208 new units approved for development, while Prime Central London remains largely protected, due to its limited new build potential. New applications are up 27%, with the average price for new developments now standing at £914,532. This includes 111 applications for high rise towers - equivalent to one every three days. Square foot prices, however, are starting to fall - down 8% in Battersea-Nine Elms, compared with a 23% price increase for London as a whole.

ew analysis of LOREMA and Land Registry data by London Central Portfolio (LCP) has shown the deepening new build crisis in Inner London. The number of new developments approved for construction has surged again this year, with a substantial 20% increase in the planning pipeline since 2013, representing 106,208 new units. This pipeline is largely made up of projects in the ‘mega cluster’ areas around Tower Hamlets and south of the river in the now infamous Battersea-Nine Elms stretch, where there is already a proliferation of new developments. This year, a further 33,239 and 18,665 units respectively are now scheduled to be built.

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New applications have also sky rocketed. Applications for 17,494 new units including 111 towers (buildings over 20 storeys) have been submitted, a 27% increase on 2013.

This is equivalent to one new tower application every three days, of which 90% are located in Tower Hamlets and Wandsworth’s Battersea-Nine Elms development.

Despite the ever increasing number of new developments, however, statistics have shown that the attraction of these new properties, where prices now average £914,532, is waning. According to LCP’s analysis of the Government’s Land Registry data, only 1,491 new units have been sold so far this year, a substantial 43% decrease on this time in 2015. This compares with older properties in Inner London where transactions have remained static, 13,194 in 2016 compared with 13,190 over the same period last year. Bringing more bad news for developers, square foot prices have also fallen for new properties. Across the Battersea-Nine Elms stretch, prices are down 8% on their 2014 high. This is in stark contrast to London as a whole where prices are up 23%.

Naomi Heaton, CEO of LCP, comments: “In light of the plethora of tax hits over the last few years, possibly exacerbated by the uncertainty of Brexit, it appears foreign investors, the majority buyer of new developments, may finally be turning away. These properties typically sell at a significant premium, averaging 25%, over older stock.

History demonstrates that a saturation of over-priced commodity-style property leads to softening prices, particularly during times of economic uncertainty. In Tower Hamlets, for example, which undertook an extensive building program before the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), prices took six years to reach parity with their pre-recession level. In contrast in Prime Central London (PCL), where there is very limited new build due to the conservation of its architectural heritage, prices had bounced back by 2010. In a similar fashion, we are again seeing today ‘business as usual’ for older stock.”

According to LCP’s research, just 271 new build sales have been recorded in PCL in the first six months of this year. This limited new build potential protects PCL from the ever growing crisis, which is having a notable drag effect on headline average prices for London, as reported by RICS last week. Sales activity has been normal in PCL this year, with 2,606 properties sold to date, on track with the long term average of 5,213 a year since the GFC. “Whilst no concrete evidence of post-Brexit market dynamics has yet been published, we expect PCL real estate to respond in a broadly similar way as it did during the Global Financial Crisis when the market out-performed almost all other asset classes.

A flight to quality and the security of blue-chip tangible assets will be underpinned by the continuing weakness of Sterling. Alongside this, the attractions of PCL as a centre of culture, excellence and education with absolute rule of law and unequivocal title to property remain undimmed. We firmly believe that these robust market fundamentals will support continued asset appreciation particularly in the mainstream private rented sector. LCP has already seen a 5-fold increase in investment enquiries since the vote” comments Heaton.

For the rest of Inner London, however, falling sales volumes in new developments and the exponentially increasing number of such schemes is causing major concern. This new analysis creates an increasingly worrying picture for areas with a high concentration of new builds, highlighting the ever growing imbalance of supply and demand and a very real concern that falling new build prices will have a knock on effect on the general housing market.

Heaton concludes: “With 51,904 new units slated for Tower Hamlets and Wandsworth alone, this will take a heavy toll on these areas where there is already extensive oversupply and the buying pool is shrinking thanks to ever more tax hikes. In the cluster areas, this could have a detrimental knock-on effect for existing home owners, adversely impacting the value of their own homes as well as the economy as a whole, if the Exchequer’s tax take in all likelihood diminishes”.

Contact: Lauren Awcock, PR Manager on +44(0) 20 7723 1733 or lauren@londoncentralportfolio. com

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Investment

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Investment

Hunter Invests in Barnet Plans for refurbishment of The Spires shopping centre approved H&M announced as anchor

unter Real Estate Investment Managers (Hunter) is set to go ahead with a £7 million investment in The Spires Shopping Centre in Barnet after Barnet Council unanimously approved the scheme at committee. Following the approval, Hunter has announced international fashion brand, H&M, as the occupier for the new 24,540-square foot anchor unit.

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Designed by Leslie Jones Architecture and advised on by Montagu Evans, the approved plans include three new restaurants and contemporary public realm improvements both inside and outside of the 90,000-square foot centre, as well as the new H&M unit.

Andrew Moffat, Fund Manager at Hunter said: “Barnet is one of London’s largest and fastest growing boroughs, as well as the most affluent, but to date the high street has lacked a suitable fashion and restaurant offer. Our plans build on recent refurbishment to deliver an offer suitable for the local catchment, which will help increase footfall and create an evening economy for Barnet’s high street.”

Hunter Real Estate Investment Managers purchased The Spires Shopping Centre in July 2015 on behalf of a North American Institution and these latest proposals build on work already completed at The Spires, including the refurbishment of the main high street entrance which is home to new tenants Carluccio’s and Anytime Fitness. The application continues these works to significantly reposition the Centre and attract strong, aspirational retailers that meet the requirements of Barnet’s affluent shopping population.

Richard Flood, letting agent at KLM Retail, which acted for Hunter, comments further: “We are already seeing good interest from quality brands that are recognising the step change that the refurbishment will herald. There is no doubt that these improvements will enable The Spires to mirror the retail offer present in so many affluent M25 towns.”

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Construction

Specialist Surveys for a Greener Tomorrow Since starting up in 2007, Avian Ecology’s Director Howard Fearn has built a highly successful independent ecology consultancy. The Company’s strong reputation in the renewables and infrastructure sectors has allowed steady diversification of its services and the team now offers expertise across all areas of species and habitat surveys and assessment for all development sectors. oward considers the key to delivering a specialist service is simple. “We help deliver successful projects by integrating business development and the natural environment, working with the whole client team and external interested parties.

Our particular skills lie in delivering workable and sustainable solutions for our clients where wildlife may be affected by a project. We fully understand commercial requirements and aspirations and ensure these are delivered in a robust, compliant and defensible way which minimises costs and risks.

We always provide an adaptive approach and inform clients of all available options; it is our role to find a solution”.

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Ecology consultancy is undergoing significant change, reflecting client markets such as energy and housing, plus of course the evolving nature of legislation and policy and the understandable desire to reduce red tape. The vote for the UK to leave the European Union has led many to think that change is imminent for wildlife legislation; however, as much of the UK wildlife is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and because EU directives are transposed into UK law, it is unlikely that there will be any sudden changes in levels of protection. For the foreseeable future at least, it is business as usual.

The continuing challenge is to enable progressive and sustainable development which benefits society, whilst also conserving and enhancing our natural heritage, which often requires imaginative and innovative approaches. Regardless of the future legislative and planning framework, Avian Ecology will continue to adapt to change and to adopt new innovations.

Ecology can be a critical decision factor for planning applications and development programmes, so early understanding of possible issues, and how to comply with legislation and policy can be crucial to the success of a project. “We provide our clients with pragmatic advice and solutions compatible with the operational needs of a project and work with the entire client team to deliver ecological solutions that are integrated with all aspects of the project design.

Our many returning clients show that our approach works.”

The ecology team prepares Ecological Assessments, Habitat Management Plans as well as BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes reports, and provides aftercare packages such as Ecological Clerks of Work to satisfy Regulators, deliver S106 Agreements and discharge planning conditions. As ecological expertise and experience readily transfers across projects, the team provides a ‘start-to-finish’ service for housing and commercial developments, road and rail schemes, energy and utilities projects as well as public sector commissions.

“Our fastest growing area of work is in the housing and infrastructure sectors, where development continues apace, but in addition over the last three years we successfully delivered ecological support to over 500 large scale solar PV and wind energy schemes across the UK on behalf of over twenty different clients.”

Avian’s wide client list includes Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon Homes, Morris Homes, Keepmoat Ltd., Savills, Pegasus Planning Group, Axis PED, Landmarc Solutions (MoD projects), Emery Planning Partnership, Lightsource, United Utilities, SP Energy Networks, An Bord Pleanála (the Irish planning inspectorate), MouchelFairhurst JV, Burnley and Lancaster City Councils, and a wide range of other developers and public bodies across all sectors.

“Our projects are located across the UK. Whilst Avian’s main office is in Warrington, we also have a satellite office in Glasgow and work regularly in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. In addition to our inhouse team, we are able to draw upon a range of highly skilled associates and sub-contractors and provide experienced ecological surveyors based in the region of the scheme, so minimising costs.”

The Avian team fully understand that relationships are crucial to delivering successful projects “Our extensive experience in negotiating with regulators and non-statutory consultees means we develop strong liaison and consultation relationships, which are often critical to complex or controversial planning applications. Our reputation is strong and, even when we are forced to stand ‘toe-to-toe’ with

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decision makers, then it is done from a point of mutual respect!”

Like any successful business, Avian Ecology keeps a sharp focus on the future, both in terms of changes and also developing markets. “We constantly look ahead to understand emerging policy or legislation along with innovative solutions to conserve biodiversity as part of sustainable development; we are then able to provide our clients with briefings to help them anticipate new requirements or alternative approaches.

For example, great crested newts (GCN) have full legislative protection as a European Protected Species (EPS). Their presence is a material planning consideration for any project which may affect ponds or nearby land across much of the UK. It is important to consider GCN early in any project so as to avoid long, and often unnecessary, delays and costs. After adopting the new Environmental DNA or eDNA survey method as soon as it was approved in 2014, we have the in-depth experience to advise clients of the most effective approach for individual projects and obtaining licences where necessary.”

More recently, as the regulatory focus moves towards a reduction in paperwork-based compliance, Natural England is introducing low impact ‘class’ licences for bats and great crested newts (both European Protected Species) and ‘organisational’ licences to simplify the often lengthy licensing process for participating organisations.

In addition, consultations have taken place regarding possible policy changes which may also change the way developers can deliver species mitigation and compensation in the future. “We are closely involved in these changes, providing commentary and advice so clients can take them into account as part of their forward planning.”

There are many advantages for developers in making ecology and biodiversity an integrated part of their projects; Avian Ecology’s ambition is to find new and better ways to help make this happen.

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Industry Essentials: Ecological Surveys and Management

Company: Avian Ecology Ltd. Email: enquiries@avianecology.co.uk Phone: 0843 506 5116 Web Address: www.avianecology.co.uk Address: Walnut Tree Farm, Northwich Road, Lower Stretton, WA4 4PG, UK Build Magazine

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Construction

Building Bridges with Clients – Mabey Mabey is a leading provider of high-quality modular bridging solutions and non-mechanical construction equipment and services. This British family-owned business employs 800 people in 38 locations worldwide, and with 100 years’ expertise in engineering and design, it provides quality products and personal service to accelerate the construction projects that matter most to the customers and communities it serves. abey has been around long enough to see a dramatic increase in infrastructure investment as a result of rapid urbanisation, rural development and climate change. A company of engineers at heart, Mabey has responded to these market changes through a programme of ongoing product, process and business innovation, and now specialises in rapid-build, pre-engineered, modular steel bridging to develop, improve and repair essential infrastructure not only in rural areas, but in urban areas as well.

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In addition, Mabey delivers permanent and temporary bridging solutions for transport, oil and gas, military, mining and construction applications, as well as for humanitarian emergencies and disaster relief.

“We are proud to have supplied modular bridges to over 140 countries worldwide, to customers such as National Governments, NGOs, global mining corporations and major construction companies,” says Michael Treacy, CEO at Mabey Bridge.

Mabey has indeed achieved close working relationships with its customers, representatives and distributors worldwide to ensure the accelerated development of the solutions and services that matter most to its customers. This has led the company into strategic partnerships with both industry and academia, as Industrial Partners on the Engineering Design Course at Bristol University and Industry Partners at the Cambridge University Centre for Smart Infrastructure. Mabey also holds a range of national and international accreditations and memberships.

As Michael comments, “it is the breadth and depth of these relationships and the knowledge of our people which ensures that the solutions and services we develop are not only innovative, but, more importantly, current and relevant to our customers and their customers and markets, enabling us to maintain success and secure competitive advantage.

“Our consultative approach, our engineering expertise, the knowledge of our people, both locally and globally, and the quality of the relationships we build with our customers throughout the life of the project and beyond is what ensures the success of the projects with which we are involved.”

However, Mabey’s expertise goes far beyond design and manufacture; the family company has established lasting relationships with local designers, contractors and installers worldwide to ensure that the bridge is built exactly to the customer’s specification, as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“We pride ourselves on the comprehensive bridge installation advice we offer our customers in support of their project to ensure that a project is delivered rapidly, safely and trouble-free; our professionally qualified bridge installation advisors are experts in site reconnaissance, planning, logistics, infrastructure development and installation, and have overseen the installation of thousands of bridges worldwide.”

Mabey is also understandably, unquestionably committed to quality. This is visible throughout its business, from its supply chain relationships to its manufacturing and delivery systems, and ultimately its people. “Our focus on quality and innovation is further evidenced by our commitment to ISO 14001.

We continually evaluate our supply chain standards, responsible sourcing policies, site stewardship and manufacturing processes to ensure the most efficient environmental and economic delivery.”

It is Mabey’s far-reaching technical assistance and reliable in-field support, combined with the superior design and modularity of its products, which minimises the need for major on-site work and ensures rapid, safe and trouble-free installation, making it the supplier of choice for modular bridging in over 140 countries across the world. Michael describes but a brief selection of these prolific projects.

“Whether a project is large or small, global or local, publicly or privately funded, Mabey has learnt to

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adapt and to work with customers to deliver the very best solution to solve their specific problems.

“In the UK, our most successful project to date is the Thorney Lane Bridge Project which required the installation of a two-lane, 61 metre span temporary bridge over the main East Coast mainline to allow the contractor to demolish an existing road bridge and reconstruct a new one.

“Internationally, the Sri Lankan Regional Bridge Project is one of our most successful projects to date. Over a five-year period, Mabey supplied and advised on a total of 142 bridges across Sri Lanka.

This ground-breaking endeavour supported the Sri Lankan government’s plan for an island-wide road network at a national, provincial and rural level.

“In the delivery of all of these projects, we remain true to our core values of Safety, Integrity, Respect, Excellence and Service. We apply these values to every aspect of our business and the way we interact with customers, suppliers, representatives and distributors alike, regardless of where in the world they might be.”

From the development of modular bridging systems to advanced research into new materials and Building Information Modelling (BIM), Mabey has always been at the forefront of engineering innovation and has continued to invest in new product development, advanced production equipment and new ventures throughout its history. This looks set to continue into the future, especially in the UK, where the high-profile expansion of the high-speed rail network – known as HS2 – presents the perfect platform for Mabey to showcase its expertise and proven experience.

“Our overall aim is to maintain our position as the modular bridging supplier of choice worldwide.

We intend to do this by leading the way in new product development and ensuring that we have a modular bridge solution for every possible bridging application, urban or rural, single or multi-span, temporary or permanent.”

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The Importance of Bridge Construction

Company: Mabey Email: mail@mabeybridge.com Phone: +44 (0)1291 623801 Web Address: www.mabey.com Address: Unit 9 Lydney Harbour Estate, Harbour Road, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4EJ, UK Build Magazine

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Construction

Securing a Successful Strategy Sunray is the pioneer and industry leader for the design, manufacture and installation of security rated Steel Doors, Louvre Systems and Window Grilles. Through continuous innovation the product range provides project solutions for a diverse range of applications from Steel Fire Doors to Security rated Louvres essential to the fabric of both new and existing buildings. We invited Managing Director, Sean Ballard to talk us through the firm’s range of solutions and the techniques it employs to ensure clients are always satisfied.

ith such a comprehensive portfolio Sunray is able to meet and often exceed specification requirement of steel doors and as such is specified across the UK from Architects to Top Tier Contractors, all of whom rely upon Sunray for bespoke, engineered quality products and dependable service.

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The range is designed and manufactured at the company’s large site in Ashford, Kent.

Sean explains how the business creates unique and innovative products designed to meet client needs and project solutions.

“Sunray takes a different approach when we look at how our products and services are provided to our customers.

(BRE) and the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB) so we comply and meet the Loss Prevention Standards (LPS) 1175 Issue 7, from levels 1-6.

These standards ensure the product meets an extremely high levels of intruder resistance, yet with aesthetics to blend and enhance without compromise to building security. We can offer our range in any RAL colour so that our element of the build process can blend in, our be part of a product colour signature, for instance on new build projects where design is key.

With emphasis on quality and service, Sunray runs a stringent Integrated Management System (IMS), incorporating ISO 14001 (environmental management), ISO 9001 (quality management) and OHSAS 18001 (health and safety) certifications. This set of tightly managed

We have a high referral rate based on taking a professional, flexible and pro-active approach to our clients and ensure the product meets project criteria through consultative dialogue. The fact that each project is bespoke means we will often need to react and respond quickly to meet project timescales with delivery and installation, and as we have all services in house and employed including our installation teams, means we are able to facilitate to demand. This level of control ensures we have some of the best lead times within the industry.

Sunray continues to lead the market for Steel Security rated Doors, Louvres and Grilles and each product has undergone vigorous third-party test programs by the British Research Establishment

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disciplines ensures that all processes, products and services are delivered in strict accordance with our QA guidelines.

We are proud to be one of the few UK companies to hold all three aforementioned accreditations, and this demonstrates our commitment to the exceptional levels of service we provide.

Sean emphasises that despite the uncertainty in the political arena, the future for Sunray is bright, however the focus must be on continued innovation and reaction to market needs.

Security requirements and enhanced Building Regulations will continue to be of great importance for the construction industry, therefore our portfolio will continue to expand to meet the growing project complexity, diversity and required expertise from our customer base.

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Ones to Watch for 2016: Construction

Company: Sunray Engineering Ltd. Name: Yana Rodwell Email: yana.rodwell@sunraydoors.co.uk Web Address: www.sunraydoors.co.uk Address: Kingsnorth Industrial Estate, Wotton Road, Ashford, Kent TN23 6LL Telephone: 01233 639039

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Skills, Not Brexit, the Main Threat to Construction Industry w

orsening skills shortages, rather than uncertainty over Brexit, are the main threat to the UK construction industry, according to One Way.

A number of commentators have suggested that the main threat to the industry is the knock on effects of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. However, an analysis by the construction and rail recruitment specialist found that a lack of skills poses the biggest potential risk to future productivity.

Paul Payne, managing director of One Way, comments.

“While numerous people have suggested that Brexit presents challenges to the construction industry, the idea is actually a bit of a red herring and we’ve seen little change since the result except for some natural hesitation brought on by the ‘Armageddon scenarios’ being pumped into the market. We’re as busy now as we were before the referendum, and the real issue – the crippling lack of skilled professionals in this country – is being overlooked because of all the noise around Brexit.”

“Yes, the construction industry has benefitted from being part of the EU, as it has given the sector access to a lot of workers who have moved over and have filled lower skilled roles. However, we’ve never seen any great influx of skilled professionals who can work as design managers or quantity surveyors, for example. These people are needed across the entire industry and in related fields like civil engineering, and currently there are far, far too few of them. More robust and well-prepared hiring firms like ourselves will always have the resources to be able to pluck individual experts from the EU, regardless of changes to freedom of movement laws, but in reality there is no quick fix.

“The only solution is to focus on ‘growing our own’, for example, through targeting more apprentices and youngsters at school level, as well as widening the scope of people who are potentially interested in working in the industry to include more women and professionals from diverse backgrounds. Even at the moment when there are a number of major projects being put on hold there simply aren’t enough people in the market to meet demand. Imagine what the situation will be like when the economy picks up and they’re given the green light.

“Ultimately, something needs to happen quickly as we’re rapidly approaching a breaking point, where productivity will be affected.”

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Construction

Building the Digital Skyscraper

By Jason Ruddle, Chief Operating Officer, Elecosoft

oday’s construction creates buildings and structures of which their predecessors could only dream. Modern engineering and materials are enabling buildings which are taller, bridges which are longer, and architectural achievements which are changing the face of cities.

It’s not the only change, as builders are also adapting to globalisation with more international, multi-geographical contracting. Many multinational construction and engineering groups are going from strength to strength. Business and, particularly, project leadership are becoming increasingly tough roles.

awareness, but report against key business metrics using dashboard insights.

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Adding an extra dimension is the rapid evolution of BIM and digital construction.

While business leaders look at the long term implications of digital construction change, not to mention the rising challenges of being in business in a digital economy, project leaders are already grappling with the transition to BIM working.

Today, not only must senior project leaders oversee challenging projects, or direct multiple projects in different places, they must have an eye to collaborative working with competitors, suppliers and subcontractors too.

Project leaders must now manage a multitude of construction challenges comprising increasingly complex projects, and collaboration.

Contractor businesses rely on the ability of their project leadership to not miss a step, and deliver every project on time, on budget. So, the need to rely upon a single, shared version of the truth of the state of a build or project has never been greater. The importance of project data as a company asset has never been higher, either, meaning that its integrity must be protected and secured – at the same time as ensuring that the right people have access to the project management tools and information to keep everything on track.

Larger projects require larger teams of planners who may work in geographically distributed zones or hold different responsibilities. For distributed infrastructure services, such as the highways maintenance and street lighting management services provided by Skanska, this is certainly the case. Skanska’s chief planner for Infrastructure Services, Graham Roebuck, explains: “we may have 200 different critical paths which don’t interact at all, yet we need to monitor and track resources and cash-flow within the whole contract.” With the help of our Asta Powerproject enterprise solution, all his team can now immediately see the impact of amends to the project plan and quickly come up with a collaborative solution.

Connected multi-site and multi-use developments require individual project programmes; the shape of a programme for a high rise tower of flats will be very different for that of a mixed-use commercial and leisure complex, yet the two may often be running in tandem under the aegis of a single main contractor and contract. For example, Mace, the contractor responsible for creating the Shard, might at any time be managing a vast array of disparate projects. Teams can share dependencies on shared services or infrastructure, requiring logical links between disparate project programmes that show vital information to individual project planners. FM Conway, the infrastructure services company, uses our enterprise product to share information more easily as well as keep track of 2000 staff, more than 4000 vehicles and plant for up to 500 projects.

Making the transition from individual tools to a project platform with a centralised project data repository can usually be smooth. This may require training and a slight adjustment in working practices, though this can be helped with commitment and focus and a good supplier to assist you through the process. There may be a need for training around the protocols of a new platform, no matter how similar to the standalone application. This aims to support the business, not just projects; each company is different and may need further support to ensure that the PM software aligns with its ways of working so if choosing this approach it is best to select a provider with a good support team available to help with transition and development of customization as required. This could include creating templates or custom integration with enterprise systems of record, such as ERP. The benefits that come from a project-centric business’ transition to a more holistic way of working include not just the ability to see into and manage individual projects effectively or for managers to see multiple projects at once. It is also an opportunity to move the company further along the path towards digital construction, by embracing more digital technology benefits into current operations. This might be making sure every site manager can quickly track and report back progress via a mobile app, or enabling collaboration and joint decision-making by team members because they can all see the same information at the same time, on site or in the office. Project information flow becomes easier within teams. Project leaders can more easily set up access for important partners, or export and share information easily to other constituents such as sub-contractors. Everyone’s ability to contribute to project success and to meet deadlines is enhanced.

Digital technologies are transforming the construction industry and giving it new opportunities to be successful. The software sector is supporting this in several ways: not just developing new solutions but shaping up existing ones to work more closely together. Not only must they now integrate and inter-operate, to enable the flow of data between different disciplines, but do more to help business effectiveness too. BIM has already driven 3D CAD and project management closer together, giving rise to powerful, fully integrated 4D project management views. We have already evolved that view even further into a 5D solution that helps companies plan and manage costs in a way that is fit for the future.

The digital transformation of construction has more than broken ground – it is starting to rise and is several storeys high. Organisations are starting to take on board emerging technologies to help them improve how they manage projects on an enterprise-wide level – and they must continue to do so if they are to realise their full skyscraper business potential. By fully embracing digital construction the industry will keep rising to the challenge and find better, more efficient ways to manage complex project management data.

The major projects or contracts director of a full services group operating in multiple countries may hold high- level responsibility for numerous dissimilar developments underway at the same time. Easy access to a high level view of each as-built project plan and visualisations can help them not only maintain

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Construction

Brexit Comment on Self-Build and Property Sector hat is the immediate impact of Brexit on the housebuilding sector?

This remains to be seen, but as long as there is a period of uncertainty, people are likely to put off making big decisions like house purchases or taking on a major self-build project or an extension. I suspect those with a project already underway, or very close to starting, will carry on with their plans regardless. The impact is not likely to be felt for a year or two, but until there is some clarity and visibility in terms of the direction in which the economy is going to go and the impact that Brexit will have on the wider economy – and therefore the housing market – I think there will be a pause while people put off major decisions.

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What do you think is the long-term impact of Brexit on construction?

The impact will be immediate because a huge amount of British construction materials are imported from Europe, and purchased in Euros. The pound has already devalued post-Brexit, so materials are therefore going to cost more. If you then add in shipping costs, material prices will inevitably increase which will drive up construction costs. Labour costs will probably pause immediately if people put projects on hold and there is less demand for construction work. In the longer term, if there are strict rules on immigration which don’t allow skilled construction workers to come into this country, there will be less people available to build. This means that labour prices will increase until training programmes and apprenticeships are stepped up and we are able to train enough British workers to undertake the construction work that we need in the housebuilding sector.

What do you think is the impact on the custom and self-build sector?

In the short term, some people will wait to see what happens to the economy and the political direction of the country – certainly until we are given some idea of what Brexit Britain will look like. If it is a fairly minimal change then I suspect things will stabilise fairly quickly, as long as we also retain passporting for financial services.

What should self-builders who are mid-project do following the EU referendum results?

Those who see their home as somewhere to live – a long-term project and not a short-term investment- are carrying on as usual, and that would be my advice if you are considering a custom build, self-build or home improvement project.

People with long-term projects are carrying on as usual. If you are looking to speculate and make a short-term gain, then you might pause to see how Brexit goes and look for more visibility on the direction of the economy and the housing market. Depending on how things pan out, house prices might stay flat or fall slightly and interest rates may have to increase to fight inflation. For those planning a project for a long-term home, I think short-term fluctuations in house prices are a secondary consideration, so having the right house should come first and foremost over any short-term gain.

Olivia Sandu Ash Communications 39 Ludgate Hill London EC4M 7JN Telephone: +44 (0)20 7248 5846 Twitter: @ashcomms E: olivia@ashcommunications.com W: www.ashcommunications.com

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Construction

Dispelling the Myths of Single Ply J

im Hooker, the Single Ply Roofing Association’s Technical Director, looks at the recent growth of single ply roofing technology, dispels some of the most common myths surrounding it and examines why the demand for it now is higher than ever before.

Single ply roofing membrane has been widely used in the UK and across the globe since the 1970’s, often a common component for large scale industrial projects including airports and sports arenas mostly due to its proven durability, versatility, design and speed of installation. And for this reason, it is now becoming increasingly popular in residential roofing projects including new builds, extensions and refurbishments. Yet despite this growing popularity people still remain wary of it. Why? This article will look at what single ply is, how it can be used in projects of all sizes, and importantly, dispel some of the lingering myths that dissuade some customers used to more traditional materials.

What is single ply?

Single ply membranes are made from oil and converted into flexible highly durable polymers which are then processed into large sheets and supplied either rolled or folded. Products are up to 2mm in thickness and may also include an internal reinforcement and/or fleece backing and are laid in a single layer.

MYTH 5 – It’s difficult to get insurance for single ply roofs. This was true in the past and there was definite reluctance from insurers to recognise the scale, diversity and reliability of single ply. For many online brokers, there is simply no option if a substantial area of the roof is covered in single ply membrane (or other modern technologies). This has now been resolved through SPRA’s collaboration with GGFi2 to develop a new insurance product which offers protection to work carried out using SPRA member products and contractors.

In summary single ply technology is a highly resource-efficient, lightweight waterproofing solution whose rapid growth is largely due its versatility, durability and low environmental impact in comparison to other types of membrane waterproofing. Furthermore, it’s easy to install with very little disruption as setting out and attachment are very straightforward and because the materials used are generally lightweight it is generally possible to refurbish on the existing structure.

Yet for all this lingering myths and misinformation about usage and performance have probably held it back from achieving its full potential. It’s time the construction industry dispelled these myths once and for all, helping single ply to achieve its full potential as a cornerstone of modern roofing solutions.

The Single Ply Roofing Association (SPRA) is the industry’s UK trade association promoting employment and training within the sector and well as providing guidance to all users and specifiers of single ply roofing systems in addition to co-operating with other trade bodies for the purpose of improving the UK roofing industry.

According to a report published by AMA Research1 at the end of 2015 single ply membranes accounted for almost a third of the UK flat roofing market and the same report predicted that longer term, the sector is expected to show higher than average growth. Yet for this level of growth to continue some of the common myths surrounding single ply must be dispelled. Below are five such myths and explanations designed to dispel them once and for all:

1 - The ‘Roofing Market Report – UK 2015-2019 by AMA Research www.amaresearch.co.uk 2- GGFi Approved single ply roofing insurance - http://www.ggfi.org.uk/ 3 BRE Green Guide to Specification - https://www.bre.co.uk/greenguide/

MYTH 1 – Single ply is only suitable for flat roofs Single ply offers many advantages over more traditional products: because single ply can be attached directly to supporting deck or more likely combined with insulation so it’s suited to any design challenge and roof shape from flat to pitched including curved and spherical. There are three methods of attachment – mechanically fastened, adhered and ballasted – giving the designer a wide freedom of choice in appearance and speed of installation.

MYTH 2 – Single ply doesn’t last as long as other types of membrane roofing All Single Ply Roofing Association members’ products are independently certificated for durability in the range 25-40 years. There are working examples in mainland Europe in excess of 40 years; in the UK some of the earliest projects will soon be this old. In comparison, the durability of other types of membrane waterproofing is typically a maximum of twenty-five years.

MYTH 3 – Single ply works well for every type of building While single ply is very versatile and works well on most building types and shapes it isn’t the answer to everything and isn’t usually recommended for plant rooms with directly mounted heavy equipment, or balconies that were used as temporary storage during construction. In addition, some single ply membranes aren’t always compatible with other waterproofing solutions unless they’re separated by an approved weatherproof detail so it’s best to get advice from the manufacturer beforehand.

MYTH 4 – Single ply has high environmental impact Because of their lightness and single layer application, single ply membranes are highly resource efficient and transport costs are low. Simple attachment processes reduce construction energy. A combination of extended durability and zero maintenance (except for checks of rainwater outlets and so on) minimises inservice energy and resource use. The BRE Green Guide3 offers the highest class rating (A+, indicating least environmental impact) for single ply membrane in the popular warm roof configuration on steel and timber panel decks. Many single ply membranes are also readily reprocessed into secondary products or recycled.

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Finance

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Finance

Beating the Brexit Blues with New Funding Models for Build-To-Rent Howard Crocker - Managing Director at Delph

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he construction and property industries are clearly still assessing the challenges ahead following the vote to leave the EU. Change is the order of the day and housebuilders must move with the times to survive.

Because we are so confident in PRS, we are making £500 million available over the next five years for development finance for new-build housing projects outside of London. We do this with the full knowledge that certain banks and other financial institutions are less than willing to provide finance for development outside London and the South East. We’re prepared to finance housing schemes outside of London, where the banks are not.

Regional housebuilders in particular face an uncertain future and housing schemes without finance could now be at considerable risk. This is unfortunate since the dynamics of the housing market remain essentially the same – that is, poor supply combined with high demand. The spectre of a housing slump looms large with some pockets of London and the South East already at a standstill – but there is a glimmer of hope in the form of build-to-rent.

For housebuilders and construction firms, the UK’s cyclical property market has typically resulted in a famine or feast existence. All signs seem to suggest that following Brexit, the wheel has taken the first turn in a downward direction. I think the high end residential market in London will be knocked back and developers may be forced to look to the regions. There are opportunities outside of London and the South East and we are confident our success will show them the way in time.

The private rented sector has taken off in recent years with developers, corporate landlords and institutions moving into this area. City centre apartments are increasingly attractive to young professionals and there is a strong demand for good quality, high specification rental properties. Tenants want professionally managed, attractive and secure housing both in the Capital and regionally.

w: delphgroup.com t: +44(0) 20 7907 5555 e: info@delphgroup.com

Regional cities provide great prospects for fantastic returns and offer investment potential, fuelled by a housing shortage and strong local economies. We have discovered that there is significant demand for well-located and well-connected city developments right across the UK and PRS is the perfect housing solution for young professionals attracted to urban living and all that entails. These types of developments are also a hit with private investors seeking a secure return.

I believe we can mitigate the impact of Brexit on the housing market and we can offer small regional housebuilders and construction firms’ assistance with an alternative to traditional bank finance.

Housebuilders need access to a menu of funding models that benefit all parties – allowing housebuilders and developers to build with secure financial terms and low interest costs, while eliminating marketing and sales costs. These models include: •

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Forward funding – under which a development is purchased before construction has started and staged payments are given throughout the build process.

Off plan schemes – Delph can offer large deposits of up to 40% , enabling builders and developers to secure better funding terms with the their banks and save on sales and marketing costs.

Completed stock purchasing – to allow developers to move quickly on to their next project Pre-purchase partnering – allowing builders and developers to pre-sell units prior to exchanging on a site which may not only help secure the deal but significantly improve cash flow and eliminate any sales risk.

Each model provides the developer with a guaranteed exit, allowing them to move quickly onto their next development upon completion of their current one. This proposition to housebuilders and developers is one that secures better financial terms through reducing interest rate charges, increasing loan to value gearings and giving access to a wider choice of lenders. Following this approach, we have managed to grow sustainably to amass one of the largest privately-owned private rented sector portfolio in the UK, with some 1,700 units either in the portfolio or in the pipeline, and we have plans to reach 3,000 units in the near future.

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Finance

Housebuilder Shares Rise to Defy Brexit Fears hile the recent Brexit vote sent initial shocks through national and international markets, the FTSE 100 has since recovered, and new figures suggest that the rumours of a sharp and dismal demise were greatly exaggerated. Nowhere is this more abundantly clear than in the construction industry, and many prominent housebuilding firms reflect a rise in their share prices.

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Persimmon, the biggest single company in the sector, yesterday recorded a 2.5 per cent rise at 1,918 points in mid-morning trading on the second consecutive day of big wins for the construction industry on the FTSE. Barratt, likewise, was up 2.7 per cent at 499.3p, while Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley Group reported rises of around 2 per cent.

These recoveries are promising starts for the UK’s leading housebuilding firms, after they suffered at the initial trauma of the Brexit vote on 24th June; Berkeley’s share prices fell by almost 20 per cent in the aftershock, while Permisson plummeted by almost 40 per cent. Yesterday’s figures serve as a cheery sign of restoring not only revenues and share prices, but also the confidence of investors and prospective homebuyers in the UK. While the figures have certainly proved divisive over their long-term impact, many have pointed out that cancellation rates actually declined in the weeks after the Brexit vote – with ‘sales rates and visitor numbers up strongly, Persimmon at least look to remain in rude health at present’, said George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

It is true that in the week following the referendum, customer cancellations for viewings rose slightly, as scepticism took an early hold. This shake in investor confidence appears to have subsided since then, however, and finance director Mike Killoran has noted that, in Persimmon’s case, ‘given the we are seeing on the sites from visitor traffic and people genuinely wanting to buy, we can see no reason why we wouldn’t see that [autumn] seasonality continue.

‘All the feedback we are getting from sites is that given the market we are in and the product we are offering … there is a great desire to buy.’

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Sustainability & Eco

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Sustainability & Eco

Success and Sustainability Cross Trade is a German based company and a leading importer for tropical wood. Since starting up 6 years ago, they have been providing timber and timber based products to a wide range of clients within the industry. We speak to Managing Director, Klaus Schmidt, to find out more about how the company has become such a major player in the industry, after only a relatively short period of time. e are a full member of the FSC International and of the FSC Germany, and we are fully committed to protecting all of the natural habitats that contribute to the forests that we source from, and thus, helping to protect our industry as a whole. It is, of course, in our interest to support the sustainable and ecological use of forests which will produce wood for future generations. This is why, as far as possible, we will only use wood and wood products from FSC certified products.

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“This features mainly in our overall aim which is to protect the forest by giving it value, by buying legal and certified products; our Natural Cladding product is the symbiosis of the responsibility we feel to do this, and responsible ecology”.

Klaus was keen to talk about Cross Trade’s Natural Cladding product, a fairly recent development by the company that they are very excited about.

“Natural Cladding is a virtually knot-free, clear-grade hardwood, which provides excellent durability and exceptional stability. It is produced using the latest thermal modification process, which involves applying heat, steam and pressure to the timber, and reduces the ability of cells within the timber structure to absorb water, compared to non-modified timber. This enhances the timber’s dimensional stability, thereby avoiding cupping and overall movement.

frustrating when they do not see the benefits that a new product offers, but you have to allow the product to speak for itself to a certain extent.

To achieve this, we work closely with our clients and our industry peers, so that we truly understand what is required in the market place.

“We make it our mission to persuade customers to use our service because of our commitment to the conservation of tropical rainforests and to educate them on the social responsibility of the local population, thus ensuring the best possible outcome for both the environment and our clients.

“We know that wood, a wonderful and naturally renewable resource will continue to find more use. As such, the demand for wood from sustainable forests will increase. All of our staff have long-standing experience as specialists for wood import and export, and to some extent have gained experience working in the main wood exporting countries of West Africa, USA and Asia. Owing to our knowledge of the trade, we can react quickly to market demand, and expect to be able to utilise these skills in the future.

“Our overall aim is to make the society think. We are one of the very few in our industry who do not just talk about ecology, but who are acting on it to the best of our ability. For decades we have been engaged in sourcing tropical hardwoods, so the conditions of the tropical rainforest are well known to us. We know that illegal trade is the worst killer of the tropical rainforest”.

Asked about what sets Cross Trade apart, Klaus replied that it is their ability to maintain their place as the leading importer of FSC approved tropical hardwood for the German speaking markets.

“Our firm has a proactive approach to innovation, and rather than waiting for, and then reacting to, industry developments, we try to stay ahead of them.

“As such, our Natural Cladding is particularly desirable for projects that require a high degree of stability and/or a consistent colour with a knot-free look. Our Natural Cladding is warm brown in colour, with subtle figuring which creates a look that is reminiscent of teak. If left untreated, Natural Cladding will weather more quickly than unmodified timbers, and the end result will be a beautiful silver/grey tone to the cladding.

“We have previously mentioned our commitment to environmental causes; our Natural Cladding provides all the positive aspects of timber cladding, but does not include all the negative aspects of other timber products. It does not have knots, does not produce resin, twist, bow, cup or split, and instead it provides long lasting durability.

“One of the most important things we have learnt whilst working on this project is that you must be completely patient with clients. Sometimes it can be

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“Looking towards the future, we hope to continue to utilise modern technology and processing techniques to develop new products that are made out of wood, so as to help reduce the consumption of plastic and other environmentally hazardous material. We also intend further development of our Natural Cladding range, and to continue to give each of our future projects a high-quality character which we will be proud to associate ourselves with”.

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Spotlight: Green Growth in Europe

Company: Cross Trade GmbH Name: Klaus Schmidt Email: info@cross-trade.eu Web Address: www.cross-trade.eu Address: Am Fallturm 7, D- 28359 Bremen Telephone: +49 421 2468789 0 Build Magazine

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Sustainability & Eco

A Legacy of Quality: Terraplas Terraplas is the market leader for Turf Protection, having pioneered the concept of ‘Turf Protection’, as opposed to simply ‘turf covers’, over 25 years ago. Offering a comprehensive range of products to suit any environment and accommodate varying budgets – from Entry Level to Very Heavy Duty – they have a product to suit any client’s specific requirements.

As the company boasts, “No Matter the Climate, Location or Event, Terraplas has the Ultimate Solution”. hen Terraplas was first established in 1990 by Robert Else, this fledging company worked closely alongside professionals at the old Wembley Stadium in London, to develop the original terraplas® product. Robert Else looks back on this seminal work with pride: “Wembley Stadium was then, as it is still to this day, one of the busiest concert and event venues worldwide.”

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The development of terraplas® was designed to address the very specific needs of a stadium wishing to hold sports events and concerts in quick succession, with the need to maintain the quality of their ‘hallowed turf’ pitch.

As the story goes, Wembley’s original terraplas® system was sold to a rental company when the stadium was demolished for rebuilding. That system is still in use today, and is rented out on a very regular basis – a true demonstration of the longevity of Terraplas’ products. “Our quality of materials and the consistency of our professional design fully justifies why our prices are not as low as our competitors. In fact, having seen the accomplishment of Terraplas, they have been trying to mimic this, without much success,” states Robert.

face in their industry, remarking upon the process from his expert perspective on materials, effective costing, and practical manufacturing.

“The cost of a system,” he explains, “is not limited to the initial purchase price; all of the ongoing costs must be considered, especially for projects of such a scale as a football stadium. For example, all of Terraplas’ tiles are pre-assembled in panels of an optimum size that can be handled by two people for fitting and lifting, whilst also covering as much area as possible with each panel. This means that compared to fitting single tiles – which often happens with other products – Terraplas can cover around four square metres with each panel, depending on which product, making fitting and lifting around four times faster, saving a huge amount of labour costs in the process.

“Additionally, knowing that the product has a long lifespan means that they do not have to go through the extensive process of researching a new system every couple of years. Nor, incidentally, do they need to replace broken panels under normal usage of the system.”

Today, having flourished since that initial big break, the reputation of Terraplas is self-evident. Robert’s proud statements, attesting to the prestige that his enterprise has gained, speaks volumes of his ambitions and the realisation of his business goals. “The name ‘Terraplas’ is synonymous with ‘turf protection’ and has become the generic term – like Hoover is to vacuum cleaners, Kleenex is to tissues and Coke is to cola drinks. Almost all of the world’s multi-purpose national stadiums have chosen Terraplas ahead of the competition. The quality of our products is evident in their continual outstanding performance and proven lifespan. Virtually every system that Terraplas has sold in its 25 years is still in use today – an unmatchable demonstration of why it is better to buy the best that the industry has to offer.”

Robert considers the practicalities that Terraplas must

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Terraplas’ products, made from translucent highdensity polyethylene (HDPE), can be found in an increasing number of arenas, and that is not simply down to the sheer longevity of the product – since first introducing terraplas® to the market in 1991, their range has diversified to incorporate different panel types suitable for a variety of functions. terracover-ICE®, as the name would suggest, is designed as an ice conversion covering, but is also truly multifunctional. Being able to support ice hockey one day, basketball the next, then a concert, mass gathering or exhibition the day after, has generated considerable additional revenue streams for Terraplas’ clients through being able to field a greater range of spectator events.

In addition, the terratrak® family of products is Terraplas’ strongest, most cost-effective flooring solution. The full four-inch overlap between each panel does away with fragile joining loops, also incorporating a series of locating bosses. This design, as well as giving unrivalled strength, acts as a barrier to stop liquids from penetrating to the grass, ensuring that there is no damage to the turf.

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Terraplas’ attention to detail and experience in this specialised market, Robert claims, is second to none, with each system being configured to match the client’s particular needs, ensuring a system that always fits the bill. He says: “Terraplas fully understands the challenges that stadiums face on a daily basis, in order to keep them in use as long as possible. We have extensive knowledge of how turf protection systems and quality turf both interact with one another. We are therefore able to provide guidance and support to the Groundsmen who need to maintain their playing surfaces, whilst the venue has the opportunity to raise considerable additional revenue from concerts and other events.

“It is a well-established fact in the business that a concert event can generate at least twice the revenue of a sports event, so it is vital that stadiums have access to the best turf protection possible, in order to be able to address both aspects without detriment to either.”

Terraplas’ noted presence and valuable contributions in the market has made them a well-recognised entity, and this has drawn the attention of some of the biggest, most authoritative names in the industry, around whom stadium sports and events revolve. Terraplas has become a stadium partner with the European Stadium & Safety Management Association (ESSMA) and the Event Stadium Suppliers Group (ESSG), both of whom are highly reputable organisations within the industry.

Through these partnerships, Terraplas has the ideal platform from which to further increase their profile, as Robert explains: “It allows us to participate in their various events throughout the year, which gives us oneto-one contact with the people that matter; particularly the Turf Managers who have a vested interest in getting the very best solution for their stadium requirements, as the buck stops with them as far as maintenance of the playing surface quality is concerned. This makes establishing relationships with them one of our highest priorities.”

Being the pioneers in modern turf protection construction and provision, Terraplas cannot afford to be complacent – indeed, their business ethic continues in the same bold, innovative spirit with which it began in 1990, as Robert explains: “Being the market leader keeps us on our toes. We are constantly monitoring our clients’ requirements to match with our designs and materials. We employ a continuous research and development programme to ensure we are always ahead of the game. Stadiums are subject to constantly changing requirements, so we have to be flexible enough to both anticipate and react well to these changes, and be ready to supply them with whatever alternative they desire.”

Owing to their successes over the last 26 years, Terraplas is now a valued part of the internationally renowned ‘Checkers Safety Group’, manufacturers of Yellow Jackets and Ground Guards, amongst many other products. Cabling channelling systems such as these are widely used in stadiums and arenas internationally. Recent acquisitions by Checkers Safety Group means that their portfolio now encompasses not only their own extensive range of safety products, but also a huge variety of heavy-duty outdoor matting products, commercial flooring mats and parking safety products. The prestigious range of Terraplas quality turf protection products take pride of place among them.

As Robert comments: “This new structure provides a comprehensive support mechanism for Terraplas and the sister companies going forward; their close involvement with this leading organisation signals a hopeful future, as it becomes easier for future products to incorporate these two crucial aspects of construction.”

Company: Linebacker UK Ltd t/a Terraplas Email: terraplas@checkers-safety.com Phone: +44 (0)1332 812813 Web Address: www.terraplas.com Address: The Barn, Hall Farm House, High Street, Castle Donington, Derby, DE74 2PP, UK. Build Magazine

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Time for Clarity

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heresa May’s newly appointed Government must deliver a clear, cohesive energy strategy to prevent dwindling investor confidence from impacting our energy targets, says Andy King, director of energy for Sweco UK.

Despite record employment levels and impressive growth in recent years, a sustained period of political uncertainty has led to a loss of confidence from some renewable energy investors.

Wind power is still attracting interest from investors, followed closely by energy storage and district heating/combined heat and power (CHP), a big development area that can significantly help meet the UK’s carbon commitments. The UK continues to explore the potential of interconnectors too; huge, high-voltage transmission cables which allow electricity to flow from one country to another.

All is not lost of course; Sweco is involved with projects across all of these technologies and it is clear that the interest in renewable energy remains from some investors.

WindEurope reports €14bn of investment in European offshore wind projects in the first half of 2016, split across seven projects and financing a total of 3.7GW of new clean energy capacity. Crucially, roughly three quarters of this investment relates to UK projects.

Even before Brexit, investor confidence in the energy sector was suffering from a lack of coherent energy policy, with sudden and numerous policy changes.

The Conservative Government has failed to keep Coalition promises about renewable energy strategy, with a lack of long term vision, no transparency and mixed messages from Whitehall all adding to the confusion. While the Government maintains that spending on clean energy should be curbed to “protect hard working families”, a report published by Conservative think-tank Bright Blue in June has said that renewables must be the government’s ‘Plan B’ if the (again) delayed Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant does not come to fruition.

However, the need for clarity has never been greater and until the confusion clears, opportunities will be limited. Now is the time for the Government to show its energy credentials.

It is no wonder there is a loss of confidence in the investment community; in May, the UK fell to an all-time low of 13th in the annual Ernst & Young ‘Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index’, which ranks countries according to how attractive they are to investors. The Government’s ‘non-committal approach’ and ‘track record of U-turns’ was blamed.

Now, of course, we have the added uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote, not to mention a new Prime Minister and the immediate dismantling of the Department of Energy & Climate Change. Will Theresa May’s newly appointed Cabinet use independence as a chance to reduce our targets for clean energy production?

Only time will tell.

Whatever the long term implications, it is clear that in the short-medium term the political chaos is affecting investor confidence, which is bad news for the energy sector and for those involved at all stages of energy infrastructure projects.

In a survey undertaken by Sweco at All-Energy 2016 (before Brexit), almost half of respondents believed the UK will fall short of its commitments to the 2020 climate and energy package. It is important now to focus on building renewable capacity to meet our carbon and green energy targets, but only 36 per cent of respondents said they are planning to invest in a renewable energy related project in the next 12 months - citing a lack of coherent energy policy as the biggest barrier.

So what must be done? Above all else, we need transparent, properly consulted and longer-term political support mechanisms to provide the stability needed for the long-term investments. If that can be achieved, the good news is that there are a number of proven energy generation technologies which can make a real difference.

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With over 25 years experience in the industry we offer a comprehensive range of surfacing nationwide: • • • •

Play surfaces Sports surfaces Gravel surfaces Structural surfaces

DCM source premium materials for all products and directly employ highly trained installation experts who pride themselves on consistently providing the highest quality finishes.

All DCM installation teams are DBS checked and approved and hold CSCS cards.

To arrange a site visit, or for a quotation contact us today 01772 440340

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Tech

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Tech

Imagination and Aspiration The minds behind Imagine Computation, Martin Manegold and Dominik Zausinger, are fascinated by the possibilities opened up by modern manufacturing technologies.

Founding Imagine Computation was an opportunity for these business partners to establish an environment in which the creative potential of complex designs become reality by means of modern technology. Today, their 3D planning and optimised CNC-manufacturing processes stand to take full advantage of the new BIM practices sweeping the industry. aving entered the market into the industry before the BIM trend got underway afforded Imagine Computation a number of advantages when it came to developing their early business. The level of involvement that their computerised solutions delve into touch every facet of their clients’ construction requirements, as Dominik elaborates.

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“For every project we develop individual software, which generates a complete 3D-model. From that we derive all production data for CNC-manufacturing.

This direct data link between 3d model and machine ensures a maximum of planning reliability and creates logical assembly systems. On-site readjustments become unnecessary.

“The production process is virtually simulated and optimized before the actual manufacturing begins.

Only then, the generation of the individual production data for the machines follows. The programming enables us to automate planning to a large extent.

That guarantees precision and flexibility, allowing the planning of larger quantities of individual components at low additional expenses.”

“We develop solution concepts true to details for all phases of the project - made to measure and with modern technical approaches. Each work process creates standardized procedures for routine tasks.

Major parts can be controlled by computers and therefore can be optimized and automated. We analyse work processes and develop bespoke software for neuralgic aspects to optimize the processes. Mostly as individual extensions of existing software on the basis of .Net API.” In particular, the Imagine Group pride themselves on their malleable strategies; this is something that Dominik believes makes them a distinguishing force in the market, and makes them better suited to cope with changing circumstances as the market continues to shift under the growing influence of BIM strategies.

This process is particularly aided by their forwardthinking attitude towards automotive technology.

“In computational design we develop algorithms which lead to a design result. That facilitates an indirect influence on the result, the control over complex dependencies and the comparative implementation of numerous design variations in short time spans.

“By programming spatial structures and writing our own 3D-software plugins, we are very flexible in planning routines for very special building components. Therefore, we can automate parts of the planning processes which could not be done with traditional building software and go beyond their limitations. Whenever you have a complex facade which hundreds or thousands individually unique components combined with a high demand for precision you should opt on our solutions.”

These flexible strategies make Imagine Computation better able to adjust to varying levels of complexity in their projects. “For the implementation of complex designs with CNC-machines we identify technological obstacles before the production and find individual, working solutions. Due to our experience in CADplanning, automation and CNC-manufacturing we can assess which implementation is suitable for a project and assist in the implementing of complex designs true to the original shape.”

To further their impact within the market, Dominik and the members of his group also disseminate their knowledge and experience through lectures at conferences and multiple German universities. By spreading their knowledge within a large network of cooperating companies, befriending teachers of universities and other industry professionals along the way, Dominik has arrived at a set of overall aims, reflecting Imagine’s past successes as well as its aspirations for the future.

“We believe that only a team of specialists can master great challenges perfectly. We have embedded

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Imagine Computation in a professional network of experts whose works complement each other and together make the project a success. We love good design, and believe that every creative idea deserves an accomplishing realization true to every detail.”

“What we have learned, from working on larger architectural projects, is that planning automation regardless of the geometric complexity of the project is beneficial to all parties –it is good to know what to automate and what not to automate.

“The most important thing we can do is to talk with people. When working together with experts on other fields it is very important that all are willing to cooperate to get the best possible outcome. We are experts in 3D-modelling and spatial programming but we need cooperation with other experts on their fields like façade planning, structural engineers, carpenters etc.”

Dominik remarks upon the way that the BIM trend has spurred on his company’s business. Having come to the market pre-prepared with a robust, holistic strategy in mind, Imagine Computation is reaping the benefits of a wider market that is increasingly welcoming towards their approach.

“BIM is changing the whole world of building industry right now,” Dominic explains. “We are used to working with lots of information within the building, the only difference being that it wasn’t called BIM at the time. This development is very good for us, as other offices and planners are more open to 3D-planning and informed models. We get better information of a project in the beginning, discussions are getting easier, and people are getting a far more comprehensive understanding of our approach.”

Having realized many complex projects worldwide and gained experience in BIM planning, Dominik wants to progress to become one of the leading planning partners for the realisation of freeform Architecture with BIM requirements.

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Virtual Construction: The BIM Revolution – Imagine Computation

Company: Imagine Computation Email: info@imagine-computation.com Phone: +49 69 663 75 - 600 Address: Imagine Computation GmbH, Gutzkowstrasse 7 HH, 60594 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

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Tech

Divide and Conquer – NWP NWP are one of the leading mechanical & electrical contractors in the UK, based in the county of Conwy, North Wales, with full time employees based in Cardiff, Edinburgh & London. As an M&E contractor they offer full BIM design, onsite installation, testing, commissioning & aftercare package, primarily tendering on projects with an M&E value of £500,000 to £10,000,000, right across the country.

ince forming in 1995, NWP have grown steadily. In 2005, the company split into two equal parts to concentrate on their individual aspects of the industry.

This allowed NWP Electrical, Mechanical & Utility Services to increase their operations - beginning in the North West of England and North Wales – before expanding to set up their satellite offices, thereby expanding their reach to cover as much of the UK as possible. Believing this offers a greater, more personal working relationship with the clients based within the surrounding areas of the satellite offices.

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This personal touch also manifests itself through NWP’s commitment to assisting local communities and non-profit organisations by way of financial support, which can extend up to £1,000. These recipients include Mold Visionaries, a social group for blind or partially-sighted people off all ages, St. Kentigern’s Hospice in St. Asaph, and Rhyl Men’s Shed, which offer a safe environment for men aged 18 and over to learn new skills and socialise with like-minded individuals.

Speaking of NWP’s efforts to create a community bond, Sam discusses the business’ approach to clients. “We have longstanding relationships with the majority of the main contractors with whom we currently work. Repeat business is at the core of everything NWP does, and the best way to guarantee we get that is to ensure that we deliver every aspect of a development to the highest possible standard.

“When working with any new main contractor, we always use the same approach that has provided longevity to our working relationships with other clients.”

NWP have a number of projects in their backcatalogue that Sam attests to this method of establishing strong client relationships: in the past, they have successfully completed a contract at the Hotel Football, situated at Old Trafford. which gave the company a great deal of public exposure, especially across the Pond, where the hotel was included in the New York Times’ list of ‘52 Places to Visit’ for 2015.

NWP have also lent their valuable expertise to improving the infrastructure of some of the UK’s most prolific centres of advanced education. They

have assisted in improving the facilities in student accommodation complexes, with nearly 5,000 beds handed over across 11 developments; the most recent of these is an ongoing installation on the new 450-bed accommodation scheme at heriot Watt University, in Edinburgh.

In addition, 2015 also saw NWP complete the National Graphene Institute (NGI) for the University of Manchester. The new Institute was built with the purpose in mind of allowing the University’s professors and students to continue their research into the world’s newest super-element, and NWP expresses a great amount of pride in having played such an important role in facilitating this.

with regards to construction are developing constantly, and as such NWP have had to – and are continuing to – develop alongside the construction sector. “Buildings are becoming more ‘air tight’ and a significant development in insulation has reduced heat loss considerably. This is something that all mechanical engineers & installers have to consider when designing and installing services. Ventilation is also becoming an increasingly important factor to be aware of in all-new build developments. Finally, the introduction of LED lighting technology has becoming fundamental in achieving BREEAM level excellent along with renewable technology.”

NWP fully integrated building information modelling (BIM) into their design procedures in 2013 & have since completed numerous developments across the country.

Speaking of the future ambitions for his company, Sam reveals that NWP have a number of exciting projects currently at design stage. “We have recently began developing the building services design for the new Hamilton by Hilton Hotel at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club.

“Since the beginning of 2015 BIM has become a core service offered by NWP, we now have 3 live BIM models under development for projects in the south totalling £8.2m”.

“Beyond that, we aim to move our operations into the Midlands and from there to the south coast, after successfully completed projects in the two locations recently.”

“BIM has offered a number of exciting opportunities for NWP. In early 2013, we began attending research seminars in order to gain a greater knowledge of the new procedure and not long after committed to offering all our designs in BIM. We were one of the first contractors in Wales to offer the service.”

Sam additionally remarks that he, and the rest of NWP, are very much still learning as they complete each successive project. Recognising the subtle shifts that the industry is constantly fluctuating through, he states the direction of NWP thusly: “we try to learn from each development technically, and with regards to project management, we have demonstrated excellent management on every project which assisted in winning the joint student accommodation contract in Portsmouth and Southampton. The dual contract has an M&E value of £7.3m and will deliver 1,356 new student bedrooms.”

The market in which NWP currently operate is forever progressing. The technologies currently implemented

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Company: NWP Electrical, Mechanical & Utility Services Email: info@nwp-ltd.com Phone: 01745 351351 Web Address: www.nwp-ltd.com Address: Engineer House, Tir Llwyd Industrial Park, Kinmel Bay Conwy, LL18 5JA Build Magazine

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Tech

Constructing World-Class Solutions Redstack is a leading provider of Building Information Modelling (BIM) services to asset owners, project developers, architecture, engineering and construction professionals.

With over 20 years of local and international experience, they have the expertise and proven experience to successfully implement BIM on projects for an increasingly global audience. fter 20 years of carving a notable presence in Australia’s flourishing design technology industries, Redstack have laid the foundations for a vibrant enterprise, establishing branches dotted across Southeast Asia and even penetrating Middle-Eastern markets. They have reached this stage having diversified beyond the supply of leading engineering and design technologies such as CAD software, hardware, 3D scanners and 3D printers to deliver best in class BIM services to the building and construction industries. Since their inception, they have been on a mission to expand their business relations, bringing a tailored end-to-end service to clients, as Japri Maming describes thusly.

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“Our aim is to successfully deliver BIM Management on entire construction projects, getting involved in the tender stage and managing BIM for our client throughout the construction process, taking the BIM model and using it to deliver a facilities management system for the project owner / developer.

“We are getting this work by contacting and working closely with the construction companies bidding on major building projects, and contacting the project owners to offer our facilities management systems.”

Japri elaborates on Redstack’s approach to dealing with their clients. “We produce detailed BIM documentation to ensure all parties are clear on their expectations and deliverables. We provide all the documentation you need in order to ensure that stakeholders are adopting processes, adhering to standards, and using software consistently. Among the high quality documentation that we produce are software standards manuals, best-practice guidelines, company procedures, and BIM implementation and management plans.

“We work with our clients to incorporate project-wide best practices for modelling and documentation, mapping out processes, managing tasks, documenting setups and implementing quality control procedures to minimise risk and produce high-quality outcomes.”

To disseminate and distribute their knowledge and experience further still, Redstack also take full advantage of social and online media to deliver free BIM content for anyone to consume. They are also delivering industry-leading BIM training, not based on software but on BIM management and processes. Boasting the cream of Australia’s crop of BIM-accredited trainers, these BIM Management courses, complemented by Redstack’s BIM software training for products including Autodesk Revit and Navisworks, allow burgeoning new architects to gain valuable experience and knowledge from a leader in the BIM industry.

One of Redstack’s most notable successes in this booming industry came through a partnership with the National Cancer Institute of Malaysia. As well as cementing Redstack’s reputation on an international scale, paving the way for further deals across Southeast Asia, it also highlights the efficiency and strong work ethics that BIM implementation can offer.

“We were able to assist in delivering the NCIM 6 months ahead of schedule. We are immensely proud of this not only because it was a very successful construction and BIM project, but also because we were able to assist in delivering world-leading cancer treatment to Malaysian citizens, meeting a pressing need in the community.”

Redstack further defines itself through cutting-edge technologies to enhance their work and highlight the innovation that comes through BIM practices. “Our team of technical experts are required to keep up to date with the latest technologies in the industry.

For example, we are developing visualisation and Virtual Reality services that will enable an interactive virtual experience inside the virtual building before construction begins. We are also at the leading edge of both UAV (drone) and 3d scanning technologies, integrating these technologies into the BIM workflow to deliver improved quality control with outstanding results for our clients.”

Offering such a complete turn-key solution from BIM documentation, through construction and into facilities

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management, has enabled Redstack to carve its distinctive presence in Southeast Asia. Japri further expands upon the way in which this consistency has grown to reflect the increased demands of clients.

“Many BIM service providers will deliver 3D modelling and clash detection capabilities. To recognise the value in BIM, we assist right from the beginning of the project, producing the required documentation, assisting in the tender process, maintaining the model right through construction and using the BIM model for Facilities Management, all handing over a complete Facilities Management system for ongoing maintenance and management of the building.”

“Many BIM service providers have information on the services they can deliver, but very few have the actual experience of Redstack BIM Services. We have successfully delivered projects throughout the Asia Pacific region, delivering outstanding results for our clients.”

This, Japri reflects, is indicative of the growing popularity of BIM practices across the globe. “BIM has been mandated in some governments around the world, including Singapore and the UK. We expect this trend will continue and BIM will become a requirement on the majority of major construction projects around the world. This is creating a need for construction companies to partner with a professional organisation who can deliver the BIM component of a project, assist them with winning the tender and delivering BIM, allowing them to focus on physical construction.”

As such, with a network sprawled across Australia and Southeast Asia, from Vietnam to the Philippines to Japan, as well as a beachhead in Qatar, Redstack stands to benefit hugely from an increased global demand for robust, ethical practices, though Japri’s main focus is closer to home. “With projects throughout the Asia Pacific region, we are looking to expand our footprint throughout the region, with a particular focus on the Australian market. We plan to become the leading BIM service provider in the Asia Pacific market, particularly Australia.”

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Virtual Construction: The BIM Revolution

Company: Redstack BIM Services Email: solutions@redstack.com.au Phone: 1300 667 263 Web Address: http://redstack.com.au/bim-services Address: 120 Robinson Road, #09-01, Singapore, 068913 / Level 1, 145 O’Connell Street, North Adelaide, SA 5006 Build Magazine

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Tech

TenderSpace: The Business Case for Transparency

m sure that, in a quiet, unguarded moment, whether you are a Client, a Contractor or a Professional, you would admit to close friends and colleagues that there is a deep rooted trust issue in our industry. Whichever side of the fence you are on, there remains an element, either large or small, of “them and us”.

the abortive costs of numerous failed tenders that he has to try and recoup through those that he is successful on.

I’

And what about the time saved for all involved? The Client gets certainty sooner and work starts on site far earlier, meaning they are less likely to worry about changes in the economic cycle, uncertainties and inflationary pressures. The Contractor has a workload he can bank on and greater certainty as to profits. The entire supply chain can plan with confidence.

You might argue that it has always been the case and will always be so, because the profit of one party comes at the expense of the other. But I believe that there is a forceful argument that this mistrust is to the detriment of all involved and a greater degree of transparency could yield greater returns for all parties.

Our industry has always been reluctant to adopt technology and new ways of working, but we believe that to deny the seismic changes that technology and platforms like TenderSpace are bringing about is foolish. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is here to stay and in years to come, the data and efficiencies it derives will be transformative.

Its’ evolution has only just begun.

Procurement within the industry has always been a cumbersome, lengthy and wasteful process. Pre-qualification is time consuming, repetitive and expensive.

And then the tendering process exacerbates the expense and duplication and the mistrust continues: the Client fears collusion and hunts for hidden traps in the responses and the Contractor wonders if the Client had made their mind up on their preferred choice before the whole process began. And then there is the lengthy negotiation and rewriting of standard form contracts...

We are making it easier for everyone to collaborate and get done what they need to do more efficiently and more economically. We are offering solutions businesses need to avoid duplication and waste; to get involved in projects at the earliest stages to get buildings built on time and on budget.

TenderSpace (www.thetenderspace.com) is predicated on the principle that collaboration, early engagement and transparency yield better returns for all. If the Client can engage with Contractors and specialists at the feasibility stage, projects can be value engineered and expensive redesigns can be avoided. Specialists can suggest alternative solutions that the procurement team might not have considered. Contractors can negotiate the contract openly sharing cost information developed in partnership with the entire design team. And the Contractor avoids

It takes trust, but transparency, early engagement and greater collaboration will save us all unnecessary worry, wasted time and, most importantly, money.

David Stapleton is the Chief Executive Officer of TenderSpace (www.thetenderspace. com)

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Transport

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Transport

Complete Peace of Mind Without Compromise Vans are an essential asset for any construction company, which is why it is crucial to keep your vehicles on the road. Karen Whittingham, marketing director at Northgate, considers the commercial advantages of flexible long-term vehicle rental over contract hire or purchasing

unning a fleet – whether that is one vehicle or ten - can be a constant balancing act between cost, convenience and reliability for any firm.

Remember the company van is not just a mode of transport from job to job, it also gives construction companies the opportunity to carry additional tools and pick up supplies of all sizes when they are needed.

Customers do not have to worry about additional costs like tyres, MOT repairs or replacement vehicles as this is all included for a fixed weekly fee that makes budgeting easy and predictable. What’s more, customers never have to worry about surprise costs impacting their bottom line and do not have to pay for vehicles they don’t need, and replacement vehicles are always available for no additional cost should one be required.

Despite the potential impact of downtime, too many in the trade are still willing to leave it to chance. Research from the RAC estimates that the average cost of vehicle downtime to SMEs is £500 per day in lost revenue, not to mention the impact on customer service levels and reputation, or the inconvenience of moving staff around or redirecting other vehicles to the job. It is a big risk to take – but what if there was a cost-effective solution that can deliver complete peace of mind, keep your vans on the road and deliver added benefits too? With flexible, long-term vehicle rental, there is.

Flex your fleet This leads to another tangible benefit of vehicle rental, which is not available with any other fleet management option. With unrivalled flexibility, customers are free to change the number and type of vehicles at any time, add equipment or livery to vehicles, and even gain access to specialist vehicles in line with changing business needs.

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Vehicle rental comes with a long list of benefits, and is increasingly seen as a popular long-term solution for small business owners who see the advantage of having a comprehensive support package.

Construction companies can ‘flex their fleet’ at any time, which means they don’t have to turn business down and can always meet customer expectations without compromise.

Using this option, there is no need to purchase additional vans or be tied into lengthy contract hire periods.

Choose a supplier with good national coverage and this unrivalled convenience can even extend to vehicle pick-up and drop-offs at a network of branches, not to mention the ability to access any branch or workshop for service, maintenance and repair events nationwide.

Stay on the road The most important thing for any service provider is to make sure their vans stay on the road. Whether a company has one van or a large fleet, if vehicles are not running 100 per cent of the time with 0 per cent disruption there will be a direct impact on the business.

With contract hire or purchased vans, of course, you run the risk of breakdown or failure at any point – and the risk only increases as the vehicle gets older. Anybody who has run an old vehicle for commercial or personal use will not need reminding of the problems associated with them.

Added benefits Of course, vehicle rental also guarantees the availability of a wide selection of vehicles, which might otherwise be out of reach for smaller companies – and this can deliver added benefits too. One of the key cost-saving aspects, for example, is fuel efficiency, which can make a major difference when applied across a small fleet of vehicles that each travel thousands of miles a year.

Technology is also increasingly an influence in the decisions around vehicle fleets.

Telematics, which offers real-time insights into vehicle activity, is now central to the operations of many businesses who run a fleet of vehicles. It can help to reduce operational costs, improve efficiency and boost customer service – not to mention duty of care and driver safety, to name just a few.

Instead, flexible long-term rental gives firms access to the widest choice of the latest vans, with servicing, maintenance and breakdowns managed by the rental company. Downtime can also be minimised by proactive scheduling of maintenance events at a branch and workshop at a convenient time.

Vehicle hire offers a fully inclusive package complete with service, maintenance and repair, where customers are never off the road for more than two hours.

The benefits of driving new vehicles even extend to staff retention, giving employees a more pleasant working environment and even perks such as Bluetooth or a sat-nav; all valuable drivers in a competitive employment market.

Impact on bottom line Of course, staying on the road must not cost the earth: it should be convenient and cost-effective. One of the most important considerations is always going to be the cost of running a fleet – and more critically, the impact of vehicles on cashflow and the bottom line.

To support a growing business and adapt to changing requirements, a flexible long term rental solution will ensure firms can be assured that vehicle costs are covered under a fixed weekly payment. Not only does this offer peace of mind to business owners, it also saves them money compared to other vehicle acquisition options.

Unlike vehicle purchasing, which requires a large upfront cost, or contract hire, which can come with a long term financial commitment and expensive termination or mileage penalties, vehicle rental offers a simple and predictable weekly rate which covers everything related to the vehicle.

Northgate www.northgatevehiclehire.co.uk 0844 234 8103

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Jensen Underground Utilities, Inc. Serving SW Florida’s underground construction needs Services offered ranges from water, sewer, drainage and firelines to total sitework packages.

www.jensenunderground.com kevin@jensenunderground.com 239.597.0060