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Are we putting buildings before people?

Sustainability has been at the top of the agenda for many years but I have an ever-increasing feeling that much of the industry is missing the next step. Over recent years we have been placing our emphasis on the environmental and economic parts of sustainability, but we shouldn’t forget the fact that we are creating buildings for people and the well-being of these people should be the priority. So the question is: Are we putting buildings before people? Is it now time to place greater emphasis on people?

When you look at costs in relation to buildings, we freely talk about energy savings but our biggest cost is the people within them and this figure is an astonishing 90% of that overall cost. In addition it has been claimed that we spend over 90% of our time indoors and in an office environment. So why has the focus been put firmly on creating better buildings when, in fact, we should be creating buildings to make the occupants feel better, and in turn, happier and more productive? Imagine what we could achieve if we were able to increase productivity in an office by just 1% simply through creating a better working environment? Well, I have a feeling this is all about to change.

A couple of months ago it was alluded to in an article in Building magazine that the WELL Building Standard could soon be aligned with global sustainability standard BREEAM. The WELL Standard, created by US-based consultants Delos, measures human health and wellness using evidence-based medical and scientific research to help inform better design of buildings. To quote Delos founder Paul Scialla and Building magazine: “Delos are in talks with BRE about pairing the WELL Standard with BREEAM.” This could be a major step forward to aligning the performance of buildings with the wellness of its occupants as reinforced by Scialla who stated that he realised 7 years ago there was a “huge gap in regard to not enough understanding of how the built environment really is impacting biological sustainability as opposed to just environmental.”

BREEAM has long been the ‘go to’ standard to help deliver sustainable buildings. Used in more than 70 countries and with 24,000 projects around the world, and more than 2.2 million buildings and communities registered for certification, it is clear to understand the value that the built environment places on BREEAM. Whilst BREEAM does encourage occupier and building owners to continually monitor performance, it doesn’t go as far as looking and measuring occupier behaviours and well-being. Surely this is the next natural step? And, as if on cue, we have WELL.

Whilst the WELL Standard has been in existence for some years now – most actively in the USA – it is relatively new to Europe. However, Studio Ben Allen Architects’ One Carter Lane project has just become the first European project to receive the accreditation. One Carter Lane, the new London headquarters of engineers Cundall, is a 15,400ft² Cat-A office fit-out. The fit-out provides new workspaces for up to 180 employees and attained a BREEAM Excellent rating and SKA Gold certification – in addition to a WELL Gold standard.

The WELL Building Standard defines a set of compliance requirements that cover seven key areas: air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind. It looks at driving change towards more personal criteria such as stating that 30% of staff must have space to eat lunch together; materials such as desks and storage must use natural materials; and that the volatile organic compound (VOC) rating of all materials must be between negligible and zero, thus ensuring that office fixtures, fittings and fabric do not expel harmful chemical or organic emissions.

So how does all this help to improve well-being and, whilst we can measure productivity, how do we actually measure emotions such as happiness and the direct effect this has on outputs? And the big question is: What cost does this add to a project? According to Cundall it has added around 3% to the project value which equates to just £200 per head.

There are elements of WELL that will need to be addressed if it is to become mainstream in the UK, in much the same way that BREEAM has. For example, in the UK and many other European countries, certain standards are higher than those within WELL. A comparative base line will need to be created so we are not rewarding for going backwards. Also the business case will be different. In the US there is no NHS, instead private healthcare is provided by employers. As such there is a clear reason for US employers to adopt WELL to increase productivity and reduce their healthcare costs. We may need to look at incentives for UK employers.

In the case of the success of One Carter Lane, time will tell, but the initial reports do indicate that a working environment that promotes happiness, well-being, positivity and improved productivity has been created. The challenge is how do we adopt wellness in the same way that we have embraced sustainability?

For me, wellbeing is a vital part of every building – whether it is a school, a hospital, an office or a home. Buildings that make us feel comfortable, happy and calm are essential. With so much of our time spent indoors, and with illness costing UK businesses on average £550 per employee per year (a total of about £30bn, according to the Chartered Institute of Professional Development) it’s something that we all need to embrace – after all we build buildings for people.

By Darren Evans, Managing Director, Darren Evans Assessments
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Mapei products specified to create a distinctly British feel in luxury London apartments

Mapei’s products were specified to help represent the epitome of sophisticated city living in an apartment redevelopment. Mapei products were distributed by Boyden Tiles, Croydon with the project being led by WB Simpsons.

Keraquick and Latex Plus were used on approx. 340m2 of flooring to lay the Domus porcelain 600 x 600 tiles in all the main and ensuite bathrooms plus all of the balconies within the apartment block.

800m2 of wall tiling were fixed using Mapei’s Ultralite S2 – a high performance, lightweight cementitious adhesive with very low emissions of volatile organic compounds. The adhesive, specifically developed for large size tiles to be laid on large surfaces without back buttering, was used to bond Domus Tiles 3m x 1m ‘Kerlite Slim’ porcelain tiles to the walls of the apartments luxury bathrooms and ensuites.

Mapei’s Topcem, was specified as a screed for an area of 120m2 onto external balconies. The quick setting screed allowed the installation of Domus Tiles 200 x 800mm ‘Wood Sense’ porcelain tiles just 24 hours after application.

For more information on Mapei resilient products, other products or training days, please visit www.mapei.co.uk, email info@mapei.co.uk or tel. +44 (0)121 508 6970.
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Plans unveiled for UK’s largest sustainable urban drainage network

An ambitious new project designed to dramatically cut the amount of clean rainwater becoming contaminated in London’s sewers is set to be launched this summer across the Nine Elms on the South Bank regeneration area.

Rainwater landing on an area the size of 20 football pitches will be channelled back into the Thames to stop it entering the capital’s overstretched sewers where it would mix with raw sewage.

This will reduce flood risks and save the huge amount of energy and cost involved in treating rainwater after it combines with waste from sinks, toilets and washing machines.

The £14m project will be the biggest sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) in the UK and has been developed through an innovative partnership between Thames Water and the Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership, which includes Wandsworth Council, Lambeth Council, the GLA and local developers including Ballymore.

New developments in Nine Elms have pioneered design features in new buildings and landscaping that capture rainwater, and increase evaporation before directing flows to a surface water network.

The rainwater will then drain into large underground pipes buried beneath the new Nine Elms Park, which will be a new green channel through the area from Vauxhall to Battersea Power Station.

After heavy rainfall the water will be gradually pumped from this underground reservoir into the Thames via an upgraded pumping station in Ponton Road.

Thames Water sustainability director Richard Aylard said: “By keeping the rain out of our combined sewers we are reducing the risk of flooding, pollution and pressure on our sewers, this will become especially important in the long term as London’s population continues to grow rapidly and the climate changes. It is about putting surface water back where it belongs – in the river. Development and regeneration across London is a major opportunity to do something different with surface water – to take it out of sewers, create additional capacity for new homes and businesses and allow areas like Nine Elms on the South Bank to thrive. Initiatives like this will also help to prolong the life of the Thames Tideway Tunnel.”

Leader of Wandsworth Council and co-chair of the Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership, Ravi Govindia, said: “This is the city’s most ambitious sustainable drainage network and a real step forward for London’s green infrastructure. The project is another major achievement for our regeneration partnership as it transforms this old industrial part of the South Bank into a modern city centre business hub and cultural quarter.

“In Nine Elms we are creating up to 4,000 affordable homes, two new Tube stations and 25,000 new jobs. In the months ahead we will see the opening of the new US Embassy, a new Riverbus pier and the launch of the new ‘village hall’, shops, restaurants, bars and public spaces on the Battersea Power Station site. There is much to look forward to.”

Tristan Stout, Senior Development Manager at Ballymore, which has been heavily involved in developing the project, said: “We have ensured that Embassy Gardens integrates effective water management throughout through green roofs and rainwater gardens in the new streets of Embassy Gardens and through the landscape design of Nine Elms Park. Collaboration with Thames Water has enabled these features to be integrated into a strategic surface water network, which does not just reduce the flow, but removes it entirely from the existing network. This collaborative approach is one we hope will be replicated throughout London to make the city more resilient to the future climate change challenges.”

The unique drainage network will interact with a variety of eco-friendly rainwater design features included in new developments across Nine Elms. These include green roofs, swales – ditches containing vegetation used to remove pollutants – and streets with rainwater gardens which allow water to evaporate into the atmosphere, irrigate plants and generally reduce the volume of rainwater flowing back into the river.

Other cabling for amenities to serve the area’s new businesses and homes will be laid above the new drainage system at the same time, reducing future disruption to the road network.

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2016 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist announced for the UK’s ‘Best New Building’

The shortlist for the prestigious 2016 RIBA Stirling Prize for the UK’s best new building has been announced today (Thursday 14 July). The six shortlisted buildings will now go head-to-head for architecture’s highest accolade, to be awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) on Thursday 6 October 2016. Now in its 21st year, the 2016 RIBA Stirling Prize is sponsored by Almacantar.

A partly-subterranean house on a sloping plot in the Forest of Dean (Outhouse); the conversion of an entire street of listed industrial buildings into a free public gallery for artist Damien Hirst’s private collection (Newport Street Gallery); a radical new landmark university building in Oxford (Blavatnik School of Government); a flagship high density housing development on a regenerated site in south London (Trafalgar Place), a new college campus that reinstates the value placed on civic education in post-industrial Glasgow (City of Glasgow College) and the restoration and significant reinvigoration of a Grade II listed building that is home to one of the world’s greatest research libraries (Weston Library). This is the 2016 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist:

 

Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford by Herzog & de Meuron

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City of Glasgow College, Riverside Campus by Michael Laird Architects & Reiach and Hall Architects

 

Newport Street Gallery, Vauxhall, London by Caruso St John Architects

Newport Street Gallery_PressImage_Hélène_Binet_2

 

Outhouse Gloucestershire by Loyn & Co Architects

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Trafalgar Place, Elephant and Castle, London by dRMM Architects

Trafalgar Place - Elephant and Castle_PressImage_Alex_de Rijke_4

 

Weston Library, University of Oxford by WilkinsonEyre

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Half the shortlist are education buildings, with one client, the University of Oxford, responsible for an unprecedented two of the six projects. The Blavatnik School of Government, a contemporary new building in a conservation area takes the traditional Oxford quad and tears up the rule book; Herzog & de Meuron have created a succession of wide twisting staircases, offset balconies and communal spaces that encourage greater debate and interaction for aspiring civil servants and politicians. Elsewhere in Oxford, WilkinsonEyre have opened up the Bodleian’s Weston Library to the world. This Giles Gilbert Scott Grade II listed gem was once rather insular but has been transformed by a bold new glazed mezzanine to reveal to the public the treasures contained inside. In Glasgow, the city benefits from a bold statement about the importance of civic education with the addition of City of Glasgow College, Riverside Campus; the architects Michael Laird Architects & Reiach and Hall Architects have created a new icon on the Glasgow skyline with a campus anchored by two generous civic spaces, a cloistered garden and grand hall.

Newport Street Gallery in Vauxhall is the new home of artist Damien Hirst’s private collection. Three Victorian workshops that were once used to create sets for West End productions have been bookended by Caruso St John’s new buildings; the five buildings now joined together seamlessly to create superb gallery spaces and a beautifully curated new street.

Trafalgar Place, the first results of the wholescale redevelopment of Elephant and Castle’s 1970s Heygate Estate, are on the shortlist. Here dRMM Architects have designed a flagship development of 235 high density, high-quality homes set amongst retained mature trees and extensive landscaping; bringing a sense of tranquillity to a very urban location. Clever use of brickwork gives the new buildings an identity of their own; eight types of brick have been used, each one chosen to reference neighbouring buildings.

Outhouse by Loyn & Co is the first private house to feature on the RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist for 15 years (The Lawns by Smerin Architects was shortlisted in 2001). An exemplary concrete house on the Welsh borders, designed for a couple of retired artists, it delights with unexpected spaces, some underground, with a field as the roof. The architect’s use of light, air and vistas make the absolute most of its sloping site and wide views.

The shortlist features projects by previous RIBA Stirling Prize winners, Herzog & de Meuron (Laban Dance Centre, 2003) and Wilkinson Eyre (Magna Centre, Rotherham, 2001; Gateshead Millennium Bridge, 2002). Reiach and Hall, Caruso St John and dRMM have all been nominated once before. Michael Laird Architects and Loyn & Co Architects are shortlisted for the first time.

Speaking about the shortlist RIBA President Jane Duncan said “The RIBA Stirling Prize is awarded to the building that has made the biggest contribution to the evolution of architecture in a given year.

“Every one of the six buildings shortlisted today illustrates the huge benefit that well-designed buildings can bring to people’s lives. As seen at Trafalgar Place and Newport Street Gallery, they can breathe life and kick-start regeneration in neglected urban pockets to create new, desirable destinations and communities; as with Blavatnik School of Government, Weston Library and City of Glasgow College, they can give cities and institutions a new landmark to delight and draw in visitors, improve education potential, and increase civic pride. Meanwhile Outhouse provides a fantastic model for a private house – one that delights its owners and responds exceptionally sensitively to its treasured rural position.

“With the dominance of university and further education buildings on the shortlist, it is clear that quality architecture’s main patrons this year are from the education sector. I commend these enlightened clients and supporters who have bestowed such remarkable education buildings. Sponsors, such as the Blavatnik Family Foundation, the Garfield Weston Foundation, and Damien Hirst are continuing in the proud history of private patronage of architecture, and their continued support contrasts the slump in publicly-funded architecture.

“The shortlisted projects are each fantastic new additions to their individual locations – on an urban street, a city riverside, an estate regeneration, an historic city centre and a hidden part of the countryside – but their stand-out common quality is the inspiration they will bring to those who study, live, visit and pass by them, for generations to come. To me, this shortlist reflects everything that is great about UK architecture – a blend of experimental, artistic vision and a commitment to changing people’s lives for the better.”

The winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize will be announced on Thursday 6 October 2016.

The Architects’ Journal is the professional media partner for the RIBA Stirling Prize.

Use #StirlingPrize in your social media posts about the shortlist.

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CO2: Don’t be neutral, be negative!

It is common knowledge that in order to effectively combat global warming caused by CO2, we need to make conscious efforts to reduce our carbon footprint. Given that buildings are accountable for 37% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions (according to the Committee on Climate Change) we have a duty as specifiers, architects and construction professionals to lower this alarming figure. Joe Bradbury of www.buildingspecifier.com investigates.

Going neutral isn’t enough

Whenever CO2 reduction is discussed, we often talk about becoming carbon neutral, i.e. designing or retrofitting our building to use only as much atmospheric CO2 as it emits, leaving existing levels intact. However, approximately 30 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide is pumped into the Earth’s atmosphere from power plants, vehicles and various other industrial sources which are intensively fuelled from the burning fossil fuels. So, whilst going neutral can certainly help the problem, it’s a mere drop in the ocean in terms of fighting climate change.

We therefore need to not only focus on reducing how much CO2 we produce, but also on how we can physically remove it from the air.

Capturing CO2

Allison Dring, head of start-up Elegant Embellishments, has designed a smog-eating façade that is a perfect example of how a building can go a step further and actually become carbon negative. Described on the BBC, “The façade is coated with a special paint made from titanium dioxide, a pollution-fighting technology that is activated by daylight. It absorbs the fumes generated from traffic and converts them first into nitric acid and then into calcium nitrate, which is harmless.”

The facade has currently been fitted on the side of a hospital in Mexico City, where pollution is a massive issue. Since being added to the building, the innovative façade has allegedly reduced pollution of around 1,000 cars per day, perhaps resulting in less people needing to visit the hospital in the first place!

Allison is a staunch advocate of the idea that the materials we build with should actively give something back to the environment – and so am I.

Watch the below video to see more:

Putting it to good use

Becoming carbon negative is a two stage process; consuming the CO2 is only the first part of the solution. What do you do with the CO2 once it has been captured from the air? Turning it into usable materials or less harmful gasses is the key to becoming truly carbon negative and actually being an asset to the environment.

Atmospheric CO2 is one of the biggest issues of the 21st century… however, as the old adage “one man’s waste is another man’s treasure” implies, it is also a precious resource! We can use the CO2 taken from the air and convert it into useful carbon-based products, such as building materials, pharmaceuticals, fuels and plastics.

Not only do these products help us as an industry, but the very creation of them absorbs more CO2 than we emit, ergo reducing CO2 in the atmosphere. Now THAT is a solution.
So in short, when it comes to tackling climate change in the built environment, be negative!

What materials or technologies are you using in your building to reduce CO2 emissions? We’d love to hear from you – let us know in the comments section below.

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Building Transformation: School Urban Transformer Grants

This summer, we’re offering three Secondary or Upper schools the opportunity to take up one of our sensational School Urban Transformer Grants. In each week-long program in the summer holidays, Building Transformation will provide the tools, training and expert knowledge to transform your school environment with founding partner Reece Wood and his expert colleagues.

The program, for six enthusiastic students, will offer a fun, skill-building opportunity to engage with, develop and improve their school’s space, as well as offering the following skills:

  • Environmental evaluation
  • Developing a plan of action
  • Selecting and meeting deadlines
  • Performing risk assessments
  • Analysing and understanding safety checks and construction plans
  • Taking instructions from supervising experts
  • Working as a team to produce agreed results

All these skills and more will be developed by the staff of Building Transformation, at no cost to the participating schools. All safety equipment and materials will also be provided by Building Transformation.

“When I pick my own kids up from school, it’s obvious that the classes enjoy activities most in those well-maintained, well cared-for areas; I can see how the school environment has a direct affect on their engagement with it. Any external building fabric plays a big part in influencing the emotions and even behaviour of the building users: a school landscape should be positive, feel safe and reflect the school’s culture and values, as a space that inspires students and teachers and makes them proud.

“However, maintenance issues can be costly, and low on the list of concerns as more pressing items taking priority; problems are often allowed to build and impact the school’s environments, negatively influencing students’ feelings about their school over time. This can result in an imbalance between the core values of a school, and its physical appearance. The problem isn’t down to people not caring, but rather that both budgets and time are limited.

“Yet the simple solutions that make a real difference to the quality of a school environment shouldn’t be expensive or difficult to access. Algae, carbon, environmental pollution, chewing gum & graffiti, are all easily removed with the correct equipment and approach. This year we aim to give the know-how and control back to schools and students, to help create school environments of the future. The School Urban Transformer Grant is our way of making a difference in our own communities.

“We want to create a fun programme, that builds the students’ skills, values and education, plus uses their enthusiasm and energy to give something back to the school environment that has helped shape their future, at no expense to the school. And by developing and completing the process with the students, they’ll take ownership of their space, feeling more protective, and viewing it with a new set of eyes.

I’d love to hear your thoughts — please get in touch, and I can answer any questions you might have.”

What is the purpose behind the School Urban Transformer program?

“To work with three schools for one week each, to help them create a more inspiring, valued and more sustainable environment that they are proud of and is in line with their standards of performance; to breathe new life into the tired or challenging-to-manage school environment; and to give the knowhow, pride and ownership back to the students, and back to the school. We want students and schools to feel that the cleaned and restored environment is a closer reflection of their values, ethos and vision.

“The grant includes one week’s Urban Transformation program within your school, as well as one day’s initial planning and development three to four weeks prior, working with your chosen students and your school’s maintenance staff.”

Why is Building Transformation doing this?

“We’re constantly thinking how we canwhat make real difference, both to environments and people, by bringing to life the real purpose of our business with our skills and assets. Having been asked to provide solutions to schools over the past few years, having looked at the varying condition of school environments, listened to the issues around budgets and maintenance limitations, pressures, priorities and how all of this impacts on the school, we believe that we can give schools the knowhow and solutions they need to create an environment and space that fits with their ethos and vision for the future.

“It’s important to us to help create communities of people that take ownership and pride in their environment.”

Who is Building Transformation?

“We’re an international building façade maintenance and consultancy service, working with major industry and education institutions across the UK and abroad, with over 15 years’ expertise in design, environmental sustainability and building regeneration.”

What do the schools need to do?

“Complete the application form by 17th June. The chosen schools will need to select six Y12 students who have the enthusiasm and energy to take part in the program for a week during the summer holidays, and who will be eager to learn new skills and develop their CVs and UCAS applications while also protecting their school environment for the future.”

For more information please visit www.buildingtransformation.co.uk/schools, email schools@buildingtransformation.co.uk or phone 01234 964 019.
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Printing: the future of construction

Dubai has seen the completion of the world’s first 3D printed office building – called “Office for the Future.”

The opening of the first 3D-printed office in the world comes just less than one month of launching Dubai 3D printing strategy, which showcases a modern model of construction.

The building was constructed using a 3D-printer with automated robotic arm – measuring 20 feet in height, 120 feet in length and 40 feet wide. The office took 17 days in total to print offsite, and the structure was erected on site in just two days. Additional mobile printers were also located at the construction site to add the finishing touches.

Saudi newspaper the Gulf Today quoted Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as saying, “The UAE has emerged as one of the major incubators of innovation and future technology in the world today and its focused initiatives to shape the future have become global models that can be emulated in all sectors. The opening in Dubai of the ‘Office of the Future’, the first 3D-printed office in the world, is another shining example of how the Emirate adopts novel initiatives and ideas and also encourages teams to adopt innovation in their work.”

There can be no doubt that the competitive advantages of 3D printing, in terms of lower costs and faster delivery, will make the UAE one of the most important sustainable economic hubs, enabling the effective use of this technology to establish future cities in all sectors.

What is highly interesting in the case of the 3D printed office is that the labour cost could be cut by more than 50% compared to conventional buildings of similar size.

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority released an Expression of Interest for the construction of 3D-printed laboratories, to conduct research on drones and 3D-printing technologies at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site project in the world. The Solar Park would be able to generate 1,000 megawatts (MW) by 2020 and 5,000MW by 2030.

Sheikh Mohammed recently mentioned that the future is not built on possibilities and numbers but on clarity of vision, planning, action and implementation.

In the medical products sector, the focus will be on developing 3D printed teeth, bones, artificial organs and medical and surgical devices and hearing aids.

The Sharjah-based daily concluded by saying, “It is heartening that the UAE is successfully embracing technology for the service of entire humanity.”

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Many schools are “dangerous, dilapidated, poorly built and wasteful”, says RIBA

RIBA have highlighted the urgent need for school refurbishment in a new report into the state of school buildings, entitled ‘Better Spaces for Learning.’ The report revealed:

  • 1 in 5 teachers have considered quitting because of the wretched condition of the school buildings they have to teach in
  • The Government’s Education Funding Agency’s new school building programme is too rigid and is leading to waste and poor value for tax payers
  • Over 90% of teachers believe well-built and designed schools improve educational outcomes and pupil behaviour
  • Over-engineered schools, with Government-specified equipment that only costly consultants know how to operate, is costing £150 million per year which could have been avoided if schools were designed better

A new report on the state of school buildings in the UK has been published by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Using the largest ever analysis of primary and secondary school buildings in the UK, a nation-wide poll of teachers, and extensive engagement with school buildings experts, RIBA’s Better Spaces for Learning report makes the case for an urgent review of the Government’s Education Funding Agency’s current school building programme.

The report emphasises the importance of well-designed school buildings on young people’s wellbeing, behaviour engagement and crucially, attainment.

RIBA has identified that good school design can reduce running and maintenance costs, in some cases by more than several times a teacher’s average salary a year; it could have prevented the English school estate from spending upwards of £150m annually on unnecessary operation and maintenance costs.

The new report is further insight into the Government’s own assertion that just 5% of the nearly 60,000 school buildings across the UK are performing as intended and operating efficiently.* The prevalence of damp, leaky classrooms and asbestos-ridden buildings in British schools means too many pupils and teachers are struggling to learn and teach in conditions damaging to their health and education.

Better Spaces for Learning reveals that the Government’s current programme of building new schools is inefficient – with a lack of flexibility to make the best possible use of resources, and little opportunity for school staff to input into the design of their own new buildings. RIBA believes that the Government programme must be improved to guarantee better outcomes for our public money.

RIBA President Jane Duncan said “This country is in the grip of the worst shortage of school places in living memory. Our report highlights the vital importance of school design and how it affects the general health and wellbeing of their users, our children and their teachers. As limited funding is available to deal with the growing problem, every penny spent on schools must deliver maximum value for money. Award winning well-designed, successful schools with happy pupils and productive staff like Burntwood School in London shouldn’t be the exception, they should be the standard.

“How can we expect our children to compete with the world’s best when too many of our school buildings are substandard? Educational improvements resulting from the current programme of school building are not reaching the basic standards that British taxpayers and our economy expects. We need to do better for all of our children and their hardworking teachers. We urge the Government to review its programme of building new schools.”

To read more about buildings and construction within the education sector, subscribe to our sister publication School Building Magazine. School Building magazine is aimed at the key named buyers and specifiers with Local Authorities, LEA’s, Universities, Architects and contractors responsible for the design, build and refurbishment of educational facilities.
Read the latest edition here.
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Is the growth of cities causing a baby boom?

While urbanization has historically been linked to lower birth rates, research is dispelling the myth of cities as “fertility traps.” A recent study from Allianz found that the birth rate in 41 major European and US cities is actually higher than the national average of the respective country.

As cities experienced unprecedented growth in recent decades, global fertility rates have decreased dramatically. Some demographers believe that the conditions that draw people to cities, such as increased access to education, better employment for women and family planning options, could also be linked to this decline.

Yet recent evidence has indicated that cities in developed countries are experiencing a “mini baby boom.” How widespread this is was shown in recent research conducted by the International Pensions unit of Allianz, one of the world’s largest insurers. It found that the birth rate in 41 major European and US cities is on average actually 7% higher than the national average of the country in which the city is located.

In this study of fertility in cities in Europe and the US, birth rates were calculated and compared with national birthrates.* The list studied includes European capitals and cities with more than 1 million inhabitants. Researchers found that the higher fertility pattern transcends borders: Lisbon (+50%), Bratislava (+31%) and Birmingham I the UK (+17%) lead the list of cities studied in terms of excess birthrate. In the US, the adjusted birth rate for NYC was +5% compared with the national average; in Chicago it was +3%, and in Dallas, +17%.

“Surprisingly, cities with some of the highest living and housing expenses also show an excess birthrate compared to the national average,” said Brigitte Miksa, Head of International Pensions. “These include New York City, Munich (+5%), London (+8%), Stockholm (+13%), Copenhagen (+14%) and Oslo (+16%).

Drivers for the fertility increase in some cities include better opportunities for jobs that offer work-life balance, more comprehensive infrastructure with easier access to childcare, shifting attitudes towards parenthood among affluent couples, and increases in immigration.

However, the Allianz researchers also caution that while a city baby boom is a demographic plus, it isn’t a panacea for the issues faced by aging societies. Of the cities surveyed, only Dallas and Birmingham have fertility rates of 2.1 children per women, the number considered necessary for one generation to replace itself without immigration. Five other cities – Brussels, Stockholm, Oslo, London and New York – have fertility levels just under the replacement rate. What this means, according to Brigitte Miksa, is that “countries will still need to find other ways to sustain their populations and fund their public services and pensions systems.”

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Cosmetic surgery from Encasement for new Birmingham Dental Hospital

Birmingham’s new £50 million dental hospital and school of dentistry in Edgbaston is using 200 metres of custom designed elliptical aluminium column casings from Encasement to conceal primary structural steelwork used in the extensive feature curtain walling, which stands the full height of the four storey building.

Constructed on the site of the former BBC Pebble Mill TV studio, the new facility replaces the existing 50-year-old building adjacent to the local Children’s Hospital and is expected to treat more than 100,000 patients each year.

The large glazed facades at the front and rear of the hospital are key design features, which allow natural light into the building and their primary support structure of steel columns and beams are concealed with Encasement’s ‘Forma’ aluminium decorative casings to create a more aesthetic finish to the building’s interior.

Manufactured and installed by Encasement, every horizontal and vertical casing section, the tallest of which stands 25 metres high, was formed into a unique 1500mm deep semi-elliptical ‘aerofoil’ profile and finished in white PPC to complement building’s bright interior colour scheme.

Due to the complexity of the project, Encasement provided full CAD design assistance to develop the concept as part of the planning process prior, which not only helped during the design and manufacture stages, but also simplified the installation, as each 3 metre long ‘Forma’ casing section had to be secured to create smooth, virtually joint free finish.

Martin Taylor, Encasement’s Managing Director, explained: “This is one of the most challenging and rewarding projects we have undertaken. Not only were we working to extended heights, but the casings also used unique elliptical geometry and demanded the utmost precision when being installed to achieve the level of fit and finish required by the client.”

He added: “The end result, however, was worth all the effort and the Forma casing solution add the finishing touch to and exceptionally well designed, constructed and much needed state of the art facility, which is among the world’s best university dental hospitals.”

 

Find out more about Forma column casings range here.
View the Birmingham Dental Hospital project gallery here.
Discover more about Encasement’s product range here.
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