More Focus
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FeaturesMission accomplished: University completes test drive towards net zero carbon building standard
A small robotics laboratory is one of the pilot projects for the NZCBS. It features straw-insulated walls and a UK-sourced timber frame and shows what net zero buildings might look like after 2030. Thomas Lane reports
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Features‘You’re operating in the grey space, making decisions with a lot of unknowns’: Katy Dowding on two years at the top of Skanska UK
The firm’s president and CEO took the helm at a turbulent time for the country and for contractors. She tells Chloe McCulloch about her leadership style, her rejigged executive team and how industry and government can deliver more with less if they work together.
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Features‘The government’s pro-development agenda is really helpful overall’: HBF boss Neil Jefferson on delivering through economic turbulence
Neil Jefferson has been chief executive of the HBF since last July, when he was promoted from managing director
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Features1.5 million homes and counting: what architect and planner Jas Bhalla thinks comes next
Ben Flatman speaks to Jas Bhalla – architect, planner and founder of Jas Bhalla Works – about building a practice rooted in long-term thinking
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Features‘Infrastructure could do with a bit of love’: dRMM’s Jonas Lencer on the Silvertown Tunnel portal buildings
Tom Lowe speaks to the practice’s director about why the overlooked parts of public infrastructure deserve a fresh perspective
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Features‘We listen and we build from there’ – Orms: designing architecture that responds to a changing world
Ben Flatman speaks to John McRae and new director Miranda MacLaren about how Orms is evolving as a practice
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FeaturesGen Zs and millennials: what they really want from employers in the built environment
A panel of younger professionals came to our Good Employer Guide Live event last month. Here they feed back on what they look for when applying for jobs and how employers can retain talent long term
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FeaturesFrom the archives: the construction of Waterloo International, 1992
Source: Jo Reid and John Peck Nicholas Grimshaw’s Waterloo International station
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FeaturesDesigning from first principles: Inside David Kohn Architects’ Gradel Quadrangles
A major expansion for one of Oxford’s oldest colleges reimagines the logic of the quadrangle with a theatrical, landscape-first ensemble shaped by dialogue and detail
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FeaturesHow Everton built their new stadium in just five years (Manchester United take note)
The first test event to demonstrate that the stadium meets safety standards was held in February. A second one was held in March with the third and final event, which will feature a capacity crowd, will take place later this year before the season starts ...
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FeaturesMarket forecast: Why viability is tight for construction projects in the UK
Global uncertainty, combined with domestic regulatory change, a fragile demand outlook and expectations around inflation are combining to create tricky conditions.  It’s a finely balanced equation with many moving parts. Pablo Cristi Worm of Aecom reports
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FeaturesIs PFI about to stage a comeback?
As part of ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½â€™s new Funding the Future series, Joey Gardiner considers the chances of an unlikely renaissance for the much-maligned initiative
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FeaturesHow do we fund the future? How ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½â€™s new initiative will look at options for financing public projects
ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½â€™s new Funding the Future campaign kicks off today, looking at how to bridge the gap between what the government wants to build and the money it has to pay for its ambitions. In this first piece, Joey Gardiner explains how a key stream within the campaign will examine the ...
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FeaturesIs a Swiss lift shaft-building robot the future of construction?
In central London, a robot called Emma is being used to make the gruelling job of building lift shafts faster, safer and more precise. Tom Lowe visits the site of Skanska’s 105 Victoria Street to see if the device is all it’s cracked up to be
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FeaturesCost model: Incorporating sustainability in purpose-built student accommodation
Private investment is driving change, and meeting sustainability demands within strict time, cost and labour limitations is the challenge
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FeaturesMax headroom: How floor jacking could give old buildings a new lease of life
Extending the building wasn’t an option as it is hemmed in above, below and on all four sides
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Features‘We tried and we tried and we very nearly got there’: Osborne’s finance chief on the company’s collapse – and lessons the industry can learn
A year ago, the contractor went into administration after nearly 60 years in business. Pete Duff tells Dave Rogers what happened and what needs to change
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FeaturesOpen Doors: aspiring engineers visit HS2’s Old Oak Common Station
Students from a Berkshire college got a close-up view of the largest station development in HS2’s project pipeline as part of Build UK’s recruitment initiativeÂ
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FeaturesWhy most new homes are still being built to old standards
Almost two in three new homes are still being built to regulations that applied in 2013, over a year and a half after the end of the transition period for the new part L and other requirements. How has the government got its projections so wrong? Tom ...
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FeaturesMy route into construction … Rob Willden, cost manager at Linesight
The industry includes an impressive range and variety of roles – but unless you are on the inside it can be hard to know how to break in, let alone progress to the top. In this  series, we talk to professionals about their often surprising career twists and turns