Building Briefs – December 14th

Highland councillors have given planning permission for the construction of a rooftop restaurant on the region’s biggest shopping centre.

Designed by Pod Architects, the dining area and bar have been proposed by Eastgate Unit Trust for the Eastgate Shopping Centre in Inverness city centre.

Highland Council’s south planning applications committee has approved the plans.

They form part of a wider project to improve parts of the shopping complex.

New boilers installed in Blackwood homes

Work to install new boilers at properties in Port Glasgow, Edinburgh and Falkirk is now complete.

The four-week contract was delivered by CCG Asset Management for housing and care provider Blackwood.

Overall, works were undertaken at 59 properties in the Charlotte Hill area of Falkirk, along with areas in Port Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Maxi promotes opportunities for construction careers

Continuing its commitment to providing student work placements, a 6th year pupil from Linlithgow Academy, Ewan Crail, has just completed a 4-week pupil placement with Maxi Construction Limited, based at West Lothian Council’s Linlithgow Partnership Centre.

Construction director and CITB Construction Skills Ambassador, Barry Simpson, formulated a bespoke training plan after discussion with Ewan for his placement which included:

Covenant Fund award paves way for Glasgow’s first Veterans’ Garden

Glasgow’s first Veterans’ Garden is to be created in the east end of the city thanks to a £20,000 award from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund.

Playbusters Ltd, in partnership with Parkhead Housing Association and McTaggart Construction, are behind the project which will give veterans the opportunity to gain new skills while breathing new life into an open space in Tollcross Road in Parkhead.

Glasgow Lord Provost Sadie Docherty marked the start of preparations to get the site up and running. Veterans will be involved in designing the space, building, planting and maintaining the garden afterwards. It is hoped the garden will be formally launched in summer 2017.

Experience shows community gardens are a great way to bring people together - reducing social isolation and improving mental health too. Working in the garden will support local veterans as part of their on-going rehabilitation.

A project group has been set up with support from Wheatley Group, Glasgow’s Helping Heroes and Parkhead Nazarene Church.

Lord Provost Sadie Docherty has agreed to be Patron of the Garden.

Dundee junior football club plans clubhouse overhaul

Downfield Junior Football Club officials have submitted plans to Dundee City Council to transform its clubhouse facilities.

The proposals include converting some of the space into a convenience store, hot food takeaway and beauty salon.

It follows on from the renovation of the club’s function suite earlier this year.

Club chairman Alex Duncan said the plans had been drawn up in an effort to save the club from closure in what are turbulent times for sports teams.

If given the green light by the city council, the plans will also see six parking spaces created.

The club was founded in 1904 and plays at Downfield Park on Balgowan Avenue.

Federation of Piling Specialists revises design & lifting of cages guidance note

The Federation of Piling Specialists (FPS) has released a new revision of its Guidance Note – “The Design for Splicing and Lifting of Pre-Fabricated and Site Fabricated Reinforcement Cages for Piling and Walling Works.”

The new revision outlines current best practice in relation to the design and lifting of pre-fabricated reinforcement cages and site fabricated reinforcement cages for piling and walling works, as well as providing guidance on choosing proprietary systems of cage splicing to avoid any issues.

It also specifies the need to follow any guidance from suppliers of proprietary cage splicing systems and there is also a section on lifting light cages.

From a listing of definitions through to cage design information, purchase orders and the delivery & lifting on site, the guidance note provides all the information required to ensure safe, competent and successful applications on site.

Galston regeneration ‘health check’ survey announced

East Ayrshire Council has announced the first “health check” for Galston, seeking views from the public over the ongoing regeneration scheme in the town.

Galston Town Centre is currently undergoing many positive changes, with the advent of the Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme Funding and the work being carried out by the Galston Community Regeneration Trust (GCRT) to restore many of its historic buildings using sympathetic materials and methods and make them fit for modern use.

East Ayrshire Council has teams working to create a vibrant, safe and economically viable centre for businesses to thrive and people to prosper.

Monitoring the effectiveness of this work is an important part of Scottish Planning Policy, which states that town centre health checks should be prepared by Local Authorities with the involvement of community planning partners, businesses and community groups. It is recommended that these are carried out every two years.

The survey can be completed online or by collecting a form from the Galston Community Regeneration Trust Office. The deadline for the survey is 21 December 2016.

Architect to create Arts & Business Scotland 30th Anniversary Awards objects

Moorfield Group and Resonance Capital, the asset managers of Atlantic Quay Buildings 1, 2 and 3 have announced that Atlantic Quay, is to sponsor the Awards objects for the Arts & Business Scotland (A&BS) 30th Annual Awards, as part of a multi-million pound refurbishment to rejuvenate the office complex.

The former Glasgow School of Art student and Edinburgh-based designer Oliver F. Conway has been selected to create the Awards objects for the Arts & Business Scotland (A&BS) 30th Annual Awards.

Oliver, who has previously redesigned the coveted statuette for the Scottish BAFTAs, will fabricate 20 pieces based on the theme of ‘One Hundred Cogs’ to be presented to winners at a ceremony in March 2017.

Oliver F. Conway has a background in architecture but during his time at college worked as an apprentice to a master sculptor before taking over the business, making awards to his original designs.

As well as redesigning the BAFTAs Oliver has also created awards objects for the Herald Angels and Scottish Politician of the Year. The A&BS project will be Oliver’s most significant venture using his own designs.

The Awards objects will be made from precision-cut timber taking the form of ‘One Hundred Cogs’. Twenty similar but unique award pieces will then together form one single installation which will include many cogs of different sizes and shapes meshing together in unison to perform a single continuous hand-powered moving sculpture. ‘One Hundred Cogs’ is a way of illustrating the synergy between the many facets and individuals within the spheres of Art & Business Scotland.

The 30th Annual Awards party will take place at Glasgow Royal Concert Halls in the New Auditorium on Thursday 23 March 2017.

The final design of the awards objects is being kept a closely guarded secret until the ceremony where they will be presented to the winners.

Architecture students create Aberdeen landmark-inspired colouring book

Architecture students at Robert Gordon University (RGU) have, for the second year running, created an adult colouring book, drawing inspiration from the Granite City and its buildings.

The students worked in teams to capture some of Aberdeen’s most well-known buildings, including the Exhibition and Conference Centre, St Machar Cathedral and the Sports Village.

This book has been produced by first year RGU and ICRGU (International College at RGU) students, who were set the task of designing a colouring book for grownups, featuring at least 10 drawings based on themes inspired by the city’s architecture.

At the end of the project each of the groups were required to produce a bound and covered copy of their book and deliver a presentation on their work.

The students’ sketches will be collated into a single book and a number of copies produced for display.