Building Briefs – January 14th

• V&A Dundee named Best New Public Building

Wallpaper* has given the award to the V&A Dundee and its architect Kengo Kuma and associates.

The magazine said: “The highly sculptural V&A Dundee is Japanese architect Kengo Kuma’s first UK building – and Scotland’s first dedicated design museum.

“The cliffs of north-east Scotland inspired the composition’s distinct shape, clad in some 2,500 sheets of layered horizontal cast stone panelling.

“Yet the concrete structure appears light, bearing an abstracted resemblance to the prow of a moored ship.”

It adds: “Kuma wanted this building to welcome visitors with a strong design gesture.”

Other shortlisted buildings included the Qatar National Library, Qatar, the Apple Park Visitor Center, US, by Foster + Partners, the Guardian Art Center, China, by Buro Ole Scheeren and the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, Taiwan, by Mecanoo.

• New £6.1m state-of-the-art dementia unit opens in Kelso

A new specialist dementia unit, Murray House, has officially opened in Kelso thanks to a £4 million fundraising campaign and a £2.1m finance package from Royal Bank of Scotland.

The 18-bed state-of-the-art facility is situated on land adjacent to Queen’s House care home, which owns and operates the purpose-built unit. It is to be followed by the completion of a further 9-bed unit, Evanthea House, which will be ready for occupation in the spring of 2019.

Both Murray House and Evanthea House will be centres of excellence for people living with dementia in the Scottish borders and will create 60 new jobs for Kelso and the surrounding community.

• New chairman for Building Contractors Training Group

Advance Construction Scotland has congratulated Gary Logan, training development manager at its Training Centre in Livingston on becoming the chairman of the Building Contractors Training Group (BCTG).

BCTG was established in 1969 to provide industry led training solutions to meet local training requirements.

• Mark Jones takes the helm at Ventient Energy

Experienced wind energy CEO Mark Jones has taken the helm at onshore wind operator Ventient Energy, with a mandate to grow the firm’s portfolio within and beyond the UK.

Edinburgh-based Ventient Energy is an independent wind farm owner and operator with nearly 690MW installed capacity across 34 wind farms country-wide.

Jones has been brought on board to expand Ventient’s portfolio in the UK and overseas in what is described as a ‘major new phase’ for the business.

Prior to his appointment Jones was group CEO of Dutch turbine manufacturer EWT, successfully leading its expansion into a UK market leading position and major new territories worldwide. Jones also successfully built wind and solar businesses both internationally and in the UK whilst working with both private and institutional capital.

Ventient Energy was formed in 2017 from independent wind power producers Zephyr and Infinis Wind, when the Infinis wind portfolio was acquired by institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

• Glasgow sees record year of office take-up

Office take-up in Glasgow in 2018 exceeded 1.4 million sq ft to mark an all-time record for the city as a number of giant lettings absorb available opportunities and kick start much needed office development in the city, according to Savills.

Activity marks an 127% increase on take-up last year and 85% ahead of the five-year average, says the international real estate advisor.

Key deals include: HMRC taking 60,556 sq ft of city centre office space at 123 St Vincent Street; Clydesdale Bank signing 110,955 sq ft at 177 Bothwell Street; and Barclays taking a 470,000 sq ft pre-commitment deal at Buchanan Wharf. Activity sees Grade A availability in Glasgow drop to 280,000 sq ft, marking a 34% fall on 2017 levels, and rents climb to £32.50 per sq ft for the Top Grade A rents and £30 per sq ft for the best refurbished office space.

Mirroring a national trend, Glasgow has witnessed the ongoing expansion of the serviced office sector in 2018 with Spaces (50,000 sq ft) and Orega (25,000 sq ft) committing to new space in 2018 alongside a number of local operators and known requirements in the market from WeWork (up to 100,000 sq ft) and The Office Group (40,000 sq ft). The growth of the serviced office sector is eating into the sub-2,000 sq ft leasing market, says Savills, and landlords of this size bracket will need to be flexible if they are to be competitive in future.

• Man arrested in Highlands ‘bogus workman’ investigation

A 27-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an investigation into a “bogus workman” in Fort William.

The arrest follows an investigation by Police Scotland and Highland Council Trading Standards, after a report was received this week of “bogus workmen” in Fort William and alleged fraudulent activity relating to charges for work carried out on a house in the town.

The male was released pending further enquiries. It is anticipated that a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal in due course.

• Work begins on new memorial garden in Abredeen

Work has started on the memorial garden for families affected by past practices around the cremation of babies, Aberdeen City Council has announced.

The design of the garden and the sculpture were agreed last year by the Working Group and they are designed to evoke feelings of reflectiveness, peace, remembrance, forward-looking, uplifting, sorrow, hope, love, stillness, responsibility and reconciliation. It is designed to be open and welcoming, while at the same time is a place which allows for private emotions.

The garden has been designed by TGP Landscape Architects and the features include an arched entrance, several seated areas in the circumference of a grassed circular area with the sculpture as the main feature in the middle of the circle, and a more private area where families affected can sit, and also have names of those affected permanently inscribed on rectangular-shaped metal plates, if they wish.

TGP prepared option designs and then worked together with the Working Group to develop its preferred option. The area chosen in Hazlehead Park for the garden and sculpture is a secluded quieter area, away from the main park, while at the same time is easily accessible.

The work creating the garden is being carried out by MTM Construction, a Kinellar-based firm which has been carrying out civil engineering, construction, and building work in the north-east for more than 40 years. The work schedule of the firm meant the initial work has started this month. It is expected the work should be complete in Spring 2019, weather and ground conditions depending.

The Working Group will give an official name to the garden at a later date.