Long reads

New or renew? The global debate on building reuse

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Last month, the global construction community gathered at The Barbican Centre in London for the 2024 Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) International Conference to address a key question – should we continue to build new buildings, or should we focus on renewing the ones we already have?…

Andre Redinger: The man who almost bought ISG

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Andre Redinger has a lot to say. Via a video call, he speaks to Construction News from his South African homeland less than 24 hours after ISG, the company he spent six months trying to buy, announced it was filing for administration. The previous evening, ISG chief executive Zoe Price…

CN100 2024: Snakes & ladders

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Rising turnover and slumping profit characterise the CN100 2024 index of top UK contractors, but the outlook remains broadly positive There is a saying among economists that “if you torture the data long enough, it will confess”. At Construction News we like to think that our interrogation techniques reveal the…

Space odyssey: the risks and rewards of retrofit

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Retrofit might not be new, but it’s going through a purple patch due to net zero concerns. CN asks how contractors are mitigating the risks on cut-and-carve projects It’s a bright summer’s day and Bam Construction is busy installing period furniture at a striking 1960s central London modernist office block…

The challenges of a embracing a circular economy

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Regulatory changes are driving developers to look more closely at material reuse rather than disposal, but old habits are hard to break, finds Kristina Smith Almost overnight, as the world emerged from Covid, Roy Fishwick noticed a change in attitudes towards reused steel. “Back in 2016, 2017, I was talking…

Nine future building materials

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From bricks made of mushrooms to energy-generating paint, Construction News takes a look at some of the innovative building materials and products set to transform the industry Bio-concrete The Global Concrete and Cement Association says that concrete can self-heal to a degree. But one way to increase concrete’s self-healing ability…

The construction products of the future

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Safety and environmental pressures are leading to a wave of innovation in materials development – but what are the barriers to getting new products to site? Innovation is, of course, desirable in any industry at any time. It enables companies to improve their products or services, thereby better serving their…

GALLERY: 11 Olympic venues fitted for winners

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With the eyes of the world on Paris for the 33rd Summer Olympic and Paralympic games, Construction News takes a look at some of the venues and stadiums hosting the elite athletes and their spectators. Additional research: Matt Ross Project: Grand Palais Location: Paris Client: RMN (Réunion des musées nationaux)…

Fit for the job? The PPE challenge for minority groups

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While the industry tries to improve women’s PPE, other minority groups’ needs remain overlooked It took several months for Leena Begum to even visit a construction site. The apprentice feared she would have to compromise her Muslim faith by wearing the personal protective equipment (PPE) provided. Islam requires women to…

Fighting time: why PFI claims are on the rise

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Is a looming legal time limit behind a rise in defect claims relating to long-completed schemes built under private finance intiatives?  In autumn 2021, North Kent Police Station’s geothermal heating system broke down. Almost three years later, the administrators of the company holding the station’s private finance initiative (PFI) brought…