Planting ceremony for park revamp

Team members involved in the regeneration of a park in North Tyneside took part in a planting ceremony to improve the appearance of the newly refurbished site.

Richardson Dees Park in Wallsend is undergoing an extensive upgrade as part of the £7.2m Wallsend Parks Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund ‘Parks for People’ project.

Kier executive director, Ian Lawson, joined the mayor, Linda Arkley, and members of the Wallsend Park project team and Friends of Wallsend Park, to plant flowers forming the shape of the Kier and Friends of Wallsend Park logos. The ceremony was followed by afternoon tea for all involved at the visitors centre.

The scheme includes an extension to the park pavilion to incorporate a new café and toilets, an addition to the park lodge, new bins, seating and signage, footpath surfacing, restoration of the bandstand and memorial fountain, resurfacing of the tennis courts and refurbishment of the bowls pavilion and bowling greens.

Kier North Tyneside is a joint venture company formed between North Tyneside Council and Kier to deliver a repairs and maintenance service for North Tyneside’s social housing and public buildings. 

Braving the weather: the mayor of North Tyneside Council Linda Arkley joined Kier executive director Ian Lawson and Kier regional director Mike Furze to mark the regeneration of Richardson Dees Park

President highlights industry’s Olympic success in difficult economic times

The enormous contribution made by the construction industry to London’s Olympic Games has been highlighted by Sue Sharp the incoming president of B&ES – the Building & Engineering Services Association.

Speaking at the annual general meeting, Sue Sharp invited fellow members to reflect on the words of the Olympics construction director Howard Shiplee, to the effect that “we are now a beacon of hope, demonstrating on a world stage what our industry can do.”

Sue Sharp said: “I am sure that is a sentiment from which we can all draw strength in facing a future which continues to look less than rosy. 

“If our businesses are to survive and grow in the long term, we must move forward in the belief that the recession will end some day, that the nation will return to some semblance of prosperity.” 

She added that it was “the over-riding duty” of B&ES to assist its members not only to stay afloat in the short term, but “to put in place the building blocks with which they can construct a profitable and enduring future.”

Sue Sharp the president of the Building & Engineering Services Association

Traditional skills vital to protecting Scotland’s historic castles and palaces

An agreement to ensure that Scotland has world-class training has been signed by two of the providers of traditional building skills. Historic Scotland, the national heritage agency, and CITB-ConstructionSkills, the sector skills council and industry training board for UK construction, have committed to an action plan.

The Sector Skills Agreement was signed at Historic Scotland’s new state-of-the-art stonemasonry training facility at Forth Valley College in Stirling.

In September the first intake of ten new Historic Scotland apprentices will begin training at the college as part of a Scottish Government commitment to provide 30 traditional skills apprenticeships over three years.

Graeme Ogilvy, CITB-ConstructionSkills director – Scotland, said: “Traditionally built structures contribute to Scotland’s economy, not only by providing an obvious draw for tourists attracted to castles and palaces, these structures are often our homes, our places of work and much of the infrastructure used daily.

“They are part of Scotland’s culture and help provide a sense of place; they also reflect the diverse geography, as traditionally built structures are constructed with local indigenous materials that require distinct skills and knowledge to work.

“It is imperative that this built heritage is repaired and maintained and that it is done so correctly, as using inappropriate materials and methods has proven to be more damaging and costly in the long term.”

David Mitchell, Historic Scotland director of conservation, said: “The built environment needs the right knowledge and skills across all levels to encourage good and appropriate repair work.  

“I am particularly delighted that we have been able to meet at our new facility in Forth Valley College that will give apprentices the opportunity to learn how to properly repair and maintain our incredible historic architecture.”

Making a commitment to traditional skills training Graeme Ogilvy CITB-ConstructionSkills director – Scotland and David Mitchell Historic Scotland director of conservation

Architects celebrate success in Passivhaus Awards

Norfolk-based architects Parsons + Whittley has won the residential category of the first ever UK Passivhaus Awards for the Wimbish Passivhaus project – a scheme of 14 dwellings designed for Hastoe Housing Association that delivers low fuel bills and has minimal carbon emissions.

Chris Parsons the managing director said: “The energy use of the houses has been monitored through the University of East Anglia for 12 months and results are showing really low fuel bills with very high comfort levels. 

“The three bed houses at Wimbish have annual fuel bills of less than £150. I think we were successful because the scheme demonstrated that the methodology could be delivered in the mainstream housing environment at a reasonable cost.”

The buildings were insulated below the concrete floor slabs with Floormate 300-A Styrofoam insulation from Dow Building Solutions manufactured in nearby King’s Lynn.

Parson’s & Whittley’s next Passivhaus scheme at Ditchingham in Norfolk – again for Hastoe – is due for completion this summer. 

For more details www.parsonswhittley.co.uk.

The award winning Wimbish Passivhaus project 

Westminster student wins prize for ‘London Thatch’ Tower Blocks

A final year student at Westminster School of Architecture, has won the top prize in the Lifelines exhibition that was opened by Angela Brady, RIBA president, at the European Commission’s 12 Star Gallery in London.

James Kirk was presented with a cheque for £150 by Angela Brady for his entry of a post-war tower block, which has been thatched. 

James Kirk said: “Refreshing our crumbling stock of residential tower blocks keeps their communities of all ages together as well as giving a new lease of life to the ancient craft of thatching.”

The exhibition of 27 entries by 27 architectural students in London coincides with the European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. It was curated by Charles Knevitt and two Bartlett students, Emma Flynn and Cassandra Tsolakis.

James Kirk, who undertook his RIBA Part I at Bath, then worked with Rick Mather for three years before studying for Part II at Westminster. He is currently building an Olympic Pavilion outside the Shell Centre on London’s South Bank.

The exhibition runs until 7 September at the gallery on Smith Square. Open daily Monday to Friday from 10am – 6pm. Admission free.

Civic Trust Awards open for entries

The 2013 Civic Trust Awards application round is now open.

Schemes completed between January 2010 and September 2012 are eligible for entry – submissions are made online via the Civic Trust Awards website.

Applications can be made from any project completed in the UK or internationally

The deadline for submission of entries is 5pm on 12th September 2012.

More details on the application process and eligibility criteria can be found on the website www.civictrustawards.org.uk

Join the debate to engage students

In June, Ryder Architecture hosted a debate to help forge the basis of a new approach to education and practice in the built environment. 

Key topics of the inaugural debate were:

• Schools across the built environment need to rethink how they train students to engage with industry

•NVQ structures don’t address the future needs of skills shortages

•The Apprenticeship Scheme is not fit for purpose

It was agreed that fundamental reform, across education and industry, is needed.

The contributors including Peter Buchan, senior partner Ryder Architecture and Murray Fraser, professor of architecture & global culture at Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, now intend to facilitate a pan-industry debate leading to the reform of all aspects of built environment education in the UK.

To join the task force and take part in the debate register at www.2012bee.blogspot.co.uk or e-mail lucie@ryderarchitecture.com.

Chief operating officer to leave ICE

The chief operating officer at the Institute of Civil Engineers is to leave on 31st August. Andy Ruffles is moving on after three and a half years to take up the position of chief executive for an engineering consultancy in Australia.  

He was appointed in 2009 to deliver major improvement projects within ICE. 

ICE director general Nick Baveystock said: “I’d like to thank Andy for his contribution during his time at ICE. In the past few years he has developed more robust business planning, built a strong leadership team and has taken some hard decisions which have led to greater efficiency and reduced costs.”  

The role of chief operating officer will not be replaced.