‘Flood prevention is better than flood resilience’ according to the philosophy of the innovative Dutch floating house. A new daring development of 46 houses built on a Government-designated flood-overflow plane offers a new solution for the UK. Each two storey home is built upon a 70 ton watertight-hollow concrete box (acting as the ‘hull’), that floats secured laterally by two 5.5m horizontal mooring posts that connect to the neighboring house and six iron posts sunk into the bottom. When the river swells the house will float up to as much as 5.5m. Flexible pipes house the building services and utilities, and when the floodwaters subside, so the houses return to their original position! Developed by Dura Vermeer builders and designed by Factor Architecten (design firm based in Amsterdam), the floating houses look as if they will catch on! But at a starting price of 260,000 euros (£180,000 or $310,000), the houses are not a cheap option.
Dura Vermeer is designing a ‘floating city’ for 12,000 people near Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, which could include floating schools, hospitals and shops! Construction is planned in 2010.
Image of the proposed central Atrium space within the Eston Health Village project
Recent images (courtesy of the P+HS in-house visualisation team!) of the proposed Eston Health village in Middlesbrough that went before a public consultation meeting last week. The 6500m2 ‘village’ combines five locally based GP practices along with accommodation for Planned Care, Integrated Care team facilities, Optician, Pharmacy, Dentist, Health Store and a new public library, all of which are linked by a central atrium space. Although the scheme was well received by the general public, there was a heated ’discussion’ regarding the proposed name of the building! The scheme is due to go to planning in mid-September 2007.
This Photograph was taken on site on Tuesday the 3rd of July 2007.
The project is coming along well with the majority of glazing and louvres now in place.
The rainscreen cladding is due to be fixed week commencing 23.07.07.
A war of words has broken out between Spence Associates and Expedition Engineering over who designed the proposed £15 million North Shore footbridge in Co Durham. Relations between Expedition Engineering director Chris Wise and Spence Associates’ Stephen Spence have hit rock bottom after the architect/engineer team won a RIBA competition to design the River Tees bridge.
Both parties are claiming that they did most of the concept design work on the scheme, which starts on site today (19 July). In 2003, Wise – the engineer behind London’s Millennium Bridge – was invited by Spence to join him and enter the RIBA competition to design the footbridge – which will link Tees Valley Regeneration’s (TVR’s) North Shore development with Teesdale – for client Stockton Borough Council. But the relationship was shattered when, soon after winning the contract, Expedition, TVR and English Partnerships – which owns the North Shore site – decided Spence would not be novated to the Design and Build stage of the contract.
‘We were moved out of the equation,’ said Spence, who contacted RIBA’s competitions office to lodge his concerns. However, Wise was also taking action – and in an email to the RIBA he questioned the extent of Spence’s role in the winning asymmetrical scheme. In the email, Wise said: ‘For all his skills as an architect, this natural, physical design rationale is not something that Spence contributed to, or was able to contribute to at the level required.’ Spence, who is credited as concept architect for the scheme, said he had developed the models, montages and ‘the bulk of the presentation that won the competition’ – a claim dismissed by Wise.
‘[Spence] is talking nonsense,’ Wise said. ‘Yes, he made models and montages, but the presentation was 100 slides in three sections. Spence did the masterplan, but the piece on the bridge, which was 60 slides, was by me.’ Wise added that the early concept sketches drawn up by Spence ‘would not stand up on Planet Earth’. Wise also showed the AJ his sketchbook, containing hundreds of concept drawings of the bridge (including one pictured below), which he said proved that he was the driving force behind the project. But Spence countered this claim. ‘All engineers have a bucket full of sketchbooks,’ he said. ‘We were the concept architect. We did not do the detailed design, but if Wise had been doing it, it would not have been the bridge it is today.’ Spence added that the row with Wise was irreconcilable. ‘I wouldn’t work with him again,’ he said. The elegant double-humped bridge, which is formed of two arches measuring 120m and 60m, is due to open at the end of 2008.
by Max Thompson AJ Plus 19 July 2007
Urban Splash are coming to Leeds with their Saxton scheme. Visit the website, it’s good to see a developer with a sense of humour.
The website doesn’t give much information yet, but following the trail could be a once-in-a-lifetime excuse to trawl through Leeds bars in pursuit of research and CPD…
[Image taken from the website linked above]
|
RIBA has updated its Outline Plan of Work (OPW) in a move ‘to reflect current terminologies and procurement methods’. Other revisions include changes to nomenclature, to reflect what RIBA says is ‘modern common parlance’. Stage B changes from ‘strategic brief’ to ‘design brief’; stage C from ‘outline proposals’ to ‘concept’; stage D from ‘detailed proposals’ to ‘design development’; and stage E changes from ‘final proposals’ to ‘technical design’. Under the old OPW, so-called ‘milestone’ activities could vary widely between different procurement methods and tender processes. In the new document these activities will be moveable between different work stages and noted in italics. Finally, stage L has been extended into three sub-stages. L1 covers ‘contract administration during construction’, L2 deals with ‘initial occupation services’, and L3 will cover ‘review of project performance’. The new ‘RIBA Appointment Agreements 2007’, available in September, will be based on the revised Plan of Works, as will all new RIBA technical publications including RIBA’s forthcoming ‘Job Book’. The changes, which RIBA said were the result of ‘extensive consultation with the construction industry’, came into effect on Friday (6 July). by Max Thompson from AJ Online 10 July 2007 |
My spies at the Pen Shop tell me that our old friends ROTRING are no more. Our careless disregard for the sheer beauty of the hand drawing in favour of the mechanistic impersonal computer has caused their inevitable demise.
A few fountain pens still available going cheap - and hang on to those rapidograph nibs - they’ll be worth a fortune one day
New Department of Health guidance asks Trusts to issue clear guidance on the use of mobile phones. Some of their recommendation are here:
Mobile phone use - Do’s and Don’ts
Do’s
Don’ts
Although NHS Trusts must ultimately decide where mobile phones are and are not allowed the Department of Health suggests that their usage, for safety, privacy and dignity and annoyance reasons, are not used in the following areas;
The whole guidance paper can be found here
