Steve Elwen has finally cracked the problem of blank areas when PDFing A1 drawings: do not use the polygonal viewports that are standard in our templates! Create a rectangular viewport instead, and your problems will be sorted. No more blank areas.
But if you don’t know what I’m talking about and you’ve never had the problem, don’t worry. It doesn’t apply to all computers, and we’re still not quite sure why…
Can I just remind everyone that there is a Links section to this site, which does exactly as it says on the tab. There are links to the websites of many companies that we work with and other interesting little websites. Please have a look, click on some and add any sites you feel we are missing. Are you working with a company that isn’t on here? Add it in! But what’s that I hear? How do I add a link Mr Blog Administrator? Well I’m glad you asked, because it’s easy.
And there you go, easy. Go crazy, give it a whirl.
RIBA Yorkshire are asking for projects for possible inclusion in the “popular and influential” RIBA Architecture Review Yorkshire 2007, due for publication in May. If anyone has worked on anything suitable (and some of you must have) then speak to Claire Bedford and get it submitted. Read on for more details…
“As in previous years, the book will include a comprehensive Directory of RIBA Registered Practices in the RIBA Yorkshire region; topical editorial supplied by RIBA Yorkshire covering various subjects of relevance to clients and end users; and a major full colour section reviewing and exhibiting examples of projects, large and small, carried out by members throughout the region.
“We attach a letter giving further information on the book and a copy of a Project Submission Form, to fill in and return to publishers Excel. An electronic version of the form is also available to download here. We are not asking to be sent photographs of the projects at this stage, but a brief description ( 150/180 words or so) is of great interest and is a considerable help. As a practice, you are not restricted as to how many projects you may put forward so, if you have produced projects within the Residential, Industrial and/or Commercial, Education, Housing, Sport and/or Leisure, Retail, Health/Medical, Public/Community/Government or Religious Buildings sectors, then please fill in your forms and submit your projects now, in order to make the publication as comprehensive as possible and representative of the best work being carried out in the region.
“We are interested in receiving details of projects completed since September 2005 and due to complete by end March/early April 2007. The book is not sector specific and projects from all the sectors mentioned above, both large and small, are welcome.”
[Sally Smith, Excel Publishing, on behalf of the RIBA]
Here’s a handy little tip for people who suddenly notice that the z-coordinates in their drawing aren’t quite as close to 0 as they should be.
There is a file called flattenez.lsp, which I have put on both servers, that will pretty much obliterate all the z-coordinates in a drawing. To run the file you need full AutoCAD (not LT). Type ‘appload’ as a command then browse to the ACAD Settings folder on the server and double-click on flattenez.lsp. Now you can type ‘flatten’ in the drawing and your worries will be over.
Veterens of the ‘other’ flattn.lsp will notice that this one isn’t quite so polite - it doesn’t ask what you want flattening, and it doesn’t ask twice… use with caution. On the other hand, it does work very effectively. Combine this with explode and smash (another .lsp) and 3D topographical surveys will weep 2-dimensional tears at your feet.
Any problems. just email me.
A ‘living draft’ of new planning guidance on managing flood risk has been published as a support document to PPS 25 (Development and Flood Risk), which was released in December. The new document is presented as both interim guidance and a consultation on the final guidance note.
The Communities Department says it is planning a series of regional workshops in partnership with the RTPI to help planners understand how PPS25 should work in practice. It seems that the government’s decision to produce PPS statements in a much slimmer format then the old PPGs is creating a need for additional explanation. The Practice Guide, which is mainly concerned with flood risk assessment, is here.
The Welsh Assembly has dramatically upped the sustainability stakes by setting a zero carbon target for all new buildings by 2011 – five years ahead of the UK government’s recently-announced target for zero carbon homes.
Despite reports of scepticism from some quarters, failure would prove a major embarrassment for the assembly, which has made high performance buildings the headlining policy of its emerging climate change strategy.
First of all, the assembly needs to take responsibility for its own Building Regulations, currently set by Whitehall. Environment minister Carwyn Jones says the assembly is in the process of opening discussions with the UK government over devolution of the regulatory framework.
‘Once these regulations are devolved, it will allow us to move further and faster on achieving zero carbon on all new buildings in Wales,’ Jones said.
Architects working in Wales will see the effect of the new policy stance immediately, however. As a first step, the assembly has decided that all new buildings funded by the devolved government must be built to the BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standard, the highest benchmark currently available. This is set to become a core condition of all new projects within six months.
The assembly’s zero carbon ambition is all the more challenging because it applies to all new buildings, not just new homes. The UK government has so far committed to a series of Part L revisions for housing – starting with a 25% improvement in 2010 – but has not given any parallel commitments to offices and workplaces.
[RIBA Practice Bulletin No. 386]
An unexpected alliance between house builders and the Prince Charles-sponsored Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment was announced this week that sees most of the industry’s big names queuing up to have their developments officially ‘recognised’ by the foundation as meeting its traditional design principles.
The Home Builders Federation said it had entered into a joint commitment with the foundation to promote design principles pioneered at the Prince’s Poundbury development and would be working to promote these principles among mainstream house builders.
Most of the biggest names in housing – Barratt, Bovis, Bellway, Redrow, Persimmon, Bryant, Berkeley and others – featured on the first recognised list of 11 schemes this week, with locations as varied as London’s Swiss Cottage and a retirement scheme in Cupar in Fife.
Hank Dittmar, chief executive of the foundation, explained that the recognition of these schemes amounted to the setting of a benchmark for the best of UK housing design. A statement from the Foundation added that this benchmark would form the basis of an industry-wide programme of design education to be delivered through the Home Builders Federation – you have been warned.
[RIBA Practice Bulletin No. 383]
Is the tide finally beginning to turn in favour of design quality considerations in public sector procurement? Recent events suggest that design is moving up the agenda: new Treasury guidelines for clients are on the way that will put a far stronger emphasis on design appraisal, and this week the influential Commons Public Accounts Committee threw its weight behind a greater weighting for design in PFI projects – very much in line with the RIBA’s Smart PFI model.
The Public Accounts Committee’s report was concerned with the debacle of the Paddington Health Campus and concluded that the inadequate business case for the PFI project should never have been approved until sufficient design work had been completed.
RIBA President Jack Pringle addressed the committee last year, explaining how Smart PFI could have avoided many of the problems that dogged the project. Speaking this week, he said he was delighted with the committee’s support for the RIBA position and for the positive response that the proposals have now received from Treasury and the Office of Government Commerce.
Meanwhile RIBA Vice President for Practice Richard Saxon reports that a new supplement to the Treasury’s Green Book, effectively the rulebook for public sector procurement, will be published in the spring that will require projects to justify themselves in terms of operating costs – minimum ten years – as well as headline capital costs. Environmental impact, in terms of carbon emissions and water use, will also have to be taken into consideration.
Inevitably these demands can only be met through appraisals of more advanced design submissions.
Saxon, who sat on the working group that looked at the whole life cost approach to project value for the Public Sector Construction Clients Forum, says the supplement will reinforce the design aspects of the Gateway Review stages that must be completed during procurement.
The new Gateway Review scenario readily falls into line with Smart PFI in terms of ensuring that the client has an affordable and acceptable design concept before going to the market for a contractor.
[RIBA Practice Bulletin No. 383]
It’s official - the Housing Corporation and regeneration agency English Partnerships are engaged and will tie the knot as soon as possible. Announcing the news yesterday, Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly said that the new super-agency can expect to have a budget of over £4 billion to spend.The merger of the two heavyweight agencies was widely anticipated, following the government’s announcement of a Housing and Regeneration Review last April. In the event, Communities England, as the new agency will be known, is also set to take over some of the functions currently carried out by Kelly’s DCLG, including the decent homes strategy, housing market renewal and housing PFI.
‘With the expectation of over £4 billion of public spending at its disposal, Communities England will pioneer innovative and more efficient ways of working with our key partners in the public, private and voluntary sector to get better outcomes from public investment in places,’ said Kelly.
‘Central to meeting its challenge the agency will not only ensure greater value for money but also guarantee the very highest standards of quality, design, energy efficiency and sustainability.’
Both agencies were stressing that it will be business as usual over the coming months, with continuity of existing programmes, at least for the time being. However it is clear that the government wants to effect the merger and have a fully operational organisation up and running as soon as possible. Baroness Ford, chairman of English Partnerships, has been appointed to head up the transition team that will undertake the planning for the new organisation.
[RIBA Practice Bulletin No. 381]
Thank you, all you lovely people who have embraced the blog with open arms and typing fingers. Since it’s Friday afternoon, maybe a few others could jump on the bandwagon…?
A quick reminder: Before you upload an image, please remember that it should be exactly 480pixels wide. If you don’t know how then don’t be afraid to ask someone else, or email them to me and I’ll happily do it myself.
Within a year the only method of submitting a planning application in England will be completion of a new standard planning application form. The Department of Communities confirmed the timetable for the roll-out of the National Standard Planning Application Form (1APP) this week, with a phased introduction and trials starting in February ahead of a compulsory system from October.In this latest bid to speed up the planning system, the standard forms will give everyone certainty about the type and amount of information they need to submit and will facilitate the switch to a predominantly online service. Local planning authorities will have the option of hosting online forms on their web sites; otherwise they will be available from the government’s Planning Portal at http://www.planningportal.gov.uk
Paper forms will not disappear, however, as planning authorities will still be expected to make hard copies available.
The Planning Portal is planning a series of regional workshops around the country to introduce the new standard form. The same form will cover a range of application types, including Householder, Planning Permission, Listed Building Consent, Conservation Area consent and tree applications/orders (but not building control or minerals). Further details of the roll-out programme will be posted at the Planning Portal.
[RIBA Practice Bulletin - No. 376]
House builders chose to foreshadow the government’s new housing planning policy launch this week with the results of a survey on planning approval times that found that the average housing application now takes 248 days, roughly three times the government’s target of 91 days.In what is claimed to be the first survey of its kind, the HBF looked at a sample of 580 sites being developed by 24 companies, with proposals ranging from one to 1500 new homes.
The alarming results included the finding that there is an average delay of 17 days between the submission and registration of an application (the target is 24 hours!), and an average delay of 98 days between a committee resolution to grant permission and the issuing of a decision notice. All in all, the HBF says that it currently takes over a year and three months (475 days on average) from the submission of an application to a start on site.
Stewart Basely, HBF executive chairman, said: ‘At a time when Britain faces the most acute housing shortage since the industrial revolution, we are seeing significant and systemic delays in the planning process… there are some key areas of the planning process that need to be targeted to make it more efficient and effective.’
[RIBA Practice Bulletin - No. 376]
The government’s planning policy on housing was reshaped yesterday with the publication of the final version of Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3), the long awaited successor to PPG3. The document has had several draft incarnations, as ministers struggled to find an acceptable balance between market forces and local authority prescription. The RIBA’s first sight reaction to the definitive statement was very positive, with a number of new policies to be welcomed.PPS3 puts more pressure on authorities to identify appropriate sites for new housing, introducing a requirement to plan 15 years ahead in order to provide for a rolling 5-year supply of ’sustainable and deliverable’ sites.
At the same time, councils are given more flexibility to determine how and where new homes should be built. Local planners will be able to set their own density and car parking standards and will be able to set separate targets for different types of brownfield land in their area.
Local policy options on affordable housing are strengthened and there will be extended powers to require developer contributions to affordable housing on smaller sites where they are judged viable. Rural authorities are separately instructed to take greater account of local affordability issues and make provision for additional housing.
The emphasis on design quality that was introduced in PPG3 is also strengthened, with a more forceful direction to local authorities to turn down poor quality applications.
Where the new PPS3 has a brand new thrust is its emphasis on the provision of family homes and amenities for children. For the first time planners will be required to consider children’s housing needs by providing for gardens, play areas and green spaces.
The government is concerned that the trend towards high-density flats for first time buyers and singletons needs to be moderated. Housing minister Yvette Cooper pointed out yesterday that four out of five new homes in London are currently one- and two-bedroom flats. ‘We need to insist on more family homes,’ she declared.
Part of the solution here will be more freedom for local authorities to promote mixed communities and to ensure that larger houses are developed alongside flats and smaller homes.
Proposals to allow planners to dictate the detailed mix of housing types in an earlier draft PPS3 were fiercely opposed by house builders. Reactions to the new PPS3 on how these provisions will be interpreted in practice will no doubt emerge over the coming weeks.
The emphasis on the reuse of brownfield land is retained. The shift here is to require local authorities to take stronger action to bring brownfield sites back into use. Supporting this policy will be a new National Brownfield Strategy to be developed by regeneration agency English Partnerships. The Department of Communities published a discussion paper on the proposed strategy this week alongside PPS3 - English Partnerships is due to submit detailed policy recommendations to the government early next year.
Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing is available to download now at: www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1504591
English Partnerships’ National Brownfield Strategy discussion paper will be posted shortly on its web site at: http://www.englishpartnerships.co.uk
[RIBA Practice Bulletin - No. 376]
Primary schools have been waiting in line for their turn to access the government’s billion pound schools renewal programme. Their own £7 billion programme is not due to get underway until April 2009 but this week the DfES named 23 local authorities across England as pathfinders to trial new approaches to state-of-the-art eco-friendly classrooms and facilities.
A new cash injection of £150m is being made available for the pilot projects, which will be undertaken during 2008-09. Priorities will also include better school kitchens and modernised sports, music and ICT facilities.
The main programme will then go on to rebuild or remodel 8,000 of England’s 18,000 primary and primary special schools, taking 900 of the worst schools out of use in the process.
The DfES set out its proposals earlier this year in its prospectus Every Child Matters: Primary School Programme. In the light of the positive response to consultation, the DfES says implementation will be broadly in line with the principles and timescales given in this prospectus, which can be found at the dfes website
‘Most primary schools are reaching the end of their design lives – they are over 25 years old and some 60 per cent were built between 1945 and 1976, often using rapid but poor quality construction techniques,’ says schools minister Jim Knight. ‘This is about moving from simply patching and mending these aging buildings to having a strategic, joined up approach to planning and design.’
The 23 authorities named as pathfinders this week are: Barnet, Birmingham, Bradford, Cornwall, Darlington, Ealing, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Knowsley, Manchester, Newham, North Tyneside, Nottingham City, Rotherham, Sheffield, Solihull, Somerset, Swindon, Torbay, Waltham Forest and Wigan.
Architectural Assistant
I joined P+HS in 2002, with virtually no architectual experience, as an Ecology graduate. My time at P+HS started as a summer job, but I'm still here and well into the final stage of qualification.
