Build March Issue

Britain’s Brewers Mark a 10-year Milestone in Energy Management / Demolish Demolition

Architects of the year

18

Ones to Watch in Real Estate: Canada

40

Architectural project of the month

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Feature: Stunning Award Winning Larbert Project 6 Sonali Craddock talks us through the process required to create an award winning project

Also in this months issue Constructing a Sustainable Housing Industry Best for German Real Estate Investments 2015 and much more...

Build Magazine: March 2016

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Editor’s Letter Welcome to the March Issue of Build.

As the first Build magazine of 2016 this latest issue offers an overview of some of the best and the boldest of our award winners from last year, including a profile of All Saints Living and their stunning, award winning development project, Larbert House & Country Estate.

Other notable winners recognised within the magazine include Grand City Properties, a specialist real estate company focused on providing a quality living standard and maintaining affordable housing; Point 6 Projects Ltd, an ECO construction company and Koch Architekten 4greenArchitecture, a design company dedicated to providing innovative sustainable building solutions.

Recent years have seen a number of exciting architecture projects, and as such we profile the very best projects and the architects behind them.

We also explore a number of exciting innovations in the construction and property industries, including the latest thinking on the popularity of bricks from Andrew Halstead-Smith, Group Marketing Manager at Ibstock, the largest brick manufacturer in the UK. In addition Rishi Khosla, CEO of OakNorth talks us through the issues surrounding securing finance as a small property developer and how to overcome them.

We hope you enjoy this issue and if you have any questions or would like information on how to contribute please do not hesitate to ask.

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Contents Products and Innovation

4. News

40. Brick: Why it remains so popular

Recognition

42. Unlocking cloud technology to create better buildings

10. Best Medium-Sized Builder - UK & Best Renovation Project - Scotland: Larbert House & Country Estate

44. Stepping out with steel – re-image of 140 Fenchurch Street

Real Eastate

12. Best for German Real Estate Investments 2015

46. Real Estate Fund Manager of the Month 48. Ones to Watch in Real Estate: Canada

14. Real Estate Fund Manager of the Year - USA & Best Real Estate Opportunity Fund: Pantzer Fund III

49. Ones to Watch in Real Estate: Kansas 50. Ones to Watch in Real Estate: Northern Ireland/ Ones to Watch in Real Estate: UK

16. Constructing a Sustainable Housing Industry 18. Best Neighbourhood Construction Company -Armenia Best Armenian Development: Vahakni Private Residential Community

51. Cavendish Maxwell 52. Real Estate Deal of the Month: Real Estate Investment

Architecture

Platform BrickVest Launches and Closes First Deals

24. Architects of the year

54. Closing the skills gap

26. Architects of the month

58. Securing development finance as a small property developer

21. Architectural project of the month

Regulation

Construction

31. Constructing the best employer/employee relationships

Inside the industry

60. Cybersecurity and BIM: what issues are being overlooked?

62. Why should the construction industry embrace digital?

33. Inverness – the making of a Life Sciences nerve centre

64. Tax Credit Changes to Add Stability to Renewable Projects

34. Equipment Supplier of the Month

65. Benoy- Award winning Architecture and Design

60 seconds

36. Green Building Specialists of the Year - Europe

67. AKW and DLP Group

38. Stuart King Architecture

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News SPEEA Engineers and Technical Workers Approve New Six-Year Contracts with The Boeing Company Engineers and technical workers have accepted new six-year contract agreements with The Boeing Company that ensure continued market-leading salaries, retirement benefit growth and a choice of comprehensive medical plans, including a nopremium plan.

Votes tallied Wednesday (Feb. 17) at the headquarters of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001, show engineers in the Professional unit voted 6,085 (71.1%) to Accept and 2,460 (28.7%) to Reject. The count for the Technical workers unit was 2,825 (73.2%) to Accept and 1,030 (26.7%) to Reject. “These agreements were not easy but each grew from a strong desire on both sides to find common ground and negotiate contracts that work for SPEEA members and Boeing,” said SPEEA President Ryan Rule. “It was a unique opportunity that allowed these early contract talks. We’re glad it worked.”

and Boeing decided to work together and reach agreement where possible,” said SPEEA Executive Director Ray Goforth. “We still have areas of disagreement, but we’re hopeful this process is a template for working out differences in the future.”

SPEEA and Boeing were scheduled to negotiate new contracts next fall, prior to the previous contracts’ Oct. 6 expiration dates. However, with both sides receptive to avoiding the sometimes confrontational atmosphere of contract talks, the SPEEA member-elected Executive Board began formal talks with Boeing in January. If members in either bargaining unit rejected their contract, SPEEA would have reverted to the standard timeline with negotiations starting in late summer. The union had continued that process by nominating and electing negotiation teams.

A local of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), SPEEA represents more than 23,000 engineers, technical workers, pilots and other aerospace professionals in Washington, Kansas, Oregon, Utah, California and Florida.

While the majority of workers are at Boeing facilities in the Puget Sound region, the contracts also cover workers in Oregon, Utah, California and Florida.

Negotiated and recommended by the union’s Executive Board and bargaining unit councils, the agreements take effect retroactive to Feb. 11 and are in effect through Oct. 6, 2022. A processing error resulted in the union reissuing ballots and delaying the vote count one week from the original timeline.

“These negotiations were possible because SPEEA

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News New Data Reveals Shortfall of Non-Executive Directors from Construction Sector New data released by online recruitment platform, NonExecutiveDirectors.com, has revealed a shortage of senior candidates in construction looking for non-executive director (NED) positions.

Despite people in the sector having the skills, talent and experience to offer boards, currently just two percent of its 6,000 strong database, who are actively looking for roles, are classed as working or having had worked in construction.

CEO of NonExecutiveDirectors.com, Matthew Roberts, said: “We want more people from this sector to sign up. Perhaps they think they don’t have the skills required for a non-executive director, but being on a board is very much about the behaviours and attributes they display like confidence, self-control and the ability to challenge or support.”

According to the NonExecutiveDirectors.com database, a typical NED is a 57 year old male based in the South East of England, with 14 years’ experience as an executive.

and charity (28%) sector breakdown.

From 4819 male and 1065 female members – a mere 18% are women, despite the fact that boards would benefit hugely from their ability to bring different perspectives.

Roberts concludes: “The gist of the feedback we’ve been given is that females still have a perception of ‘cronyism’ and boardroom politics at this level, and that many intermediaries helping find nonexec positions are also male, which they can find off-putting. An online platform, helping to cut out the middle man, can help eradicate this and provide a space in which females feel comfortable to apply.

It will go some way to helping to level out these discrepancies.”

When it came to location, the data also revealed only 119 NEDs on the platform are from the North East while 3,461 are from the South East and that members ranged from 28 to 73 years old.

NonExecutiveDirectors.com has attracted high-profile organisations such as Virgin Media, the NHS, Vistage, Jet 2 and the UK Government to post vacancies for non-executive directors and has saved businesses over £5m in recruitment fees last month alone.

It has disrupted the sector by putting the power into the hands of businesses by building a powerful network of talent and providing the perfect platform for NEDs to showcase their credentials - tearing up the model of expensive head hunter fees.

Roberts continues: “We want to explode the myth that boards should look this way – they should have a diverse range of people on them from a variety of sectors, age groups, life experiences etc.”

The areas from which there are the highest number of candidates putting themselves forward for NED roles are publishing and media (19%), charity/not for profit (13%), greentech/cleantech (13%) and the NonExecutiveDirectors.com platform has a split of private (26%), public (46%)

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News Weingarten Realty Acquires Urban Seattle Property

existing centre as a mixed-use project that will include approximately 570 units of rental housing in two five to seven-story buildings as well as ground-floor retail.

“We are extremely excited about the completion of this transaction with Vulcan. Our team, with market expertise, sourced and negotiated this complex transaction which creates unique opportunities for both companies. The acquisition of 2200 Westlake complements our existing Seattle portfolio and Vulcan’s purchase of Promenade 23 fits well into their expansion plans, so it is definitely a win-win for both companies,” said Drew Alexander, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Weingarten Realty Investors, a leading owner, manager and developer of shopping centres, announced today that it acquired the retail component of 2200 Westlake, located at 2200 Westlake Avenue in Seattle, Washington from Vulcan Real Estate.

The average household income and population in the 3-mile trade area is $99,000 and 220,000, respectively. The property was purchased in a joint venture between Weingarten Realty and Bouwinvest in which WRI will hold a 65.7% interest. Weingarten’s investment is $43.5 million.

2200 Westlake is a mixed-use, verticallyintegrated property anchored by Whole Foods Market. The complex also contains an income producing parking garage, an 11-story 153room five-star Pan Pacific hotel, and residential condos. The Venture purchased 73,800 square feet of retail including the Whole Foods Market and 412 parking stalls. Vulcan maintains ownership of the hotel.

Weingarten Realty Investors is a shopping centre owner, manager and developer. At December 31, 2015, the Company owned or operated under long-term leases, either directly or through its interest in real estate joint ventures or partnerships, a total of 232 properties which are located in 18 states spanning the country from coast to coast.

These properties represent approximately 45.6 million square feet of which our interests in these properties aggregated approximately 28.0 million square feet of leasable area.

The property is located in the high-growth neighbourhood of South Lake Union. The area is home to Amazon and its existing 4 million square feet of office space and one block away from the multi-million square foot headquarters campus now under construction. Over 4,000 new residential units are reportedly planned or proposed in the South Lake Union area served by 2200 Westlake.

The purchase is part of an off-market transaction in which Vulcan purchased Weingarten’s Promenade 23, a high-profile property in the Central District of Seattle for $30.9 million.

Vulcan has future plans to redevelop part of the

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News Westinghouse to Promote Advanced U.K. SMR Manufacturing Efficiencies

“The Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor is innovative and industry-leading technology that builds upon our extensive reactor and fuel technology expertise,” said Jeff Benjamin, Westinghouse senior vice president, New Plants and Major Projects. “The efficient construction of Westinghouse Small Modular Reactors can play an important part of the U.K.’s future by creating local manufacturing jobs to develop safe, clean and economical energy.”

Westinghouse Electric Company has announced that it is working with the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Nuclear AMRC) to explore the most effective way to manufacture Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPVs) in the U.K. The manufacturing study will focus on RPVs – one of the largest and most demanding parts of any reactor. The Nuclear AMRC will provide a professional, independent assessment of the current Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor RPV design, and determine an optimal manufacturing solution. Nuclear AMRC has extensive experience in design for the manufacture of large complex parts for safety-critical applications, drawing on broad academic and industry knowledge.

The announcement of the manufacturing study further signals Westinghouse’s commitment to SMR technology in the U.K. In 2015 Westinghouse bid to partner with the U.K. Government to deploy Westinghouse’s Small Modular Reactor technology – a move that would advance the U.K. from buyer to global provider of the latest nuclear energy technology. Westinghouse’s Springfields facility, a strategic national asset in the U.K. employing over 1,000, recently achieved the requirements necessary to manufacture Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor (SMR) fuel in the U.K., something that no other SMR technology provider currently offers.

“Innovative and advanced manufacturing techniques are fundamental to the cost-effective production of U.K. Small Modular Reactors,” said Mike Tynan, chief executive officer, Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre.

A key component of the manufacturing study will be identifying efficiencies within the advanced manufacturing process to significantly reduce capital costs and drive project savings. These savings, coupled with the U.K.’s strong nuclear supply chain and Westinghouse’s commitment to SMR technology would promote economic growth and job creation in the U.K.’s nuclear industry. The study will utilise expert knowledge of local manufacturing capabilities to identify potential suppliers for when the Westinghouse SMR enters production.

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News New Home and Renovation Predictions

Glass: bi-folding doors and glass walls will feature strongly as occupants look for ways to create a harmonious connection between internal living spaces and the outdoors. In addition to achieving the illusion of extra space and letting in light, the combination of glass with brick or wood adds a stylish touch to any property.

With construction output anticipated to grow by 3.6% in 2016 there will be an increase in people looking to update existing properties on a grand scale and build homes to exacting specifications.

However, as buyers become more discerning and demand higher quality workmanship what are the predictions for residential renovations and bespoke homes projects this year?

Building techniques: Eco-friendly building techniques, such as Passivhaus, will continue to rise in popularity. Reducing the ecological footprint of a building, increasing energy efficiency and sustainability, and cutting household overheads will all play a pivotal role in the design, style and building methods used on new build and retrofit projects and the desire of occupants to live in ‘healthier’ homes.

Jon Over from Goldstone Homes specialises in renovation and new build homes for the residential sector. He provides his forecast for what is likely to be popular in the world of home updates and new builds during 2016.

Wood: we are going to be seeing much more use of quality wood in internal spaces for both structural and decorative purposes. Luxury materials such as oak provide the simultaneous benefits of being hard wearing and aesthetically pleasing and work equally as well in traditional and modern settings.

Decorative wooden beams, sash style windows and ornamental staircases will all be popular.

Open plan: how we live continues to influence our choice in floorplan design. Providing spacious and airy living spaces will remain high on the agenda of many renovation and restoration projects. There will be a lean towards opening up bedroom suites, for example with frosted glass, to provide more fluidity between the sleeping area and bathroom as well as larger storage areas that fit discreetly into and become one with the overall design.

Balconies: adding outdoor space is moving upwards as balconies become increasingly popular as part of a trend towards updating the fascias of existing properties and increasing the value and appeal of new builds. The addition of a balcony to uninspiring or bland box shaped properties creates interest and delivers curb appeal to what was previously a flat and dull exterior.

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Recognition

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Best Medium-Sized Builder UK & Best Renovation Project Scotland: Larbert House & Country Estate All Saints Living are a development firm dedicated to building aspirational homes in the residential sector across the UK. Sonali Craddock from the firm talks us through this dedication to perfection and provides us with a unique insight into the firm’s award winning Larbert House project.

t All Saints Living it is our aim is to provide homes of the highest standard; aspirational properties that we are proud to call All Saints Living homes. We apply the same high standards to everything we do, from acquisition & construction through to issues such as community and environmental impact.

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Starting from the initial design concept through to construction of the finished product, we aim to maximise value of the properties whilst introducing innovative architecture and high quality interior design.

We take time to select the finest quality products and materials, where possible using expert local tradesmen and businesses, to produce a final product that is both exclusive and contemporary. In addition, we have an entirely entrepreneurial approach to our business and look at each development on a case by case basis in order to ensure each client receives a top quality service which exactly meets their needs.

With regards to our landmark project, Larbert House & Country Estate, we undertook almost 12 months of detailed feasibility before purchasing the site and worked with Savills Estate Agents to ensure the properties and specification were desirable.

The entire development covers six acres of woodland grounds and includes full restoration and sensitive conversion of the derelict Larbert House and existing

stable block into luxury apartments. It also includes four new build sections comprising of a mews block to mirror the existing stable; eight luxurious detached homes nestled within the walled garden; eight detached properties to the west of the walled garden a group of three large distinctive detached properties settled within mature trees on the east site.

The project was challenging at times, with issues including changing contractor and, due to the age and listing of the building (Larbert was originally built in 1822 and is Grade II Listed ), planning issues, however we always believed in the site and with sheer perseverance we continued to reach our goal.

The house, which we are currently developing into luxury apartments, will provide a rare opportunity to acquire a contemporary home set in truly magnificent surroundings. Already inhabited are eight mews properties converted from the original stable block.

We are proud to be part of such a beautiful development and attribute our success to our entrepreneurial spirit, focus on quality rather than quantity and unswerving attention to detail. In addition, our management team is made up of innovators and people who aren’t afraid to push boundaries.

Moving forward we have a number of large scale projects planned for 2016, including a new build housing estate of 26 properties in Belmont, County Durham – five two bedroom apartments and 21 three and four bedroom desirable family homes in a popular residential area of Durham, minutes from the City Centre. We are also currently the preferred bidder on The Walled Gardens, a project adjacent to Gosforth Racecourse, in a highly desirable residential area. The proposed luxury properties are contemporary and unique and have been designed with consideration of the environment. The homes are ecological and energy efficient buildings but benefit from all the comforts of a modern home. We are also diversifying into the hospitality sector through serviced apartments in Richmond and Harrogate.

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Recognition Company: All Saints Living Name: Sonali Craddock Email: info@allsaintsliving.com Web Address: www.allsaintsliving.com Address: 2nd Floor Cuthbert House, All Saints Business Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 2ET Telephone: 0191 211 4130

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Best for German Real Estate Investments 2015

Grand City Properties S.A. “GCP” is a specialist real estate company focused on providing a quality living standard and maintaining affordable housing. We got in touch with Christian Windfuhr, Chief Executive Officer at GCP, who took the time out to tell us how his company has become, and continues to be, the leading specialist in buying, re-developing, optimising and repositioning real estate properties in Germany.

ith an experienced team of dedicated experts who are supported by proprietary IT-modules, GCP create significant value in the German real estate market. With a particular emphasis on income generating assets with all the right fundamentals, the company generates significant value-add by turning around under-rented objects into portfolios with substantially higher profits.

At the same time, the company also keeps in mind the wellbeing of their tenants and improves the living environment of neglected properties in an ecologically sensitive manner, ensuring each real estate investment turns into a success and creates significant Value to the shareholder.

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As of January 2016, GCP’s total portfolio consist of 76,000 units across Germany. These are located in densely populated areas, with a strong focus on regions such as North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous federal state, Berlin, Germany’s capital, as well as the metropolitan regions such as Leipzig and Dresden. Furthermore, the company manages an additional portfolio of 18,000 units owned by third parties, bringing the total number of units under GCP’s management to 94,000. With respect to capital market activity, GCP is a public real estate company traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, with a market cap of €2.8 billion and employing 500 employees.

distinguished them from their competitors.

As Windfuhr explains: “One of the ways in which we provide exceptional service to our tenants is through our 24/7 Service Centre, which the company built internally to answer and solve the tenant needs and problems as efficiently and effectively as possible. We also organise local events during periods like the summer and Christmas, which we believe has really strengthened the community feeling in our locations and allows the tenants to get to know each other a lot better.”

Alongside these services, GCP focuses on improving the image of its properties.

This is achieved through designing surrounding gardens, adding indoor and outdoor playgrounds, adding sport facilities and polishing aged facades. Additionally, the company provides rent free units for institutions which help school children with their homework or offer recreational activities to teenagers. In another location, GCP has even rebuilt a vacant unit into an art space.

Tenant satisfaction is in a top priority for GCP, and this is something that they are constantly striving to improve and develop. “Achieving tenant satisfaction is the end product of In achieving its success, GCP has been offering property turnaround,” says Windfuhr. “As a their tenants a unique set of services which have result we then have high quality assets with high occupancy and very low termination rates. We have thrived in creating a higher living standard for our tenants while maintaining affordable living and performing well for our stakeholders as a public company.

“It is in our DNA to serve our tenants, and we believe that each and every one of them deserves to fulfil their specific needs and wishes,” explains Windfuhr. “With this in mind, the company provides abundant housing opportunities and addresses nearly any tenant request.”

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Recognition Company: Grand city properties S.A Name: Katrin Petersen Email: Katrin.Petersen@grandcity.lu Web Address: grandcityproperties.com/de/ www.grandcityproperty.de Address: 24, Avenue Victor Hugo L 1750 Luxembourg Telephone: +352 287 787 86

Although GCP has been established for over a decade and grew from a small company to one of the largest real estate companies in Germany, their ethos has remained the same. “At our company, each and every employee can express himself or herself and make a difference. Creativity and innovation is what drives the team forward and the management still believes in always having an open door for all employees. Moreover, the company believes in always being eager to learn new things, providing ongoing feedback to employees and developing them in order to build up their confidence and working on their development needs.

“We are strong believers in human capital, and we employ market leaders which have the motivation and desire to serve our tenants.

A huge part of our success is down to our employees who are very important to us,” says Windfuhr. “We choose all of our staff in a highly professional manner where we can truly understand if the employee is suitable to our system and will add benefit as an individual and as a team worker. One of the key criteria is to find loyal employees which will stay for a long term period. As a result, the company invests a lot of time and resources in seminars, ad hoc courses and unique management programs in order to make the employee feel appreciated and in order to improve different abilities.

We also have an incentive plan for the key management and senior employees in order to let them participate in the success and to enhance long term commitment to the company.”

As a company that works in a highly competitive environment, Windfuhr believes that a key to their position as a market leader is their philosophy of innovation and creativity. “One of the aspects of our business that we are particularly proud of is our in-house proprietary and centralised IT system,” says Windfuhr. “This plays a significant role in enabling GCP to monitor the progress of the turnaround process as well as detect and follow market trends and tenants needs. Furthermore, it provides detailed information where staff can access on and off the road through their smart phones and tablets. This all-encompassing data processing enables the group to track and respond to market rent trends, to spot opportunities and manage re-letting on a daily basis.”

In terms of their business model, GCP seeks to increase its cash flows from its portfolio through the relentless management of its assets by increasing occupancy and tenant satisfaction which result in higher rents. As Windfuhr explains: “We begin this process during the due diligence phase of each acquisition and develop a specific plan for each asset. Once acquired, and the initial development plan is realised, we regularly assess the merits of on-going improvements to our properties to further enhance the yield on our portfolio. We do this by increasing the quality and appearance of the properties and further increasing occupancy. GCP also applies significant scrutiny to its costs, and systematically review ways to increase efficiency and thus improving cash flows.”

In parallel with this process, GCP create and execute tailor made strategies for each asset to optimally improve its operating performance, which is reflected in the significant value appreciation in its portfolio. According to Windfuhr, this process is hugely beneficial towards growing and sustaining their success. “Our continuous asset management efforts result not only in improved

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cash flows, but also in tangible value creation that is captured instantly as well as over the long run in the group’s financial performance,” says Windfuhr. “As a result, the group’s experience and in-house operational skills allow us to continuously maximise returns after the successful repositioning of the assets.”

The company acknowledge the need for having a local knowledge of each area that they work in. “In order to facilitate the specific needs of our clients, GCP has built an operational structure which provides local presence in more than 50 locations throughout Germany. This service operates alongside the centralised support from the Service Centre and Headquarters in Berlin, and results in cross organisational synergies, on the one hand enabling direct contact with tenants and on the other delivering 100% availability through the service centre.”

Looking towards 2016 and beyond, Windfuhr is very optimistic that GCP will continue to grow and expand their presence across Germany. “We will continue to keep conservative financial ratios and low risk, in order to serve the ongoing bonds holders and banks. Also the company will keep a balance between investments in the tenants’ home environment and the shareholder’s satisfaction by improving its cash flow and increasing its dividend per share from year to year. Furthermore, GCP will grow through further accretive acquisitions as well as improving the current portfolio by reducing the vacancy and the improving other operational ratios.”

In terms of the award, Windfuhr believes that being named Best for German Real Estate Investments 2015 is a true testament to their success, and serves as further evidence for their presence as leaders in their industry. “We are very happy to be given the award and to be acknowledged,” says Windfuhr. “As I mentioned before, GCP’s success lies in the extraordinary service we provide our tenants and the endless efforts we carry out to maintain the highest tenant satisfaction in the market. As GCP’s business model is the turnaround of properties, which have been mismanaged or neglected by previous owners, we are perceived as a “white knight” in the eyes of our tenants. In combination with experienced and caring management, supported by state-of-the-art IT systems and the 24/7 Service centere, GCP is able to provide the highest levels of service at any time and addressing the needs of our tenants as well as our stakeholders.”

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Real Estate Fund Manager of the Year - USA & Best Real Estate Opportunity Fund: Pantzer Fund III Pantzer Properties, Inc. (PPI) & Panco Management Corporation (PMC) is a fully integrated owner/operator of investment real estate on the east coast of the United States.

PI and PMC currently own and operate 27 apartment communities in and around the major Northeast & MidAtlantic metropolitan statistical areas and are comprised of 8,985 multi-family units and approx. 75,000 square feet of retail space.

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The firm was founded in 1971 by Mr. Edward Pantzer, who is now joined by his sons Jason and Jordan Pantzer. Together they act as Co-Presidents of the company and oversee all aspects of the business, along with their 30 person corporate executive team.

Developed in 2008, the firm’s flagship product is “The Point” and is the namesake for 16 of the properties. The brand was created to distinguish the value of living in a Panco Management Corporation community. PPI & PMC have standardized the operating procedures and perfected the capital program improvement process through which “The Point” brand is produced. The result is apartment living that is luxurious and a better value than the competition.

Jamie Berman explains how the firm differentiates itself from its competition and how it adapts to challenges.

“PPI and PMC are different than the competition, largely due to the quick decision making process that exists among the ownership and leadership of the firm. The firm’s portfolio size and strength is growing at a rapid pace and creating more synergies among sister sites. This strategy provides a distinct opportunity to offer more to our consumers and our investors.

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“In order to adapt to a constantly evolving market PPI & PMC foster strong, agile leaders who can respond quickly to ever changing market risks. As a company we evaluate market and policy changes on a daily basis and strategize around possible risks to our assets at a relentless pace. We are clear that it is our job to compensate and innovate around changes to the economy, and our industry, and we have done so successfully for the last 45 years.”

Pantzer Properties, Inc. just completed a full scale redesign of their website assets to showcase a better representation of who they are today and the vision for the company moving forward.

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Recognition

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Constructing a Sustainable Housing Industry

Point 6 Projects Ltd are an ECO construction company, specialising in low energy buildings and the highest energy standard that is Passivhaus. We invited Anmarie Price to talk about the firm and how it is changing the face of the construction industry.

oint 6 Projects Ltd operates across three main areas: firstly, we build “grand design” type homes; secondly, we refurbish and extend any types of home using eco materials; and finally we have recently embarked on our third arm, our own new build homes.

helps the firm to stay ahead of the latest industry trends. We find out what is coming before it has arrived. This is vital as ours is an industry that is constantly evolving, and we are proud to help the industry to move in the direction of sustainability, as this will have long term benefits.

These new build homes will be an exciting new venture for the firm, and will offer affordable properties to the wider housing market, as opposed to many new builds which are limited to property investors because they are too expensive for many buyers.

The firm has seven years’ experience in low energy construction, and this has enabled us to build up a strong supply chain and a good in depth technical knowledge of Passivhaus and high performance buildings.

As a business we are very proud to be awarded ‘Best Low Energy Builder – UK’, as we see this as recognition that our hard work has paid off. We are dedicated to client service, and as such we always work closely with the client to understand their budget and what they want out of their new home, because overall it is very important to us to deliver what the client wants. We usually negotiate contracts rather than tendering them, as this enables us to build up a cost plan to suit the client.

Moving forward our firm is expanding rapidly as people become more aware of our work in the low energy buildings sector. Over the next three years we are keen to have offices in at least four other regions of the UK in order to bring our services to a wider client base. Alongside this we are eager to be the architects of a sustainable construction industry, a feat we intend to achieve by creating a separate department called Point 6 Projects Developments, which would focus on developing sustainable projects.

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In addition because we are involved in the project right from the start we are able to influence design in terms of air tightness and achieving low energy standards. As a company we are committed to Passivhaus standards: the world’s leading fabric based approach to low energy buildings.

Our dedication to these standards sees us talk at conferences and training meeting, and this also

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Recognition Company: Point 6 Projects Ltd Name: Anmarie Price Email: Anmarie@point6projects.com Web Address: www.point6projects.com Address: Unit 2, Bonhay House, Mushroom road, Clyst St Mary, Exeter. EX5 1SB Telephone: 01395 233741/ 07432 286405

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Best Neighbourhood Construction Company -Armenia Best Armenian Development: Vahakni Private Residential Community Hovnanian International Ltd was founded by renowned USA businessman and philanthropist Vahakn Hovnanian, who launched the architectural planning and construction of Vahakni Residential Community in Armenia in the late 1990s.

We invited CEO Nina Hovnanian to talk us through the firm and the unique community it has produced.

ahakni Residential Community is the realization of a dream. The moment Armenia became a free and independent country, Vahakn S. Hovnanian, a successful property developer from the United States with over 60 years experience, wanted to build a proper housing community with world class standards in the post soviet country. Instead of knocking down existing soviet built buildings and displacing families from the capitol city’s centre, Hovnanian chose a gorgeous site within the city limits with views of the biblical Mount Ararat. Unfortunately, that site had been blighted by its former use as the city dump for decades. The first two years were spent cleaning the landfill and restoring the environment to its natural beauty.

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The Vahakni Residential Community plan envisages construction of 700 homes: single family homes, townhouses, and mansion style condominiums, and a development within a development of 2300 apartments and commercial units with upgraded state of the art infrastructure and original architectural solutions. The district is divided into eight sections with villas, cottages, and town-houses of different architectural styles, as well as improved, fully connected land lots , the man-made reservoir Lake Shant, an outdoor shopping mall and Ararat Valley Country Club with its swimming pool, mini golf, golf driving range, and 9 hole executive golf course, 2 professional tennis courts, football fields and a restaurant/clubhouse. The district began in 1998 with the golf course, the first homes in 2001. Ever growing at a slow, but steady pace it has become an integral part of Yerevan.

Now Vahakni offers not only beautiful houses and a superbly improved environment, but also a quiet, safe, and healthy lifestyle. In its 17 years of existence, Vahakni Residential Community has built more than 300 houses with about 1200 residents, with many, many more under construction.

Hovnanian International is committed to supporting the revitalization of an independent Armenia. With its practices of environmental and social responsibilities, it aims to create a new 21st century culture to Armenia, and to encourage repatriation of Armenians from all over the world together to live in Vahakni. It is dedicated to providing world-class homes at Vahakni which, in turn, brings vital resources to Armenia and allows the Armenian people to reclaim their past, celebrate their heritage, and contribute to the future of Armenia. The firm is unique as it is dedicated to this mission, as well as to ensuring affordable, convenient., and comfortable homes for a wide variety of clientele.

HI has grown considerably as a business since the project began. Mentored by its US based parent company, it is enabled to stay at the forefront of emerging trends in the industry, as it is kept apprised of all the latest trends in housing and homebuilding technologies.

Armenia, the country in which Hovnanian International is based, is a landlocked postsoviet republic. Because of its tragic history with neighbouring countries, its borders have been blockaded. Sourcing and importations of necessary building materials and technical equipment is quite difficult and inordinately expensive.

However, Armenia affords firms such as HI a number of exciting opportunities including the ability to cater to an international diaspora and a local clientele hungry for a western lifestyle.

Looking to the future, there are plans to add to the amenities within the Vahakni Residential Community: a multilevel integrated medical centre, an outdoor shopping mall, senior centre and a pre-nursery through 12 grade private school, and lakeside condominiums and cafes.

Furthermore there are plans for a resort with cottages and villas in Dilijan.

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Recognition Company: HOVNANIAN INTERNATIONAL Ltd CEO Nina C Hovnanian Email: sales@vahakni.com Web address: www.vahakni.com Tel: +374 98 449977, +374 60 802000 Address: Vahakni Residential Community ,Gevorg Chaushi 50, Ashtarak Highway, Yerevan, Armenia.

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Architecture

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Architectural Project of the Month

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hen it was first announced that the onceblighted railway land behind King’s Cross station would be revamped via a new block of flats named the Plimsoll Building, nobody really knew just how positive an effect this building would have on the community into which is

was situated.

Situated in a series of interlinking scaled blocks designed

by David Morley Architects, the dashing new scheme of 178 flats sits beside Regent’s Canal and, in a union consistent with the diverse mix at this new neighbourhood, above two new schools. The architectural detail features textured brick cladding that dovetails neatly with surrounding heritage buildings, and an internal podium garden designed by Dan Pearson.

David Morley Architects is an award-winning London-based architectural practice specialising in projects that are both evolutionary and revolutionary, building on tradition as well as creating prototypes for the future. The practice believes that exceptional architecture is the product of great design and enlightened patronage.

The building is named after Samuel Plimsoll, a Victorian industrialist with links to the history of King’s Cross. Plimsoll was a politician in the time of Queen Victoria’s reign. He campaigned for the safety of miners, and then, inspired by several major shipwrecks (and his investment in the railway coal drops at King’s Cross), moved his focus to goods ships, inventing what became known as the Plimsoll Line as a guide to how low in the water vessels should be.

With a triple-height entrance foyer, a glass scenic elevator for the ride to upper floors including a rooftop conservatory, an art gallery and three communal terraces, the building is home to many conveniences for the community such as a business lounge and dining space open for meetings and private events, as well as on-site gym facilities.

The design of the apartments in the Plimsoll Building is influenced by the existing industrial vernacular, an important reminder of the rich heritage and history of King’s Cross.

The Plimsoll Building is King’s Cross’ third private residential building to launch. It is situated alongside the Regent’s Canal, next to both the Tapestry, and the Gasholder No 8, which is being transformed into a beautiful urban park and events space.

textured brick – whilst internal facades are made up of of light concrete panels which reflect and direct sunlight into the internal garden space. Interiors will be designed

by Johnson Naylor, a practice which works with many of London’s best developers.

With an inspirational new canal and park-side apartments at the heart of the vibrant, and ever evolving King’s Cross, central London, the Plimsoll Building is a cluster of towers arranged around a stunning communal garden, landscaped with architectural trees, shrubs and aromatic herbs. Occupying a key position alongside Gasholder Park, this thirteen storey building offers a truly world class residential experience.

Alongside the private-sale apartments, The Plimsoll Building includes the Winter block, 77 affordable rented homes being provided in partnership with the Dolphin Square Foundation. The building also has two schools, on the ground and first floors: King’s Cross Academy and the Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children. These schools are co-located together and share facilities within an integrated, inclusive and sign/ spoken bilingual environment.

When it was announced that 133,000 additional school places will be needed in the capital by 2018 and with expectations that many of London’s boroughs will fail to meet demand for school places over the next few years, the Plimsoll Building truly differentiates itself from its surrounding residential neighbours is the inclusion of not one, but two, schools occupying the bottom two of its 13 storeys. The King’s Cross Academy is a two-form entry primary and nursery school that will eventually have places for up to 420 pupils. The Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children is a smaller school that caters for children aged two to 11 with a range of hearing difficulties.

The huge amount of pressure on school development within London has made the incorporation of two schools into a residential building in King’s Cross an example of how school designers are becoming ever more responsive to the changing physical and political environment they face. With space for new schools being sparse, particularly in dense inner London, planners, developers and designers are being forced to become ever more creative as to where schools are located.

Having schools incorporated into a residential building on a tight inner-city site sets an important precedent for school designs. David Morley explained that other design options were explored at the start of the project for how the school and housing elements of the development could be configured.

The architecture of the building references the Victorian industrial heritage of King’s Cross – it is externally-clad in a

“We looked at several options for how the school and residential options could be integrated. We looked at freestanding school options as well as the idea of some sort of vertical multi-storey stack. The vertical model provided good adjacencies and opened up the possibility of using the roof as a playground. But in the end, the extent of vertical circulation proved impractical and inefficient.”

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Architecture Company: David Morley Architects Email: info@dmarch.co.uk Web Address: www.davidmorleyarchitects.co.uk Address: 18 Hatton Place, London, EC1N 8RU Telephone: 020 7430 2444

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The Plimsoll Building, King’s Cross Central Build Magazine

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Architects of the Year

ack in April 2011, after 16 years of successful architectural collaboration, Farshid Moussavi and Alejandro Zaera-Polo parted ways, causing the cessation of their joint firm Foreign Office Architects (FOA). Prior to their split the firm was lauded for their projects such as the Yokohama International Ferry Terminal in Japan; noted for its use of dramatic form, innovative materials, and fascination with the interplay of architecture, landscape and nature credited by the Design Museum as a design sensation alive with bustling urbanity and seaside tranquillity. Other projects of note prior to the firm’s dissolution was the Meydan retail complex in Istanbul, and the Carabanchel social housing complex in Madrid.

However, like a phoenix rises from the ashes, from the rubble of FOA rose two award winning firms.

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Farshid Moussavi started her eponymously named London-based international architectural practice FMA later in 2011. Among its completed projects are, the acclaimed Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art in Ohio, the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale installation ‘Architecture and its Affects’ and the Victoria Beckham Flagship Store in London. FMA is currently working on a range of prestigious international projects including an office complex in the City of London, a department store in Paris and a residential complex in the La Défense area of the city. Recently, FMA was shortlisted for the competition to design the Interactive Gallery at The Science Museum in London.

AZPML, Alejandro Zaera Polo’s firm, is also an international practice based in London but also boasts practices in Surich and Princeton. The firm has a commitment to innovation in architecture and urban design, combining technical innovation with design excellence. AZPML projects include a new building for Ravensbourne in Greenwich, the John Lewis Department Store, Cineplex and Footbridges in Leicester, Carabanchel Social Housing in Madrid, Meydan Retail Complex and Multiplex in Istanbul, the Spanish Pavillion at the 2005 International Expo in Aichi, a large coastal park with outdoor auditoriums in Barcelona, a Municipal Theatre and Auditorium in Torrevieja, La Rioja Technology Transfer Centre in Logrono and the Dubnyouk Publishing Headquarters in Paju, South Korea.

AZPMLs current projects in the UK include Birmingham New Street Station in Birmingham and Trinity EC3 offices complex in the City of London. In Spain, AZPML is involved in a new Hospital in Lleida, a Biotechnology centre in Barcelona, the redevelopment of the Santander Waterfron, including the design of a new ferry terminal and the yacht club which will host the World Cup in 2010, the Gurrutxaga Winery in Lekeitio and the Cerezales Foundation. AZPML is also involved in the development of two highrise residential towers in Busan, Korea and the Locarno cinema film festival headquarters in Switzerland.

FMA regards architecture as an integral part of everyday life and an active agent in shaping culture. Their work generates internal orders in built forms by each time assembling them in such a way as to construct a unique transversal organization across the complex array of relevant materials. Each FMA project accordingly has a singular physical presence with a new sense of order relative to the multifarious materials that relate to it and it shapes people’s experience of everyday life in unique ways.

The work of Alejandro Zaera-Polo has been widely published and exhibited, and represented Britain at the 8th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2002; he has received the Enric Miralles Prize for Architecture, five RIBA Awards, the 2004 Venice Architecture Biennale Award, and the Charles Jenckes Award for Architecture.

Having lectured extensively on architecture worldwide, Farshid Moussavi has been a Professor in Practice of Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design since 2006. Farshid Moussavi and her colleagues at FMA have extensive experience of projects with diverse functions for both the public and private sector, and of working internationally.

They are also engaged in critical research through FMA’s research arm, FunctionLab and the publication of “The Function of…” series of books on architectural theory. As a result, FMA has a wealth of knowledge and perspectives of urban and architectural problems, and the agility required to work within different cultures.

Despite their split, both architects and their firms hold true to the same principals, goals and aims that led them to achieve greatness together. This is quite evident in the recent

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Architecture

break down of the Zaera-Polo’s original design for the Birmingham New Street Station where the architect’s intentions for a seamless monolithic rib look was undermined by the use of white PVC, which is already showing signs of stress. Additionally the colour and aging of the material will not coincide with the other materials specified and used by the orginial architect.

Zaera-Polo, who specified a continuous plasterboard cladding of the steel structure has walked away from the project in light of these last minute changes and hasn’t looked back.

“Architecture is a material practice, not a matter-practice. Architectural materials include the non-physical and physical attributes that define the built environment: politics, climate, time, construction technologies and economics as well as wood, glass and steel. FMA treats these materials as extrinsic and intrinsic parameters that generate the assembly of each of its built forms, avoiding form for the sake of form alone.”

In light of this situation, one cannot help but be reminded of Moussavi’s sentiments about materiality in architecture, where she states,

Though their projects and practices are separate one cannot escape the old adage that great minds do indeed think alike.

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Architects of the Month

ive years ago, back in April 2011, after 16 years of successful architectural collaboration, Farshid Moussavi and Alejandro Zaera-Polo parted ways, causing the cessation of their joint firm Foreign Office Architects (FOA). The firm was set up in 1995 by Zaera-Polo and his, then wife, Moussavi, who met while both were working at Koolhaa’s Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

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Over the 14 years of operation by the company, which was based in the Shoreditch area of London, they went on to win a number of RIBA prizes and the Venice Architecture Biennale Award in 2004. Additionally the firm was lauded for their many projects such as the Yokohama International Ferry Terminal in Japan which was noted for its use of dramatic form, innovative materials, and fascination with the interplay of architecture, landscape and nature. This structure was credited by the Design Museum as ‘a design sensation alive with bustling urbanity and seaside tranquillity.’

Another project of note by the pairing, prior to the firm’s dissolution, was the Meydan retail complex in Istanbul. The architects themselves described the aims of this development as being ‘to perform not just as a proficient retail complex but as a true urban centre for the future development of one of the fastest growing areas in Istambul. The building anticipates through its geometry and circulation strategy its subsequent integration into a dense inner city context aiming to formulate an alternative prototype to the usual out-of-town retail box development. The provision of underground car parking is a major part of this strategy, liberating substantial amount of ground floor space to be used for landscaped areas and a new urban square in the centre of the scheme. The roof is fitted also with roof lights that provide daylight and ventilation to the inner spaces. All the surfaces of the project that are not planted with greenery, both elevations and floor surfaces, are clad or paved with the same material: earth-coloured ceramic tiles that incorporate various degrees of perforation depending on functions and uses behind.

The Carabanchel social housing complex in Madrid also managed to impress, especially when one considers the limitations the architects faced when crafting their designs for the structure. The firm at the time described the project as, ‘operating within a severely limited budget, the Carabanchel Social Housing project was 100 social housing units on the outskirts of Madrid. The development, within a regeneration area, bounded by a new urban park on the west and on the north, east and south with similar housing blocks. Regulations set the number of units and the percentages of every size.

The maximum height was also a constraint, but not the alignment within the rectangular plot. Given the adjacency to the future urban park and the North-South orientation of the site, the firm proposed to compact the volume within the given height to provide a private garden for the units on the eastern side and to produce double aspect units facing both gardens. In order to achieve this, the units became elongated “tubes” that connect both facades. Thanks to the compactness of the block, they succeeded in providing fully glazed façades for all the exterior surfaces.

The facades have been lined with a 1.5m wide terrace which provides a semi-exterior buffer space enclosed with bamboo screens mounted on folding frames. The screens protect the glazed surfaces from the strong East-West solar exposure, and are able to open to the side gardens when desired. The target to provide the maximum amount of space, flexibility and quality to the residences, erasing the visibility of the units and their differences into a single volume with a homogeneous skin, able to incorporate a gradation of possibilities was accomplished.

In the words of the architects themselves, ‘the primary architectural effect of the building is not dependent on the architect’s vision, but as an effect of the inhabitants choice, as if the facade was a register at any given moment of a cumulative effect of individuals’ choices.’

Despite the firm’s success however, personal issues between the couple led to the aforementioned closure of the firm. However, this did not mean that the world would be deprived of their architectural prowess. Like the hydra who sprouts two limbs when one is sundered, where there was one firm, now there are two.

Farshid Moussavi started her eponymously named, London-based international architectural practice FMA later in 2011. Among its completed projects are, the acclaimed Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art in Ohio, designed to serve as a catalyst for creativity and growth in a cosmopolitan Cleveland neighbourhood home to one of the country’s largest concentrations of cultural, educational and medical institutions, completed in 2012. FMA also was invited to exhibit at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale with their ‘Architecture and its Affects’ installation. The firm described their installation as identifying ‘the common ground across built forms by organising them not through original motives, intended meanings, historical ideas or their author, but simply based on their actual existence in the world; their affects.

The installation aimed to show that in order to generate different experiences within everyday life and culture,

architecture must accept common ground. ‘ The Victoria Beckham Flagship Store in London brought the firm back to its adopted shores of the UK. FMA is currently working on a range of prestigious international projects including an office complex in the City of London, a department store in Paris and a residential complex in the La Défense area of the

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Architecture

city. Recently, FMA was shortlisted for the competition to design the Interactive Gallery at The Science Museum in London.

The second firm to rise from the demise of FOA is AZPML, Alejandro Zaera Polo’s firm, which is also an international practice based in London but also boasts practices in Surich and Princeton. The firm has a commitment to innovation in architecture and urban design, combining technical innovation with design excellence. AZPML projects include a new building for Ravensbourne in Greenwich, the John Lewis Department Store, Cineplex and Footbridges in Leicester, Carabanchel Social Housing in Madrid, Meydan Retail Complex and Multiplex in Istanbul, the Spanish Pavillion at the 2005 International Expo in Aichi, a large coastal park with outdoor auditoriums in Barcelona, a Municipal Theatre and Auditorium in Torrevieja, La Rioja Technology Transfer Centre in Logrono and the Dubnyouk Publishing Headquarters in Paju, South Korea.

AZPMLs current projects in the UK include Birmingham New Street Station in Birmingham and Trinity EC3 offices complex in the City of London. In Spain, AZPML is involved in a new Hospital in Lleida, a Biotechnology centre in Barcelona, the redevelopment of the Santander Waterfront, including the design of a new ferry terminal and the yacht club which will host the World Cup in 2010, the Gurrutxaga Winery in Lekeitio and the Cerezales Foundation. AZPML is also involved in the development of two highrise residential towers in Busan, Korea and the Locarno cinema film festival headquarters in Switzerland.

FMA regards architecture as an integral part of everyday life and an active agent in shaping culture. Their work generates internal orders in built forms by each time assembling them in such a way as to construct a unique transversal organization across the complex array of relevant materials. Each FMA project, accordingly, has a singular physical presence with a new sense of order relative to the multifarious materials that relate to it and it shapes people’s experience of everyday life in unique ways.

The work of Alejandro Zaera-Polo has been widely published and exhibited, representing Britain at the 8th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2002; he has received the Enric Miralles Prize for Architecture, won five RIBA Awards, the 2004 Venice Architecture Biennale Award, and the Charles Jenckes Award for Architecture.

Having lectured extensively on architecture worldwide, Farshid Moussavi has been a Professor in Practice of Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design since 2006. Farshid Moussavi and her colleagues at FMA have extensive experience of projects with diverse functions for both the public and private sector, and of working internationally. They are also engaged in critical research through FMA’s research arm, FunctionLab and the publication of “The Function of…” series of books

Build Magazine

on architectural theory. As a result, FMA has a wealth of knowledge and perspectives of urban and architectural problems, and the agility required to work within different cultures.

Despite their split, both architects and their firms hold true to the same principals, goals and aims that led them to achieve greatness together, a fact which was quite evident during the recent break down nearing the completion of the New Street Station project in Birmingham. Zaera-Polo’s original design for the Birmingham New Street Station showed the architect’s intentions for a ‘seamless monolithic rib look’ to compliment the giant glass-roofed atrium, which allows for natural light to brighten the entire areas including all 12 refurbished platforms. These designs however, were severely undermined by the use of white PVC, which is already showing signs of stress and wear despite the structures recent completion in September 2015. Additionally the colour and aging of the material will not coincide with the other materials specified and used by the AZPML architect. Zaera-Polo, who specified a continuous plasterboard cladding of the steel structure walked away from the project in light of the last minute changes and didn’t look back based on the changes to materials which compromised not just the look, but the longevity of the structure he designed.

This situation proves that although the couple no longer works together the ideals and architectural beliefs which first aligned them still exist as the behaviour of Zaera-Polo is reminiscent, if not a personification of the words by Moussavi, who expressed similar sentiments about materiality in architecture, when she wrote, “architecture is a material practice, not a matter-practice. Architectural materials include the non-physical and physical attributes that define the built environment: politics, climate, time, construction technologies and economics as well as wood, glass and steel. FMA treats these materials as extrinsic and intrinsic parameters that generate the assembly of each of its built forms, avoiding form for the sake of form alone.”

Though we are not likely to see another pairing of these to modern greats in their field and profession, this does not necessarily mean that we will be deprived of their vision when it comes to future architectural designs. In truth, in the closure of FOA, the architectural world has been gifted with double the amount of award winning designs, by two firms, who can be counted on to hold true to the principals which led to their initial combined success, before giving way to their respective individual accolades.

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Architecture Company: FOA Web Address: www.farshidmoussavi.com Company: FMA Web Address: www.farshidmoussavi.com Company: AZPML Web Address: www.azpml.com

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The London 2012 Olympic Park Build Magazine

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Construction

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Constructing the Best Employer/Employee Relationships

By Charles Urquhart, Partner, Clyde & Co

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mployers in the construction industry should treat employee relationships as they would a building project: the contract must be designed to specification, the foundations laid, walls built and each relationship maintained to avoid damage and the need for restoration.

Laying the right foundations In order to lay the right foundations for each employment relationship, the challenge is to consistently follow a fair and transparent recruitment process. For example, in such a stereotypically male dominated industry, employers must take care to avoid allegations of sex discrimination.

Liability can be created anywhere in the process: from the language and imagery of job advertisements through to an inadvertently leading question at interview. Although, at this stage, individuals are not employees, they can still bring discrimination claims if they believe they were treated less favourably because of their sex (or other protected characteristics such as age, disability, race, religion or sexual orientation) during the recruitment process.

Contracts of employment and engagement are the walls underpinning each individual worker relationship. However, just because a contract labels an individual as an independent contractor does not necessarily make it so for employment and tax purposes.

For example, calling a tiny house, “The Castle” does not change the fact that it is still only a cottage. In the same way, where you have an agreement entitled “self-employed contractor agreement” that requires a bricklayer to turn up every day, in person and without the genuine option to substitute someone else to carry out his/her work, it is likely that that bricklayer will be treated by the courts as a worker, or an employee, rather than a self-employed contractor. Both workers and employees are entitled to paid holiday and the national minimum wage and they can bring claims if they suffer discrimination. In addition, employees have the right to claim statutory sick pay, family related leave and can raise claims in specific circumstances if they have been treated unfairly or dismissed, which underlines why it is important to keep track of whether staff are self-employed or not.

Another reason to keep track of this is because in the current market, there are an unusually high number of self-employed individuals working in the construction industry - with reduced National Insurance contributions (NIC’s) for employers and NIC and income tax savings for employees. However, for a number of years, HMRC has been concerned about the number of cases of “false self-employment” within

the industry, particularly through the use of on shore employment intermediaries. New laws came into effect in April 2014 to seek to tackle this issue by making the intermediary responsible for accounting for tax and NIC’s.

Reporting requirements were introduced in July 2015 which makes it more difficult still to cheat the system. The challenge for employers will therefore be satisfying HMRC as to the bona fides of the status of their independent contractors or, in the alternative, offering sufficient remuneration so as to encourage would-be contractors to sign up as fully fledged employees.

Maintaining the building As the employees start arriving at the front door, the next step is to ensure that each individual has the legal right to enter. With workers coming from across the globe, any offer of employment should be made conditional upon an employee having the right to live and work in the UK. Illegally employing a foreign national could result in a civil penalty, being a fine of up to £20,000 or a criminal penalty of up to 2 years imprisonment, so it is important to check the immigration status of workers and employees throughout the relationship. The challenge for employers, particularly those with large and fluid workforces, is to create a system that will ensure that no one slips through the net.

As in every job, workers do need to escape the building for some fresh air now and again - indeed all workers in the UK (which may include consultants, contract staff and standard employees) have the right to take a minimum of 20 days holiday on top of eight bank holidays each year. However, following recent European and UK judicial decisions, the pay that workers receive whilst on holiday must now take account of commission and/or overtime in addition to basic salary.

Given the frequency with which overtime, is required on construction projects, these decisions could have significant consequences for the industry in terms of worker wages, recruitment, overall project costing and even decisions as to whether to invest in the UK. Finally, if trust and confidence between employer and employee is not preserved, the employment relationship can fall into disrepair. Workers who raise concerns in relation to health and safety issues should not therefore be ignored, or subsequently treated in any way which may amount to a detriment, as such concerns could amount to protected disclosures for the purpose of the whistleblowing legislation. If a worker is subsequently dismissed or subjected to detriment as a result of blowing the whistle, an employer could face a claim for

uncapped compensation in the tribunal.

As with any construction, employers should remember that employee relationships need constant care and maintenance and by adopting this mind-set that employment related issues can be minimised. The challenge for employers is to ensure that this policy is adopted across all sites and at all levels of seniority.

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Inside the Industry

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Inverness – the Making of a Life Sciences Nerve Centre www.invernesscampus.co.uk

hat started as an opportunity to build a small facility to secure research and development jobs in Inverness over 10 years ago has resulted in the creation of world-class healthcare and life sciences hub for business, research and education in an unexpected location. Inverness Campus, which stretches out over 215 acres, is one of the UK’s most ambitious development projects.

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Situated on the edge of Inverness not far from the airport and close to the main A9 motorway, Inverness Campus enjoys spectacular views across the Moray Firth to the Black Isle across the Kessock Bridge and to Ben Wyvis beyond. Ruaraidh MacNeil, Project Director for Inverness Campus, says that when LifeScan, a Johnson and Johnson company based in Inverness, was considering options to locate R&D jobs the UK, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) decided to step in and ask what would be required to keep this key local employer in the area.

“LifeScan said they needed access to academic and clinical research so we visited Oulu in Finland, Montreal, Ottowa and Halifax to look at best practice as it applied to rural areas, particularly rural health. Based on what we saw, we decided to create a multi-stakeholder building for a mix of academic, healthcare and commercial sector organisations as well as social enterprises in a space that encouraged partnerships and collaborations.”

The Centre for Health Science (CfHS) was developed by HIE in partnership with NHS Scotland, NHS Highland and the universities of Stirling and Aberdeen and completed in 2009. It’s a stone’s throw from Raigmore Hospital and is built around a courtyard setting, has an internal ‘street’ and café to create common spaces where people can meet each other informally, or by chance, to exchange ideas.

MacNeil explains that this not only provides a pleasant working environment but promotes the ‘collaborative campus’ model.

“One professor from the Centre for Rural Health, one of the first tenants in the CfHS, came back to me within a week of moving in to say that the CfHS ‘does what it says on the tin’. He was bumping into fellow professionals every day, which kick-started research collaborations that otherwise would not have happened.”

of greenfield land for the next phase of the Campus.

Because it was such a large site, 215 acres, as part of the brief for Edinburgh-based architects 7N, MacNeil asked them to come up with design principles for the entire development.

“The Campus Masterplan Design Guidelines specify scale, building heights, adjacencies and orientations within plots as well as set-back sizes. While not overly-prescriptive, the document gives a flavour of acceptable and unacceptable materials as well as a palette of colours. The colours schemes are based on the natural hues of the Highlands: greens, browns, blues and greys so there will not be any buildings in colours that jar aesthetically with the surroundings such as bright orange or lemon.”

MacNeil explains that on such a large site, it was important to carefully balance the mix of building sizes.

“We will have larger buildings that would not look out of place in cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow as well as smaller-scale enterprises that are more prevalent in the region. Although the Campus is on the edge of Inverness, over time it will eventually become part of the main body of the city. Take the University of Glasgow for example, in the 1860s they moved from their High Street campus to a greenfield site to the west of the city in Gilmorehill. Now the university quarter is very much a core part of the city.”

The latest building on Inverness Campus due for completion in the spring, An Lòchran (which means a torch or lantern in Gaelic), will house HIE, UHI and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). It too will be modelled on CfHS principles, says MacNeil, with plenty of informal meeting areas. “The building itself will act as a digital marketing tool for the region, using the latest technology to promote HIE, UHI as well as the Highlands and Islands itself. As investors walk through the main thoroughfare it will be possible to tailor messages on digital screens in line with their interests, whether that is information about the broadband connectivity rolled out across the Highlands and Islands or details about the Science Skills Academy established to encourage students to take STEM subjects.”

Along with Inverness College UHI, other buildings already on site include the recently completed Life Sciences Building designed by Inverness-based Threesixty Architecture. Architect Andrew Lilley, says that while the design guidelines clearly defined parameters for infrastructure, landscape, materials and building forms, the resulting space also reflects an innovative and contextual approach to design.

The CfHS is now full with 14 tenants, including six universities, 300 employees and is accessed by around 500 students. In 2007/8 HIE identified an adjacent stretch

“The two storey building provides flexible and adaptable floor plates for office or laboratory use addressing the aspiration for a connected Campus that encourages dialogue and interaction.

Inverness Campus itself is defined by its setting, so we used the locally-sourced Denfind Stone

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Equipment Supplier of the Month

iltbuster was founded by Dr Richard Coulton, one of the world’s leading authorities on water treatment. The company’s roots were initially in providing specialist systems and advice for treating mine water. Early projects included designing and commissioning the Wheal Jane Mine Water Treatment Plant in Cornwall for the Environment Agency and providing technical support to DEFRA on the environmental issues relating to the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak.

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In 2003 Richard Coulton switched his attention to the construction sector launching “Siltbuster FB50” a portable water treatment plant for construction sites. This was immediately adopted as best environmental practices by BAA for the treatment of runoff waters produced during the construction of Terminal 5. This success prompted the company to rebrand itself as Siltbuster.

Since then it has carved a name as an expert at treating site runoff, groundwater and process waters on construction and remediation projects.

Siltbuster equipment helps the sector meet today’s environmental pressures, with its fleet of 200 treatment systems routinely out on hire.

Siltbuster regularly works with most of the UK largest construction companies and its equipment has been used on virtually all the large construction projects undertaken in the UK over the last 10 years. It has helped tackle the dirty water produced by construction projects ranging from the Olympics and Cross Rail in London, the reconstruction of New Street Station in Birmingham and the Devonport Royal Dockyard in Plymouth through to the construction of new petrochemical/gas terminals in Pembroke Wales, Shetlands and the Corrib Gas pipeline works.

Siltbuster even supplied systems to help minimise the environmental impact of the raising of The Costa Concordia. Increasingly its equipment is deployed overseas too. Its exports have increased significantly

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in the last year, with its products being sold or hired to 32 countries including Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Ireland and Australia.

The company’s treatment solutions range from the temporary hire of small basic settlement units, right up to full chemical pre-treatment and solids liquid separation systems for large long term projects.

Siltbuster’s solutions for the construction sector include the Big pHil Mk 2 which handles concrete washout waters from column skips and high volume pours.

Siltbuster HD is a mobile unit for handling wash water on hydro-demolition projects, slashing the timescales for such projects by up to 30%. For smaller construction companies it devised its Site Essentials Range - for handling the three most common water pollution problems on construction sites - silty water, recovering oil and treating high pH concrete wash water.

All the equipment provided by Siltbuster is designed in house and manufactured at its site in South Wales. This operation is set to double with the announcement of plans to develop a new 10-acre head office complex.

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Inside the Industry

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Green Building Specialists of the Year - Europe

Koch Architekten 4greenArchitecture is a design company providing innovative sustainable building solutions across a variety of sectors.

t the REWE Group, sustainability is more than just a short term trend or a marketing gag, it’s a deep-seated philosophy. The firm are Green Building specialists who focus on green consultancy, integrated planning and energy design of new sustainable & green buildings, but also refurbishment of existing buildings such as offices, retail, public and governmental facilities, hotels & resorts, residential, cultural buildings, daycare and pre-schools, educational and urban developments.

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Chairman of the Board of Management Lionel Souque explains the firm’s dedication to this cause.

“We at the REWE Group feel an obligation to the environment and society, and we are guided in this by our values as a cooperative enterprise. In other words, we do not stop at respecting the environment – we also believe in treating our employees and suppliers fairly. And we are able to do this without shortchanging our business interests in any way.

“Following the decision to place even greater emphasis on our responsibility to the environment and society, we pooled our company’s sustainability efforts at the beginning of 2008. In order to translate our strategy into concrete projects, we established four pillars of sustainability: ‘Green Products’, ‘Employees’, ‘Social Commitment’ and ‘Energy, Climate and the Environment’. These measures have firmly anchored environmental protection in our

corporate strategy and company structure.

“As a full-range company, acting sustainably is of key importance to us. We also believe in constructing and operating all of our REWE stores throughout the country in a way that conserves resources and protects the environment.

“Our pioneer project, the Green Building in Berlin, is a veritable beacon for this philosophy. From start to finish, this ground breaking store was planned and built according to environmentally friendly building principles.

“Pursuing credible and long-term ecological and social concerns is the guiding principle of all our actions. And it will always continue to be so.”

The firm has worked on a number of high profile projects in this area which they are particularly proud of, including the REWE Green Building, which is one of the best sustainability concepts of the world.

The sustainable use of resources is of increasing importance in architecture and use of buildings. The first REWE Green Building store, opened in November 2009, in Berlin-Rudow is CO2-neutral. This means, the heating, ventilation, lighting, air-conditioning and cooling systems are not burdening the environment with any CO2 emissions. A further highlight is the use of daylight architecture, which is combined with energy-saving building techniques, the best insulation, sustainable materials and the use of renewable energy. As a result, the Green Building concept store uses virtually 50% less energy than a standard store.

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Inside the Industry

The project has won numerous international accolades, highlighting the importance of the construction.

Lionel added his final comments on the firm’s dedication to sustainable development in the building industry and highlighted the firm’s trailblazing approach.

“We are passionate about distinctive architecture with energy efficiency and innovative green technologies that combine daylight use and the implementation of different kinds of renewable energy, bringing ecology, flexibility, economy, profitability and sustainability into a holistic urban context. We offer consultancy and sustainable green corporate architecture design & engineering with CSR, CI-consultancy & green corporate strategy, giving our clients a “green business card“ through our individual sustainable design concepts and solutions.

“Our services entails architecture & integrated design as part of the optimization process also dealing with energy efficiency, renewables,

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space efficiency and cost effectiveness. As a result of our workwise engineering services, building physics, thermal simulations and energy consultancy therefore are parts of our work as well.

“We are an Endorser of the GreenBuilding EU certification scheme, have developed and realised projects with the new Sustainable Building Certification DGNB in Gold standard and we are a “Supporter of the LongRun Initiative, committed to the 4C´s (conservation, culture, community and commerce) aiming for sustainable development, protection of our environment, a reduction of the global carbon foot print and the CO2 emission. We are based in London/UK & Aarhus/Denmark.

“We work locally & globally. Our experience over 25 years is based on projects by our team and Jürgen Koch. We speak English, German, Danish & Scandinavian.”

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Products and Innovation

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Brick: Why it Remains so Popular

Andrew Halstead-Smith, Group Marketing Manager at Ibstock, the UK’s largest brick maker, says brick will continue to satisfy design aspiration and exceed construction sector expectation, as market trends for more product choice and speedier project completion take hold.

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rick has never been more popular. Though around for centuries, it occupies an unrivalled position as the number one construction material of choice and this will continue.

With construction work predicted to increase, and the Government sets about the delivery of 400,000 new affordable homes by 2020, the brick industry is making great strides to ensure supply will meet expanding expectations. To back this up, according to the Office for National Statistics, there has been a seven per cent rise in brick production across the industry during the past twelve months. As for Ibstock, we focused on anticipated demand levels through the recession and foresaw the construction sector’s return to growth. This influenced our strategic decisions to continue investments across our production facilities. These included £22 million invested at our Chesterton site, which is now one of the most energy efficient factories of its type in the world and our recent investment of £55 million into a new state-ofthe-art manufacturing facility in our home town of Ibstock, Leicestershire. This investment will enable the production of an additional 100 million bricks per annum – enough to build around 15,000 new homes.

Supporting innovative design Brick’s enduring appeal is founded on its versatility, design-led capabilities and proven long-term performance characteristics. Construction professionals looking to fashion evermore challenging building designs are continuing to use brick to help turn design vision into stunning reality.

Viewing some of the winning entries from the latest Brick Development Association Awards and it is clear that such outstanding builds aptly demonstrate the wide variety of brick colours, textures, sizes and finishes that the design community is seeking. Whether it is a combination of the Staffordshire Slate Blue Smooth brick used in conjunction with Laybrook Multi Orange on display at the winner for Best Housing Design in Trafalgar Place, or the range of Ibstock bricks specified by Taylor Wimpey on three awardwinning housing developments, brick remains central to architectural aspiration.

Trending this way As for brick-related trends, two are currently prominent: changing tastes and speed of completion. In terms of new preferences, whilst timeless classics will remain popular, there has been a noticeable interest in the use of more vibrant colour options and alternative brick finishes.

The increased popularity of glazed finished products has been marked as a method to produce highly attractive building facades. Portfolios of ceramic glazed finishes in a huge variety of colours and sizes - including frosted, gloss and satin - are now helping to satisfy demand in this area.

Ibstock’s ‘Linear’ collection of longer, thinner bricks is also proving popular to create a striking effect by juxtaposing a traditional building material with contemporary design style. The ‘Linear’ range has more than 70 options to create unique builds time and time again.

Innovations to speed up construction With activity levels rising, the construction sector is looking for faster and evermore efficient methods to incorporate brick into projects. As a result, there has been continuous development of technical solutions to help tackle timescale and budgetary pressures. Such innovations include arches (fully structural one piece arch systems with stainless steel bearing plates) and underslung soffits (which can supply technical answers for unusually shaped and long openings, or projects with restricted access) - just two of the solutions available from Ibstock-Kevington to assist with swift project completion.

To amplify the time-saving benefits of underslung soffits, Ancon Building Products and Ibstock-Kevington have developed Nexus®, a new system which combines a specially developed lightweight brick-faced steel unit with Ancon’s tried and tested MDC stainless steel bracket angle support system.

The new system provides an alternative to traditional pre-cast concrete systems. It cuts weight by more than half, which in most cases will allow the brick-faced units to be installed without specialist lifting equipment, and delivers significant savings in installation time – making it particularly appropriate for fast-track or time-limited projects.

Seeking out sustainable answers Finally, a continued spotlight on the use of more sustainable construction products reinforces the need to

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Brick Trends

ensure brick remains at the forefront of this important industry issue. Ibstock’s own research tells us that over a third of clients routinely request sustainable solutions for their projects, and this is a figure predicted to rise in the future.

Brick was the first construction product to gain verification under the BRE Global’s Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) scheme, making it easier for its environmental impact to be measured. It is a long-lasting, natural product that has very little added to its mixture. It also has low toxicity and does not use preservatives. In addition, bricks produce very little in terms of wastage through the manufacturing process and offer excellent energy efficiency credentials. Brick certainly has a compelling ‘green’ message.

Wide-ranging options, long-standing product trust, innovative technical solutions, stunning aesthetics and sound sustainable characteristics - brick boasts an unrivalled and all-round ability to meet design and performance expectations - this is what continues to set it apart as the construction product of choice for many.

As the UK’s largest brick manufacturer, Ibstock invests heavily in ensuring a more sustainable future through its manufacturing, its communities and its products - over £150 million since 2003.

Demonstrating its commitment to sustainable business, Ibstock was the first UK brick manufacturer to be awarded a very good rating for the responsible sourcing standard, BES 6001 and the internationally recognised standard ISO 50001 for energy management at all its

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brickworks. All of Ibstock’s manufacturing units are also independently verified and registered to ISO 14001, the International Environmental Management Standard.

The company offers an unrivalled choice of over 450 different bricks in its extensive range, which includes prefabricated brickwork components, rainscreens and a diverse selection of special shaped bricks and pavers.

All Ibstock‘s products are backed by its unique technical, design, stockist and site support services and comprehensive information – website and literature. Over 300 years’ brick making experience is sustained by Ibstock’s national network of 19 brickworks. To meet the increasing popularity of brick, Ibstock has increased its capacity by over 125 million bricks since 2013 which includes the investment of over £22m in the redevelopment of its Chesterton factory to create the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly factory of its type in the world today. In addition, £55m has also been invested in building a new state-of-the-art brick factory in Ibstock, Leicestershire.

Ibstock continues to drive the brick industry forward through design, innovation, quality and range. Over the past decade, Ibstock bricks have been used in more than 70 of the award-winning categories and six of the supreme winners at the Brick Development Association Brick Awards. In 2015, the company’s bricks were used in 5 winning award categories and received five special commendations.

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Unlocking Cloud Technology to Create Better Buildings Mads Jensen, CEO at Sefaira

he global population is continuing to grow fast. According to the UN, it’s due to increase from 7.3 billion today to 9.7 billion in 2050. At the same time, there is continued movement of people from rural to urban areas. Unsurprising, this means the demand for more buildings is growing rapidly, with global building stock expected to rise by 24% between 2013 and 2023.

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That is a staggering amount of new buildings. Given that buildings already drive 40% of the world’s energy consumption, all these additional buildings will have a significant impact on climate change if we are not careful.

In the past few years, we have seen a shift towards making larger construction projects more sustainable. However, it is estimated that only 5% of smaller construction projects are currently designed for high performance and sustainability.

This presents a huge opportunity to create change across the industry.

The good news is that there is now technology available to help design better buildings so we can tackle this problem.

Advances in cloud computing and physics simulation have made software for high-performance building design more accessible and cost-effective. The cloud enables real-time analysis of all aspects of the building design, helping users to define, quantify and optimise the energy, water, carbon and financial benefits of relevant design strategies. This helps architects effectively balance between different strategies to maximise capital efficiency, minimise energy and water use and create high performing sustainable building designs, at low cost.

Giving designers access to the real-time insights into the performance of their different design options is a powerful factor in the decision-making process. It means that questions such as: ‘What would happen to daylight performance if you changed that window here?’ or ‘How would energy performance of the building change if that window was made bigger or smaller?’ can be answered instantaneously.

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Previously, specialist consultants would be hired, often late in the design process, to retrospectively assess whether a given design was energy efficient and sustainable. By the time these recommendations were made, it may have been too difficult to make changes to a building’s design – especially given that other elements of the project had already progressed, pressing deadlines would need to be met, and budgets would not allow the suggested changes to be made. Now these decisions can be made early in the design process and a high performing building created as a result.

With 60% of the world’s building stock due to be built or rebuilt between now and 2030, we have a great opportunity to have a major impact on global greenhouse gas emissions. If we use technology smartly, there is no reason why developers can’t make these buildings as efficient as possible. In fact, making smarter use of design software and techniques provides a savings potential between 42 and 87% of the energy required to keep buildings running.

The challenge is understanding how to implement this change within the construction industry, and taking steps to make it happen. Attempts have been made to tackle this before, with governments introducing regulation, but none have been sufficiently ambitious or successful. With the cost of energy so low in comparison to both the price of global emissions and creating or operating buildings, more needs to be done to encourage developers to create more sustainable designs.

Whether regulators choose to use incentives or rewards for companies exceeding efficiency targets, the tools and technology are available. In other words, now is the time to maximise these opportunities and create a more sustainable future.

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Cloud Tech

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Stepping Out with Steel – Re-Imagining of 140 Fenchurch Street

tanding out in London is not easy, especially if you are located in the shadow of the City’s futuristic skyscrapers. However, the creative minds at Bogle Architects, one of the youngest and most interesting studios in Europe, did just that with their reinvention of the entrance to 140 Fenchurch Street thanks to the workmanship of Marzorati Ronchetti, leading Italian manufacturers of specialist metalwork.

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When this pairing of a young architectural firm and a renowned specialist metalwork manufacturer came together on this project, innovation was an inevitable result. Bogle Architects, founded in 2012, consists of a highly creative group of individuals, all of whom share the common desire to design and build architecture which is considered progressive and imaginative. These desires clearly reflect the work done by the well-established Italian metalwork manufacturers, which was founded in 1922 in Cantu, at the heart of the Brianza, Italian artisanal and industrial district, dedicated to the manufacture of products of design. Marzorati Ronchetti is today’s leading company in the field of specialist metalwork, related to the production of design, Art, furnishing and architecture.

Marzorati Ronchetti’s specialism in metal, particularly stainless steel, is the reason Bogle first approached the Italian company when they were designing the signature element of the project, the multi-faceted ‘feature’ wall. As the Italian company has overseen the design, development, engineering, manufacture and installation of a wide range of projects, from single objects and art pieces, to furniture, internal décor and architectural elements, they were an obvious choice for an innovative firm such as Bogle, who were looking to make their mark at the street level of England’s capital, and best known city, already brimming with landmark architecture.

The building’s entrance located a short distance from the Tower of London, on a secondary street, required an eye-catching re-design solution. A solution that would shine and glitter like a jewel yet with an air of sophistication, elegance and daring at the same time.

This project’s signature element is the dramatic, multi-faceted feature wall. The refined geometry of the new wall is achieved using interlinked highly polished stainless steel convex panels, extending from the lobby interior through the glazed facade to wrap around the building’s street façade.

The reconfiguration of the entrance and lobby area involved the realignment of the lobby façade with the main building envelope, using frameless glazing to create a seamless connection between the reception area and the street beyond.

featuring a punched design that reinterprets the geometry of the lobby’s distinctive feature wall, a visual reference that successfully reinforces Bogle Architects’ coherent re-imaging of the entire building.

Polona Pirnat, who joined Bogle in March 2013 after a short stint as a freelance designer, following two and a half years cutting her teeth in the industry at Hamiltons ltd, Atelje and Scapelab, was the Project Architect for the Fenchurch Street reconfiguration and re-imagining, she explains how the idea behind the multifaceted wall was born: “We chose steel for the external wall and reception area, as it is a durable and versatile material that lends itself to a variety of finishes, choosing a multi-faceted surface and texture that would reflect and diffuse light, bringing a sense of dynamism to the new entrance.

Originally, we thought of using cast aluminium, but after consulting with Marzorati Ronchetti, we decided on stainless steel – a material that lends itself to more refined finishes. To ensure the highest quality of finish, the installation was prefabricated in a workshop and then assembled on site.”

The wall’s finely detailed design was custom made by Marzorati Ronchetti, whose international portfolio includes Louis Vuitton’s Milan showroom, the lobby area for 30 St Mary Axe in London and a spectacular exhibition installation at MoMA in New York.

The coherence of the design is further enhanced by a new floating canopy and the introduction of a large, acid-etched steel reception desk.

Stefano Ronchetti of Marzorati Ronchetti explains: “We are often called to create designs that are halfway between architecture and art. In this case, the complex multi-faceted stainless steel matrix is an eye-catching feature with a glittering yet prized image. The steel is augmented by feature lighting along the ceiling that extends outside, adding character to the entry canopy.

The reception desk was also specially designed. The mirror polished top reflects the light tones of the surrounding space.

However, it is the dark tones of the slightly concave, acid-etched steel facing that makes the desk stand out, transforming it into a sort of monolith of prized tactile qualities.”

Headed for a long period by Stefano Ronchetti, the grandson of one of the founders, and now joined by the Zordan Group, the Marzorati Ronchetti company cooperates with artists, architects and designers of international repute, such as Ron Arad, Mario Bellini, Antonio Citterio, Lord Norman Foster, Thomas Heatherwick, Peter Marino, John Pawson, Italo Rota, Adam Tihany and many others.

The coherence of the design is further enhanced by a new floating canopy and the introduction of a large, acid-etched steel reception desk.

The project also includes new steel gates to the rear of the building,

93 years of research, the highest professional standards and a continuing tradition of real craftsmanship, have made a small workshop into a versatile global enterprise, always ready to accept thought-provoking and technical challenges.

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Real Estate

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Real Estate Fund Manager of the Month

&A Property Investors is a Pan European Private Equity Investment Boutique with a current investment portfolio of over €350 million. Their Senior Management Team has extensive experience investing in high-yield investments throughout Europe and has advised and managed in excess of €10 billion of real estate, acquisition, capital markets and restructuring transactions throughout the world. With offices in Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic, and local partners in over 20 locations throughout Europe, they are strategically positioned to utilize their global financial experience and local market expertise to source off-market deals and actively manage the entire investment process to provide solid returns for our investors and strong economic assets for the communities.

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Marc E. Cottino is the founder of M&A Property Investors, established in late 2009 in London and Zurich, and his job is focused on developing relationships with financial partners with the view of implementing Club Deals to co-finance the firm’s pipeline deals. M&A Property Investors activities, visions or investment strategies they evolve quickly according to economic changes, so it is important to not lose the cap and make turn errors from the past into success. “Quick reactions and “Deja-vue” situations can be a strong driver to consolidate experience toward new successes” In 2016 he celebrates 18 years of industry experience and throughout professional life he has discovered that the elements needed to realise a good investment must not be complicated or hazardous. On his firm’s portfolio, he said that “we team up with European Real Estate promoters from Portugal to Czech Republic, people different for cultures and languages, we do require few important facets, Professionalism, Transparency and Will to share ventures with us. Money and profits come later” he says in an in-depth interview.

Giving an insight into the work Cottino does behind the scenes, he outlines his main responsibilities and says that “at 62 I am the old stager with tremendous will and commitment as a teenager who rules the

corporate strategy, who links relationships with investors, bankers, wealth managers, family offices or any other institutional investors partnering with M&A.” “I carry the responsibility of millions Euro invested in tangible assets thousands of kilometres away from each other, and I have passed unintentionally through the crisis’s peak without anguish or distress which I am proud of it. To avoid failure, I carefully listen to the market trends, including smiff off-market deals opportunities in niche markets to source unique investments for my partners.”

Career “I began my career in London at 24 in early 1977 as a junior commodities trader.

Years later I moved to Paris evolving to a well-known financial firm who specialised in Capital Market Instruments, which really a great experience” enthuses Cottino when asked about his experience prior to his role in M&A Property Investors. “In 1990 an AngloFrench financial firm offered me to manage the Madrid branch, so I spent 4 years in that beautiful City. In 1995 I was asked to manage the Private Banking Division of a private bank in Switzerland, which was a really boring job for a guy like me” he adds.

“In spring 1998 a Real-Estate promoter asked me to loan-finance a luxury residential building in downtown Lugano. I was seated over multi-millions portfolios of Swiss francs, but the question was how to finance the promoter instead of selling bank instruments?

Due my experience, I quickly set-up an investment vehicle and subscribed my clients, so in one-week I raised 7 Million Swiss francs and I financed the promoter.

The development was a nice trophy project, indeed all magazines wrote positively about it, the investment was great, the asset was sold in short time and return was excellent.

At the end of the story I was fired by the bank because I was not on-line with the bank’s investment ‘policy” Cottino tells.

Continuing the theme of his career, Cottino explains that he quickly set-up a structure in Luxembourg thanks to the investors who cashed excellent returns and supported him.

He started his new venture in Real Estate by applying Private-Equity techniques. In 1999, he began doing investments in Baltics States, in Hungary in Italy and in Côte d Azur. He divorced from his partner in mid-2007 and took an extended period of sabbatical leave until 2010.

“Meanwhile, the world went bankrupt, the RE bubble deflated and prices dropped. When the economic recovery shyly restarted in 2010, the banks had no money to finance RE

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Real Estate Company: M&A PROPERTY INVESTORS Ltd Name: Marc E. Cottino Email: marc@mapropertyinvestors.com Web Address: www.mapropertyinvestors.com Address: M&A PROPERTY INVESTORS Ltd. Immeuble Liberté, 4,Place de Paris – 4th floor, L-1930 Luxembourg Telephone: +352 661 32 50 16

investments, promoters were in search of Equity Partners, but I was ready and rested not stressed. It was the perfect timing for a second round. Since end 2010 up to today I have launched 21 investments across Europe, estimated at 340 Million Euro and I’m expecting to reach 1 Billion global Investment at the end of 2016” Cottino continues.

How has the firm has changed?

Since Cottino has worked at M&A Property Investors, “the industrial world has changed after the great turmoil. Many factors have contributed to complicate our daily life” says. Developing this point, he goes on to say bureaucracy has increased and “more heavy financial transactions are more complicated than ever, we may say we do live in a world of Compliance officers, legions of controllers, banks become policemen, there is less room for business or improvisation as there was preciously. Jumping on a good deal is now harder, and this makes Cottino really worry for future generations.

M&A Property Investors’ financial performance When asked about M&A Property Investors’ financial performance and the reasons behind its success, Cottino says we have seeded in 2011 and had a harvest in 2015 in Prague, the result being a compounded return of 21.3% yearly on equity-investment. “We at M&A Property are fast growing because we were able to invest in the right place at the right moment, in some growing market niches as Prague where the market is growing consistently, in Portugal where the country is recovering, in Luxembourg a crumb in the heart of Europe growing at two digits and in Switzerland before the country collapsed. Once more, big appraisers edit excellent intelligence reports but ‘smaller’ has still a great role and in M&A Property” Cottino reveals.

Challenges working across the European market Concerning the challenges and opportunities M&A Property Investors face working across the European market, the response from Cottino is that it is less complex now as the firm mainly deal with a network of business lawyers established in all the main capitals. He goes on the say that their partners in Israel, Portugal, Russia and Germany share the same sentiments with his native country Luxembourg. “Is beautiful work all together among different cultures, in this old Europe with his values and contradictions. In

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M&A team we have 5 different nationalities including an American, probably the most integrated person everywhere” Cottino says which is frankly “a miracle”.

Company ethos and culture When asked about the ethos behind the firm and whether there is a certain culture that defines the company and how to do you ensure these values are maintained, Cottino responds by saying, “the question is profound and deserves attention, I have Jewish origins and culture. My ancestors have travelled centuries ago from Turkey to Thessaloniki, to Genoa via Istanbul or Alexandria to Rotterdam with perennial virtues on their heart, as well as modesty and respect for the world. With these values you can challenge the world for ever, that’s why I am impressed to teach to my team to transmit these values to our partners. The response is worth more than a greedy investment.”

The future While Cottino does not consider M&A Property Investors to be unique, he does underline that he probably runs one of the leading-hedge firms who specialise in alternative investments as real-estate, but he still has a lot to learn from his numerous competitors. Developing this remark, he says, “each one has its own skill, the market is wide and great for everybody. Every year new competitors come-out, others die, but we survive and our partners make the difference among the crowd.”

The last word must surely go to Cottino who outlines his future aspirations, “my team and I aspire to reach 1 Billion global “Capex” across Europe by the end of the year, which mean managing global investments for such a target by injecting one-third of equity. Beyond 2016 we will consider listing the company in the London AIM market.

“Work with serenity, bet on the mid-long term targets, share values, abandon greedy methods, create tangible economy, we have assisted in the II° half 2000 at the wildest ravage of the greedy way-of-management, the world economy went partially destroyed. We have a long way ahead to regain, so let’s change the approach. “

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Ones to Watch in Real Estate: Canada

Terry Osti is an experienced licensed residential REALTORÂŽ.

We speak to Terry who provides us with a fascinating insight into his work and his dedication to supporting his clients orking as a Canadian based REALTORŽ I provide services for a variety of clients, ranging from first time home buyers and sellers through to high end buyers and sellers. I work hard to tailor my services to meet my clients’ needs and ensure they have the best possible experience when working with me.

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A big advantage that I have is that my wife owns a technology training company that works with a number of other real estate firms so I operate as a testing centre for new software before she rolls it out to the wider industry.

As such I am ahead of many of my competitors with regards to technology. This plays a key part in our work as getting properties noticed is vital, and therefore the internet is big benefit for sellers. We use our resources and strong social media department to get buyers interested.

Additionally we are able to target our social media posts at those users we believe would be potential buyers, ensuring those who are most likely to respond to an advert are exposed to it.

Being technologically advanced is a key part of my success in this competitive real estate market, but my strong background in the industry has also helped immensely.

I have a varied experience, having previously studied design and architecture at University and worked in the construction industry and as a firefighter.

All of this provides me with the experience to look at a property and immediately make an initial assessment. Whilst we always use licensed inspectors to conduct surveys on properties, it is an advantage to be able to make a judgement straight away, which is why my understanding of the construction industry is so helpful.

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Looking to the future, technology will continue to play a key role in our business and therefore I will strive to continue to keep ahead of the developments. Client service is also key so I will be continually working to keep them satisfied moving forward.

Contact Details Company: Terry Osti-Personal Real Estate Corporation Website: http://www.terryosti.com/ Phone: 778-855-6784 Email: TerryOsti@REMAX.net

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Ones to Watch in Real Estate: Kansas Move, Inc., operates the realtor.com® website and mobile experiences, which provide buyers, sellers and renters of homes with the information, tools and professional expertise they need to discover and create their perfect home. ews Corp [Nasdaq: NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV] acquired Move in November 2014, and realtor. com® quickly established itself as the fastest growing online real estate service provider in the first half of 2015 as measured by comScore.

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As the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®, consumers know they can look to realtor.com® for the most comprehensive and accurate information anytime, anywhere. With relationships with more than 800 multiple listing services (MLS), realtor.com® has more than 3 million for-sale listings, which account for more than 97 percent of all MLS-listed for-sale properties. More than 90 percent of the listings are updated every 15 minutes. Move’s network of websites provides consumers a wealth of innovative tools, including Doorsteps®, Moving.com™, SeniorHousingNet. comSM and others. Move supports real estate professionals by providing many services to grow their businesses in an increasing digital, on-demand world, including ListHub™, the nation’s leading listing syndicator and centralized intelligence platform for the real estate industry; TigerLead®; Top Producer® Systems; and FiveStreetSM and Reesio, as well as many free services. Move is based in the heart of Silicon Valley – in San Jose, Calif.

Realtor.com® Realtor.com®, the official site of the National Association of REALTORS®, is the leading homes for sale Web site, offering more listings and essential real estate-related information, to over 40 million consumers each month. [1] Realtor.com® displays home listings from more than 800 Multiple Listing Services (MLS) [3] across the U.S., resulting in a database over 4 million existing homes available for sale or rent. Approximately 80% of all listings found on realtor.com® are updated every 15 minutes and the remainder are updated every one to 24 hours.

This provides consumers with the freshest listing information and content available online.

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Realtor.com® First to Add School Search School is in session for the realtor.com® mobile app for iOS and Android which has now been updated with the following: • Nearby Schools button on the home screen leverages GPS to find schools in surrounding areas; • School pins on an interactive map that display school ratings and assignment boundaries and; • Capability to search listings based on their assigned public school or school district.

Mobile innovation has propelled realtor.com® app growth. Over the past year, the app has experienced a 67% increase in mobile page views and more than 130% jump in mobile photo views.

Contact Details Company: Realtor® Name: Heather Evans Realtor® Email: heather26evans@gmail.com Web Address: www.realtor.com Address: C/O Hawks RealEstate Professionals, 1225 SW Harvey Street, Topeka, KS 66604 Telephone: 001 785 640 4129

50 Contact Details Company: CPS Property Consultants Name: Art O’Hagan Email: art@cps-property.com Web: www.cps-property.com Telephone: 028 9095 8888

Contact Details Company: Ben Siggins Estate Agents Name: Ben Siggins Web: www.bensiggins.co.uk Address: 29 Pudding Lane, Maidstone, ME14 1PA Telephone: 01622 922004

Ones to Watch in Real Estate:

Ones to Watch in Real Estate:

Northern Ireland

UK

CPS Property being one of the largest branch network Estate Agencies in Northern Ireland with the most extensive geographical spread across the province with offices in Armagh, Belfast, Enniskillen, Dungannon, Omagh & Monaghan which means they can present your property to more potential purchasers than any other agent.

Ben Siggins Estate Agents has a passion for customer service and delivering results. With the wealth of knowledge and experience their sales team offer, their approach sets them apart to deliver the highest level of expertise.

We spoke to their founder, Ben Siggins, to find out more.

heir strong customer focus is supported by innovative and industry leading application of technology to help them deliver a better, customer centred and efficient service to their clients. Across their branches they have introduced in-branch touch screen or internet access to their property database and through their new, market leading website you can register for regular updates, book viewings or valuations online and receive SMS or e-mails informing of new properties or bidding activity

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CPS offer the following services; • • • • • •

Residential Sales - Commercial Sales -Property Valuation; RICS Valuations - Building Surveys -Property Auctions; Property Management - Consultancy -Financial Services; Mortgages - Financial Restructuring -EPC’s; Fixed Charged Receivers - Legal Property Advice -Chartered Accountants; Residential Lettings -Commercial Lettings -New Developments Acquisition of Lands and Planning.

Art O’Hagan, Estate Agent (RICS ASSOCIATE) is MD at Cps Estate Agents. As Proprietor of CPS with branches in Armagh (since 1987) and having expanded to a network of 6 branches across the province to include Lisburn Rd Belfast, Dungannon, Enniskillen, Monaghan & Omagh. With over 27 Years of experience in the property and business sector and being an Associate Member of RICS (Royal Institute Of Chartered Surveyors) and a MIPAV (Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers) registered valuer, he has ample experience in carrying out probate valuations & market appraisals.

hen dealing with clients, we uphold an ethic of good service and always put them first. We believe that this what has enabled us to sell property for the best prices. Based opposite the entrance to Fremlin Walk, which is now the shopping hub of Maidstone, our lovely new office in Pudding Lane is ideally located to handle any of Maidstone’s property requirements.

After 12 years of successfully working for large estate agents, and more than 18 years in sales, I decided to start my own independent estate agents in Maidstone where I could offer my clients the benefits I was unable to offer as an employee.

With an honest approach to sales and a friendly manner, I feel confident that people prefer to be dealt with in this way.

As the leader of my company, I pride myself on being approachable and knowledgeable. I always have my clients’ interests at heart and whether they are looking for their first home, up-sizing, down-sizing or looking to sell a property to achieve new goals, I will do everything I can to help. Furthermore, I have lived in Maidstone for many years which has helped me build an excellent understanding of the housing market in the area.

As a truly independent estate agent, we can offer our clients lower fees, lower up front charges and provide a much more personal and professional service than the larger firms can provide. With our expertise and experience, along with the help of Internet marketing such as Rightmove, Zoopla, primelocation and many many more, we can offer our clients everything that any larger estate agent can, only better, less expensive and more honestly.

Additionally, our clients have nothing to lose by selling or buying through Ben Siggins Estate Agents because there is no tie-in period and contracts are nothing to pay unless you sell through us.

He has had numerous roles as a business economist throughout NI. Specialising in managing property portfolio’s for corporate and private clients, his focus is to meet the needs of CPS clients and provide a valuable personalised service along with my professional qualified team offering years of experience from Cps at your disposal.

Since 1995, he has been a Lay Magistrate and a Justice of the Peace. He has also been the Chair of Armagh City Centre Management from 2002 to 2014, therefore he is able to provide practical knowledge of the local business market paired with an abundance of knowledge of the wider

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Chartered Surveyors and Property Consultants Middle East and Africa

Residential Valuation

Commercial Valuation

Machinery and Business Assets Valuation

Investment and Commercial Agency

Project and Building Consultancy

Development Advisory and Real Estate Research

Hotels, Hospitality and Leisure

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www.cavendishmaxwell.com ď‚•

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Real Estate Deal of the month

Real Estate Deal of the Month: Real Estate Investment Platform BrickVest Launches and Closes First Deals

Real estate investment shaken-up by new Fintech platform with attractive investment opportunities in Europe rickVest has announced the launch of its online direct real estate investment platform. The London based Fintech platform allows investors to invest as little as EUR 1,000 in institutional quality real estate that previously was only accessible to large institutions such as pension funds, insurance companies and large family offices.

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The firm has just closed three deals, allowing users to invest alongside the following investment partners, who manage billions of real estate assets globally.

Thor Equities, a global leader in urban real estate investment and development, will give BrickVest users the opportunity to invest in retail assets located in central London. With Aerium, the pan-European real estate investment manager, BrickVest users can access an investment in the heart of Berlin’s central business district. The final deal secured with Corestate Capital Group, is a sizeable retail portfolio also in Germany.

The founding team has vast experience in both real estate and technology sectors. The company is backed by influential investors, notably including Harvard University Professor of Real Estate Finance, Richard Peiser, and Global Founders Capital, the venture capital arm of Rocket Internet.

BrickVest offers a range of investment opportunities allowing investors to select an opportunity based on the preferred asset class, geography and return profile.

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Unlike property crowdfunding platforms, which first need to raise enough financing from investors in order to acquire a property, all the investment opportunities on BrickVest’s platform have already been closed. This means that investors can immediately acquire their stake in the property.

Through the dead the firm has unlocked the ability to combine unparalleled ease of access and transparency while providing an institutionallevel investment platform with increased liquidity, supported by best-in-class reputable fund service providers such as Nabarro LLP (legal), BDO LLP (audit, tax), Reyker (fund operations, depositary, custodian) and Lawson Conner (regulatory).

Emmanuel Lumineau, CEO at BrickVest, comments: “Today is a significant moment in the real estate industry, as we are levelling the playing field for those who have been unfairly locked out from closed networks. While most existing real estate peer-topeer funding platforms act as a brokerage service for investors, BrickVest offers the full spectrum of investment management services: from complete deal underwriting and structuring to investment management, rating and monitoring. BrickVest further sets itself apart by providing to the European investment community a unique liquidity platform to a traditionally illiquid asset class. I certainly believe that we are introducing a fundamental shift in the process of real estate investment.”

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Closing the Skill Gap

Can the construction industry leverage the Government’s 2020 apprenticeship pledge?

ith an ever-present skills gap and an ageing workforce, the construction industry has welcomed the Government’s recent comprehensive pledge to create three million apprenticeships by 2020 – although leveraging this new opportunity will be no walk in the park.

growing economy in the G7. Not only is this figure an increase on the 2.2 million apprenticeships secured throughout the previous parliament, but the commitment overall is supported by engaging research, robust methods of delivery and even a watertight change to British law.

David Butterfield, Head of Learning and Development for Aggregate Industries, a leading manufacturer and supplier of construction and infrastructure materials and an advocate of employee education, explores how the new pledge will affect the construction industry and what employers can do to encourage uptake of apprenticeships across all construction disciplines.

Before we explore what the pledge means for the construction industry in particular, let us summarise the commitment by looking at a few key points of interest.

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It has long been accepted that apprenticeships are key to addressing the construction industry’s skills gap. But after a sharp post-recession decline in relevant sector apprenticeships, and with an ageing population of skilled workers, the industry has had to play catch-up to prevent the void from widening.

The Government’s latest research reveals that seven out of ten employers find apprentices useful to their business – an unsurprising figure given that apprentices have also been reported as having a direct positive influence on a company’s profit margins.

For reasons just like these, the Asphalt and wider aggregates sector, like many industries in the UK, is already a convert when it comes to appreciating the benefits of recruiting and nurturing apprentices.

Three million apprentices by 2020 The new Conservative Government’s recent commitment to delivering three million apprenticeships by 2020 has been hailed a positive step towards establishing the UK as the fastest

Changes to law The Government has ‘enshrined’ its commitment in law, by formalising and protecting the term ‘apprenticeship’ and giving it the same legal treatment as a degree.

This will strengthen the reputation of an apprenticeship qualification, and allow the Skills Minister to take legal action, through the newly formed Enterprise Bill, against any organisation using the term to promote low quality training courses.

Public sector targets and the Apprenticeship Levy To deliver its ambitious target of three million new training opportunities, the Government will set targets for all public sector bodies, as well as introduce a nationwide ‘Apprenticeship Levy’. The new levy, a crosssector initiative which was announced during the Queen’s speech in May, will set out a legal requirement for all large companies to play their part in achieving the 2020 target by investing in training – essentially levelling the playing field for apprentices and employers.

The levy will no doubt go some way in addressing the investment decline in training throughout the UK over the last 20 years, but will most likely give rise to difficulties in a number of sectors where similar, well-established initiatives are already in place.

What the 2020 apprenticeship commitment means for the construction sector To understand what this means for the construction sector in particular, it is important to understand where our industry sits in the grand scheme of things – the economy, our

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current performance within the realms of training and of course, what we all need to do to push things forward.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders delivered a speech following the announcement of the 2020 apprenticeship initiative. In it, he explained that the construction sector accounts for 7% of the UK’s GDP, which means it should be responsible for 210,000 of the three million new apprenticeships. An impressive figure you might say – one which is sure to close the skills gap? Consider though, that in order to meet that target of 210,000 new apprenticeships, our industry would need to enrol a staggering 42,000 new learners per annum – quite a leap from the 16,000 we welcomed last year.

links, solid in-house training and development procedures and enticing marketing materials that will attract young learners to all levels of our supply chain.

In other words, the Government’s 2020 apprenticeship commitment poses a great opportunity, now what we have to do is leverage it for the greater good of our industry.

In short, there is a sizable job to be done if we are to maximise the opportunities presented to us by the Government’s latest pledge – an opportunity we need to grab with both hands in order to narrow and eventually close the skills gap in line with the retirement of our ageing workforce.

Choosing the right levy The new Apprenticeship Levy will cut across multiple sectors within the UK, with the construction industry firmly on the list. This brings with it great opportunity for small and medium sized companies to benefit from carefully distributed funding for training programmes and the recruitment of fresh talent.

Like a number of other sectors however, there is already a similar levy in existence, which is operated by the Construction Industry Training Board. Up for renewal in March 2018, industry bodies will be forced to decide how this existing levy fits into the legal requirements of its new nationally recognised counterpart.

The road to recovery Following the economic downturn there was a sharp fall in the uptake of construction apprenticeships throughout 2009 and 2010.

Since then the number has increased year on year with no sign of slowing, as more and more youngsters become interested in the many varied and interesting disciplines and career paths offered by the construction industry.

This improvement is in part due to the commitment of organisations like Aggregate Industries, which have well-established teams of staff dedicated to the enrolment, progression and recruitment of apprenticeships, as well as the continued support of colleges and universities.

A notable example of this can be seen at Leicestershire based Stephenson College - where many of our engineering apprentices train – which has recently benefited from the opening of a new Technical Centre of Engineering Excellence, thanks to a strategic partnership between Aggregate Industries and Siemens.

With funding available for three million apprenticeships, it is up to us as manufacturers, suppliers and contractors to pull together and create a demand for a bigger slice of the pie. Being convinced of the commercial benefits to recruiting apprentices is one thing, but we need to dedicate time and resources to developing strong college

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Aggregate Industries - a commitment to lifelong learning As a key player in its market place, Aggregate Industries has been leading the way for the enrolment of apprentices and other work-based learning schemes. As a member of the 5% Club, Aggregate Industries are striving to achieve a goal of 5% of their workforce consisting of apprentices, sponsored students and/or graduates on formalised training schemes within five years.

With a commitment to lifelong learning, the manufacturer currently has 49 young colleagues enrolled on a variety of apprenticeship schemes from Engineering and Marine, to Mechanical and Business Administration. In addition to its substantial and well-established apprenticeship scheme, the organisation currently has 11 employees participating in a graduate training scheme and a further 31 team members of all ages studying for a variety of Higher Education qualifications including foundation, Bachelor and Masters degrees.

Donna Hunt, Head of Sustainability at Aggregate Industries, says: “The whole ethos of sustainability is to be able to manage what a company will look like and how it will be performing in years to come, and central to this is the people. Aggregate Industries recognises that a skilled work force is necessary to stimulate growth and achieve excellence in sustainability. Our apprenticeship scheme is about building a pipeline of skills and talents in preparation for a future sector where these credentials will be in high demand, as well as re-opening routes for people in new areas of work.”

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Case Study - Higher Education Apprentice Sam Hancock is 19 years old and joined Aggregate Industries in 2014 on a Higher Apprenticeship, combining practical work experience with higher education. Once he gains his Certificate of Higher Education, Sam will have the option to continue into an honours degree in Mineral Products Technology.

Sam talks to Build about what he thinks about the apprenticeship route: Why did you choose an apprenticeship?

I chose an apprenticeship because it is a great way to earn a living whilst learning at the same time. I was always unsure about what I wanted to do when I left school so university was not an option at the time, not to mention the huge debt you get yourself in. Now I am earning a wage whilst studying part time at university, without the debt. It’s a win-win situation.

What made you choose this apprenticeship?

This particular apprenticeship appealed to me because of the nature of work involved. I don’t mind working outside, I like to get stuck in with the manual work as well as some office work. The wage is good for an apprentice, above the national average. Another reason why I chose this apprenticeship was because of the chance to gain a degree. Speaking to people who have done this course in the past, it can lead to a variety of job roles within the business and isn’t limited to where you can go.

How did you find out about the apprenticeship?

I found this apprenticeship on the apprenticeships.org. uk website where most big companies advertise the roles they have. From there you apply for the job you are looking for. For me I went through an apprentice recruiter, Impact Apprenticeships, who work on behalf of Aggregate Industries to find suitable apprentices. After a telephone interview

and formal interview with Impact Apprenticeships, I had an interview with Aggregate Industries. From there they offered me the job the next day.

What roles have you been doing since you started your apprenticeship?

I started off in the main offices at Bardon Hill working within the Contracting team; mainly with the estimators. I was then placed on site at the A453 where I was reviewing and sorting technical data to do with the coring of the road. I was then placed in the laboratories at Bardon Hill quarry, where I was testing and grading different sized aggregates that had come straight from the quarry. From there to present day I have been working within a team, laying asphalt. Mainly in Stoke where a big contract had just been won.

Is there any mentoring or coaching involved?

I have regular chats and progress meetings with my line manager and HR. We discuss how I am getting on and what I have been up to and whether I am enjoying what I am doing.

We will then plan and discussed what job roles I would be doing in the future, for example where I will be going next.

What have you enjoyed the most about it?

I have enjoyed doing different job roles and being placed around different sites during my first year with the company.

I have been busy within a lot of departments, learning a lot about the business as a whole and the amount of work the company actually does.

Tell us about the course you are on?

Three years are mandatory for the completion of a certificate of higher education. Then there are 2 optional extra years to gain a full honours degree in Mineral Products Technology. I currently study at Derby University. On top of the university work I am also completing a Level 4 NVQ Diploma in Health, Safety and Environmental Management in the Extractive and mineral processing industries.

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About Aggregate Industries Aggregate Industries is a leading player in the construction and infrastructure industries. It produces and supplies a wide range of construction materials including aggregates, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and precast concrete products. It also produces, imports and supplies cementitious materials and offers a national road surfacing and contracting service.

It prides itself on best practice in sustainability having become the first company to be certificated to BES 6001, The Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products and a founding member of the UK Green Building Council. Aggregate Industries is a proud member of the LafargeHolcim Group.

More information is available on www.aggregate.com

About LafargeHolcim With a well-balanced presence in 90 countries and a focus on Cement, Aggregates and Concrete, LafargeHolcim (SIX Swiss Exchange, Euronext Paris: LHN) is the world leader in the building materials industry. The Group has 115,000 employees around the world and combined net sales of CHF 33 billion (EUR 27 billion) in 2014. LafargeHolcim is the industry benchmark in R&D and serves from the individual homebuilder to the largest and most complex project with the widest range of value-adding products, innovative services and comprehensive building solutions. With a commitment to drive sustainable solutions for better building and infrastructure and to contribute to a higher quality of life, the Group is best positioned to meet the challenges of increasing urbanization.

More information is available on www.lafargeholcim.com For further press information, please contact: Rumandeep Gill Whistle PR rumandeep@whistlepr.co.uk 0121 517 5177

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Securing Development Finance as a Small Property Developer

By Rishi Khosla, CEO of OakNorth, a new bank offering business loans, property development finance, property investment loans and a range of savings accounts.

mall property developers are facing larger challenges in securing development finance than ever before. There are numerous factors that are impacting banks’ and investors’ confidence when it comes to lending, such as: the ongoing economic turmoil in China, the question mark hanging over Britain’s future with the EU, a continued fall in oil and commodity prices, increasing construction costs, and the rise in stamp duty. Less confidence means they are less willing to put their money with small and midsized businesses and developers who carry greater risk than their larger counterparts.

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While there are a number of bridge finance players who are now actively offering between 1-1.25% monthly interest rates, there is a very pronounced lack of supply when it comes to development finance.

In fact, according to a recent survey from insolvency specialists, Begbies Traynor, more than 50,000 construction and real estate firms have begun this year in ‘significant’ financial distress. This is despite the fact that since 2010, smaller developers have built as much as 80% of the UK’s new homes.

In order to try and improve the lending situation for smaller developers, the Home Builders Federation has proposed changes to planning regulations and incentives for building on brownfield land, but I’m not convinced this will be enough. The government also needs to look at what can be done from the lending perspective rather than just the property development perspective. A big issue is that lending to small developers requires the same amount of work as lending to larger developers who require much bigger sums, encouraging larger lenders to focus on larger developers. In order to create a more level-playing field and ensure smaller developers are being adequately

served, the government needs to address the competitive disadvantage smaller, newer lenders such as OakNorth have. If we had similar capital and regulatory reporting requirements as the large, incumbent banks, we would be able to lend even more to smaller developers.

Perhaps one of most important changes to affect the construction sector in the last year is the rise in stamp duty. In most cases, to get planning permission to build a large, residential property, developers need to have a certain amount of affordable housing in it.

This wasn’t a problem before because they could still make a profit on the development through the sale of premium flats within the building. However, with the rise in stamp duty, which has made purchasing these premium properties more expensive, demand for them has decreased which means it’s harder for developers to make a profit. If they can’t make a profit, lenders are less likely to grant them a loan.

This climate, however, does not need to be the impediment that most property developers think it is; with lateral thinking and planning, small developers can ensure they get the funds they need at a favourable rate even in this time of economic turmoil.

One of the most important first steps any developer should take is to shop around; as explained earlier in this article, large banks often lack the incentive to lend to small developers as the margin they’ll be making is minimal. While large banks of course still have a role to play in the lending environment, it is important to consider other options such as smaller, more specialist banks, development lenders who make this industry their top priority, and alternatives such as crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending. Not only will this initial research save you time (and sanity!) further down the line, but it will also give you a better idea of who you’re most likely to secure a loan with. One of the biggest mistakes small developers make, largely because they’re often stretched for time, is to simply go to their existing bank for a loan. However, their bank may not be willing to lend to them or will only do so at a less

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favourable rate than perhaps another would, so it’s important that small developers do their research and give themselves enough time to consider all their options.

Another important initial step for small developers is to seek advice on creating a loan structure that is right for them. This is particularly important because there are a number of loan structures that are deliberately opaque and come with financial ‘bells and whistles’ which can give developers a nasty surprise further down the line.

Seeking support from an accountant, finance director or someone else who deeply understands the financials of the development in question will help developers ensure their interests are protected.

It’s surprising how many developers still don’t do this. The time and effort it could save them is worth the investment.

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Cybersecurity and BIM: What Issues are Being Overlooked?

By Matthew Needham-Laing, Partner at Stevens & Bolton LLP

yber-crime is a growth industry; the crime statistics published by the Office for National Statistics for 2015 recorded 2.5 million cyber-crime offences . The vast majority of this crime wave is directed at attempts to defraud financial institutions or obtain information on their customers rather than focussed on the construction industry, however the cyber-attack on the US retail chain, Target, in December 2013 is said to have originated in the firms building control system and compromised an estimated 40 million credit and debit card accounts.

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The U.S. Department of Commerce recognised in 2011 that control systems used in buildings and industrial processes were adopting IT solutions to promote connectivity and in order to enable the systems to be remotely accessed, which in turn increased the vulnerability of those systems to cyber-attack . Industries which the state department identified as particularly prone to using centralised control to acquire data and control systems of dispersed assets included the utilities, oil and natural gas industry, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, automotive and aerospace manufacturing and the food industry.

6. The technical specification of security products and features The owner of such buildings/infrastructure should understand and routinely apply appropriate and proportionate security measures so as to deter or disrupt the threat of hostile, malicious, fraudulent or criminal activities.

The Construction Industry Council’s BIM2050 team also identified the threat of cyber-attack in its report noting that “digital connected infrastructure and business systems are vulnerable to electronic terrorism and sabotage. Just because your information is secure now, it does not mean that it will be secure in the near future”.

In their recommendations the BIM2050 team suggest “Organisations need to review their data residency, integrity strategies and agreements to proactively defend our digital and physical assets from cyber-attacks.”

At BIM Level 2, where consultants produce models stored on their own servers with limited inter-operability or connectivity The UK Centre for the Protection of National between their model and the models Infrastructure similarly identified a number of prepared and held by the other consultants, building types and infrastructure which could be with one Project Information Model (“PIM”) threatened by hostile, malicious, fraudulent or held by the Employer, organisations need criminal activities . In particular they recommended to consider the physical or geographical that owners of such facilities should, as a minimum, location of data and information, and consider whether the following could be used to develop strategies to maintain and assure significantly compromise the integrity of the building, the accuracy and consistency of that data infrastructure or impair its ability to function: over its entire life-cycle. However as the industry moves towards BIM Level 3 with 1. The control systems in the building; integrated electronic information, fully 2. The permanent plant and machinery; automated connectivity and a web stored 3. Structural design details; PIM, the idea of data residency becomes 4. Security and other control rooms; outdated. Information stored in the cloud is 5. Areas that house regulated substances stored in different data bases often through (e.g. nuclear isotopes and bio-hazards) chains of sub-contractors and in numerous

or information geographical locations the tension between greater collaboration and connectivity that BIM encourages and cyber security which ideally would limit access to the BIM data and/or its connectivity with third parties becomes increasingly difficult to reconcile.

Both the U.S. Department of Commerce and the UK Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure recommend any employer should be aware of the range of potential security issues which are applicable to its business, the infrastructure it uses and the buildings it occupies. If there is any uncertainty, the recommendation is that the employer should seek advice from appropriate security advisors. In the UK this would be a member of the Register of Security Engineers and Specialists. This advice should typically cover personnel, the

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physical security of the building and cyber-security. Further advice may also be obtained from the police architectural liaison officer (or in London the crime prevention advisor) who will be embedded in the Local Authority Planning Office. There is therefore a need for the employer to consider security generally and cyber security in particular, at the outset of a project. The employer should appoint a suitably qualified and experienced individual to advise and manage the security issues and threats which may occur during the lifecycle of the building/infrastructure. In particular the individual concerned should be responsible for the development of the built asset security strategy which identifies the employer’s security requirements. This strategy should then be used to develop the built asset security management plan (“BASMP”) which should address the specific security risks which have been identified and implement and maintain the security measures to counter those risks.

If the employer is intending to carry out a building project, the contents of the BASMP should be used to inform and develop the security requirements in the Employer’s Information Requirements (“EIR”). This is the foundation document for any BIM project, which specifies the information to be delivered and the standards and processes to be adopted, (including security processes) by the suppliers as part of the BIM process. As noted in the ACE (UK) BIM Technology Protocol “All project BIM data developed within the CDE [common data environment] should be subject to the necessary security requirements as specified in the EIR” The CIC BIM Protocol requires the employer to appoint an Information Manager who has no design related duties, though the expectation is that the role will form part of wider duties undertaken by either the ‘Design Lead’ or the ‘Project Lead’.

The Information Manager is responsible for managing the CDE, managing project information and supporting collaborative working, information exchange and the project team. The employer’s own security advisor who has prepared the BASMP should, in my view, work closely with the Information Manager to ensure that security standards are maintained because, despite one of the proposed duties of the Information Manager being to “maintain the Information Model to meet integrity and security standards in accordance with the Employer’s Information Requirements” during the project , the CIC BIM Protocol also states at Clause 5.1, that a Project Team Member (the Information Manager being one of the Project Team) gives no warranty as to the integrity of the electronic data and at clause 5.2 excludes liability for any corruption or unintended amendments etc. of the electronic data which occurs after transmission of a Model by a Project Team Member, unless caused by a failure to comply with the BIM Protocol. This does not encourage Project Team Members to take appropriate steps to assure the integrity and security of the BIM data.

In addition the possibility that professional indemnity insurers may seek to exclude liability in respect of losses, damage or amendment to electronic documents, lead to the conclusion that liability for the integrity of the electronic data remains with the employer under the CIC BIM protocol, and consequently the employer needs to manage that risk.

A more practical reason for suggesting the employer’s own security

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advisor should be working closely with the Information Manager is because as the project progresses from design and construction through to commissioning and operation, the PIM will (or should be) used to commission and operate the building or facility. The PIM may need to interface with facility management systems and operational management systems. The responsibility for the PIM should therefore transfer from the Project Team to the employer’s operational staff. The employer’s security advisor could manage that transfer and put in place procedures to ensure that confidentiality of the PIM is maintained and access to it is controlled as personnel and contractors change during the operational life of the facility. The integrity of the PIM will also need to be maintained and continuously up-dated to reflect changes to the asset during it life cycle if the PIM is to continue to be a useful working tool for the operation and maintenance of the facility. Similarly, the ability to access the PIM will need to be maintained as information and storage technologies change over the lifecycle of the facility.

It is in the interest of the employer therefore to be involved throughout the project if it is to obtain the advantages of BIM while protecting itself from the potential security threats which arise through the increased use of information technology and collaborative working which BIM demands.

Office for National Statistics 2015 crime statistics.

National Institute of Standards and Technology - US Department of Commerce special Publication 800-82 – Guide to Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Security PAS 1192-5:2015 Specification for security-minded building information modelling, digital built environment sand smart asset management Built environment 2050 – A Report on Our Digital Future Defined in PAS 1192-5:2015 as the “built asset security manager” Practical implementation of BIM for the UK Architectural, Engineering and Construction (ACE) industry Version 2.1.1 June 2015 – section 4.4 Building Information Model (BIM) Protocol CIC/BIM Pro published by the Construction Industry Council Outline scope of services for the role of Information Manager CIC/INF MAN/S published by the Construction Industry Council

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Why Should the Construction Industry Embrace Digital?

The rise of digital is having a huge impact on industry, and the construction sector is seeing a considerable transformation as more and more firms adopt the new technology. According to a new report from the Oxford Economics for Virgin Media Business, if the construction industry can embrace digital, then it could unlock up to £9 billion worth of economic growth and hire an additional 70,000 more digitally proficient workers. With this in mind, Colin Yates, business programmes director at WorkMobile, discusses the practical application of some of the new pieces of digital technology available.

he report from Virgin Media Business has suggested that in the next few years the construction industry will be particularly divisive in the UK’s economic growth as a whole - and that it is the construction companies that have embraced digital that will drive this growth. The report predicts that construction firms that successfully integrate digital technology into their everyday workings are likely to grow their revenue by around six per cent.

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In order to stay competitive, construction companies need to use all the tools at their disposal to secure more business and grow. And to get ahead, some forward-thinking construction companies are already adopting the latest technology.

With a whole host of new digital technologies to choose from, deciding on what technology will be most beneficial to a certain business can be a daunting task. With this in mind, listed below are some cost effective technologies that tradespeople and construction businesses can easily adopt to help improve efficiency and increase synergy within an entire workforce.

cloud technology is a great way for firms to become more agile. A major construction project will often involve people from several disciplines with differing skill-sets – from builders, financial advisors to admin teams.

Whereas previously it was a logistical nightmare to ensure that communications reached every different faction of a project, cloud technology has allowed everyone to keep precisely to the same agenda. By saving all information remotely to a cloud application it gives all parties working on a job instant access to essential information such as plans and drawings and work schedules.

With a large proportion of mobile workers within the construction industry, there are lots of cloud-based applications available which are designed to simplify operations for workers constantly on the move. For tradespeople working between sites at different locations and without regular access to a desk, cloud-based technology can completely eliminate the need for physical paperwork.

Cloud technology In an environment where construction businesses are under increasing pressure to cut operational costs whilst maintaining a high productivity level, adopting

Similarly, tradespeople often will have to juggle different projects and move across different locations – and to stay on top of developments at each individual site they will need access to a range of data and information whilst out on the job. Cloud-based applications such as Dropbox can help manage this information as everything can be stored remotely in one place and backed up to ensure safe and secure storage.

Data transmission on the move As well as cloud technology, mobile solutions such as smartphones and tablets can be invaluable in allowing data to be relayed easily between those on-site and those based back in the office. By keeping a careful log via mobile applications of an employee’s location and working times, managers and payroll staff can electronically clock workers in and out and track production levels. In addition, tradespeople can record and share crucial information about the jobs they are working on. The real-time access to information that mobile internetenabled devices allow for can improve return on investment by saving on valuable resources.

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Regulation

It can also reduce data entry costs as time can be saved that was previously spent on manual processes such as time keeping.

Data capture services To enable the sharing of information between mobile devices, there are a number of applications that can be easily downloaded which can improve industry processes by allowing data to be captured and shared instantaneously.

One example of the types of data capture services available on the market is the WorkMobile Construction app. Data capture services such as these help to reduce user errors, prevent damage and loss, and save time and money – on average over £2,000 per employee per year. As a result, this helps to increase productivity, improve operational return on investment and ease workflow. This app has been specially designed to replace traditional paper forms and allows tradespeople to easily collect, monitor and share data such as health and safety forms, timesheets, locations, photos and signatures. This app allows construction workers both on-site and off to capture data in real-time through mobile forms that

can be accessed via a number of devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops or PCs. Mobile forms Mobile forms are another digital solution which can help facilitate the free-flow of information and simplify data entry processes. A unique form can be created for each individual contract and can be quickly shared to any number of mobile devices. These forms enable staff to receive electronic contracts whilst on the job, so there is no need to take time out of busy schedules to visit the office. Once signed, contracts can then immediately be sent back to the main office allowing businesses to know exactly when and where the form was completed. Some data capture apps can also give organisations live updates of when the status of a job changes – such as whether a specific job has been accepted or rejected. This can help digitally record the exact progress of a project.

Adopting new digital forms of technology such as cloud computing, smartphone devices and data capture services can greatly benefit the construction sector by allowing the free-flow of information in real-time. This cost-effective technology can help to simplify processes and can help to increase synergy between the on-site and office teams as both teams are able to have a better idea of where the other is up to on a specific project. The smart technology can also increase security as editing and invitation settings can enable businesses to keep careful track of who has access to information. In an increasingly digitalised world, the construction industry would be wise to embrace this new technology to help remain competitive and agile, and to continue to grow as an industry.

For more information, please visit http://www.workmobileforms.com/

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Tax Credit Changes to Add Stability to Renewable Projects US tax credits extended at the end of 2015 for solar and wind power projects are expected to increase renewable energy capacity installation, as will the EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP), if resumed, Fitch Ratings says.

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oth of these pieces of legislation will lead to longer term stability for the solar and wind sectors.

The tax credits will wind down in 2022. The 30% investment tax credit (ITC) for solar energy was scheduled to fall to 10% in 2017, while the 2.3 cents per kilowatthour production tax credit (PTC) for wind facilities expired in 2014. Now the ITC will remain at 30% through 2018, then step down to 10% by 2022.

The PTC will stay at 2.3 cents per kWh in 2016 before phasing down by 60% by 2020.

Prior tax credit extensions were short-term and sometimes retroactive, creating a boom-bust cycle of project development. Without a clear understanding of how long and at what level the tax credits would remain in effect, the long-term investment and financing decisions necessary for industry stability did not appear. With the new legislation, projects that would have been rushed into construction to beat previous tax credit expiration dates can optimize their schedules, and more new projects will qualify for development with the cost advantages of the favorable tax treatment.

Growth in renewable energy will be an important component of meeting greenhouse gas reduction objectives required under the CPP. It requires aggressive cuts in carbon dioxide emissions for electric generators by 2030, with the first performance period beginning in 2022 under the current schedule, although this may be revised due to recent legal challenges. The tax credit program through 2022 will support increasing proportions of zero-emissions renewable capacity in the overall generation mix, enabling states to rely on renewables to achieve final CPP goals.

Similarly, the tax credit extension will support further development of utility-scale renewable energy projects needed for states to meet current and future renewable portfolio standard requirements.

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Solar installations grew by 6500% from the first year of the ITC in 2006 through 2014, and utility-scale costs for solar energy have dropped by more than 60% since 2010. With continued capacity growth and cost reductions, both wind and solar energy industries will be in improved competitive positions by 2022 and less reliant on continuing subsidies.

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AKW and DLP Group

1.

What does your business do?

5.

We are the leading designers and manufacturers of stylish accessible bathroom and kitchen products

Inclusivity – designing products that suit all members of a modern, multigenerational household.

6.

2.

What’s your company’s biggest challenge?

Who are your clients?

Contractors, local authorities, housing associations, care homes, installers and merchants.

3.

What’s the aim for your business?

Time. Our UK based engineers have been focussing on the aesthetics of our products to move away from the ‘institutional’ look to a more stylish product that looks great in private residences. This can’t happen overnight even though we wish it could.

7.

What makes you unique?

Our passion for what we do. At AKW, we are at the forefront of digital technology and manufacturing techniques. We use our 27 years of specialised knowledge of kitchen and bathroom adaptation design to continuously improve our solutions. We constantly innovate our designs to help a home still look stylish whilst still delivering functionality in our products for electric showers, wet rooms, screens and sanitaryware. Nothing makes us happier than knowing that our products help residents to maintain their independence and dignity.

What individual in your industry and beyond do you admire the most and why?

Jon-Allan Butterworth who represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. He lost his left arm in 2007 in an insurgent rocket attack when serving as a Senior Aircraftman’ weapons technician with the Royal Air Force at Basra airbase in Iraq. AKW sponsored Jon-Allan in the build up to the 2012 London Paralympics at which he won 3 silver medals.

Contact Details: Name: Lloyd Best Company: AKW and DLP Group Email: lbest@dlplimited.com Web Address: www.akw-ltd.co.uk Address: Pointon Way, Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire WR9 0LR Telephone: 01905 823298

4.

What’s your biggest challenge facing you at present?

Our biggest challenge is actually opportunity! The demand for stylish products will continue to rise unabated. Those requiring products that are easy to use, intrinsically safe under any circumstances, enhance the customers lifestyle are no different to fashionistas of younger generations. In fact the more mature population are often more demanding.

At AKW we have a world class range of marketing, engineering and production competences available to us. We have proven with the iCare that we can produce cutting edge products that ably fulfil any inclusive need and yet appeal to all. The challenge is to pick what opportunity we should deliver first – there are so many. We have a clear schedule of product developments and we anticipate overwhelming customer acceptance. The emotion we wish to instil in all of our customers is “I want one”.

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