News in Brief: January 2005

Erection of over 10,000t of steelwork for the new Swale crossing, linking the Isle of Sheppey to mainland Kent, began in December. Working in partnership with Carillion for Sheppey Route Ltd, steelwork specialist Fairfield-Mabey began by lifting temporary frames to the tops of the permanent bridge piers. The frames will support slipper pads to allow the main girders to be launched into place in early spring.

The Sage Gateshead, a £70m music centre comprising a series of concert halls and educational facilities linked by a spectacular glazed concourse, was opened last month. The new home of the Northern Sinfonia, the Sage was designed by Norman Foster.

The Metal Cladding and Roofing Manufacturers Association has published a comprehensively revised version of its Metal Wall Systems Design Guide. The guide can be ob-tained from mcrma@compuserve.com or downloaded from www.mcrma.co.uk

Joe Locke, a Director of William Hare, retired in December after an illustrious career in contracting that involved many high profile projects around the world. He was President of the BCSA 1988-1990 and European President of ECCS 1998-99. (To see profile in next month’s NSC, click here)

NSC Deputy Editor David Fowler has won the Automobile Association Trophy in the Guild of Motoring Writers’ 2004 awards, for work in the fields of road safety and the environment.

The steel structures department of Spanish contract research and development specialist LABEIN has joined the STEEL project, which is developing web-based guidance to designers using the Eurocodes. (See feature click here)

Corus Construction and Industrial won three categories at the 2004 Construction Marketing Awards organised by Emap Construct. The ‘Steel works’ series of ads won the Best Use of Advertising award; Campaign of the Year went to the company’s integrated marketing on steel-framed hospital design; and Louise Turner was named Young Marketer of the Year for work with the Corus Fire Engineering Consultancy. The Business was also runner up for ‘Construction Brand of the Year’ and short-listed in the ‘Best Technical Literature’ category.