Featured articles
Read this article about the theories that characterise life in the hyperreal post-modern city.
One of the pinnacles of the Palace of Westminster was moved to Lancashire in the 1930s. By 2013 the stonework was falling apart.
"We can’t sustain low density suburbs, density isn't a choice, it's a necessity." - Read our interview with the award-winning social housing architect Peter Barber.
Conservation area designation can be crucial, but treatment of individual parks varies considerably.
What is the client's strategic brief for construction projects?
Read the story behind the world's most iconic festival stage, Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage.
Read the story of Ronan Point, another disastrous event which had profound consequences for the construction industry.
BIM and the future of construction
A brief introduction to Building Information Modelling - is it the future of construction?
As the UK enjoys a heat wave, read all about the daylight factor.
Not only is this building shaped like a teapot, it can rotate 360-degrees.
What is ACM cladding, what is it used for, and is it banned?
Read our review of a new guide aimed at helping architects avoid and resolve disputes.
Find out about specifying insulation for inverted roofs.
An article looking at the mass housing provision built after WW2, such as Park Hill and Robin Hood Gardens.
What we know so far about the Grenfell Tower fire - an overview of the facts.
How to make conservation areas work
Historic England, LAs and community organisations are exploring new ways of making conservation areas effective.
An introductory article to performance specifications.
Read the story of the 2009 Lakanal House fire and the findings of the inquest.
Eight ways to win the fight for talent in construction.
An introductory article to theories and practices behind urban design.
Community engagement in conservation
We need to think again about how and why we engage with the public.
What will the impact of the sharing 'gig' economy on construction craft labour and equipment markets be?
Have a look at the tools, techniques and project management issues of sustainable materials.
News
British Columbia and construction
A blueprint for the construction industry from Canada's west coast.
China's elaborate idea for a mass-transport system has been abandoned.
The Maglev Multi elevator being tested in Germany could 'revolutionise the shape of cities'.
Owen Hatherley writes in defence of high-rise tower blocks.
Ten members of ICE identified as some of the most influential women in the engineering.
60 high-rises so far fail combustibility tests.
Polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation and how it was tested.
ICE publish new NEC4 Design, Build and Operate contract.
America's failing infrastructure
Report states $2 trillion is needed over the next 10 years to fix American roads.
Jump in number of homeless households in temporary accommodation 'staggering', says CIH.
What does the Queen's Speech mean for construction?
National Audit Office condemns 'risky and expensive' Hinkley Point C.
RIBA announce their National Award Winners 2017.
Councils and local organisations can now apply for Heritage Action Zone status.
Richard Rogers says 'the Garden Bridge can help London retain its global status'.
First ever BREEAM Communities innovation credit is claimed by Temple Farm Development.
CIOB to help conservation specialists gain recognition for their expertise with launch of new Certification Scheme.
Construction firms urged to help the homeless get back into work.
1 in 3 UK construction firms employ migrant workers, according to new report.
Experts write letter calling on PM to 'scrap the Government’s approach to health and safety deregulation and think again.'
Have a look at Francis Kéré's 2017 pavilion, based on the concept of the tree as a place of shelter.
CIOB announce new commission to assess what more it and the industry can do to tackle build quality issues.
7 firms reveal plans for Los Angeles River revitalisation.
BRE say they will work with government to fire test samples of cladding.
Green Construction Board, 21 June
Top tips for embedding circular economy principles in construction.
Construction Enquirer, 21 June
After Grenfell, clients, designers, contractors, suppliers, etc. need to say 'it is time to change'.
Read about the largest transport project in Norway getting underway.
What the UK can learn from Singapore's smart city.
The 'RICS Red Book' receives an essential update.
'A lethal failure of oversight was going to happen sooner or later', says Owen Hatherley.
All tower block landlords told to undergo tests on ACM cladding.
Have a look at the new project being trialled in Modena that 'eats' the equivalent air pollution of 275 urban trees.
BRE publish new document - Green guide to specification, certified environmental profiles and BREEAM.
Research shows how architects can build professional resilience.
Whatever caused Grenfell, trust needs to be rebuilt.
360-degree video lets you walk through Tunnel Engineering exhibition.
Construction site managers told to review carding policies.
CITB confirms levy rate ahead of consensus vote.
Read about ICE's recent site visit to an ambitious underground railway project underway in Calcutta.
Alok Sharma appointed as planning minister.
Drone footage captured of soon-to-be-demolished Robin Hood Gardens estate.
Theresa May orders full public inquiry into Grenfell Tower fire.
Helping shape Scotland's transport future.
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In depth
[edit] Types of risk in construction
[edit] Risk
Taking a risk involves a hazard combined with volition or will.
Different types of building contract will allocate risk in different quarters. Even if a contract is silent on a particular risk, that risk will still lie with one party or the other.
Wherever risk is shifted from the contractor to the owner, there should be a counterbalancing advantage of price to balance the risk assumed by the owner, and vice versa.
Any discussion about whether or not a particular risk should be included in the price is a discussion of policy, not of ‘fairness’, ‘morality’ or ‘justice’.
[edit] Types of risk in construction projects
The first category of risk is often referred to as 'pure and particular risk'. It includes damage to persons and property (such as fire, storm, water, collapse, subsidence, vibration, etc.)
Contract conditions often make it a contractual obligation to take out insurance cover against these risks.
The second category is 'fundamental risk'. This includes external factors such as: damage due to war, nuclear pollution and supersonic bangs; government policy on taxes, labour, safety or other laws; malicious damage; and industrial disputes.
Such incidents are all the subject of statutory liability and no insurance cover is normally available or needed.
The third category, often referred to as 'speculative risk', is something which can be apportioned in advance as decided by the parties to the contract.
This may include losses in time and money, which result from unexpected ground conditions, exceptionally adverse weather, unforeseeable shortages of labour or materials, and other similar matters beyond the control of the contractor.
There are also risks of losses of time and money due to: delays and disputes (possession of site, late supply of information, inefficient execution of work, etc.); poor direction, supervision or communication; delays in payment; and delay in resolving disputes.