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Perforated brick house based on termites’ nests Perforated brick walls enclose the concrete structure of an old house in central Vietnam, which has been remodelled by architecture studio Tropical Space Vietnamese architects Tropical Space refurbished an old two-storey house occupied by a family of three in Da Nang, a coastal city in Vietnam. Retaining only the concrete slab structure, the architects enclosed the space with a perforated grille of brickwork to create a new residence named The Termitary House.
This arrangement is designed to deal with the fluctuating climate of the area, which varies between two extremes – a dry hot season and a rainy season with several tropical storms each year. Glazing set behind the perforated walls creates a double skin that protects against wind and rain, and also makes space for two slim gravelled patios at the front and back of the house that help control ventilation. “In the evening and at night, the house looks like a giant lantern with lights here and there from the holes,” said the architects.
Plans launched to speed up section 106 agreements
Bovis Homes hit by subcontractor shortages
The Government has launched a consultation on plans to speed up section 106 agreements.
A shortage of subcontractors has contributed to a 12% rise in Bovis Homes’ house building costs in the south east and caused production delays.
The proposals would see a time limit set on processing section 106 deals of a maximum of 13 weeks. The need to contribute to social housing could also be removed from student housing developments. Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis said: “Section 106 planning agreements can bring great benefits to local communities but too often they drag out planning applications for months. “That’s why today I’m proposing measures that will speed up the process, get planning permissions granted quicker and workers on site earlier, all the while keeping the community benefits that these agreements can bring.” The proposals include: setting clear time limits so section 106 negotiations are completed in line with the existing 8 to 13 week target for planning applications to be processed rather than letting them slow the whole planning process down requiring parties to start discussions at the beginning of the planning application process, rather than the current system where negotiations can often start towards the end a dispute resolution process where negotiations stall preventing development
The firm admitted this morning that building costs and labour supply shortages were biting although strong house price growth in the region continued to outstrip cost inflation. Despite these pressures, Bovis Homes managed to sell a record 3,635 homes in 2014, 29% higher than in the previous year, with the average sale price up 11% to £216,600. This helped to deliver a 69% rise in annual profits to £133.5m on turnover up 46% to £809m. Improving activity levels and higher sales prices in the new homes market has led to increasing construction costs, with the main driver being subcontract labour. Bovis Homes’ average construction cost for legal completions rose 12% last year, compared with an increase in private sales prices of 14%. The group estimated the market driven element of this build cost increase was around 7% with the balance coming from increasing size of its average home, specification improvements and the ongoing impact of switching the mix of homes to the south of England where subcontractor rates are higher. Bovis admitted shortages of subcontract labour had presented challenges as it attempted to ramp up production during the last eighteen months.
using standardised documents to avoid agreements being drafted from scratch for each and every application
Resulting production delays had an adverse effect on the customer experience leading to the group’s internal “recommend a friend” score reducing to 82% in 2014 from 90% in 2013.
potential legislation in the next Parliament to give new measures teeth
“We are on track to deliver this strategic plan, supported by record land investment in 2014 at the right point in the cycle.”
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According to the architects, the orange-red bricks reference the baked-brick towers built on sacred sites in the region during the Champa Kingdom between the 4th and 15th centuries, while the plan – with a living space protected in its centre – was inspired by the earthen chambers of termite nests.
“The special design of the baked-brick walls with a lot of holes, together with the large inter-floor space, allows breeze and light to get to all the corners of the house, even the hardest-to-access areas,” explained the architects.