Constructing the 2013 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

Posted on: 3 September 2013
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The 2013 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, by architect Sou Fujimoto, is a metallic mesh of 27,000 bits of steel joined together to give the impression of a light, cloud-like structure. This video programme includes a talk to the AECOM engineers that worked alongside Fujimoto to help realise his design. We learn why the architect’s original designs had to be rapidly rationalised and how an exceedingly tight schedule ultimately dictated the final design and how it was built.

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Neighbourhood planning: Involving businesses and landowners

Posted on: 3 September 2013
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The purpose of this information paper is to provide members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) with background information on the introduction of permissive rights for communities and businesses to prepare Neighbourhood Plans and Neighbourhood Development Orders.  It also focuses on the opportunities within predominantly commercial areas for businesses to take forward ‘Business Neighbourhood Planning’.

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Climate change and Caribbean tourism

Posted on: 3 September 2013
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This video was produced by the CARIBSAVE Partnership to increase awareness of some of the threats facing the Caribbean’s largest economic sector. The aim of the film is also to highlight opportunities for win-win adaptation strategies that provide immediate and long-term benefits. It showcases success stories from across the region of partnerships between communities, private sector and governments that are strengthening the social and environmental resilience of this vulnerable region.

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Homelessness prevention and relief: England 2012/13

Posted on: 16 August 2013
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This is an official statistics release on homelessness prevention and relief in England that took place outside the homelessness statutory framework in 2012 to 2013. This is the fifth year for which figures on homelessness prevention and relief have been published by the Department for Communities and Local Government under arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.

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House building: June quarter 2013, England

Posted on: 16 August 2013
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The latest housebuilding start figures show there were 29,510 new homes started between April and June this year, 6% higher than the previous quarter, and a third higher than the same time last year. Seasonally adjusted private enterprise completions increased by 11%. This increase was seen across the country, with 178 of the 326 councils in England reporting an increase in housebuilding starts over the year.

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Project Support Centre summer holidays

Posted on: 15 August 2013
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My room (M22A) will be closed from Monday 19 until Friday 30 August 2013 (inclusive) as I am taking annual leave.

I will be back in the University on Monday 2 September 2013.

Home Building Skills Research Report 2013

Posted on: 15 August 2013
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A new report from the NHBC, the Home Builders Federation, CITB and the Zero Carbon Hub has found that 50% of all home builders and 80% of housing associations are taking on an apprentice in 2013. It also argues that better links between housebuilders, educational establishments and the construction industry are needed and the sector must promote itself better to attract school leavers and the best apprentices.

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New changes effected under the Construction Products Regulation

Posted on: 15 August 2013
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The construction industry is facing the most significant change for a decade in the way in which construction products are sold in Europe. The Construction Products Directive 1989 (CPD) was one of the early European Directives designed to create a single market for goods and services. It was introduced to create a common framework for regulations concerning buildings and construction works, and new changes took effect from July 2013. This briefing looks at what has happened.

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GHG mitigation in Australia: An overview of the current policy landscape

Posted on: 15 August 2013
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This report provides an overview of major policies in Australia that are likely to make a measurable reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The paper discusses a carbon-pricing mechanism, renewable energy target, and other existing and emerging policies, as well as the implications of the current policy package for the country’s GHG trajectory.

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Stressed: A review of London’s private rental sector

Posted on: 15 August 2013
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Described as the first independent review of London’s private rental sector in years, this report shows the sector faces enormous pressures. Rents have risen significantly as demand has grown faster than supply. At the same time complaints about landlords and letting agencies have been on the rise, and nearly half of rented homes fail to meet basic standards of health and safety. The report argues that while we badly need to increase the supply of new homes of all tenures in the capital, we also need to do more to raise the standard of existing homes for rent. Among other recommendations, the report argues that we should strengthen the way the sector is enforced. However, it cautions against imposing new regulations on the sector and new burdens on landlords. These could well have perverse consequences for tenants. Instead it suggests the Government should do more to incentivise landlords to invest in the up-keep of their properties.

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