A Rational approach to house building in west London
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has signed a deal with a consortium including Davis Langdon, AECOM and architect 3D Reid to build up to 100 new homes on its land using an new flexible construction system.
City House Projects has been confirmed as developer for 12 new homes of various sizes on the Spring Vale Estate in Brook Green, west London. The homes will be sold to local people either at market rates or with the council retaining a proportion of the equity to improve affordability.
But the scope of the OJEU notice means that the team is in line for further sites in Hammersmith, as well as neighbouring Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster.
The new homes will be built with the Rational House system, developed by an ex-director of 3D Reid with product development and engineering support from Davis Langdon and AECOM. Designed to sit happily in urban infill sites, its flexibility means it is suitable for houses, apartments or mixed-use developments.
“In our OJEU response we put in a recommendation that the house will be built by Willmott Dixon under the Scape framework, for speed of delivery,” says Ben de Waal, head of residential at Davis Langdon.
Click here to read more about Rational House in our feature “Choice offering”
Start spreading the news… CIOB opens New York Office
The CIOB is extending its international presence with the opening of its first US office, based in New York at the office of the New York Building Congress (NYBC). The Institute has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the trade body.
Chris Blythe, CIOB chief executive, said: “By opening a New York office and staffing it with local specialists, we will be coupling regional expertise and know-how with the values associated with a chartered professional body.”
Porie Saikia-Eapen CIOB Americas Ambassador and Council Chair at the New York Building Congress initiated and mediated the MoU. She said the alliance would benefit both the CIOB, which will have a home for its members working in the US, and NYBC members, who stand to gain global access through the CIOB network.
Amy Gough, CIOB head of international, said: “These new premises will become a hub for raising our profile, and building our membership and relationships.”
BDP channels efforts for china centre
This BDP-designed Broadcast & TV Centre is under construction in Taiyuan, the capital city of Shanxi Province in north China. The 200,000m2 first phase will comprise six buildings providing offices, assorted film studios, an Internet New Media Centre, Cultural Exchange Centre and other associated facilities for Shanxi Broadcast & TV Channel. The principal building is a landmark 198m office tower which will house the press centre, 10 studios, post-production and broadcast facilities for both radio and TV channels. It is due to be completed in 2014.
