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Global convenience giant 7-Eleven has confirmed it is gearing up for another crack at the UK, more than 20 years after it disappeared from the market. 7-Eleven has registered two [...]

A Town and Country Planning Association-appointed commisiion has stated that identification of regional authorities is needed, and these authorites and should tackle the issue on rural housing shortage. It was found that new house completions in the rural regions were only at 36,692 in the year 2002. Reasons for the shortage are analyzed.

It's almost impossible to match Great Britain as a meetings and conventions destination. A combination of vibrant cities, timeless towns and villages, unparalled history and culture, sensational shopping, and an [...]

Sm's U.K. Team HIGHLIGHTS: On the heels of the millennium and the Queen's Jubilee, the United Kingdom is bursting with new properties, attractions, as well as new energy. For those [...]

The new library, designed by Bernard Stilwell Architects, in March, Cambridgeshire is the first of its kind to be naturally ventilated. The architects have used the financial savings from this innovation to allow for a more modern design to the building itself.

The United Kingdom's newest exhibition centre, Excel, is due to open on November 21, 2000, in the Royal Docks, London. Issues concerning its conception and development are presented, with reference to the plans of various leisure operators.

Stockley Park business park features the UK's first dedicated serviced office building, which comes complete with desks, secretarial and reception services, and IT equipment. The building was designed by Arup Associates and developed by HQ Global Workplaces. Regus is also involved in developing serviced office buildings, with plans for 24 new centres in 2000 alone, with a further 25 planned for 2001.

The objective of work on Paddington Station, London, England, was to make the environment similar to an airport building. Some work was carried out on the space around the platforms and existing buildings. The new Lawn building contains check-in desks, several new shops and eating outlets. It is covered by a steel and glass roof. Architects Nicolas Grimshaw and Partners undertook the design work whilst the main contractor is Taylor Woodrow Management. Phase one of the building is due to be completed on Oct. 18, 1999.

An office building in Watford, England, built by Wates the contractors and designed by architect Hurley Robertson was planned to be built without any defects for the client Guardian Properties. Although Guardian point outs they will be prepared to accept a building which is 80% perfect. The contracts for the construction of a new science building at Bristol University, England, included many proposals set out in the Egan report, such as how to settle disputes. The Wessex Water building in Bath, England, and the Lowry, Footbridge, Salford, England, were also recommended.

The Civic Trust Awards have been presented to acknowledge high standards in architectural design throughout the UK, since 1960. Some 19 awards, 55 commendations and 29 mentions were awarded in 1999. Recipients of awards included major and small projects and encompassed both new and very old buildings. Some well known companies have sponsored eight special awards. The judges panel consisted of a range of experts in the field of design, the environment and access for the disabled. A full list of the winners of the Civic Trust Awards, for 1999, is included in the supplement.

The newly constructed Portcullis House parliamentary building in London will have cost over 250 million pound sterling by the time it is finished early in the year 2001. Professional fees alone add up to 42 million pounds sterling, with a bronze-clad roof incurring a further 13.2 million pounds sterling. Each Member of Parliament (MP) will have an extra 14,761 pounds sterling spent on office furnishings, while the total cost of the building per MP will be 1.2 million pounds sterling each.

It is forecasted the UK market for health and fitness clubs will be valued at 1.25 billion pounds sterling by 2001. The estimated total cost of a health and fitness centre in the South East of England, based on 1998 figures, is 3,476,900 pounds sterling. The structure would include an aerobic studio, a shop, a bar, a creche, a gymnasium and a 25 metre swimming pool. Some two million people, in the UK, belonged to private health and fitness clubs in 1998, a 25% rise in members from 1993. New centres need good parking facilities and are often located within hotels.

New Millenium Experience Co.'s 320 meter diameter dome for the celebration of the new millenium has outdistanced the record set by Atlanta's Georgia Dome, which only measures 235 by 186 meters. Richard Rogers Architects and Imagination Ltd. were responsible for the design of the megatent, which called for the erection of twelve 90-meter masts to support the central truss which rises 50 meters above the ground. Each mast was erected using two cranes, and the whole structure was designed to outlast its supposed life of a single year.

The UK National Lottery can fund sports hall development projects which serve local needs, have a sufficient number of potential customers and meet the specifications set out by the UK Sports council. Some 60% of requests for funding, under the scheme, are for sums under 100,000 pounds sterling. The cost of a single-storey sports hall, in the South-east of England, measuring 1200 square metres is likely to be around 750,000 pounds sterling. There will be a difference in the cost depending on the area. A study found leisure projects worth 1.7 billion pounds sterling were carried out in 1997.

The conference market is expanding and top venues are upgrading facilities to accommodate it. The number of delegates attending UK conferences and exhibitions is expected to grow by an average [...]

The New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) as a tunnel construction philosophy is relatively new to the United Kingdom compared with other European countries. The early reliance and emphasis on performance [...]

The Millennium Dome is the central feature of the proposed 550 million pound sterling Millennium Exhibition in Greenwich, United Kingdom. The dome is of an innovate design and will cost 50 million pounds sterling to build. The dome is seen as a temporary structure and is still at the drawing stage although tender documents have been submitted. The whole exhibition is due to open in only three years time on the 1st of January in the year 2000 yet construction work has not started.

In a year with so many important packaging and machinery exhibitions, it might have been expected that new machine developments would reach a point of exhaustion. Not so - manufacturers [...]

The architectural design for the Citizens Advice Bureau in Chessington is a modern construction which is made up of several square blocked rooms with glazed and framed walls. It caters for disabled and able-bodied people and has includes heating, lighting and security technological innovations. Its appropriateness is questionable in terms of its usage, because the staff of the centre are unlikely to be able to manage the new technology.

The UK's M40 motorway has been without a service station since it was built, but the new 20 million pounds sterling Cherwell Valley service station is due to open in March 1993. Operator of the service area is Granada Hospitality, which applied for planning permission in 1986. Work began on the site in April 1993. The 24 ha site contains a motel and amenity building, shielded from a nearby village by two embankments of trees. An outline of the project is presented.

The Confidence Index of UK housebuilders for the three months to Oct 1993 has remained steady at 99 against 100 in Jun 1993. Building and Gallup polled 89 building firms, with a combined workforce of 190,000. Some 76% of respondents predicted an improvement in the construction market by Oct 1994, while few anticipated an economic recovery before 2nd half 1994. Some 56% of housebuilders plan to increase recruitment. Some 90% of building materials firms predict a rise in prices by Oct 1994. Construction firms are seeking more industrial and retail work. Data is presented in table form.

British television advertising production companies share much in common with US companies, but differ in that film editors work more closely with the directors. The first cut of the film, the director's cut, establishes the priority of film over product. Working conditions, trends and style secrets are shared by film editors and other personnel of major post production facilities in the UK.

Taking forward its expansive, long-term transport plans, Denmark has a fresh surge of tunnelling-related activity underway with more metro to be built in the capital and a possible undersea road [...]

The Hoover factory built in 1933 by Wallis Gilbert and Partners, which is a listed building is being re-built and refurbished. The architects are Lyons Sleeman Hoare and the contractors Kyle Stewart. The 45 week contract ends on 6 Nov 1992 at a cost of 16 million pounds sterling. The project includes the refurbishment of the 3 main buildings; the building of an underground car park; a Tesco supermarket; and the restoration of a listed rose garden, yew hedge and boundary wall. Coloured faience is being used from the original manufacturer and concrete eroded through carbonation is being treated through re-alkalisation.

Log on to the London 2012 website and you'll see a countdown mechanism reminding everyone that it's a little over 1,100 days until the Olympic Games come to the city. [...]

A comparison of the procurement, governance and maintenance of UK and Japanese privatized public space is presented. Findings revealed that Canary Wharf and Minato Mirai 21 have contrasting governance structures. The urban change in the two areas are also evaluated.

The focus on urban ecological security concerns mar result in the imbalance of urban development among cities. The growing concern encourages plans to redesign infrastructures on the city level instead on the national scale. The difficulties posed by increasing concern over urban ecological security are discussed.

Out-of-center development of retail stores is observed not to have an impact as negative as people have expected it would. Rising consumer expenditure and increaseing need for space by the consumer service industry mitigate the effects of this type of developments. The impacts of the out-of-center development on rents and competition are evaluated.

In November, the UK retained its fourth place ranking in Ernst & Young's quarterly 'attractiveness index' for renewables, a measure of how favourably potential investors view the country's market. [ILLUSTRATION [...]

Issues concerning the management of office space for businesses in Great Britain are discussed. Particular attention is given to estate development and architectural projects along the M25 and A3 in the South of England and to companies interested in occupying office space in the area.

Architects are linking with engineers to design bridges and four projects completed in 2000 are described. The award winning Oresund Bridge which links Malmo, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark, and three bridges in the United Kingdom are described.

Descriptions are presented of a selection of buildings which have experienced difficulties in planning or construction. These include Battersea Power Station, The Scottish Parliament Building and Heathrow Airport Terminal 5.

The demand and supply of office space varies through the UK. Many large cities have a shortage of secondhand buildings as these have been converted into dwellings.

Work-based eldercare centers are now being established in the UK in response to the growing eldercare responsibilities of the British workforce. Statistics reveal that the country's over-80 population has doubled between 1964 and 1994 and that one in six employees has to care for elderly relatives. The first workplace eldercare day center in the UK is located next to the Peugeot car factory in Coventry and is a joint venture between the area's automobile industry and the Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund. The facility allows employees to focus on their work because they are assured that their elderly family members are taken care of. Two other workplace day centers will be established by a shopping center and a hospital in mid-1999.

The harbour at Ramsgate in southeastern Kent provides a busy cross-channel freight ferry service to Ostend. The expected increasing numbers of heavy goods vehicles using the port necessitate improved road [...]

The inadequate supply of office space in London, England, is keeping lease rates from declining despite the financial center's experiencing of the negative impact of the fluctuations in the global economy. Rumors of an impending recession have caused contractors to slow down on their building construction. Projects under the planning stage would probably be concretized in two years' time after the expected recession has receded. In Scotland, however, the demand for office space remains very high. The scarcity of space has led to escalating lease rates.

London's popularity as a conference remains strong, but regional sites have their own advantages. Just as Conrad Hilton's criteria for choosing a hotel - 'location, location and location' - now [...]

Waterfront development is very popular with commercial business which will often pay between 20-25% more in rent for such properties. Some observers point out redevelopment of the waterways will result in the loss of an environmentally friendly transport system. Others point out if industries are made to find alternatives to using roads they are more likely to choose the railways. Former industrial waterways are being redeveloped into attractive and peaceful areas. Some agents suggest the success of Brindleyplace, Birmingham, England, is due to its location near water.

Ford Motor Co has invested $200 million for construction of new facilities at its Dunton Engineering Center in the UK and $60 million for improving its Environmental Test Laboratory. Dunton consists of about 4,000 automotive experts and support staff dedicated to the design and development of small and medium sized cars. Improvements on the Environmental Test Laboratory include cold rooms, a heating and ventilation laboratory, and airflow quality equipment.

The management of the Millennium Conference Centre, London, England, have chosen to specialize in providing modern conference facilities for groups of 250-400 people. Some 14 million pounds sterling was spent on constructing the new building, adding up to date technology, providing 62 bedrooms and various conference facilities. Many of the customers using the Centre employ production houses to oversee their conferences. The Centre has a 72% occupancy rate already reserved for 1998. The Centre has also benefited the Gloucester and Bailey hotels which provide additional bedroom space.