Opinion – Page 391

  • Comment

    Beacons of hope in times of trouble?

    2009-02-09T08:50:00Z

    There is currently much excitement being generated about the probability of construction starting on some of the much-talked of copse of towers planned to slice through the skyline of London.If that prospect smacks of confidence it is in stark contrast to the general prospects for commercial construction in London and ...

  • Comment

    A phrase I wish I'd coined

    2009-02-09T08:39:00Z

    As I was giving the recent Rightmove consumer confidence poll a hard time last week, the Bad Science column in the Guardian kept coming to mind.So it was a bit spooky when I read the latest offering from Dr Ben Goldacre.If I was superstitious I would have read rather a ...

  • Richard Steer, senior partner at Gleeds
    Comment

    Defeats, green shoots and fees

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    It’s tough out there and firms are holding their cards close to their chests and their cash even closer. But the important thing is not to panic and take it one day at a time

  • Comment

    The skyline just got safer

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    When ڶ launched its Safer Skyline campaign almost two years ago, the crane industry was in crisis

  • Open mike
    Comment

    Old people aren't dead

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    Let’s design homes that encourage elderly people to live fulfilling lives – rather than sticking them in institutional spaces in which they simply bide their time

  • Currency fluctuations have never been much of a concern, but with the pound at an all-time low, parties need a more advanced approach to managing risk
    Comment

    A fair exchange is no robbery: Currency fluctuations

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    Money matters: Currency fluctuations have never been much of a concern, but with the pound at an all-time low, parties need a more advanced approach to managing risk

  • Comment

    The Taylor Wimpey "debt deal buzz" that isn't

    2009-02-06T12:57:00Z

    Taylor Wimpey shares moved up 8% last Friday and the Daily Mail thinks it knows why.The move came on the back of a similar-sized jump on Thursday.According to the paper, it's the result of a buzz in the City that "an agreement had finally been reached" between the housebuilder and ...

  • Comment

    Rapid rise in company failures underlines threat to construction firms

    2009-02-06T11:24:00Z

    The latest insolvency figures make bleak reading and confirm the stress on construction businesses in the wake of the credit crunch.If you add up all the construction companies falling into receivership, administration or company voluntary arrangements in England and Wales in the final quarter of last year you get 226. ...

  • Comment

    A problem of our making

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    Regarding the controversy over Staythorpe power station’s use of foreign workers, power plants for the UK are bought through international tender on a turnkey basis

  • Comment

    A message for the union

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    I have been a member of Ucatt for many years and though you [Ucatt] are good at representing the workforce on legal matters you are very poor at representing the British workforce on ethnic matters

  • Comment

    Coming of age

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    So, “like collaborative working, being sustainable was a child of the boom years”. If so, now is the time for both to come of age and be taken seriously

  • The Moyo House nutritional rehabilitation unit in Malawi: an exceptional project in a country riven by HIV
    Comment

    Sterling work

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    I am a Malawian currently studying in the UK. I appreciate Unicef’s work but this project is exceptional and must be commended

  • Comment

    A game of risk

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    I appreciate the risk taken by specialist construction companies, but I fear that Peter Lewis is not looking far enough when he says specialist contractors are at “the end of the chain and bearing the full weight of the risk”

  • Comment

    The full footprint

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    We need to start making an effort in not only looking at the energy used in running a development once it is completed but also the cost to the environment in constructing it and then demolishing the structure once its useful life has expired

  • Comment

    Bond. Which bond?

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    While Ian Yule’s article focuses mainly on an “on demand” bond and highlights the particular case of Permasteelisa, his opening paragraphs promote myths about performance guarantee bonds

  • ڶ buys a pint ... for Sonnemann Toon
    Comment

    ڶ buys a pint … for Sonnemann Toon

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    “I read ڶ in the toilet,” announces Gary Toon as I hand him his pint. I’m not really sure where to go with that. “Er,” I begin in response, but am saved by Cressida, his wife and fellow partner in their architectural practice, Sonnemann Toon

  • What are your current favourite iTunes? Current faves are Day ‘n’ Nite by Kid Cudi vs Crookers and the Beyonce album I Am
    Comment

    My digital life: Geoff Wilkinson

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    This week

  • Comment

    Cold comforts

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    As we all huddle for warmth and HSE inspectors don their crash helmets to go and play in the snow, some observers spy green shoots rising out of the frozen earth. Unnamed observers, obviously...

  • Birgit Blacklaws
    Comment

    Contractual priority

    2009-02-06T00:00:00Z

    AE Yates Trenchless Solutions vs Black & Veatch

  • Comment

    Rightmove wrong interpretation?

    2009-02-05T17:39:00Z

    Why is it that when I looked at the data presented in the press release covering the newly launched Rightmove consumer confidence survey I came to a very different interpretation from that given?I am not an expert in survey work, but I am always interested in how they are put ...