July 09

Tower Block Fallen Over

A nearly-completed 13-storey apartment building has fallen over,  almost intact, in the Chinese city of Shanghai.

Nine people were being held by authorities in relation to the incident, which saw the Lotus Riverside tower collapse.

One worker was killed and investigators are warning of severe punishment for those responsible, the Associated Press has reported

Architectural H2O

This beautiful geothermal underground pool is in the homestead resort in Utah. Sun shines through a central hole in the dome shaped roof, like the Pantheon in Rome.

More of a pond than a pool, this photo shows it side on. As a piece of architectural narrative, the Bali Four Seasons pool entry is exceptional. A wooden bridge takes you over a chasm to an infinity pool with the jungle wrapping around the background, the pool floating 50 feet above it. 

The entrance to the hotel is through a slit in the pool to the lobby underneath and is worth of a James Bond movie set.

A photo by Sanaa showing a family that appear to be underwater. The effect is created by having a glass bottom pool on top of the pool itself.

The pool at the Nemo 33 recreational diving center in Belgium, is over 100 ft deep, making in the worlds deepest recreational pool.

The R/P FLIP (Floating Instrument Platform), nicknamed the Flip ship is designed to partially sink so that it tips vertically and half submerges, with bulkheads becoming floors.

The platform houses instrumentation for monitoring weather data etc.

Incredibly, this thing is not one of those weird pieces of defunct engineering from the first half of the 20th Century. It is still in operation after a $2M renovation in 1995.

A Swedish firm is planning on building these luxury floating island residences. The first one is due to be completed off Cancun in 2010.

There has been plenty of discussion about this building, which appears to float in air. It seems that it is real and is a farm building in the Ukraine.

Architectural Expression

How often do you pause to admire a beautifully ornate historical building, so mesmerising that it glues you to the spot, only to struggle to find the words to describe it? Attempting to take a mental photograph, or even discuss it with a friend, can prove a greater challenge if you can’t define its component parts.

Writer and illustrator Matthew Rice has a new book which claims to help you do just that. A beautifully illustrated and digestible reference guide, Rice’s Architectural Primer whizzes you through a brief outline of the major periods and styles of English architecture, from the medieval up to the modernist, to put into context the illustrations that follow. The aim is to reveal the language of buildings, so you can name the different elements, establish their provenance and thereby increase your appreciation of them. 

“Look at what is around you, when you go to work, when you walk to the shops –you are surrounded by architecture,” says Rice. “You will want to talk about the things that surround you with clarity and it is impossible to talk about something – and share it – without the right vocabulary.”

For Rice, his clarity of expression, or “visual shorthand” as he calls it, comes from his illustration. His book is crammed with drawings of the elevations of buildings, from the Jacobean Blickling Hall in Norfolk to the BT Tower in London. Architectural details such as windows, roofs and columns are clearly defined and some of the illustrations include charming cartoonish detail (a couple of lager louts under a classical arch; a cycling vicar at the porch of a parish church; “smug undergraduates” walking past Doric engaged columns). Even some of the more discerning members of the property industry have asked for copies to aid sales.

“If you want to look at a building properly, and remember it, do a sketch, however rudimentary,” says Rice. “It concentrates the mind and gets your head around the thought process of the person who has designed it. The beauty of using an illustration rather than a photo of a building is that you can focus on specific details and leave others out.”

So where to go from there? Can there be a way in which to “read” a building?

A jumping-off point, according to Rice, is to look at the overall shape, standing or sitting in its centre. “It helps me to think of a building schematically,” he says. “Divide it up into storeys and bays and then look at the individual parts which delineate the storeys and bays: the windows, which are the eyes of a building, the pillars and pilasters.” Follow this by examining the ways in which it is decorated. “Most people can remember height and number of storeys,” he says. “Others, like my mother, only have eyes for the small decorative detail – the tiny patterns in a tile in a church.”

He cites Gothic, Classical, Romanesque, Tudor and Italianate, then storey, bay, pillar, entablature, cornice and capital as just some of the myriad basic architectural periods and terminology to first get to grips with.

As a preliminary guide, the Primer works well, because it does not over-complicate. A chapter on “Grammar” takes you through the basic components: the pediments and panels, columns and capitals. Subsequent chapters throw up more exotic-sounding detail: the ogee, Vetruvian scroll, flying buttress and the mind-boggling rundbogenstil.

'Rice’s Architectural Primer’ by Matthew Rice (Bloomsbury) is available for £12.99.

Paul Burgess Speech

Transcript of speech by Paul Burgess, a director of British Land, delivered at the AJ100 Breakfast Club, Claridges, London 8 July 2009.

When thinking about what to say I did have a quick look at the reports of what some previous speakers have said to you – “Architects face extinction, says UK-GBC head” that was from Paul King last June – well at least you are going slowly and before that “Bishop slams “trophy architecture” phenomenon” – Peter Bishop that was rather than any exalted member of the clergy talking about cathedral building.

Now I could not come up with any such headline grabbing theme but what I do want to talk about this morning is important and is based on the future of the market that I spend most of my time working in and which British Land has invested a huge amount of our shareholders money – the City of London office market and in particular to look at the future of the market following an unprecedented period of financial market turmoil.

To look at the challenges that we as developers are going to face when we come to develop the next generation of office buildings and how we need your help and guidance in meeting those challenges –and also to think about what new opportunities there are for us to both to make a modest profit out of doing so.

Three points, caveats perhaps before I start. The first is that whilst this is very much going to focus on central London, primarily the City –because that’s where my experience is and those are the largest office markets in the UK – I think that the issues affecting future office development have a relevance in all markets and it may well be that the challenges and possible diversification of the City market will throw up opportunities for architects whose experience has been gained elsewhere. The second is that I am a man of the markets. My day to day job is talking to occupiers and seeking to lease British Land developments. I am not commenting on the market from some lofty viewpoint. What you are going to hear is based on experience and empirical observation. Finally, whilst I work for British Land my views this morning are my own and do not necessarily represent those of the company.

We all know where the City market is at present – at probably it’s lowest point since the 1970’s – letting take up down, values down by about 45%, rental values down by 25% in the past year.  But cast your mind back two years. London had truly arrived as an international city – indisputably one of three global financial centres.

We spent our time asking if we had overtaken New York. The property market was in full spate. Yield compression had been driving property values ever higher for almost ten years. Rental values were climbing to un-precedented heights. London was awash with cash. This cash was permeating everything. I remember reading an article in the Evening Standard in which a man who had a business doing grand house restyling said that you would have to go back to Renaissance Venice to find a comparable time in which mercantile wealth was driving so much building.

Credit Crunch then meant little more than that the inhabitants of some backwoods trailer parks in the US were having trouble re-mortgaging. Their troubles though started unravelling the whole international financial system and what looked like a wall of cash was revealed to be a wall of debt, there was in fact little liquidity in the property markets but a whole lot of leverage.

The issue for us is that the international financial system has been the most important driver of the London office market through out a period of over twenty years. “The City” came to mean more than the Square Mile but rather the financial services industry in London. An industry that spread from the vast, predominantly American investment banks to the east in Canary Wharf to the mainly more UK and European banks in the traditional City area through to the hedge funds and boutique banks in the West End.

This inexorable growth had started from a fundamental change to the way that the markets functioned in the UK, this was the late 1980’s de-regulation, “Big Bang” when boundaries between previously discrete elements of the markets such as stock broking and stock jobbing were removed and the businesses involved opened up to outside investment and consolidation. These newly structured businesses needed a new form of large floor plate, highly serviced, efficient office accommodation and what came forward to meet this demand was the seminal late 20th Century development in London – Broadgate.

The great and continuing success of Broadgate is based on it being designed to meet market needs and then having the adaptability to change and evolve. The building form established there set the template for two further generations of City buildings and it continues to be one of the most attractive and popular working environments in London – a powerful example of how well architecture and the development industry can meet market and occupier needs.

Big Bang’s conclusion was Credit Crunch and the systemic market changes taking place now as a result of that conclusion are potentially as profound in their impact on the next generation of buildings as Big Bang was on the preceding. If we accept that much of today’s ideas about floor plate size, configuration and specification were driven by a response to the needs of financial occupiers then we need to think as to whether or not post crunch financial services demand is going to be as strong and what form it will take. With less demand from financial and associated professional services we need to think about what new sorts of occupiers we are seeking to cater for.

There are always any number of scenarios for the future City market so lets test that question about the future against a couple of them.

The first scenario you might call back to the future. The argument goes that the City is the classic cyclical market and despite all the furore and angst this is just another dip in the cycle, that the banks and trading activities will recover and then go on as before, the development industry has responded promptly and intelligently by turning off the supply tap, pent up demand will return sometime in 2011 and if we start developing now we will reap the benefits by  providing large trading floorplates on the lower floors of as big a building as we can manage with large floors above which we’ll try to make suitable for use either as open plan offices for financial users or in a cellular layout by the other most likely source of demand, solicitors.

The second scenario you might call back to basics. Here the thinking is that inevitably the City is going to become a much more tightly regulated place, banks will go back to being focussed on lower levels of more dependable growth – become “boring” but essentially be a lower octane version of what they were pre Crunch. Your response to this as a developer might be that rather than putting up the highly specified mega-block that our first scenario calls for you would rein in your ambitions, not seek to go quite so big or costly or grand, trim the specification but generally stick to the same basic approach to the buildings layout and floorplate.

The third scenario is based on a belief that things have changed. That the financial services industry is no longer going to be the dominant driver of London’s office markets. Important yes, but not over- whelming, that a low risk, low growth highly regulated approach is going to be the long term norm in the financial markets and that this will inevitably change the size and nature of  the occupational needs of those involved in them.

It will mean that the City, the Square Mile, will need to adapt and change to increase its appeal to a wider range of occupiers, to become a location that will appeal to corporate occupiers seeking headquarters and to companies in London’s other major industries of business services, information, media and  design. This is something that will not come about by a change in building style alone – my experience has been that a lot of non-financial occupiers like the clear adaptable floor plates that we have provided in the City and which are hard to achieve in the West End because of site constraints.

A change in occupier’s perception of and attitude towards relocating to the Square Mile will come from a change in the nature of the place. This is already happening and is a great thing. The range of retail, dining, hotels and leisure in the City is far wider than 10 years ago, the streets and public spaces are becoming lively and cosmopolitan. It is an engaging place in which to work and this trend will be continued when the shopping centre at New Change, next to St Paul’s is finished and the renaissance of Cheapside as a shopping street moves forward. Improved transport links are going to help as well.

The drawback that we have found in trying to encourage a number of corporate occupiers to look at our City buildings is the increased journey time to Heathrow. CrossRail, when it comes, will change both speed and ease of access between the City and Heathrow and also between the City and Canary Wharf. It’s interesting that at present links between Canary Wharf and the West End are better than links between the City and Canary Wharf.

The  potential for diversity of activity allied with improving amenities and quality of life in the City has a resonance with the history of the Square Mile as the centre of a broad range of trading and market based activities focussed for over 1,000 years on the importance of face to face contact. This is still relevant today – more so I would argue when the need for trust and confidence in the integrity of business is paramount – and the fact is that the increasing reliability and comprehensiveness of communication technology has not created a society of home workers but one that demands a high level of formal and informal social interaction. The original Lloyd’s coffee house could well be an influential model for future City offices.

If we accept then that the Square Mile can become a more rounded business location capable of attracting a more diverse range of occupiers – and from the point of view of an investor and developer that has to be good news as the long term performance of our assets – in plain English the chances that we will get more rent over the economic life of the building – will be enhanced by a leasing market that is not so closely linked with the vicissitudes of the financial markets.

If we think that then it pays to spend a little longer developing the theme of what sort of building we are going to need to produce that both carries through the best of the classic hallmarks of Broadgate and Broadgate inspired City buildings and also meets the future needs of financial, professional and general business service occupiers.  To do that there are some other issues and a couple of quite deep seated conundrums that we need to touch on. The first relates to the impact of sustainability. We are all sustainable developers now. We have to be.

At British Land we were in the vanguard of the move into sustainable development and the irrevocable force and pace of legislation will push every other developer in the same direction. Some like us will use this to advantage and design sustainability into buildings from the start and then help occupiers by encouraging and supporting the operation and management of the building informed by the principles of sustainability – others will merely take a standard specification and seek to “green wash “it with a few bolt on features of dubious genuine long term benefit.

Two years ago most traditional City occupiers paid little more than lip service to sustainability in buildings. Yes they would say, green issues are important to us but now what about our extra giga watt of power and N+ 2 redundancy. Now they say yes, sustainability is important to our board and to our employees - we want a building with an excellent BREEAM rating but we also want our extra power and redundancy as well.

Sustainability has grown in importance in the evaluation by occupiers of potential new buildings but not if it compromises their perceived operational requirements and it is that perception of operational requirements rather than what should be the reality of them in a sustainable environment that is one of our largest current conundrums.

As developers we want to be producing buildings that are right for occupiers needs. As sustainable developers we do not want to be over specifying. I’ll give you an example of the sort of issue this can throw up. A couple of years ago we pre-let a big City building, and this was a big deal, the building is over 500,000 sq ft net. It was an off plan pre-let and the design of the building was tailored beautifully to the occupiers’ needs. We also sat down and agreed the specification with them.

During those discussions there was absolute certainty on their side that a much enhanced and increased power supply was necessary to support their business. We eventually agreed to put this in at considerable cost to us and duly went ahead and finished the building. Shortly after the occupier moved in one of my colleagues who works in our accounts team got a call from her opposite number saying we have got a huge bill for a capacity charge for electricity – we are never going to use this power in a month of Sundays; you have over specified the building and should pick up the tab. Gently pointing out of course that we had been put under a contractual obligation by them to provide the power dealt with the point but it illustrates that for the next generation of buildings we need a far more transparent dialogue with occupiers about what they genuinely need to support their businesses rather than a kitchen sink approach. The more that we can do to test how occupiers actually use buildings as against the assumptions and expectations of design teams and developers the better. It will also help us draw a proper distinction between that which it is reasonable to expect a building to provide and that which is a business requirement and cost to the occupier.

Another big conundrum that we currently have is density of occupation. Every corporate real estate executive wants to demonstrate that his business can occupy less space but accommodate more people. We are under pressure to increase the occupational density at which our buildings can be occupied and this of course has a big impact on viability; it reduces the net to gross ratio and increases the amount of kit and infrastructure that we have to put in. What we are almost invariably finding though is a disparity between the densities claimed to be required and the actual density then used.

The most extreme example recently is an occupier who insisted on the need for a density ration of 1:8 who it then transpired actually occupies at 1:13.8 on a desk and work station layout with a utilisation rate that I would reckon is about 60%. In fairness I would say that there was probably some future proofing here to try and make sure that the offices could meet future growth but the current disparity between what the building can provide and what it is being used for is large and again serves to show that we need more open dialogue with occupiers to ensure that we strike the right balance between meeting present and future needs and over specifying.

This concern about over specification is heightened by economics. The simple fact is that at present the development of office buildings to the cost and specification previously established is not viable. The numbers just do not add up. We can hope for the benign first scenario of the markets coming back and yield compression and rental growth bailing us out or we can respond to the challenge of linking the virtuous necessity of sustainable development to an assessment by both developers and occupiers of just what it is that we need to put into the next generation of City buildings to make them deliverable at an economic cost and to meet the needs of a wider pool of occupiers.

Some of the key aspects that I would see as important in providing buildings that cater for a leaner more diverse City market are greater divisibility of floor plates, greater penetration of natural light, improved opportunities for the occupier to make sustainable choices in its fitting out – particularly to include things such as chill beams and chilled ceilings, increased attention to how building facades can act as an effective passive element in reducing the buildings energy consumption, perhaps looking further at how we can chose materials, particularly finishes that have a lower embedded cost. Our latest City building, Ropemaker – it’s the fifth building that Arup Associates has done for us in central London – is an exemplar of much of this thinking.

It provides a range of floor plates of between 11,000 and 42,500 sq ft, high levels of natural light on all four elevations, a wonderful façade that has been carefully designed with a range of tilted and angled window elements that reduce the loads on the air conditioning by over 25% compared to a standard flat façade, it has rainwater harvesting, roof terrace gardens of a scale and quality unmatched in the City. I was trying to come up with a succinct description of it and found myself looking up a reference to another Arup Associates building, Gateway House in Basingstoke, a mid 1970’s building that I’ve long considered to be very influential. This is what Peter Murray had to say about it in RIBA Guide to Modern British Architecture since 1945, published in 1984;

 “The modular design steps back at each level to reveal a series of enchanting gardens in the air. It is an accomplished example of a design approach which integrates energy efficiency, humane working conditions and technology to produce an alternative to the usual office block.”

I think that Peter’s words are well fitted to what we sought to achieve at Ropemaker and describe precisely the approach that we need to take in the future.

I have spoken about change and but wanted to finish on two constants which transcend the fluctuations of the market. The first is that the long term strengths of the City of London that have made it a world city will endure- time zone, language, skills, diversity, culture, political stability all remain – whilst markets and the global economy may ebb and flow all these strengths are here to stay. The second is that fundamentals of good architecture and design are important in every market. Buildings that uplift the spirit of those who work in them and provide spaces that can adapt and change as businesses adapt and change will be inherently better and more sustainable buildings – to the long term advantage of both owners and occupiers.

Top 10 Tips for better fuel economy

With petrol prices creeping up again here are some useful ways to extend the time between fill-ups.

1. Buy a full efficient car
This figures below shows the top 10 most fuel efficient cars that you can get in the UK today, based on their Combined fuel efficiency figure. Unsuprisingly, diesel superminis are dominating the top positions.

What we thought was fairly interesting was that the Toyota Prius - long hailed as the defacto "green" car - just scrapes into the list at 10th place! However, to be fair on the Prius's electric benefits when we look at only the urban cycle (not shown here) the Prius comes in in 4th place, behind the Insight, and C3 and C2 1.4 HDI SensoDrives. All this leads us to one question - when are the car manufacturers going to start making a hybrid diesel supermini?

Manufacturer Model Spec Fuel Transmission Combined MPG

HONDA Insight Petrol Hybrid M5 83.10
CITROEN C2 1.4 HDi Diesel M5 68.90
CITROEN C1 1.4 HDi Diesel M5 68.90
RENAULT Clio  1.5 dCi 80 Diesel M5 67.30
CITROEN C2 1.4 HDi SensoDrive Diesel A5 67.30
CITROEN C3 1.4 HDi Diesel M5 67.30
RENAULT Clio  1.5 dCi 100 Diesel M5 65.80
RENAULT Clio  1.5 dCi 65 Diesel M5 65.80
CITROEN C2 1.4 HDi Diesel M5 65.70
TOYOTA Prius 1.5 VVT-i Hybrid Petrol Hybrid E-CVT 65.70

Most Fuel Efficient Petrol Cars
Ok so even though we've just seen that the Diesel supermini is where you need to be looking if you are after the best fuel economy possible, not everyone wants a diesel because frankly - despite all the leaps and bounds that have been made with diesels over these past few years - they aren't sexy! And not everyone can afford a petrol hybrid like the Honda Insight or Toyota Prius either.

As such, we've broken the results down to show the top 10 petrol cars. As you can see superminis dominate again, but even the most fuel efficient petrol car in the database has a combined MPG figure about a fifth lower than the 10th placed diesel.

Manufacturer Model Spec Transmission Combined MPG
smart roadster 80 bhp (205 tyres) A6 55.80 
TOYOTA Aygo 1.0 VVT-i 3 & 5-door Multi5 51.40
TOYOTA Aygo 1.0 VVT-i 3 & 5-door M5 51.40
CITROEN C1 1.0i M5 51.40
PEUGEOT 107 1.0 (65 bhp) M5 51.30
PEUGEOT 107 1.0 (65 bhp) A5 51.30
smart fortwo coupe 61 bhp 175 rear tyres SM6 47.10
smart fortwo coupe 50 bhp 175 rear tyres SM6 47.10
smart fortwo cabrio 61 bhp 175 rear tyres SM6 47.10
DAIHATSU Charade L251 1.0L EFi M5 47.10
 
2. Read the road ahead
When driving, try to look ahead and read the conditions of the road - look out for anything that might require you to slow down or stop such as traffic lights or someone attempting to park. By anticipating what is coming up, you'll not only be a safer driver, but you'll save fuel by starting to slow down early and not needing to come to a stop. 

3. Don't rev the engine!
Ok so it might sound cool, but revving the engine whilst stationary does nothing except waste fuel! 

4. Use the gears sensibly
Some of us have a love-hate relationship with the gear stick, but the fact of the matter is that correct use of gears can make huge savings on your fuel bill of up to 15%! Make sure you change up into a higher gear as soon as its possible and safe to do so. 

5. Stick to the limit
Easy cowboy! Doing 80mph on the motorway will use between 10% and 20% more fuel than doing 70mph, not to mention its illegal! For a 20 mile motorway journey, driving at 80mph will only save you about 2 minutes compared to driving at 70mph anyway!
If you're not in a hurry to get anywhere, doing 70mph will use between 20% and 30% more fuel than doing 50mph - suddenly being stuck behind a lorry doesn't seem so bad! 

6. Check your tyres
Make sure you check your tyre pressures reguarly (at least once every 2 weeks). An under-inflated tyre can increase fuel consumption by 3%, and it will wear out quicker too. Check your owner's manual for the correct pressures. 

7. Don't "warm up" the engine
When starting on those cold mornings, don't leave your car running to warm it up. It causes unnecessary engine wear, as well as wasting fuel. Instead invest in some decent de-icer and try to drive off straight away - so long as you can see where you are going! 

8. Avoid short trips
It is so easy to just hop in the car to pop down to the corner shop to pickup your Sunday papers, but a cold engine will generally use twice as much fuel as a warm engine. Walk instead - the exercise will do you good! 

9. Turn off the Air Conditioning
Air Conditioning is great in the hot summer months, but only use it when you really need to and just use the blowers the rest of the time - try to avoid opening the windows when driving at speed as this can increase aerodynamic drag which will waste more fuel. Running the air con when you don't need it will waste a lot of fuel. 

10. Keep your car in tip-top condition
Try to keep your car well maintained by making sure the recommended service schedule is followed either by taking it to a reputable garage, or servicing it yourself. A well-tuned engine with fresh, clean oil and new air filters will run more efficiently than an engine that has been neglected.

Other Use for Hub

Two major statutory consultees want to use the Planning Portal's e-consultation hub to handle comments about applications online.

The Environment Agency and English Heritage took part in a three-month trial of the hub, launched last year to streamline exchange of documents and comments.

Both agencies are convinced that the hub will improve the way they offer planning advice and they are urging councils to follow suit. The portal also claimed that carbon emissions can be cut by up to 75 per cent when applications are made online.

Environment Agency head of planning Simon Birch said use of the hub will bring long-term efficiencies. "Not only will it speed up the planning process, it is a greener way of working," he said.

English Heritage planning and development director Steve Bee said: "Electronic notification of decisions will also let us systematically monitor the outcome of proposals affecting the most important aspects of the historic environment."

Last year's Killian-Pretty review saw the hub as key to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the planning application process.

More than 40 councils are currently using the hub, according to the portal. Director Chris Kendall said the "testimonies of both government agencies provide an excellent indication that online processing is the future".

New Raised Flooring Option

Raised access flooring remains the most cost effective system for providing the flexibility required in modern commercial spaces and offices. Working with the world’s leading cork producer, Quiligotti is launching an exclusive alternative to traditional carpet, vinyl or other man made coverings used in interiors - QuilCork and QuilWood.

Flexible Design Options
Specifiers can select either a natural cork finish or a real wood veneer which is factory bonded to a particle board or calcium sulphate panel, depending on environmental conditions and load bearing requirements. The panels are then supported on block or steel pedestal understructures. The range of finishes available affords the specifier the opportunity to create stunning floors that complement any style of interior.

Unique Technology
The system provides an aesthetic, durable and comfortable walking and working surface, whilst retaining full access to the service void. The surface of both QuilCork and QuilWood is fully protected with a high performance surface (HPS) that enhances the natural appearance and provides a hard wearing layer that can be easily maintained.

Excellent Benefits
The system provides an environmentally friendly floor with unique benefits that other flooring materials cannot match, comfort, warmth, easy cleaning and low maintenance with excellent life cycle costs. Mindful of today’s need for conservation, cork floors are a true environmental flooring alternative.

Simplicity
The factory bonded covering eliminates the requirement to remove several carpet tiles to release a single access panel. With QuilCork and QuilWood, access to services can be achieved in one easy operation. Replacement of panels is just as simple.

Streetwise

Calling all large map users.

Anyone spending in excess of £20,000 per year on O.S. maps could benefit from new OS licencing which is being launched.

Streetwise will be able to hold mapping on a company's behalf and deliver it online anytime as though it were theirs.  The company would only pay the direct O.S. royalty cost and a small hosting fee.

A fully serviced system could be supplied which would allow savings of approximately £10,000 per year.

Contact Streetwise on 01189 73 33 13 or info@streetwise-maps.com  for further details.

For any company who would like to discuss how they can save money on their mapping or integrate maps more effectively into their business please contact Streetwise GIS consulting on 08700 428 368.

QUICK CONTENTS

Tower Block Fallen Over

A nearly completed 13-storey apartment building has fallen over,  almost intact, in the Chinese city of Shanghai.

Architectural H2O

This beautiful geothermal underground pool is in the homestead resort in Utah. Sun shines through a central hole in the dome shaped roof, like the Pantheon in Rome.

Architectural Expression

How often do you pause to admire a beautifully ornate historical building, so mesmerising that it glues you to the spot, only to struggle to find the words to describe it?

Paul Burgess Speech

Transcript of speech by Paul Burgess, a director of British Land, delivered at the AJ100 Breakfast Club, Claridges, London 8 July 2009.

Tips for Better Fuel Economy

With petrol prices creeping up again here are some useful ways to extend the time between fill-ups.

Other Use for Hub

Two major statutory consultees want to use the Planning Portal's e-consultation hub to handle comments about applications online.

New Raised Flooring Option

Raised access flooring remains the most cost effective system for providing the flexibility required in modern commercial spaces and offices.

Streetwise

Calling all large map users.

Anyone spending in excess of £20,000 per year on O.S. maps could benefit from new OS licencing which is being launched.

Streetwise will be able to hold mapping on a company's behalf and deliver it online anytime as though it were theirs.  The company would only pay the direct O.S. royalty cost and a small hosting fee.

A fully serviced system could be supplied which would allow savings of approximately £10,000 per year.

Contact Streetwise on 01189 73 33 13 or info@streetwise-maps.com  for further details.

For any company who would like to discuss how they can save money on their mapping or integrate maps more effectively into their business please contact Streetwise GIS consulting on 08700 428 368.