UNITED STATES
A Dallas interior architect will join the pack in the Tour de France in late July, and what’s more he’ll turn 70 during the race. Andre Staffelbach last raced the grueling cycling event in 2006. He is founder and creative principal of Andre Staffelbach, a nationally recognized group of interior designers, architects, facilities planners and support staff with a 43-year history. “This is a very exciting year because Lance [Armstrong] is back,” said Staffelbach. “There is a genuine camaraderie that surrounds the tour. Cyclists and enthusiasts from all over the world make the pilgrimage to this event.”
UNITED KINGDOM
The 2012 Olympics’ design and construction programme has been branded ‘a stitch up’ after small firms have been excluded from hundreds of millions of pounds worth of work that has been given instead to firms that are sponsoring the games. The games’ organizing committee admitted that it often asks sponsors to provide ‘work in kind’ up to the value of $20.4 million, reports Building Design. ODA chief executive David Higgins promised in 2006 that involving “emerging designers” would be part of Olympic construction contracts.
UNITED KINGDOM
A major regional arts centre in the UK is set to open three years late and more than 50 per cent over budget. The Firstsite project in Colchester received planning permission for its Rafael Viñoly building in February 2006. However, work on the building has now stopped after Colchester Borough Council sacked the contractor for “not complying with their contract”. The building should have been watertight by May but is still missing windows. The next stage will be tendering for a new contractor to finish the building.
UNITED KINGDOM
The London mayor Boris Johnson has called for all new homes in the city to be 10 per cent larger, in a new housing design guide that went out for public consultation last week. The housing industry gave the guidelines a wary welcome, with a spokesperson for the British Property Federation saying: “Putting extra demands on the struggling housebuilders may impact on delivery in the short-term. Nevertheless, it is vital to take difficult decisions that can secure the market in the long-term”.
SOUTH AFRICA
Workers in South Africa who were working on stadiums for the South African World Cup have ended a strike and settled for a 12 per cent pay rise. The labourers had threatened to ruin next June's tournament unless they received a pay increase of 13 per cennt, but a union spokesperson said the workers had now settled for 12 per cent. South Africa is building five new stadiums for the World Cup, due to be held in the country next June.
