James Rose Editorial

Building Design

James Rose is news reporter of BD

Likes: Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on match-day
Dislikes: Architecture jargon

Stories by this contributor.

King’s Cross leaps over final hurdle

01 June 2007

The £2 billion redevelopment of King’s Cross, masterplanned by Allies & Morrison, is finally set to go ahead after local campaigners lost a last-ditch court battle.
King's Cross judicial review - verdict

25 May 2007

Argent wins the battle to redevelop London's King's Cross - unless protestors appeal
Manchester’s Simpson is reaching for the heights

25 May 2007

Ian Simpson has been asked by developer Albany Crown to add an extra 10 storeys to his approved 44-storey design for its Albany tower in Manchester. The extra height would make it the city’s tallest building.
Planning white paper to fast-track big infrastructure projects and domestic applications

24 May 2007

Proposals to speed up and simplify the creaking UK planning system have won a cautious welcome from architects
Planning red tape set to be slashed

25 May 2007

Work for small practices likely under new proposals, say experts
Brown under fire on building policies

18 May 2007

Leadership challenger attacks eco-towns, housing failures and PFI
Moscow replicas mock Russia’s past, says Save

18 May 2007

Moscow’s architectural heritage is under an “immediate, extensive and overwhelming” threat, a report published this week warns.
EH brain drain risks reputation

11 May 2007

Number of in-house architects at English Heritage falls by 40% in three years
More open Arb scraps near-miss exam resits

11 May 2007

Arb has reformed its hated exams for foreign architects amid signs of a new mood of openness at the regulator.
Georgian Group is now estate agent too

04 May 2007

Heritage organisation hopes selling to the ‘right hands’ will pre-empt questionable planning applications
‘Stand-off’ drives new embassy design

04 May 2007

HOK chosen for Jakarta as US terrorist fear prompts Grosvenor Square sale
Crystal Palace towers to be rebuilt

30 April 2007

Brunel's 280ft water towers at south London's Crystal Palace Park will be recreated as sustainable energy towers under plans drawn up by German landscape architect Latz & Partner.The two original towers, which were removed during the second world war, stored water to feed a series of spectacular fountains at a rate of 120,000 gallons a minute in the site's 1850s heyday.Under Latz & Partner's regeneration plan for the London Development Agency, the spirit of the Victorian towers
Retirement ‘time bomb’ threatens conservation

27 April 2007

The UK’s historic built environment could be damaged because of a retirement “time-bomb” among local authority conservation officers, experts have warned.
Farrell’s Edinburgh extension scrapped

27 April 2007

Designs by Terry Farrell to extend his International Conference Centre in Edinburgh have been scrapped following the shock withdrawal of the developer.
Will outsourcing take the heat off Arb?

20 April 2007

The controversial validation process for foreign-trained architects may be resolved, as architecture schools welcome Arb’s invitation to take over the exam.
Candys’ sweet deal for Rogers

13 April 2007

Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners gets off to a flying start with £600m Chelsea Barracks win
RIBA bids to assess foreign architects

13 April 2007

A much hated exam that foreign architects must take to qualify in the UK is set to be overhauled after the Arb offered other institutions the opportunity to run it.
Blackpool’s regeneration hopes look up

05 April 2007

Regeneration task force launched as Lords reject casino decision
Richard Rogers clinches the Pritzker Prize for 2007

23 March 2007

Richard Rogers has won the Pritzker Architecture Prize for 2007, becoming only the fourth British architect to take the award. Judges praised the RRP founder as "a champion of urban life".
Salisbury takes on Arb over proof of insurance

30 March 2007

Arb critic and former board member Ian Salisbury has revealed legal advice that he hopes will stop the Arb board disciplining architects who fail to provide evidence of their professional insurance.
More Cabe reviewers to tackle workload

23 March 2007

Review panel soars to 37 members
Heritage funding gap feared

16 March 2007

The government’s long-awaited white paper on heritage has sparked fears of a looming funding gap in the sector.
ODA issues media centre notice

9 March 2007

The ODA has called for proposals for the legacy use of the Olympic Park’s media centre, one of the landmark built projects of London 2012.
Future Systems triumphs in Prague library competition

09 March 2007

This design by Future Systems will become the Czech Republic’s most significant post-Communist building after the British firm triumphed in one of the most hotly contested open architectural competitions ever held.
Church plans carbon audit of bishops’ residences

09 March 2007

Among the issues facing the Church of England’s 43 bishops the carbon footprint of their residences — from palaces to humble houses — may not seem pressing.
Future Systems wins huge Czech library competition

2 March 2007

British firm will design the Czech Republic’s most significant post-Communist building.
Young Brits up for Bloc house job

23 February 2007

A rising star of British architecture is the only UK firm shortlisted to design a house in the modernist hot spot of Meudon, near Paris.
Blackpool competes for Libeskind’s Eden forest...

16 February 2007

Blackpool plans to bounce back from losing in its bid to host the UK’s only supercasino by installing a Daniel Libeskind-designed indoor rainforest on the same site.
UK cities bow to Unesco heritage site pressure

09 February 2007

Unesco’s bid to influence development in historic British cities has borne fruit after both Lon-don and Liverpool announced changes to planning guidance to safeguard their world heritage status.
Arb battle looms as Lloyd quits

09 February 2007

Reform Group offers no candidate
Liverpool spurns advice and backs development

02 February 2007

Cabe not shown revised plans for Project Jennifer
2012 green targets met with scorn

26 January 2007

Pringle: ODA’s missed opportunity
Erskine’s Ark is rebuilt as Byker wins listing

26 January 2007

The legacy of legendary architect Ralph Erskine received a double boost this week as his famous Byker Estate in Newcastle was listed and work began on restructuring the interior of his Ark office in west London.
Council set to approve Bath housing scheme

19 January 2007

Feilden Clegg Bradley plan for 2,000 homes attacked as ‘out of scale’
Heritage lobby demands huge funding hike

19 January 2007

Britain’s leading heritage bodies have formed an unprecedented coalition to bid for an extra £37 million-a-year from taxpayers to protect the country’s historic buildings.
Plea to end loophole on listing

12 January 2007

Buildings damaged while awaiting assessment, says Victorian Society
Study will probe ‘the possible’ for Lambeth Palace

12 January 2007

Church of England managers have commissioned a new study to explore possible alterations to the “charmingly chaotic” Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Haringey council axes its architects

05 January 2007

Switch to design-and-build blamed for architect redundancies
Lloyd’s and listing lobby choose to collaborate

15 December 2006

The Twentieth Century Society has put on hold its controversial plan to apply for the spot-listing of the Lloyd’s of London headquarters after meeting the building’s managers this week.
Mather Liverpool academy hit by science park row

15 December 2006

A flagship building for Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture in 2008 is at the centre of a furious row between architect Rick Mather and local developers.
Save may fight Supreme Court proposal

15 December 2006

Feilden & Mawson’s planned conversion of the grade II* listed Middlesex Guildhall on Parliament Square could face a legal challenge from Save Britain’s Heritage.
RMJM sees 15-fold leap in profits

15 December 2006

Firm says designer freedom is key
Battersea sale raises design fear

08 December 2006

New owner to meet architects
Young firms lined up for Liverpool housing

01 December 2006

Urban Splash has assembled a crack team of young practices for a trailblazing housing scheme in south central Liverpool.
1,160 enter Stockholm library competition

01 December 2006

An astonishing 1,160 entries have been submitted for an open competition to design a £60 million extension to Gunnar Asplund’s iconic public library in Stockholm.
Arb hikes cost of exam for foreigners by 20%

17 November 2006

The Arb has hiked the cost of the exam that foreign architects must take to qualify in the UK by a staggering 20%, to £1,210.
Ryder Cup resort ‘neglect’

17 November 2006

The host club for golf’s 2010 Ryder Cup has been attacked by a leading heritage group for “neglect” of a listed farmhouse before an application to demolish it.
Public building targets in danger, warns CPA

10 November 2006

Hundreds of schools and thousands of new homes will not be built on time, the Construction Products Association (CPA) has warned the government.
Unesco tight-lipped over Tower

10 November 2006

Complaints that officials from Unesco are a bunch of interfering busy-bodies did not stop last week’s tour of the Tower of London, following concern that the building’s World Heritage status is being threatened by new development.
Second bite at Warsaw museum

03 November 2006

Zaha Hadid and Tony Fretton have been approved to enter the new design competition for the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland, four months after they were disqualified from its abortive first running.
Liverpool clings to status

27 October 2006

Unesco visits spark tougher rules for World Heritage Sites as city ducks demotion over Three Graces row
Second Arb fine for PII rebel

27 October 2006

An architect and protester against the Arb’s policies on professional insurance has been disciplined for a second time by the organisation’s conduct committee, sparking claims that he is being victimised.
RIBA proposals offer peace to Arb

20th Ocotber 2006

Institute drops campaign for regulatory reform order as part of package to end hostilities with regulator
Liverpool’s status in danger

13 October 2006

Unesco to consider whether city retains World Heritage status, following concern over new developments
Civic Trust has radical plans for Huntingdon

13 October 2006

Radical plans to transform the historic Cambridgeshire town of Huntingdon have been proposed by the Civic Trust.
Shared surfaces are ‘death traps’ for blind

6 October 2006

Shared surface schemes which remove boundaries between pedestrians and vehicles have been attacked in a report by the charity Guide Dogs for the Blind, which describes them as “death traps”.
New twist in saga of Stonehenge visitor centre

6 October 2006

English Heritage’s tortuous struggle for a new visitor centre at Stonehenge descended into farce last week when it withdrew its approved planning application for a £65 million scheme by Denton Corker Marshall.
Reform group anger as Arb uses loophole to raise fees

29 September 2006

A further schism opened in the troubled Arb board last week when the chair and chief executive approved the use of an extraordinary postal vote to pass an increase in Arb’s retention fee.
SMC moves north of the border

29 September 2006

Architecture & Design Scotland says quality is paramount
Leeds takes the high-rise lead

29 September 2006

While in London the debate over tall towers rages, Leeds is ploughing ahead.
Class not colour, says Prasad

22 September 2006

Richard Rogers’ call for ‘positive action’ to encourage more diversity is contested by RIBA president-elect
Foster to open new office in Istanbul

22 September 2006

Foster & Partners’ bid for global domination in architecture has gathered pace with the opening of a new office in Turkey.
24-hour boat party people

22 September 2006

James Rose was at Cowes last weekend for construction industry regatta Little Britain, looking forward to genteel boating and industry chit-chat. He found a whirlwind of tough competition and gruelling late nights
Hyams leaves Aedas in dispute over studio role

15 September 2006

Design director’s desire for unit’s autonomy led to clash
Liverpool battle for Grace site

15 September 2006

Heritage groups lobby council
Scots row over arena rethink...

1 September 2006

...as masterplan gets the green light
Anger as Bristol council scraps framework

1 September 2006

Architects in Bristol have condemned their city council after it took applications for an architects framework but cancelled the scheme a month later.
Investment boost for Central Spine

1 September 2006

Manchester development re-energised by deal
Park Hill estate saved from the bulldozers

25 August 2006

Sheffield’s growing reputation as an architectural hotspot was sealed this week with planning permission for Hawkins Brown and Studio Egret West’s revamp of the grade II* listed Park Hill housing estate.
TfL heritage adviser aims to banish roads ‘mayhem’

25 August 2006

Architects have found an unlikely ally in their ongoing battle with traffic engineers. Transport for London’s newly appointed heritage adviser has pledged to create pedestrian-friendly shared public spaces across the capital.
Reform group welcomes new Arb chief executive

25 August 2006

The appointment of new Arb registrar and chief executive Alison Carr has been welcomed by both chairman Humphrey Lloyd and Arb Reform Group leader George Oldham.
New Orleans jeopardised by shortage of planners

04 August 2006

A shortage of planning officers is jeopardising the reconstruction of New Orleans nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and killed more than 1,300 people last August.
Manchester proposal axed

28 July 2006

A competition to design a new building in a prominent location in St Peter’s Square, Manchester, has been scrapped following the selection of GMW Architects and Sheppard Robson as joint winners.
Playing the games

BD Plus July 2006

The London Olympics promise a wealth of new projects, but architects waiting for information deserve a medal for patience
Arb chair hits out at rebel five

21 July 2006

Reform group walk out of meeting
Mayor ready for rows with boroughs over new powers

21 July 2006

Ken Livingstone has braced himself for “spectacular rows” with the London boroughs, and pledged to use his new planning powers to force them to accept development whether they like it or not.
Mixed use for former Rover site

21 July 2006

Practice consults with community
Architects back RIBA in anti-nuclear stance

14 July 2006

Leading architects have joined the RIBA in condemning the government’s lurch towards a new generation of nuclear power stations, set out in this week’s energy review.
Renault Centre seeks one careful owner

14 July 2006

A careful owner, preferably an architecture or design practice, is being sought to occupy Norman Foster’s iconic Renault Centre in Swindon after its future was secured through a new restoration scheme.
Supermarkets choose timber

14 July 2006

Supermarket giants Tesco and Asda are planning to replace their standard steel frames with timber in selected new stores to reduce their ecological footprint.
Olympics’ pledge to new blood

7 July 2006

Young designers given a boost
Aedas beats RRP in bid for Welsh Assembly offices

7 July 2006

Richard Rogers’ bid to design a second building for the Welsh Assembly has been foiled by Aedas Architects.
RHWL scoops Pall Mall

30 June 2006

RHWL has beaten Allies & Morrison to the development of a key regeneration site in central Liverpool.
Policy for N Ireland welcomed

23 June 2006

Support to raise design standards
LDA U-turn could save Crystal Palace centre

16 June 2006

The country's first purpose-built sports centre could be saved from demolition following a surprise U-turn from the London Development Agency.
Lloyd flak over Arb vice chair

16 June 2006

Arb chairman Humphrey Lloyd has come under fire from architect board members over his role in the controversial election of vice-chair Sarah Lupton.
Pressure on BBC over move north

9 June 2006

The BBC is coming under increasing pressure to confirm its intention to move thousands of jobs north. Schemes by Ian Simpson and the Fairhurst Design Group in Manchester and Salford respectively have been shortlisted as the broadcaster's new headquarters, but fears are growing that it may stay in London to save money.
Commonwealth threat spurs heritage groups

9 June 2006

Heritage groups have sprung into action to oppose the leaked government proposal to delist the Commonwealth Institute via a parliamentary bill (News June 2).
English Heritage sidelined from DCMS listings review

2 June 2006

Commonwealth Institute demolition plan sparks row over future of heritage protection
Surprise winner in country house stakes

2 June 2006

A new contender has emerged for the title of the first country house to be approved under PPS7 legislation, which allows schemes of exceptional quality to be built in protected rural areas.
Cloud descends on City

26 May 2006

GLA gives reassurances that Foster/Nouvel scheme will not be blocked by protected views
Capita gobbles another to make it UK's second

26 May 2006

Capita Percy Thomas's spending spree has come to an end following this week's acquisition of Ruddle Wilkinson for undisclosed millions.
Studio Egret West brings design flair to Edaw masterplan

26 May 2006

Masterplanning giant Edaw has beaten MacCormac Jamieson Prichard and Maxwan to the lead role in masterplanning a £500 million redevelopment of the Holt Town Waterfront on Manchester's city fringe.
Olympic copyright claim

19 May 2006

Lone architect Stephen Lawrence says designs for Olympic Park were based on his uncredited ideas
Arb reformers fall at first hurdle

19 May 2006

The Arb Reform Group suffered two defeats in its first board meeting last Thursday, indicating the struggle it faces influencing the 15-strong board with eight appointed members from outside the profession.
EH: Pray and pay for these buildings

12 May 2006

England's houses of worship are crumbling under £118 million shortfall in repair and maintenance funding
Architects for Aid in Pakistan relief

25 November 2005

Shelter solution comes out of charity’s first mission
Business advice could boost fees

25 November 2005

Architects are missing out on a golden business opportunity to get involved in new buildings much earlier, according to a report from one of the construction industry’s leading reformers.
SMC snaps up DTR:UK for £4.5m

4 November 2005

SMC Group, one of the few UK practices listed on the stock market, has bought Manchester-based DTR:UK for a potential £4.5 million.
Raising the roof

4 November 2005

A ceiling that changes to suit the performance answers the need for acoustic flexibility.