Around the Press: May 2012

RIBA Journal
March 2012
Ghost Busting
It’s asking a lot, but if a building were a Transformer, the Sainsbury Centre, now in its 34th year, would be its Optimus Prime, the veritable pro-genitor of the UK big shed typology. Its east face an enormous glass proscenium, its white triangulated steel columns and trusses framing a sylvan setting.

Building Magazine
23 March 2012
Landmark £7.5M BIM deal
“Moving to BIM is about more than implementing new technology – to fully realise its benefits requires a process change,” Roland Zelles, vice-president of worldwide sales for Autodesk Architecture Engineering and Construction.

Construction News
5 April 2012
Academy models the benefits of BIM
[Thomas Ferens Academy, Hull] There are of course endless advantages to the full integration of BIM into schemes before, during and beyond the construction phases which is why the government has made its adoption key to future work. The steel framed academy features a central core and atrium, and a structural steel frame.

RIBA Journal
April 2012
Striking the right note  
[Bramall Building, Birmingham University] The 15m diameter steel roof dome at the top sits on the 4m deep steel Vierendeel trusses over the auditorium, which keeps it column free. “Our dome was formed of 200mm thick hot rolled steel sections with a softwood planks and ply outer layer,” says Will Schofield, GHA project architect.

Building Magazine
20 April 2012
Steel Insight – Multi-Storey Offices
The study illustrates that for both typical office building types, on a like for like basis steel framed solutions are highly competitive, with the frame and upper floor costs for the steel framed options being potentially up to 9% lower than for concrete.