Researchers have pioneered a system that modulates visible, colored light to change the reactions of a powerful chemical coupling agent.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171130112417.htm
Semiconducting oxides are a new class of materials that are currently enjoying great attention in the field of semiconductor technology. Gallium oxide is the archetypal example for its ability to handle extremely high voltages and its optical transparency in the deep ultraviolet region. Such components are based on very thin, ultrapure semiconductor layers produced by special deposition methods. Physicists have now drastically increased the yield of gallium oxide with a catalytic effect observed for the first time during crystal growth.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171130093905.htm
An international team demonstrates on Google’s quantum chip a novel method to study quantum phases of matter.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171130141112.htm
By forcing light to go through a smaller gap than ever before, researchers have paved the way for computers based on light instead of electronics.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171130141048.htm
Researchers have investigated the optical properties of complex plasmonic vesicles, which can navigate the bloodstream, and, when hit with a quick pulse of laser light, change shape to release their contents. The researchers used supercomputers to gain insights into the how plasmonic nanoparticles can be optimally designed and activated.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171130141040.htm
Physicists have developed an attosecond electron microscope that allows them to visualize the dispersion of light in time and space, and observe the motions of electrons in atoms.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171130133821.htm
Smartphones and computers wouldn’t be nearly as useful without room for lots of apps, music and videos. Devices tend to store that information in two ways: through electric fields (think of a flash drive) or through magnetic fields (like a computer’s spinning hard disk). Each method has advantages and disadvantages. However, in the future, our electronics could benefit from the best of each, say researchers.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171129130952.htm
The direct oxidation of methane – found in natural gas – into methanol at low temperatures has long been a holy grail. Now, researchers have found a breakthrough way to accomplish the feat using a heterogeneous catalyst and cheap molecular oxygen, according to a new article.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171130133831.htm
Mobile components on buildings whose design was copied from naturally occurring solutions – that is the subject of new research. The aim is to outfit them with drive elements that can move without energy input. Serving as a model here are pine cones, which utilize the varying swelling behaviors of their tissue to open when moist or close when dry.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171130122759.htm
Designs for a £175m upgrade to one of the busiest motorway junctions in the country on the M25 in Surrey have been agreed
The plans will see the Junction 10, interchange between the M25 and the A3 redesigned as a elongated roundabout to add more road capacity and improve safety with provision of dedicated free-flow left turns for all traffic leaving and joining the M25.
The existing roundabout will be retained for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
Plans drawn up by Atkins will also see the A3 widened from three lanes to four between Ockham and Painshill in both directions with two lanes remaining over the M25.
The M25/A3 interchange is a key congestion pinch point on the strategic road network and has one of the highest recorded collision rates across the Highways England network.
The proposed plans will help to reduce delays, make journeys more reliable, ease congestion and improve safety.
Highways England plans to start construction in 2020/21.
JP Concrete’s new Hybrid Gabion Retaining Wall is designed with a pre-cast element that allows a thinner stone-filled cage to hold its shape over a much longer time period than traditional gabion baskets.
The stones in this hybrid system create a far more natural appearance than a standard precast concrete wall, making it ideal for installations where there is a need to be sympathetic with the environment and add visual appeal.
Also suitable for projects that require retaining soil or noise reduction, this new JP Concrete product combines the benefits of a traditional L-shape precast concrete retaining wall, plus all the aesthetic advantages of a contemporary gabion wall.
Modular in design so that they can be adapted to fit any size retaining wall, this new durable and versatile hybrid gabion serves as a creative element to buildings, supplied as either freestanding or fixed to a concrete foundation, with the cage filled with natural stone on site.
A research drive is working toward the design and marketing of a low-cost, easy-to-use device that would filter up to 99 percent of sulfites from wine when it’s poured from the bottle.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171129133510.htm
Based on the nanostructure of the sea urchin spines, scientists develop fracture-resistant cement.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171129150927.htm
The premartensite phase of shape memory and magnetic shape memory alloys is believed to be a precursor state of the martensite phase with preserved austenite phase symmetry. The thermodynamic stability of the premartensite phase and its relation to the martensitic phase is still an unresolved issue, even though it is critical to the understanding of the functional properties of magnetic shape memory alloys.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171129131355.htm
A team of researchers has presented a new synthetic protocol to produce three-dimensional porous organic materials in the blink of an eye, like firing bullets.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171129104225.htm
Robots as inconspicuous as they are ubiquitous represent the vision of researchers in the new and burgeoning field of material robotics.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171129143352.htm
Scientists have recently succeeded in observing and following, in real-time, the way in which heat transport occurs in van der Waals stacks, which consist of graphene encapsulated by the dielectric two-dimensional material hexagonal BN (hBN).
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171129131349.htm
To find a link between seemingly disparate disordered materials and their behavior under stress, scientists studied an unprecedented range of disordered solids with constituent particles ranging from individual atoms to river rocks. Understanding materials failure on this fundamental level could be key for designing more shatter-resistant glasses or predicting geological phenomena like landslides.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171129120304.htm
Transistors based on carbon nanostructures: what sounds like a futuristic dream could be reality in just a few years’ time. Scientists have now produced nanotransistors from graphene ribbons that are only a few atoms wide.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171129120254.htm
A research team has increased the stability and performance of photodiodes using cubic perovskite nanocrystals. The result expected to be used for autonomous vehicles, military, space exploration and ubiquitous fields.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171129120225.htm
A new desktop 3-D printer has been created that performs up to 10 times faster than existing commercial counterparts. Whereas the most common printers may fabricate a few Lego-sized bricks in one hour, the new design can print similarly sized objects in just a few minutes.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171128160443.htm
The next generation of electronic hardware security may be at hand as researchers introduce a new class of unclonable cybersecurity security primitives made of a low-cost nanomaterial with the highest possible level of structural randomness. Randomness is highly desirable for constructing the security primitives that encrypt and thereby secure computer hardware and data physically, rather than by programming.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171129090409.htm
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has ripped up existing planning rules and called on home builders to develop sites at higher housing densities.
Khan has removed outdated constraints and rigid density guidelines in the London Plan to give a boost to the number of new and affordable homes given planning permission in the capital.
He has thrown out the previous Mayor’s policy, which proved complicated and set meaningless maximum rules for the number of homes on developments, in favour of boosting the number of well-designed homes sites can deliver.
The capital’s strategic planning bible says that proposed development on sites that do not clearly maximise housing density should be refused.
Sadiq believes increased numbers of homes should be built on sites near town centres or good public transport, reducing the need for car parking spaces within developments.
He argues that councils – working with developers and housing associations – should take a case-by-case approach to each site to determine its capacity based on surrounding infrastructure.
The new policy also emphasises the importance of good design and will be applicable to buildings of all types, including low-rise, medium and high-rise.
The draft London Plan also includes a commitment for 50% of all new homes built to be genuinely affordable.
Also it strengthens his new approach offering private developers a fast-track route to planning permission if they reach a minimum of 35% affordable.
New ambitious targets have been set for councils across the capital, as part of an overall London Plan figure of 65,000 homes a year – roughly double the current rate of homebuilding.
The Mayor is also using his London Plan to provide greater protections for industrial land while also looking at stacking up distribution sheds or encouraging development of industrial workspaces side by side with new homes.
He said: “With London’s population expected to increase by 70,000 every year, reaching 10.8m in 2041, it’s vital we properly plan for growth with new affordable homes in every area of the capital.
“I am using all of the powers at my disposal in my first draft London Plan to tackle the housing crisis head on – removing ineffective constraints on home builders so that we can make the most of precious land in the capital to build more homes in areas with the best transport links.
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders said: “Making better use of the many existing small sites that are scattered over the capital is essential if we are to build the number of new homes Londoners need.
“The London Plan’s moves to favour appropriate residential development on small sites is therefore a welcome initiative. It will also boost and strengthen the capacity of small and medium-sized house builders to build more new homes.
The Government is pressing ahead with plans to synchronise train operation and track improvements in its latest francise tender.
Under innovative new plans unveiled today for the South Eastern franchise, the network will be the first in the country where a single director is responsible for a joint operation and infrastructure team.
This joint team will consist of the successful train operator and an arm of Network Rail and its relevant contractors.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling today said the Government would also publish an invitation for tender in 2018 for the franchise on the Midland Mainline between London and Sheffield, which would also be operated by a joint team.
He added that a new East Coast Partnership, responsible for both intercity trains and track operations, would be set up over the next two years as a partnership between the public and private sectors, with responsibility for the lines between London, Yorkshire, North East and Scotland.
The private partner would have a leading role in defining future plans for route infrastructure.
Grayling also announced progress on a new development programme to identify opportunities to restore capacity lost to passengers under British Rail, as part of finding and funding future rail schemes which offer good value.
The government has already created one team to drive forward design, development and fund raising of East West Rail and he confirmed work was due to start on the next phase of the route in 2018.
Other proposals now in discussion include new suburban lines around Bristol, a freight route that runs through Central Birmingham, the line from Okehampton to Exeter and from Blyth to Ashington in County Durham.
Proposals will need to demonstrate a strong business case where they are seeking government funding.
The transport secretary said: The last few years have seen massive growth on Britain’s railways. This industry has reversed decades of decline under British Rail, delivered new investment and new trains, and doubled the number of passengers.
But now we need to build on that success by building a new model for the 2020s and beyond, one more able to deal with the huge rise in passenger numbers and the challenges of an increasingly congested network.”
Scientists have shown that terahertz rays can be converted to light visible to the human eye. The finding is a breakthrough for functional materials research and could lead to the development of a new kind of terahertz detector.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171128230400.htm
Scientists have invented a new approach to testing the multilayered, three-dimensional computer chips that now appear in some of the latest consumer devices. The novel method may be the answer the semiconductor industry needs to quickly assess the reliability of this relatively new chip construction model.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171128123253.htm
Lakesmere founder Mark Davey has bought parts of his failed cladding business from the administrator saving over 100 jobs.
He confirmed the successful deal late on Tuesday and has formed a new company, KAICER Building Envelope Solutions.
The new venture will operate from premises in Winchester and Reading providing roofing, cladding and glazing services.
Announcing the deal Davey said: “It is with deep sadness and regret that the business I started 25 years ago went into administration. To see its decline since I sold it two years ago has been very distressing.
“I am personally sorry for the impact that this has had on Lakesmere’s customers, suppliers and stakeholders and the effect this has had on our staff.
“The loyalty of our people and the support from the industry, customers and supply chain has been tremendous for which I offer my thanks and gratitude. We could not have continued without this.
“I am delighted that we can now all move forward together.”
Davey sold his business two years ago to six of his senior executives in a structured MBO, which later saw him become chairman.
Since the £120m turnover Lakesmere group was placed into administration on 2nd November, Davey has been working hard behind the scenes to broker a deal with administrators to salvage as much of the original business as possible and secure jobs.
Around 109 jobs were axed from the 241 staff working for Lakesmere in England when it collapsed.
Last week fast-growing concrete frame specialist JRL pounced on the group’s McMullen Facades business, which despite being profitable followed the group into administration because of wider cashflow issues.
The deal saved all 270 staff at McMullen, mainly operating out of the Northern Ireland factory in Portadown and gives the Reddington brand capability to provide structure and envelope package.
Add one more thing to the list of tasks your smartphone can perform. Researchers have released an open-source dataset offering instructions to people interested in building their own smartphone microscope.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171128120142.htm
Lead trihalide perovskite nanocrystals are promising candidates as light sources. Coupling quantum emitters with nanophotonic cavities can significantly boost efficiency, but this approach hasn’t been explored with these nanocrystals. Now, researchers have demonstrated a simple approach for coupling solution-synthesized cesium lead tribromide perovskite nanocrystals to silicon nitride photonic cavities. The resulting room temperature light emission is enhanced by an order of magnitude above what perovskites can emit alone.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171128112205.htm
In a critical step towards scaling up quantum computers, physicists have invented a microcircuit based on topological insulators, a new phase of matter awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics. The circuit will be a vital component in the scaling up of quantum information systems.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171128102924.htm
The realization of room temperature spin-orbit torque driven magnetization switching in topological insulator-ferromagnet heterostructures has promising applications in low power consumption and high integration density memories and logic devices.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171128102915.htm
Engineers have developed a ‘heart patch’ that is just as strong and electrically active as healthy adult cardiac tissue and large enough to cover the damage caused by most heart attacks.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171128112012.htm
Four contractors have been selected to deliver an £150m programme of maintenance work on the M25.
Operator Connect Plus (M25) has selected three major highway players: Skanska Construction UK, Jackson Civil Engineering Group and Geoffrey Osborne as well as £25m turnover Dibden-based R&W Civil Engineering as preferred contractors.
The framework agreement will run for four years with an option to extend for a further 24 months.
The programme scope includes a host of civil engineering works including structures, geotech, junction improvements, and technology improvements.
Last year both Skanska and Atkins sold their stakes in the M25 road-widening PFI owned by Connect Plus (M25).
The SPV also comprises Balfour Beatty (40%), which is also said to be looking to sell its stake.
Construction leaders have relaxed rules about 100% of the site workforce carrying skills cards.
The move follows confusion over non-construction staff like chefs, vending machine installers and pest controllers and pest controllers being refused entry to sites because they were not CSCS card holders.
The Construction Leadership Council has now updated guidance to take a more common-sense approach.
CSCS Chief Executive Graham Wren said: “I welcome this update from the CLC. It reflects industry practice in that cards are only required for those undertaking construction work.
“The rigid enforcement of a 100% carded workforce results in legitimate, non-construction related, workers being refused entry to site as they do not hold a card.
“This indicates a misunderstanding of the card schemes carrying the CSCS logo and undermines the construction industry’s desire for a fully qualified, as opposed to carded, workforce.”
Other areas covered by the CLC’s revised requirements ensure that apprenticeship standards are maintained and guidance is issued to anyone considering setting up a new card scheme within the industry.
Wren added: “The original CLC requirements have had an incredibly positive effect on upskilling the workforce and improving standards on UK construction sites.
“Since 2015 over 30 card schemes operating in construction have committed to the CLC’s requirements and are now displaying the CSCS logo on their cards.
“This equates to hundreds of thousands of workers in the industry achieving nationally recognised qualifications.
“I fully support the CLC’s updated requirements as they provide additional support and guidance towards achieving a fully trained and qualified workforce.”
To view the CLC’s updated requirements in full click here
The number of office project starts in central London has dropped to a three-year low as developers continue to delay schemes to take stock of Brexit and rising costs.
New figures from the London Office Crane Survey by Deloitte Real Estate show just 25 projects were started between April and September this year.
This figure is around half that recorded during last year’s peak of 51 and equates to just 1.8m sq ft being added to the development pipeline, which is 21% below the average for six months.
The fall has been concentrated in the City, while the West End has actually witnessed a significant up-tick in start-up activity.
Shaun Dawson, head of insight at Deloitte Real Estate, said: “We have seen slowdown in development activity with two crane surveys recording a fall, but total volumes still remain high compared to our long-term average, continuing to stay above 10m sq ft since 2015.”
“It is this reduced volume of new space starting that could indicate a slowdown and suggests a cautionary approach by developers over the past year.”
Early trades such as demolition and substructure contractors are showing on average no growth and a small drop in workload expectation respectively, also suggesting the industry is moving into a slower gear.
Deloitte presently anticipates that price increases for Greater London will stabilise in 2018 to around 1‑2%.
Against general consensus of subdued specialist price inflation, brickwork and roofing contractors anticipate average increases of 10% and 7% respectively, driven by a spurt in residential developments rather than office projects.
Overall construction activity in the capital has dropped 9% to 12.6m sq ft since the previous survey six months ago. This is also down to a wave of projects now coming to completion as 2017 shapes up to see the highest volume of office space opened for 13 years.
Around half of the pipeline under construction is already pre-let.
In the City development activity is down 11% with 7.3m sq ft under construction. Only eight new schemes started during the period. This represents 804,000 sq ft, significantly lower than the 1.1m sq ft average.
In the West End 14 new schemes totalling 657,500 sq ft started construction, the greatest number of new starts recorded in a single crane survey for this submarket.
Alongside existing activity, there is now 1.4m sq ft being built across the West End – a 20% increase since the last survey.
Refurbishment schemes continue to dominate the new starts with 16 offices accounting for 70% of the volume. Generally smaller in scale than new-builds, the average size of project has dropped from its long-term average of around 97,000 sq ft to 73,000 sq ft.
Turning pollution into fuel: A new method could be used to transform greenhouse gases into useful fuels and chemicals, right at the power plant.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171127173225.htm
The need for adaptation strategies to reduce the threat of hurricanes to society is of critical importance, as evidenced by the recent damage to coastal regions in the U.S. and the Caribbean this past year. The fact that the number of residential buildings in coastal areas has increased significantly combined with the increasing risks of impacts of due climate change means that the cost of damage to coastal developments are likely to continue to rise.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171127173220.htm
Air conditioning installation specialist Coolair Equipment Ltd has clinched four new contracts across the Midlands worth more than £1.5m.
The company’s Cannock office is to carry out the deals for a hotel and conference centre, a retail head office refurbishment, and two retirement villages.
Coolair is to provide an energy saving and carbon-reducing cooling and heating system for a new 172-bed hotel and conference centre for the University of Birmingham, which is scheduled to open by summer 2018.
The latest variable refrigerant volume (VRV) heat recovery system from Coolair’s manufacturing partner Daikin will use the rejected heat from cooling sun-facing bedrooms to heat non sun-facing rooms in the hotel simultaneously.
The commission from Dodd Group and Galliford Try also involves equipping each hotel room with a low-noise ducted chassis-type air conditioning unit, giving the occupier variable fan speed control.
Coolair will also install a precise air conditioning system for the hotel’s server and housekeeping rooms.
The company has also been commissioned to provide the air conditioning systems for a major retailer’s head office refurbishment in Milton Keynes, a new extra care retirement village in Bedford, and a further new retirement village in Evesham.
Coolair Regional Director Neil Gibbard said: “Winning four major orders worth a total of £1.5m in only one month represents a fantastic new sales record for our Midlands operation.
“After achieving a £5m turnover last year, we are defying the current uncertainty through our excellent relationships with clients and suppliers, having a highly trained and motivated workforce, and deploying the latest technologies.”
Researchers have created origami-inspired artificial muscles that add strength to soft robots, allowing them to lift objects that are up to 1,000 times their own weight using only air or water pressure. Consisting of an inner ‘skeleton’ folded into a specific pattern and enclosed within a plastic or fabric 'skin’ bag, these muscles can perform a greater variety of tasks and are safer than other models.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171127152103.htm
Lenses made of graphene and precisely pierced gold sheets are able to concentrate terahertz beams to a spot, flip its polarization and modulate its intensity.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171127124731.htm
New materials were used by researchers in organic electrochemical transistors to test and compare their performances for different applications.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171127135814.htm
Wetting is an everyday phenomenon that represents how well liquid spreads on a surface. When water comes into contact with an extremely water-repellent, or ‘superhydrophobic’ surface, droplets bead up and roll off easily. Researchers have developed a measurement technique called Scanning Droplet Adhesion Microscopy (SDAM) to understand and characterize the wetting properties of superhydrophobic materials.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171127093104.htm
Building and fit-out contractor ISG is maintain a winning streak of major contract awards with another major London city fit-out project.
The firm has just revealed its has picked up a £28.5m office refit for global law firm DLA Piper’s new UK headquarters at 160 Aldersgate in the City of London.
The shell and core building make-over was recently completed by McLaren Construction. Now ISG is taking possession and, working with architect TP Bennett, will transform 193,000 sq ft of offices over eight floors into a high-spec ‘hybrid open-plan’ working space.
The project is scheduled for completion in summer 2018 when DLA Piper will relocate 750 employees from its two existing offices at London Wall and Noble Street upon completion.
Andy Hargrave, divisional director at ISG, said: “Sustainability and efficiency are central tenets to the fit out scheme and there is a strong emphasis on the adoption of best of breed technology solutions to drive DLA Piper’s environmental commitments and future proof it new headquarters.”
At first floor level, ISG will create an employee restaurant, alongside a comprehensive range of wellbeing facilities, including a gym and multi-faith room. Floors two to five will feature a mix of open plan office space, internal meeting rooms, project rooms and collaboration spaces.
The two upper floors will be fitted out to an exacting specification, with client meeting and dining facilities and a separate reception. ISG will also form a 200-seat auditorium on floor eight.
The fit out includes the installation of advanced building controls, including QR code access systems and the scheme is targeting a BREEAM Excellent environmental performance rating.
Digital training provider Atlas Knowledge has launched its Core4 Safety at Work campaign to champion safe working practices across safety critical industries including construction.
Atlas has traditionally specialised in the energy sector and oil & gas industry where stringent controls have led to some of lowest incident rates and highest safety standards.
The firm is now looking to bring those best practices to construction sites.
The Core4 Safety at Work courses focus on equipping personnel with CPD and RoSPA accredited skills to specifically help prevent accidents in the workplace.
Kevin Short, CEO at Atlas Knowledge, said: “We are pleased to launch our Core4 Safety at Work campaign in a bid to help lower the rate of these high occurring incidents across industry.
“Our courses have been developed in collaboration with industry experts from some of the largest corporations in the world to ensure that their employees are kept safe and legislatively compliant.
“Atlas is now making these courses available to industries beyond oil and gas, such as construction, manufacturing and transportation who share similarly hazardous working environments.
“Everything we do is ultimately about keeping people safe and performing for their employers. We believe that oil and gas experience and best practices can benefit these sectors that are witnessing heightened rates of reported incidents.
“By launching this campaign, we hope to re-engage companies and their employees in the importance of these core safety working practices that are statistically causing the most harm.”
Developer Quintain has awarded its largest ever construction contract at the Wembley Park site to Sisk.
The £211m contract will deliver Canada Gardens consisting of 743 new Build to Rent homes across seven buildings.
It will be Sisk’s ninth project at Wembley Park in a 12 year history of working with Quintain in transforming the area.
Angus Dodd, Chief Executive of Quintain said: “Sisk has delivered eight successful projects to date at Wembley Park and has been a trusted partner for 12 years.
“I am delighted to continue our partnership with Sisk by awarding them our biggest ever construction contract. All contractors on Quintain’s main framework are valued partners and members of a team working together to bring London property and places to life.”
Stephen Bowcott, CEO of John Sisk & Son said: “At Sisk we are very proud to celebrate another milestone in the important relationship between ourselves and Quintain, who are an immensely valued client for us.
“We have used our previous experience over the last 12 years working with the design teams to drive efficiencies in to the project.
“We always look to add value to the design process with our early input and we will continue to work closely with Quintain as our trusted partner on this latest phase of the development at Wembley Park.
“It is important to us that we maintain the highest standards of project delivery and quality with a health & safety record that makes both organisations proud.”
Sisk is a member of Quintain’s main contractor framework alongside Wates, McAleer & Rushe, McLaren and O’Keefe.
Construction on Canada Gardens is due to complete in 2020.
Legal & General Homes has snapped up a second site in Berkshire to fast-track delivery of around 1,500 homes as it shifts to direct delivery of developments.
The housing development arm of L&G bought the 272-acre site in Arborfield, Wokingham with pre-existing planning consent for the homes, a school, shops and employment generating uses.
It represents the second major site being brought forward by Legal & General Homes. It recently started work on site at its first development, Buckler’s Park, a 250 acre, 1000-home development in Crowthorne, Berkshire.
Construction for the first phase of new homes at Arborfield is due to start at the end of next year. The site is large enough to provide a full range of housing options, from one bed apartments to five bed detached family homes.
Over a third of the development will accommodate much-needed affordable housing, whilst over 44% of the total site will be dedicated to public open space.
Legal & General will apply its unique multi-tenure approach in order to speed up housing delivery, reducing the time taken to deliver these homes by over five years.
It will also use its modular factory in Leeds, which was set up with the target of building more than 70,000 new homes over the next five to ten years.
James Lidgate, CEO of Legal & General Homes, said: “We have a chronic housing shortage in the UK and speeding up the delivery of new supply is key to tackling this crisis.
“Adopting a multi-tenure approach means that we can create homes in a much shorter timescale as well as supporting people throughout their different life stages. Rather than taking 15 years to build 1500 new homes, we believe that we could achieve a 50% improvement in delivery.”
Developer British Land has signed a deal with McLaren Construction to build a £53m cinema complex next to its shopping centre in Plymouth.
The 12-screen IMAX cinema and over a dozen restaurants will be built on the site of the city’s dilapidated Bretonside coach station.
The new complex will help to restore the city centre and the historic Barbican and waterfront and includes 420 on-site parking spaces.
Demolition works have just got underway, with McLaren expected to start the 20-month building programme early next year to open the project in Autumn 2019.
Richard Wagenhauser, associate director at project architect Corstorphine + Wright, said: The new leisure complex at Drake Circus is one of the largest developments to come to Plymouth in recent years and we have strived to create a unique design that pushes boundaries and enhances the city’s image as a vibrant tourist and leisure destination.
Permission has been granted to build a £50m national innovation centre for ageing in the heart of Newcastle.
The new building design by local architect GCC Architecture will be the third Newcastle University new building for the Science Central site.
Building work is due to begin soon with the building scheduled for opening in 2020.
A building contractor is being selected using the North Eastern Universities Purchasing Consortium framework which has six pre-tendered contractors, including Sir Robert McAlpine, BAM Construction and Bowmer & Kirkland.
The Innovation Centre will be the third Newcastle University building to be located on the Science Central site and will house the University’s teams from the National Innovation Centre for Ageing, the National Innovation Centre for Data and the National Institute for Health Research Innovation Observatory.
Professor Mike Catt, Director of the National Innovation Centre for Ageing, said: “The National Innovation Centre will provide national leadership on the global question ‘how do we age well?’
“By 2050, the number of people in the world aged 60 years or over is projected to more than double, reaching nearly 2.1 billion. This globally ageing population presents many challenges around quality of life and health and wellbeing amongst others as well as multiple economic and social opportunities.
“This new building will provide NICA and NICD with a much-needed facility to bring together industry, experts and the public under one roof to drive the collaborative development of new products and services and cement the North East as global trailblazer in innovation.”
Construction has been chosen as one of the highlighted industries in the government’s bid to boost productivity.
Construction has landed one of the latest round of sector deals worth up to £250m to the industry.
Full details of the deal will be confirmed later today when Business Secretary Greg Clark unveils the government’s Industrial Strategy plans.
Construction was one of 11 industrial sector left in the race for deals.
The other successful sectors are life sciences, artificial intelligence and automotive.
Clark said: “In this Industrial Strategy we set out how we will maintain and enhance these and other strengths and deploy them to our advantage.
“But any serious strategy should address the weaknesses that stop us achieving our potential, as well as our strengths, and this Industrial Strategy does that.
“Britain’s productivity performance has not been good enough, and is holding back our earning power as a country.
“So this Industrial Strategy deliberately strengthens the 5 foundations of productivity: ideas, people, infrastructure, business environment and places.”
Contractor ISG is tipped to take the University of Sussex biomedical building project at its main campus in Brighton.
The £60m building complex will be created from the refurbishment of an existing adjacent genome building and a connected new building on the site of a car park.
Work is expected to get underway at the start of 2018 with the aim of opening the complex at the start of the 202o term.
Designed by Hawkins Brown Architects, the new complex will remain true to the vision of the University’s founding architect, Sir Basil Spence, and will include the distinctive use of glass, concrete and brick that the institution is known for.
Set over five floors, the new development, which will be built using the very latest sustainable materials, will include collaborative spaces for staff and students to work in; encouraging molecular biologists, zoologists, neuroscientists, and chemists to carry out research alongside each other to develop new scientific insight.
Modern laboratories will also provide high-tech teaching spaces for students.
The development of the Life Sciences building is part of the University’s overall Campus Masterplan, which was approved by Brighton & Hove City Council in 2015.
Inside the proposed Life Sciences building
New developments in London will have to comply with tougher fire safety standards in the wake of the Grenfell disaster.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said safety considerations must be central to the design and operation of all new buildings.
His new policy will mean robust fire safety plans and features must be incorporated into building designs from the outset.
Planning applications for all major developments will need to be accompanied by an independent ‘Fire Statement’ – produced by a qualified third-party assessor.
Khan, said: “The safety of Londoners is my first priority and it is absolutely essential that we learn every lesson we can from the terrible Grenfell tragedy, and do everything within our power to make sure nothing like it can happen again.
“My new draft London Plan will, for the first time, require that the ‘highest standards’ of safety are set out at the planning stages of new developments in the capital, so that they can be incorporated into the design and build, and to give Londoners confidence that they will be as protected as possible should an emergency unfold.”
London Fire Brigade Director of Operations Tom George said: “The Grenfell tragedy has put an unprecedented spotlight on fire safety and it’s now vital that Government, local authorities, builders and developers seize this once in a generation opportunity to raise fire safety standards to the highest possible level across all future building developments in the capital, whether they are residential or commercial.
“Only by making fire safety a priority during every part of a building’s life – from the earliest stages of the planning process, throughout its construction, after its completion and through any maintenance and refurbishment work – will we see a significant improvement to safety standards in the capital’s buildings that will reassure those who live and work in them that they are as safe as possible.”
Until now, it has been possible for developers to delay addressing fire safety until the building control application stage of development.
Scientists have developed a method for synthesizing Europium (II) oxide nanoparticles – a ferromagnetic semiconductor that is relevant for data storage and data transport.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171122103544.htm
Lovell has been awarded a £250m contract by the Ministry of Defence to build more than 900 new homes for troops and their families relocating from Germany to Salisbury Plain in South Wiltshire.
The deal is part of the Army Basing Programme and will see a handover rate of 20 homes a week on the fast-track project.
It is the largest-ever contract won by Lovell – which is part of the Morgan Sindall Group.
Construction is set to start early next year after Lovell’s completion of essential pre-commencement works, including the creation of new roads and other infrastructure, which began this spring.
Lovell was selected through a two-stage tender process which has enabled the company to be closely involved in the scheme’s design development and engage at an early stage with the extensive supply chain that will be needed.
Lovell major projects director John Leary said: “We are extremely proud to be continuing our partnership with the MoD through the award of this major scheme on Salisbury Plain and look forward to starting construction of these new homes for service personnel and their families.
“Our team bring to the scheme considerable expertise in careful planning and management of logistics which are essential to achieving the pace of delivery required, with the focus throughout on constructing homes safely and to the very highest standards.”
A newly developed device could reduce the carbon footprint of ethylene production, report scientists.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171124084755.htm
BAM Construction has picked up the job to build a new headquarters for Gwent Police in South Wales.
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent and Gwent Police are now working with BAM to develop a design through to a planning submission to be lodged before the end of the year.
If this is approved BAM could start work on the Llantarnam site on Cwmbran by May next year.
The lead designer is Atkins and proposals include a significant amount of external works to create roads and access.
Craig Allen, BAM’s Cardiff-based construction director with responsibility for South Wales, said: “Across the UK BAM has a strong suite of high profile law and order schemes, having created the new Humberside Police HQ and the new Metropolitan Police HQs.
“Our facilities management business manages services inside police HQs. This experience informs our ability to deliver these high quality new facilities for Gwent and adds to our extremely strong and historic portfolio of schemes in South Wales.”
Andy Carroll has racked-up one red card, four yellows and no goals for West Ham in seven Premier League appearances so far this season.
The big striker has also netted the thick end of £1.5m in wages since the campaign kicked-off in August.
Some of those stats are more impressive than others.
Yet Carroll is still seen by new boss David Moyes as a vital part of our survival campaign.
Mind you a non-scoring striker is only one of Moyes’ many worries.
A keeper who struggles to get down to one side is playing in front of a defence with no pace or shape.
While the midfield lacks energy, can’t keep hold of the ball and often goes completely missing for chunks of the game.
Now Betting Spy backed West Ham last week in the hope we might see a reaction from the players to the new regime.
Unfortunately it wasn’t a winning reaction.
And I can’t see life getting happier any time soon in East London as poor results are sure to spark an ever growing backlash from the fans.
West Ham supporters were promised the move to Stratford would “take us to the next level.”
We were all kidding ourselves that would be the Champions League rather than the Championship.
Swansea are another club in crisis and Bournemouth look the bet of the weekend at 2/1 to come away from the Liberty Stadium with all three points.
Betting Spy has joined forces with Paddy Power to offer all readers a £20 risk-free bet when they open an account. Just click on the link below to visit construction’s favourite bookmaker for full terms and conditions and discover how to set-up an online, telephone or mobile account
Running total of all bets to a £10 stake for 2017/18 season: £+122.00
A Kendal based road surfacing specialist has been fined after one of its employees fell from the bonnet of a tar laying machine.
Dumfries Sheriff Court heard that on 7 November 2016, an employee of M & W Tarmacadam Contractors Limited was standing on the bonnet of the tar laying machine to cut the branches of overhanging trees when he fell into the tar hopper.
Darren Mundell sustained a fractured back and damaged spinal cord causing permanent paralysis from the waist down.
An HSE investigation found that M & W Tarmacadam Contractors Limited had failed to plan the task of cutting the overhanging branches and this resulted in an employee using the bonnet of the tar laying machine which was not a safe place to work.
M & W Tarmacadam Contractor Ltd of Stavely, Kendal was fined £10,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Work at Height Regulations.
Speaking after the hearing HSE Inspector Kirstin Lynchahon said: “M & W’s failings resulted in serious and life changing injuries which could have easily been prevented had the company planned the work at height.
“Planning the branch cutting activity would have included an assessment of the risks and either avoidance of working at height using long reach tools or measures being put in place to prevent a fall.
“Work at height is the biggest single cause of fatal and serious injury in the construction industry, particularly on small projects.”
Balfour Beatty has finally been formally awarded the £287m contract by The University of Manchester to build the Manchester Engineering Campus Development.
Balfour has been working under a Pre-Construction Services Agreement on the job since November 2015.
The campus will take four years to build and employ a workforce of 1,000 at peak construction including multiple apprenticeships and graduate placements.
The project will also create new job opportunities for unemployed local people through the University’s Construction Academy, which provides local residents with exposure to career opportunities in the construction sector.
It will house the University’s Engineering schools, innovative teaching spaces and research institutes such as the Dalton Nuclear Institute and the BP- International Centre for Advanced Materials.
The development will benefit from green construction techniques resulting in smart energy consumption and advanced water recycling and waste systems.
Dean Banks, Balfour Beatty Managing Director, UK Construction Services, said: “We are delighted to have been appointed to construct the MECD, one of the largest single developments ever undertaken by a higher education institution in the UK.
“We have extensive expertise in the higher education sector having delivered schemes such as the Holyrood postgraduate village at the University of Edinburgh, The Diamond building for the Engineering Faculty for the University of Sheffield, and the Foundry Courtyard Student Accommodation Complex in Glasgow.
“Our longstanding expertise enables us to provide The University of Manchester, its staff and students with an iconic campus, in addition to delivering multiple benefits to local communities including job generation and apprenticeship opportunities.”
Diana Hampson, Director of Estates at The University of Manchester, said: “The Manchester Engineering Campus Development will be a world-leading centre for learning and research.
“This development is central to the University’s ten-year Campus Masterplan which is creating an exceptional environment for our exceptional people.
“We are providing state-of-the-art facilities that will rival those of our international competitors and help attract world-class academic talent to the institution.”
Everton have signed a 200-year lease for land at Bramley Moore Dock paving the way to build their 50,000-seater stadium within the Liverpool Waters development area.
The club will now focus on gaining planning next year and securing funding for construction.
Robert Elstone, chief executive at Everton Football Club, said: “Gaining control of the site was essential for us to be able to move forward with the next stages of the project – finalising the funding agreement with the Council and preparing for the submission of a planning application – both of which we hope to do in the New Year.
The proposed new stadium will be a catalyst for Peel Land’s £5.5bn regeneration proposals along Liverpool’s waterfront and is made up of five neighbourhoods.
The new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock will be complemented by a host of leisure facilities for visitors to experience.
Plans also include two new river terminals – a new cruise liner facility as well as the Isle of Man ferry terminal – and several office and residential developments alongside a waterfront cultural complex.
Ian Pollitt, Assistant Project Director at Liverpool Waters, said: “2017 has been a landmark year for Liverpool Waters with a series of planning permissions granted for both Princes Dock and Central Dock, including the plans for a new cruise terminal and a collection of residential developments.
“We know that a world-class stadium, on the banks of the River Mersey, will act as a trigger for even more investment and jobs.”
CBRE, who are acting as advisers to Everton, estimate that a new stadium at Bramley Moore will provide a £1bn boost to the local economy, with a contribution of more than £900m to the region before the stadium is even completed.
The huge financial boost to Liverpool’s economy will see more than £255m spent through local supply chains during the construction phase.
Currently the most important technology for batteries is the lithium-ion battery technology, but the technology is expensive and contains a flammable liquid. To satisfy the growing demand from emerging markets, researchers have devised a new battery prototype: known as “all-solid-state,” this battery has the potential to store more energy while maintaining high safety and reliability levels.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171123094325.htm
Precast concrete design and manufacturing specialist SCC Design Build has made a string of high-profile promotions.
The firm has appointed three new directors to strengthen the board ahead of a number of major planned investments over the coming months.
Carl Sherwood has been promoted to the role of Procurement Director, while David Morris takes over the role of Financial Director, and Jim Durkan becomes Commercial Director.
Carl and Jim have worked at SCC Design Build for over 15 years, with David joining in 2015. In total, the business employs more than 200 people.
Eamon McDonnell, Managing Director of SCC Design Build, said: “The development of staff within the business is part our DNA and all three promotions have been well earned.
“It’s been a landmark year for the business and the newly strengthened board of directors give us an edge going forward, due to the combined experience it now offers.”
The new appointments follow the business’ involvement with several large-scale projects including the Holbeck Urban Village development in Leeds, the ground-breaking Pomona Island site in Manchester, and schemes at the universities of Sheffield and Leeds respectively.
SCC Design Build is a leading manufacturer of bespoke precast concrete solutions across a variety of sectors including leisure, retail and major accommodation schemes.
They provide a complete frame solution as well as architectural precast cladding panels and are based in Stockport on a huge 10.7-acre site which also boasts a 157,000-sq. ft. high bay industrial workshop.
Groundworks and civils specialist M.Lambe Construction has strengthened its apprenticeship scheme through its investment in Premier Training Centre.
The training centre is in collaboration with Thoughts of Others – a provider of care and education services in Birmingham – and will enable Lambe to develop its own tailored training and apprenticeship programmes.
Director Michael Lambe said: “Last year, the Department for Education estimated that 9,000 people aged between 16-24 and living in the West Midlands were classed as not in education, employment or training (NEET).
“Successful businesses like ours have a moral duty to provide young people with more opportunities and offer them the start in life they deserve.”
The Birmingham based business currently employs 32 young apprentices and trainees working across various stages of education and development within the business, with 15 joining in the last 12-months.
Lambe said: “Our apprentices receive invaluable ‘on the job training’ by an experienced mentor, along with practical theory in a classroom. We now have an opportunity to really develop a high quality programme that adds value to their education and fully prepares them to work on one of our construction sites.
“The construction industry has known for some time the skills shortage needs addressing, but major infrastructure schemes, like HS2 and Hinckley Point C are going to put an additional strain on human resources.
“If we are serious about staying apace with the Government’s growth plans and the upsurge in the housing sector, it is essential more is done to encourage younger people to take up a career in construction.”
Premier Training College is a vocational college and a Birmingham Adult Education Service subcontractor, set up to offer learners with full time education and apprenticeship courses.
Along with construction its course schedule includes: hair & barbering, childcare & early years, English functional skills and Health & Social Care.
The dangerous wobbling of pedestrian bridges could be reduced by using biomechanically inspired models of pedestrian response to bridge motion and a mathematical formula to estimate the critical crowd size at which bridge wobbling begins, according to a study.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171121155804.htm
Due to their unique properties, carbon nanotubes would be ideal for numerous applications, but to date they cannot be combined adequately with other materials, or they lose their beneficial properties. Scientists have developed an alternative method of combining, so they retain their characteristic properties. As such, they ‘felt’ the thread-like tubes into a stable 3-D network.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171122113000.htm
