Features

With the end of the year nigh, many are relieved to see the back of 2018 – the renowned year of ‘uncertainty’, arduous negotiations and back and forth deal or no-deals. However, three months into the fresh, new year of 2019 lies ‘D-day’ for Brexit. Here, FC&A talks to two representatives from top law firm Womble Bond Dickinson about what they believe is on the horizon for the industry prior to and after March’s predicted events. Kathrine Eddon, Head of the Public Procurement Unit, and Michelle Essen, Managing Associate in Construction, take it from here...

Make Architects has completed work on its London Wall Place project, a new commercial scheme offering the largest set of public gardens developed in the City of London since the post-War Brutalist Barbican estate on behalf of Brookfield Properties and Oxford Properties.

Following its ‘Urban Lung’ project that embellished the pages of June’s issue, Yaoundé-based firm HKA | Hermann Kamte & Associates returns to this month’s issue with another feast for the eyes, Fine Flower – Dubai Heart; which is set to be the largest leisure park in the world.

The bathroom is a challenging place for someone with mobility issues or dementia and here Stuart Reynolds, Head of Product and Marketing at AKW, shows how inclusive bathroom design has helped both carers and residents at Lypiatt Lodge in Cheltenham. He also discusses how these principles can be replicated in any home.

Airport terminals were once characterised by a cacophony of sound from gate announcements and plane noise to the myriad of conversations and footfall of the thousands of passengers that pass through each and every day. Achieving optimum levels of noise control in such a complex acoustic environment is a balancing act between ensuring the intelligibility of public address systems and controlling the noise of passengers whilst at the same time creating a constant level of sound that masks activities from cafes and retail outlets. What options do airport design teams have when it comes to controlling sound and ensuring the passenger experience is stress-free and greatly improved? Stuart Colam, Acoustics Advisor of SAS International, investigates.

Adrian Storey, General Manager at Horbury Facades, looks at how innovation in modern rainscreen cladding materials is resulting in a rise in brick slip facades.

According to a far-reaching study by the Met Office, the UK’s climate is changing; bringing more warm spells and tropical nights. The Met Office also states that while the UK’s summer rainfall has been decreasing on average since the start of the 20th century, it has increased during winter, says Sean Robinson, Specification Director of Water Management Solutions at Polypipe.

Designed to transform part of East London as part of the £3.7bn Canning Town and Custom House Regeneration programme, a new mixed-used scheme – including a mix of residential, retail and leisure accommodation – presented varied challenges when it came to designing and installing the security and fire safety requirements.

As the construction industry is seeing an increasing shift towards landfill redevelopment, Stephen Oakden, Director at BE Design – the multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering practice – outlines the biggest obstacles faced by developers when constructing on such sites and how to meet environmental challenges with practical and safe solutions.

Here Martin Washby, Technical Services Manager at Meesons A.I., looks at why hardening commercial buildings against theft requires a multi-layered approach.