Building Briefs – April 3rd

  • Urban Union welcomes new residents at Laurieston Living

A major milestone has been reached at the Laurieston Living development in the Gorbals area of Glasgow after the official opening of the first new flatted block of homes.

The first residents have now moved into the apartments with developer Urban Union due to hand over more in the coming days.

Building Briefs – April 3rd

Lynne Hoggan in one of the apartments at Laurieston Living

To mark the landmark moment, representatives of Urban Union were joined by Heart Scotland presenter Lynne Hoggan for a ceremonial ribbon cutting.



A total of 173 private for sale homes are being built in Phase 2, with the new development expected to complete by early 2021.

Building Briefs – April 3rd

Kirsty Parry from Urban Union with Lynne Hoggan

Laurieston Living is a £140 million revitalisation of the Gorbals area, with plans to deliver a total of four phases over a nine-year period. Phase 1A saw 201 homes constructed for social rent for New Gorbals Housing Association.

Phase 1B delivered a further 108 homes – 39 for Mid Market Rent for New Gorbals Housing Association and 69 for private sale for Urban Union. Phase 1C, completed in December 2018, delivered 55 apartments for New Gorbals Housing Association.



 

  • Expedition underway to retrace steps of Scottish Arctic explorer

An Arctic Return expedition, sponsored by RICS, has set off to Naujaat to embark upon a 650-kilometre trek across Boothia Peninsula that will follow the route taken by Dr. John Rae and his indigenous companions, William Ouligbuck and Thomas Mistegan in 1854.

Travelling on skis and snowshoes, the Arctic Return team will pay tribute to and honour one of the greatest Arctic explorers. John Rae’s success was due in great part to his willingness to learn from the indigenous people of the region and the team will follow this example will on expedition.



Little known until recent years, John Rae’s important contribution to Arctic exploration and surveying altered the course of maritime trade.  When he set off from his homeland, Orkney, in 1833 he was not only a surgeon but already a keen outdoorsman. Upon returning to Britain in the 1850s, he was an experienced Arctic traveller, respected by the locals and also an accomplished surveyor. His unsung achievement in mapping the Northwest Passage in northern Canada, unlocked a crucial global trade route, connecting the northern Atlantic to the Pacific, chopping months off existing sea-faring journeys.

The significance of Rae’s discovery of the Northwest Passage cannot be understated, yet his unparalleled and breath-taking personal achievements in the most difficult and inhospitable conditions on earth were overshadowed by the truth he had uncovered about the Franklin Expedition. His unedited report of their folly and desperation, including reports of cannibalism, were dismissed in London and his career and reputation tarnished.

As part of its 150th anniversary year in RICS President, John Hughes, appointed Dr John Rae an honorary chartered surveyor, presenting the John Rae society his posthumous RICS diploma in November 2018.  He was also recognised in the Mappers category of RICS’ most influential surveyors throughout history.

The four-person Arctic Return team will be self-sufficient, travelling at what can be the coldest time of the year. The expedition is expected to take around 35 days. You can follow the expedition at www.arcticreturn.com.



 

  • Aggregate Industries becomes first construction materials supplier to achieve PAS 2080 verification

Aggregate Industries has become the first construction materials supplier to achieve PAS 2080 verification after demonstrating its ongoing commitment to supplying low carbon solutions to infrastructure projects.

A major milestone for the firm, Aggregate Industries underwent a rigorous, independent audit process by the BSI to be certified as the first supplier of its kind that can ensure delivery of infrastructure projects meet the PAS 2080 standard.



Building Briefs – April 3rd

As the world’s first specification for managing whole-life carbon in infrastructure, PAS 2080 has been developed by the British Standards Institute (BSI) and requires firms to show continuous improvement in reducing the whole life carbon emissions across the entirety of their operations and supply chain.

As such, the verification serves as formal recognition of Aggregate Industries’ commitment to managing its operations in a responsible, sustainable way so that it continues to make a positive contribution to the built environment for future generations.

 



  • Grade A city centre space accounts for 27% of total Edinburgh office take-up for Q1 2019

The Edinburgh office market has experienced a surprisingly positive start to the year, with 202,500 sq ft of take-up for Q1 2019.

The latest research from commercial property consultancy CBRE shows that this is 49% higher than the 135,842 sq ft transacted for the same period in 2018, largely due to the sale of Westfield House to the Church of Scientology at 48,614 sq ft. In addition, regears and lease renewals totalled 19,335 sq ft.

Building Briefs – April 3rd

2 Semple Street

Grade A take-up within Edinburgh City Centre accounted for 59,081 sq ft, or 27%, of the Q1 total, and was driven by the leasing of 31,000 sq ft within the recently refurbished Exchange Crescent to a tech occupier. This figure is up from the same quarter last year where only 18,409 sq ft of Grade A space was transacted.



The report notes that new-build Grade A office supply in Edinburgh remains critical. There is currently around 55,000 sq ft remaining at Capital Square ahead of its scheduled completion in May 2020, 2 Semple Street has just 35,000 sq ft available, and only around 30,000 sq ft of sub-let space is on offer at 20 West Register Street.

 

  • CABE Built Environment Awards 2019 now open to entries

Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE) has announced that entries are open for this year’s CABE Built Environment Awards.



The Built Environment Awards celebrate excellence and achievement in the industry by recognising organisations, individuals and projects that have made a meaningful and impressive contribution to the field of Building Engineering.

Last year’s winners included BRD Tech Ltd for its fantastic work on the Ingrebourne Links Gold & Country Club, NPS Leeds for its exemplary restoration of Leeds Central Library and Art Gallery and BB7 for its continued excellence and pioneering innovations in Fire Safety.

Entry is open to any organisation, individual or project where there has been substantial involvement of a CABE member. This includes the design, construction, assessment or engineering of a building project, or a substantive role in a research, teaching, education or academic context. Projects must have been completed in 2018.

Winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner held at CABE’s Annual Conference and Exhibition taking place at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel on 3-4 October 2019.

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