Opinion – Page 342

  • Comment

    Affairs to remember

    2010-01-29T00:00:00Z

    A £9bn property tycoon’s brief encounter with Mace, the latest conspiracy theories over RMJM’s dalliance with Fred Goodwin and one architect’s abusive relationship with the English language

  • Comment

    Lessons from history

    2010-01-29T00:00:00Z

    Amanda Levete says: “What we need is something like an architectural Supreme Court, made up of architects and advisers whose pre-eminence is undisputed, that passes binding judgment” (22 January, page 22)

  • Comment

    Vive la révolution!

    2010-01-29T00:00:00Z

    Will Foster’s first hospital, the Circle Bath, revolutionise healthcare design (15 January, page 38)?

  • Comment

    Up, up and away

    2010-01-29T00:00:00Z

    I would like to take issue with a recent leader, which expressed the view that rising house prices are somehow a good thing

  • Comment

    Planning: The campaign

    2010-01-29T00:00:00Z

    I totally agree with the need to oppose changes to the planning system (Developers and housebuilders to fight Tory planning proposals, 4 January, building.co.uk)

  • Comment

    Experts on tap

    2010-01-29T00:00:00Z

    I read Paul Donnelly’s article (15 January, page 50) on expert witness testimony with interest

  • Comment

    Unjust deserts

    2010-01-29T00:00:00Z

    I have more sympathy with bankers’ bonuses than with the £30m paid by the Learning and Skills Council to its staff

  • Comment

    Why can’t we have boulangeries?

    2010-01-29T00:00:00Z

    The French have mastered the art of nurturing individual shops and businesses, whereas here, civilised life is leaking out of our town centres. Gus Alexander has an idea…

  • Comment

    Wonders & Blunders with Geoff Capes

    2010-01-29T00:00:00Z

    Shot-putter and budgie breeder Geoff Capes coos over Burghley House but has strong opinions about the childhood home of one Margaret Roberts

  • Comment

    What’s going wrong at Skanska?

    2010-01-29T00:00:00Z

    Sweden’s biggest contractor has been in the UK market for 10 years. During that time it has pulled off some remarkable jobs, but now it seems to be running into difficulties finding work

  • Comment

    Government intern system: Slow learners

    2010-01-29T00:00:00Z

    Have you ever logged on to graduatetalentpool.direct.gov.uk?

  • Comment

    My digital life: Niall wright

    2010-01-29T00:00:00Z

    What are you listening to? Rolf Harris and his didgeridoo. And in particular his Six White Boomers song - a great festive tune.What’s your favourite website? YouTube makes me chuckle. There's a really funny video on there of a man cycling into a puddle. And the one with two cats ...

  • Comment

    Brighter outlook from forecasters, but severe risks remain

    2010-01-28T16:33:00Z

    The forecasts from Hewes & Associates and Leading Edge sit interestingly against the other winter forecasts for construction output released over the past couple of weeks.They seem to back up the mood among other forecasters that construction workload might not fall as much was feared in the middle of last ...

  • Comment

    We’ll be getting off relatively lightly if the construction workforce drops by 400,000

    2010-01-28T13:00:00Z

    The latest forecast from the Construction Skills Network (CSN) suggests that the current recession in construction will have led to a drop of about 400,000 in the number employed by the industry once job shedding ends in early 2011.This would mean a drop of about 15% in the workforce. That ...

  • Comment

    Mum: Are we out of recession yet?

    2010-01-27T18:28:00Z

    You could feel the uneasiness among economists yesterday when the release of official statistics showed that the UK had just scraped enough oomph together in the final quarter of last year to stage a lacklustre return to growth.Most economists had expected the no-growth bar to be cleared by some margin. ...

  • Comment

    The end is nigh?

    2010-01-27T11:12:00Z

    If two consecutive quarters of declining GDP is most economists’ definition of a recession; how come only one quarter’s growth at 0.1% seems good enough to mark the end of it?Regardless of the semantics; yesterday’s announcement of the provisional return of economic growth does illustrate the remaining fragility of the ...

  • Denise Chevin
    Comment

    Stuck in the middle

    2010-01-22T00:00:00Z

    The general purpose contractor that turns over £70-200m and bases its success on good relations with local councils and health authorities in a particular region has long been the backbone of Britain’s building industry

  • Amanda Levete
    Comment

    Amanda Levete: why architects know best

    2010-01-22T00:00:00Z

    Give Britain’s best architects the final say in what gets built. Amanda Levete explains why this modest proposal is neither elitist, utopian, nor politically impossible

  • Comment

    ɫTV buys a pint … for BSVP

    2010-01-22T00:00:00Z

    Sitting sociably round a pub table, nursing our drinks, talk turns quickly to socialising; or rather, social networking. Both Steve and Justin, with their array of social sites (think LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter) chide Dave for his paltry cyber friendships

  • Comment

    Exceptional circumstances: Construction Act

    2010-01-22T00:00:00Z

    A recent decision by Mr Justice Ramsey means that the Construction Act can be applied to more activities than you may have thought