Marathon Man

Adrian Jones from Capita Architecture’s Cardiff studio beat over 50 runners to win the Brentwood Multilap Marathon recently in a remarkable time of 2.55.16

Not only that, he also won a similar race in the Gower, South Wales.

Both races were off-road and much slower than straight road marathons, involving in varied grade and terrain – from slippery mud slopes to sandy dunes to steps and rocky cliff paths (not to mention jumping over stiles).

View Adrian's report on the Gower race

Well done Adrian!

Into the Wilde

On 14th January 2010 Capita Symonds’ Tom Wilde and Mark Morland will be heading off on an 11 day trip which will see them climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Standing at 5,896m above sea level, Mount Kilimanjaro is the world's highest free standing mountain. The breathable oxygen at the top is less than half the amount than is common at sea level and climbers cover at least 80 kilometres unsupported on their journey to the summit and back.

The pair will be joined by nearly 40 colleagues from Capita Group. Each team member has been asked to raise £5,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support which will hopefully create a massive combined total of £200,000!

A number of fundraising events have been taking place, including collections, raffles, bingo nights and bungy jumps. Tom and Mark have also been training in the Lake District (pictured).

Anybody who wishes to support Tom and Mark in raising money for this great cause can do so via their justgiving sites:

www.justgiving.com/tomwilde

www.justgiving.com/Mark-Morland

Developing Talent with Media4Schools

Our Glamorgan office played a key role in the Media4Schools Awards 2009 recently.

Media4Schools is an education based media training initiative where pupils and their teachers are trained in media production skills & techniques. They are then supported and mentored to produce their own programmes via links between the schools and various local businesses.

Glamorgan's involvement with Media4Schools came through working with them to produce a promotional DVD for Capita Symonds Glamorgan – ‘Capita Glamorgan – 1 Year On’. The video can be seen below.

The 'Media4Schools Awards' are used to highlight and acknowledge how the pupils demonstrated their skills, developed their enterprise awareness and helped to raise the profile of their school within the community. The awards categories are based on curriculum-related topics and regional topics of interest which link in with social and community initiatives in their areas.

The Glamorgan office sponsored the ‘Award for Best Community Film’ which was won by Clydach Vale for their film ‘Coal and Community’. Produced with Tonypandy Community College and Cwm Clydach Communities First, the film looks at the Cambrian Mining disaster of 1965, exploring its effects through interviews with members of the community including survivors and rescuers.

Some festive fun - Shootin Sprouts

Capita Symonds presents...................

Shootin' Sprouts! Our fun festive sprout-flinging game.

It's the office Christmas party and you've been served sprouts! Eugh!

Get rid of those evil greens as quickly as possible - using your colleagues as target-practice.

Challenge your friends and try and get to the top of our leader board

Go shoot some sprouts!

Up, up and away

A £1m transformation of a Blackburn primary school has been unveiled with a balloon race.

Griffin Park Primary has been re-modelled as part of a £15m programme of school improvement works across the region. To celebrate, the school hosted an open day for all staff, past and present, children, parents and governors.

A team from our Blackburn office (Su Sealby, Catherine Cramsie, Duncan Clement, Gavin Lang and Ryan Skehan) was responsible for the overall design, project, program and contract management of the construction works which involved remodelling the interior of the school with a new extension housing an improved entrance, reception, offices, circulation, staff and pupil facilities.

The celebrations started with a balloon race, with a prize for the furthest travelling one, followed by a buffet and tour for visitors.

Head teacher Catherine Grady-Clayton said: "The improvement to the buildings has made an amazing impact on the feel of our school. The staff, the children, the parents all comment on how wonderful it looks, and what a fantastic place it now is to work. It has given us a real buzz to work in such a lovely environment, and we all feel very special and very lucky for being part of Griffin ParkSchool."

Councillor Chris Thayne, executive member for children's services, added: "I am delighted to see the work has now been completed. The buildings now do justice to the quality of learning that takes place within. This investment will have a huge impact on helping children to achieve their potential and have a happy, healthy and safe childhood."

Duncan Clement, building surveying manager from Capita Symonds, who led the design team, said: "We understand the importance of creating exciting spaces in which young people can learn and it is a pleasure to know that we are truly benefiting young people in the area."

Work has been completed as part of Blackburn with Darwen's capital programme for 2009/2010, which includes a range of large and smaller projects to improve and develop schools and other buildings.

Cwmbran Road Safety Music Challenge

Our Cwmbran office organised the final of a local Road Safety Music Challenge recently.

Five local comprehensive schools took part, performing compositions on an Anti Drink-Drive theme.

The winners, which were decided by a panel of three judges - Polly James from Nation Radio, Steve Baker from ROSPA and St John Diston from Gwent Music – were:

First: Lewis School Pengam (£250)
Second: Abertillery Comprehensive (£150)
Third: Nantyglo Comprehensive (£100)

The prizes were presented by Chief Superintendent Kevin Price of Heddlu Gwent Police who said, “The high standard and amount of effort put in by these young people is very impressive. They are promoting an important message. For many years we have tried a range of strategies to get the anti drink drive message over. Music is a powerful medium and these musicians are in a position to influence their peer group, families and the wider community. They are our future and I seek their support in getting over this important message.”

Cllr John Evans, Mayor of Caerphilly CBC said: “The standards shown by the students this evening have been absolutely superb. I am glad that I’m not one of the judges as choosing the winner will be very difficult!”

Helen Davidson, project manager of Music Challenge for Capita Symonds said, “Engaging with this age group can be difficult but music has helped the barriers come down. The depth of understanding within the lyrics is very impressive, I am sure none of the performers and their friends will ever drink and drive now.”

The winning band will have the opportunity to record their song at a commercial recording studio. It will also be used as the basis of an advertisement on Nation Radio to promote the All Wales Anti Drink- Drive Campaign.

Winners Lewis Boys School with Cllr John Evans

Be bright, be seen

The Casualty Reduction team from our Blackburn Partnership office have joined forces with Road Safety GB and Think! to keep local young people safe this winter.

Road Safety Officers from Capita Symonds will be delivering ‘Be bright, be seen’ presentations in schools, community centres and mosques across the borough in a bid to reduce the number of injuries on our roads. Posters will also be distributed and displayed at various venues across the region.

Graham Campbell, Casualty Reduction Team Leader, said: “We have seen a 61% reduction in killed or seriously injured road casualties across the borough since 2007. This is great news but there are still pedestrians who are putting themselves in unnecessary danger. Just a few key things can help reduce the risk of being injured, particularly as the evenings become darker and we are working with children to make sure they are fully equipped to use roads safely. “

Councillor Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration and environment, added: "As the nights get darker you have to be especially careful about where and when you cross the road. Look for well lit places, so drivers can spot you more easily. This is about keeping the borough's young people safe so I would urge everyone to heed the advice and 'be bright, be seen.' "

Halloween Record Breaker

Mark Hankin from Capita Symonds’ Barrow office attempted to set the world record for the most tarot readings on Halloween. Mark read for 75 people over the 12 hours, raising over £650 for charity.



He says: “We had a great day and there was a real energy and buzz about the place. The midnight reading was done by electric candle and went very well. After the reading we turned off the candles and had quite a ghostly experience, hearing low breaths and Lisa, the girl who won the midnight reading, felt the breath on her face. She also felt ‘someone’ touch her shoulder three times, we both heard footsteps and I had the sleeve of my shirt pulled. To top it off, I saw two orbs (which some say is light reflecting off dust particles, but when there is no light, how can that be?).

I am in the process of collecting all the evidence for the Guinness Book of World Records and will be sending that off soon. I’m already planning a similar event for the Summer Solstice - I may make that a 24 hour reading marathon.”

Sound Design

IET Faraday (from The Institute of Engineering and Technology) is an exciting year-long programme of resources, activities, competitions and events designed to inspire young people about science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

'Urban Evolution' - this year's theme looks at some of the most innovative structures we live amongst today, as well as what we might have in the future. As part of this theme they have showcased the work undertaken by Capita Symonds' Acoustics team on the O2 in Dublin.

"The Acoustic Engineering team were faced with a daunting challenge – turning the historic Point Theatre in Dublin into a 14,000-seat modern concert venue. The whole site had to be transformed and completely redeveloped from the existing warehouse space into a world-class venue with unparalleled acoustics. The challenge? The building is right in the centre of a residential area – requiring the acoustic team to come up with a solution that means the noise from the newly named O2 Dublin did not exceed its planning licensing limits." Find out more and watch the video on the IET Faraday website

My digital world

Kate Nelson, Principal Sustainability Consultant, Talks about her Digital World.

The original article appears on Building Sustainability Design's website

What is your favourite website?

I am hooked on www.etsy.com – its mission is to reconnect makers with buyers and it has a fantastic shop local function which hooks me into all the UK based designers and artists. As someone who works in responsible procurement, I love the idea of buying one-off, handmade items instead of mass produced goods.

What is your favourite gadget?

It isn’t really a gadget but last year I became a mac user and it was love at first drag and drop.

What’s the most useful website you access for your work?

I recently worked out that the best way to get the latest information was to stop subscribing to email newsletters and follow your favourites on twitter instead. It keeps your inbox clear and you can pick and choose what to follow up on. At the moment I am following Ethical Corporation, Building and the UN Climate Change 09 tweeters.

What was the last track you downloaded?

I am all about spotify.com at the moment where you can listen to most albums for free (legally!) but the last download was Useful Chamber by Dirty Projectors.

What was the subject of the last email you received?

Skittles! We are currently building an intranet for our sustainable design lab which will link our designers, architects, engineers, planners and project mangers together in sharing best practice and developing new tools for our projects. We have been inspired by the skittles website which plugs into twitter, flickr and youtube to generate content which means it is by the people for the people.

Social networking or face-to-face?

Hard to say, I am a fair weather friend of facebook but I can see its potential. At this stage I must say a conversation over a pint of ale is my preference.

Who is your favourite blogger?

My favourite blogger at the moment would have to be my friend Charlotte who is on gastro boot camp at the moment in Ireland - http://chopchop-charlotte.blogspot.com

Charlotte works for Sustain and she has helped me be a more ethical eater particularly when it comes to fish.

What’s been the best link you’ve ever been sent?

www.walkit.com – we are based on Victoria and I find I can walk to all my meetings instead of spending time cooped up in taxis and tubes.

What was the last thing you bought online?

A fruit and veg box from Abel and Cole

What was the funniest piece of spam you ever received?

Spammers have become so lazy so I haven’t had a good piece in ages, but I did hear a funny story about spam which involved a major tunnelling project and a filter which automatically deleted emails which included the word 'shaft'.

Big Gig, Big Cause

Capita Symonds and Capita in Blackburn have joined forces with Blackburn with Darwen Council and the NHS to offer a fantastic night of live music on Friday 16th October.

Bands featuring staff from across the partner organisations will be playing at the BIG gig in Blackburn in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.

Blackburn Landscape Architect Nick Miller and his band - Second Hand Wings - will play tracks from his debut album ‘War of the Roses’. Also playing are local bands ‘shakeys brother’, ‘the majesticks’ and ‘luva gunk’. Tickets are free with fundraising on the night.

Donna Neely, Business Developer from the Blackburn office said "Following the success of the JAM Tribute night earlier this year we decided to hold another music event for our staff and partners. The BIG gig will raise valuable money for Teenage Cancer Trust and showcase some of the finest local talent. All of the bands are fantastic and I hope they receive lots of support from their colleagues on the night!"

Capita Symonds celebrates Ramadan

Capita Symonds and Capita sponsored Blackburn's first ever Chand Raat Festival, held to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

Hundreds of people flocked to Blackburn Market and then to Town Hall Square for the special Eid Festival, which was held the day before Eid-ul-Fitr – the annual celebration ending the Islamic month of fasting.

The finest in Asian produce was on offer with stalls selling a wide range of items from clothes, embroidered material, jewellery, scents, hijabs and purses to foods, accessories, Islamic art, shawls and scarves.

Zunny Dar from Capita Group offered henna painting at her stall (sponsored by Capita). Children from local primary schools were invited to take part in an eid card competition with prizes donated by Capita.

Starchitects

Congratulations to Nicola James, Richard Woods, Lee Griffiths, Kevin Jones, Matthew Richards and Adrian Jones from Capita Architecture’s Cardiff studio who came sixth in the team competition at this year’s Cardiff 10K.

The team donated £250 to Kidney Wales in the process via Katherine Jenkins' appeal: http://www.justgiving.com/katherinejenkins

Southampton staff help with Holy Family school improvements

Staff from Capita Symonds’ Southampton office and Southampton City Council gave up a precious Saturday recently to improve the indoor environment for children at Holy Family School in Millbrook, Southampton.

The project – part of the Business in the Community (BITC) Programme – saw the team tackling a variety of different challenges including redecorating a number of classrooms.

Tony Head, Deputy Headmaster said: “We are enormously grateful for the effort of all those involved. Collaboration such as this between business and schools allows us all to ensure that our children are given the very best learning environment that we can. It’s fantastic to work with other organisations that are as committed to making a difference as we are.”

Pat Smith, BITC Hampshire Area Manager said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with Capita Symonds and Holy Family. Employee volunteering is one of the most important and effective ways that companies can increase their positive impact in the community and leverage a key resource beyond cash.”

Although it resides in one of the most deprived areas of Southampton, the Holy Family Primary School has risen from 30th to 5th in the school league tables in just three years.

Well done and many thanks to everybody involved.

New website

We've launched our new website!

Have a look at www.capitasymonds.co.uk

It's got lots of nice new features, and all new content - we hope you like it.

We'd love to know what you think - so if you have any comments, email us at website.capitasymonds@capita.co.uk

Capita Challenge Video

While we're on the subject of Challenges today, we thought you might be interested to see a little video about the Capita Challenge.

The Capita Challenge is an outdoor activity race bringing together teams of Capita colleagues from across the Group's 250 UK offices and 27,000 staff to compete for the Capita Trophy - raising lots of money for charity in the process.

This year's event took place in Stratford upon Avon, and hence had a Shakespeare theme!

You can also access the video on the YouTube site

Capita Symonds to Compete in Intelligent Sport World Series Final

Capita Symonds will be the sole representative for the UK construction industry at the Intelligent Sport World Series Final in Portugal.

The Intelligent Sport World Series comprises 12 annual corporate challenge events on six continents – including the Microsoft Challenge. These events culminate in the World Series Final in December where the top teams from each event will go head-to-head in the ultimate showcase of team performance. The event will take place in Geopark Naturtejo da Meseta Meridional in central Portugal.

Two teams from Capita Symonds recently took place in the Microsoft Challenge in the Cambrian Mountains in Mid Wales. They did well achieving 21st and 27th place, but narrowly missed out on a place in the final. Of course they were disappointed, but a sigh of relief went out across the team at the thought of no more training.

However their luck changed (for the better or worse?) when they received a phone call explaining that there was now a place available and would they like to take part!

So now we’re back in the game!

We’ve decided to create a Capita Symonds ‘super-team’, by picking the five strongest members of both Capita Symonds’ original teams. The squad will be training hard in the run up to the event and will be entering a number of adventure races and other physical events, to up their fitness and build on the lessons learnt in Wales.

Only 30 teams from across the world have been invited, and made up from the qualifiers from the USA, South Africa, Europe and the Far East. We will be competing against organisations such as Airbus and the US Air Force.

Good luck!

Find out more about the Intelligent Sport World Series at http://is.challengerworldresults.com/

Pryke on his bike

Andrew Pryke, Capita Architecture’s Design Director, and Capita Symonds’ Andrew Wheldon completed the King Sturge Property Triathlon at Dorney Lake, Eaton, recently.

The Property Triathlon is now in its third year and has already firmly established itself as one of the top five UK triathlons by size. Co-sponsored by Property Week, the event to date has raised over £500,000 for charity and has seen more than 3,500 people take part.

This year’s event included a 750m open water swim, 12 mile bike ride and three mile run. Andrew chalked up a time of 1 hr 15min 3 sec, putting him in eight place out of over 100 in the 45-49 year old category, 16th out of approximately 220 in the 40-49 category, and 97th out of 1155 overall.

Andrew Wheldon notched up a highly respectable time of 1 hour 30 min 15 sec.

Well done to both Andrews!

Blogs, Twitter, social networking: your new business tools

The construction industry is proving that social media and digital marketing is not just for consumer brands - with a wide variety of businesses now turning to digital channels to promote their business and communicate with potential clients.

Construction Manager magazine has pulled together some thoughts and tips from industry professionals including how to use Twitter, LinkedIn and Blogs.

• Read the full article on the Construction Manager website

......and we're mentioned in there too! ;-)

Carlisle Staff Give a Helping Hand

A team of volunteers from our Carlisle office recently renovated a local garden for a charity in Harker. Ten members of Capita Symonds staff took part in the project over two half days at Heathlands Farm, part of the Glenmore Trust.

The site is run by Glenmore Opportunities, a Social Enterprise that provides support and development for adults with disabilities.The users at the centre outlined what they wanted in the garden, which was designed by landscape architect David Richards, including plants to attract butterflies, something to deter rabbits, and a gnome.

After weeding, the volunteers completed the garden with a tidy up of the overgrown site, and adding new plants. Plans for the future of the Glenmore site include a tea room, farm shop and nature trails.

David Richards said: “All of the volunteers are really happy with how the garden has turned out. We put in a lot of hard work and we are delighted that the day centre users at Glenmore have a nice front garden they can enjoy throughout the year.”

The garden renovation is part of the Carlisle office’s ongoing Community Engagement plan which it is hoped will take on larger projects in the future.

Before

The volunteers

The finished article

Thank you to all the volunteers!

Capita Bobrowski engineers Goodwood Festival of Speed sculpture for 5th time.

Capita Bobrowski (our structural engineering brand) provided structural engineering design services for the spectacular central sculpture at last weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

This year's innovative display was sponsored by Audi in its centenary year, and was designed especially for the event by renowned sculptor Gerry Judah. Celebrating Audi’s achievements in motorsports, the sculpture features the legendary 1937 Auto Union Streamliner and the recently launched R8 V10 sports car at either end of a dramatic 'swoosh' of tyre tracks, as if they are driving off into the sky.

Although the 44 tonne, 32metre high structure is entirely fabricated from steel, Capita Bobrowski utilised in-house software that was originally written for tensile fabric to provide the complex cutting patterns needed for the steel plates that are welded to the central core tube.

Have a look at pictures of the sculpture on Flickr

Capita Bobrowski were also involved in the last 4 sculptures at the event:

• 2008 - Land Rover
• 2007 - Toyota
• 2006 - Renault
• 2005 - Honda

Urban Vision Staff lend a helping hand to St Anne's Hospice

Eight members of our Urban Vision team in Salford took part in a gardening project at St Ann’s Hospice recently.

The hospice – Urban Vision’s chosen charity for 2009 – is the largest hospice in Greater Manchester and provides specialist care for people who have progressive and life-threatening illnesses – as well as support for their carers and families.

With summer approaching, the aim of the day was to dramatically improve the gardens and outdoor break areas for the patients and their families. A couple of hours of mowing, digging and planting transformed the hospice’s surroundings, much to the delight of Andy, the hospice’s caretaker!

The volunteers insisted that they’ll be back again next year with their gardening gloves and spades in tow.

Back row: Paul Clayden, Cathy Mitchell, Toni Bullen, Stephen Lawton.
Front row: Amanda Cordina, Hayley Watson.

Links:

• Go to the St Anne's Hospice Website
• Find out more about Urban Vision
• Go to the Urban Vision website

New edition of Renewal

Just to let you all know, the latest version of our update magazine Renewal is now online.

Click on the front cover, below, to open:

In this edition: News, school security, M6 Extension, the green economy, Shuttleworth College, Hoddinott Hall, urban trees

Mountian Bike Trail Design Service Launched

We like a bit of variety here at Capita Symonds, especially when it comes to the services we offer. And now we have even more exciting expertise to offer!

Our Countryside Management team has just launched a new service - designing mountain bike trails, in conjunction with internationally renowned mountain bike course sculptor Phil Saxena and specialist contractor Dinsdale Moorland services.

Links:

• Find out more about the new service
• 'Meet' Phil Saxena

Video:

Watch riders in action on the Phil Saxena designed Pietermaritzburg course in South Africa

Success for Capita Symonds at the 2009 Microsoft Challenge.

2 teams from Capita Symonds took part in this years Microsoft Challenge. The challenge is one of the UK’s most gruelling corporate events and this year was held in the Cambrian mountains near Aberystwyth, Wales.

Our teams, lead by Tom Davies and John Kinnear from the East Grinstead office, finished 21st and 27th out of 93 teams. The teams were drawn from across the business with individuals from Procter Street, Fetter Lane, Carlisle, Sefton, Blackburn, Cheadle Hulme and Manchester.

The challenge involved 8 stages spread over 4 days and nights including mountain biking, pentango (a strategic board game), running, canoeing and constructing a device to retrieve an egg from behind a barrier 8 ft away! All of the stages were extremely complex and required a great deal of planning and strategic thinking in addition to the physical element in order to score well.

As part of the challenge teams had to raise money for the NSPCC and between our teams we managed to raise a total of over £3,400 for the charity through a combination of personal sponsorship, selling raffle tickets and matched funding from Capita Group. The grand total for the event was more than £435,000 for the NSPCC, resulting in an emotional speech of thanks from Sir Christopher Kelly (chairman of the NSPCC) at the prize giving ceremony.

Our MD (and team member) Jonathan Goring commented on the event that:
“The bond of teamwork was immense and the way everyone supported others before themselves drove us all to find new reserves. Thanks to all of the team members for making us all proud ”

The teams would like to thank all their colleagues, family and friends for their generous encouragement and support in helping them work towards their fundraising target for NSPCC.

We are planning to enter more adventure races and other outdoor events throughout the year and all Capita Symonds staff are welcome to join the fun. Our ambition is to send both a mens and a mixed team to next year’s Microsoft Challenge event in Aviemore, Scotland.

A BIG THANKS to everyone who took part and everyone who donated!

You can still make a donation - go to www.justgiving.com/teamcapitasymonds

Have a look at the photos:

Photos from the Microsoft Challenge

View more OpenOffice presentations from CapitaSymonds.

Capita Symonds works on Take That's stage set

We've worked on some really interesting and varied projects recently.

And they don't get much more exciting than helping to create the stage set for a massive arena tour! We provided structural engineering advice on the stage sets for the Take That's current 'Circus' tour which opened in Sunderland.

Director Malcolm Richards worked closely with set builders Brilliant Stages and artistic designer Mark Fisher.

The action-packed show features jugglers, clowns, trapeze artists, tightrope walkers and drummerboys and a huge red big top tent. The pièce de résistance is a huge silver elephant which carries the boys (or should we call them men now?!) across the stage.

The tour continues with dates in Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester and London. See Take That's website for more details.

The team also provided structural engineering advice for AC/DC's 'Black Ice' tour, which has dates in London, Glasgow and Dublin this month.

Find out more:

A full article, including an interview with Malcolm Richards can be found in this week's Building Magazine (issue 23 - 12.06.09)

Links:

• Read more on Building's website (the article mentioned above, minus the interview with Malcolm Richards)
• Look at pictures from the tour on Flickr
• Watch clips of the stage show on YouTube
• Go to Take That's official website
• Got to the Careers in Engineering supplement of The Telegraph - featuring Malcolm Richards, and the AC/DC tour
• See the AC/DC tour dates

Have a look at the elephant in action:

Health and Safety Don'ts

We all know Health and Safety is something to be taken very seriously in the workplace and on-site. So check out these photos on how NOT to do it:

Go to Construction Space's Rogues Gallery

Please don't attempt any of these!

PS - we can offer excellent Health and Safety training as well as Leisure and Event safety Consultancy. (And you are ever unfortunately enough to suffer an accident, we offer a Health and Safety Expert Witness service.)

Teams complete COINS 3 Peaks Challenge

Two teams from Capita Symonds’ recently took part (with 40 other teams) in the 'COINS 3 Peaks Challenge’ raising a total of £16,000.

Our teams were made up from memebers of the Church Village Bypass Construction Partnership. Capita Symonds’ Glamorgan office is providing client support, project management (in accordance with NEC 3) and site supervisor duties on the £90m Church Village scheme. They work alongside the project’s contractor Costain and designer Atkins.

The annual COINS 3 Peaks challenge sees teams of four walkers and two drivers climb the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales in just 24 hours. The event begins at Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands, moving to Scafell Pike in the Lake District, and ends at the foot of Snowdon in North Wales.

All funds raised go to projects supported by the COINS foundation which builds schools, hospitals and homes in areas of greatest poverty and need.

Liane Sheppard, Director of the Glamorgan office says: “The integrated team on the Church Village Bypass is an excellent example of partnership working to deliver what is a highly complex project. Events such as the COINS 3 Peaks Challenge really help us develop these key relationships even further.”

• Got to the the COINS 3 Peaks Challenge Website
  
• Read the COINS 3 Peaks Challenge Blog
  
• View the finish line photos

Liane Sheppard - a role model for women in the construction industry.

Liane Sheppard, Director of our Glamorgan partnership, has been recognised as a role model for women in the construction industry by ConstructionSkills Wales (the skills council for the construction industry).

At a recent awards ceremony Liane was praised for her role in running the Glamorgan partnership, her work in forging links with the local business community, and the key part she plays in the ICE and ConstructionSkills Construction Ambassador programme which aims to encourage more young people to consider a career in the industry. She is also chairwoman of the Ace Wales Progress Network and secretary for the Wales ICE executive committee. And has a black belt in karate! (So a very busy lady indeed!)

Wyn Prichard, director of ConstructionSkills Wales, said: “Women continue to be under-represented in both the craft and professional sectors of the Welsh construction industry, so it is great to be able to celebrate the success of women such as Liane. She is a credit to the industry and her commitment to the development and the future of construction is also highly commendable.”

Welsh Assembly Member Christine Chapman said: “If we are to break down the barriers and dispel the myth that construction is a male-only profession, it is women like Liane who will act as important ambassadors and role models, for those young women who wish to enter the industry. Their input is essential if we are to fill the skills gap and get the economy moving again.”

A massive "well done" Liane (again!)

Links:

• Institute of Civil Engineers
• ConstructionSkills
• ACE

Capita Lovejoy's plans chosen for Golden Square, Birmingham

Birmingham City Council has unveiled plans for a £1.5 million public square in the city’s Jewellery Quarter. Capita Lovejoy's designed were picked from a shortlist of 6.
Read the coverage:
Property Week
on PlanningResource.co.uk
The Birmingham Post

Capita Architecture - 5th in UK

Capita Architecture has been named the UK's 5th biggest practice by The Architect's Journal.

Find out more below

• View the AJ100
• Some stats about Capita Architecture
• An interview with Rob Firth

Go to Capita Architecture's website

Wimbledon rain raises a cheer

The Wimbledon roof had it's first official outing this weekend, at a special event put on to 'open' (and close) the court's latest addition.

Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters played whilst, as if on cue, the skys opened, and the roof closed!

All four players expressed delight at the new roof, and the crowd certainly agreed.

Read more about the event, and see pictures on the Sky News website

Capita Symonds provided structural engineering consultancy on the project.

Prince Charles gives speech to RIBA

Further to all the discussions over the last few days, you can now see for yourself what Prince Charles had to say at the RIBA yesterday. (And make up your own mind).

Go to the Building Design website to read coverage, opinions and the full transcript.

Read some reactions on The Architects' Journal website

You can also watch the coverage from Channel 4 News:

A right Charlie?

Prince Charles is once again causing a stir in the world of Architecture.

HRH the Prince of Wales, an advocate of ‘traditional’ architecture, is to address the Royal Institute of British Architects tonight, to urge them that they must build to last and put the needs of people first.

The topic itself could provoke opinion, but the speech comes at a time when he has already been accused of meddling with plans for the Chelsea Barracks development in London, not to mention the last time he was at the RIBA 25 years ago, he famously described plans for the National Gallery as a ‘monstrous carbuncle’.

A number of Architects are now threatening to boycott the event.

Royal meddling or a valuable opinion? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Find out what people are saying:

• See what people are saying on Twitter
• Adam condemns RIBA boycott of Prince Charles lecture - Country Life
• Since when was the Prince of Wales a pillar of democracy? - Blueprint Magazine
• Architects to hear Prince appeal - BBC
• Charles Tells Architects: Put People First - Sky News
• Top architects urge boycott of Prince Charles speech – Building magazine
• Prince Charles RIBA Speech Revealed - Building Magazine
• Architects call for boycott of Prince of Wales RIBA lecture – The Architects Journal
• Should Prince Charles criticise modern architecture? - BBC - 'Have your say'
  
  

Renewal - Capita Symonds' magazine

Did you know we produced our own update magazine?

Well we do.....and it's called Renewal.

Twice a year we'll keep you up to date with our latest news and projects, as well as giving you an insight into some of the key issues affecting our industry today.

The next issue is due later this month, but if you just can't wait, you can see previous copies via the links below:

Issue 8: Corporate UK goes green, Noise at work regulations, Designing our crime, Reducing child road casualties, leading the regeneration debate

Issue 7: News, Sustainability, acquisitions, school design, new rail service, eco-towns, waste

Issue 6: News, zero-carbon, flood prevention, Wembley Stadium, hospital design, ecology, Philippines, landfill allowance

Issue 5: News, sustainability, climate change and security, Paddington Bridge, microsimulation, superbugs, quarry dewatering

Other issues can be found on our website

If you like to talk to us about any of the news stories or issues covered in Renewal please contact Karl Blockwell, Communications Manager.

These and other Capita Symonds publications can also be found on Yudo: Link to our library:

Engineer completes Rideway 40 challenge

Jeff Ware, a Principal Mechanical Engineer at Capita Symonds’ Southampton office, completed the ‘Ridgeway 40’ walk for charity over the weekend.

The walk covers a massive 40 miles from Overton Hill near Avebury in Wiltshire to Streatley in Berkshire along Britain’s oldest road - the ancient Ridgeway track.

Jeff is raising funds for the Anthony Nolan Trust to provide a bone marrow transplant register to help people suffering from leukaemia.

You can still sponsor Jeff: https://www.anthonynolanevents.org.uk/JeffWare

More information:
Go to the Ridgeway 40 Website or
Find out more about the route on the National Trail's website

Capita Symonds Technician creates showcase 3D construction animation

Mark Cronin’s, an Architectural Technician in Capita Symonds’ Carlisle office, has impressed top international software company Autodesk with a 3D animation of an eco-friendly house so much that they are now showcasing his work to students throughout Europe and the United States.

Mark's been using Autodesk’s 3D modelling software to illustrate the construction process of an eco-friendly urban dwelling as part of his part-time BSc (Hons) in Architectural Technology programme at Northumbria University.

Mark says: “Architectural animations are a fantastic way of conveying information, as the movement in animation helps put what is being seen into perspective. They transform the architectural drawing and portray the designer’s concept in a way that is much clearer and more understandable for the client. Some of the techniques used in cutting edge architectural animations are borrowed from the film industry and the same software packages are now standard in both industries which means clients are continuously expecting more exciting and realistic animations.”

Mark used Autodesk 3ds Studio Max for his animation and enjoyed working with a film industry standard tool to communicate fast track construction. His building is based on his own conceptual design of an eco friendly urban dwelling. The simple design uses fast track construction materials such as a steel frame and precast concrete floor beams, as well as secondary cold rolled steel framing with timber and render cladding systems.

He adds: “The concrete roof and floor are designed to help the building retain thermal mass, assisting in the heating and cooling of the building. Its under floor heating would ideally connect to a district heating system powered by a bio-mass boiler and it would feature the latest generation black silicon photovoltaic panels to harness renewable energy. There would also be rain water harvesting and a green roofing system – all of which can be clearly visualised and understood by a client through the 3d animation of the construction process.”

Margaret Horne is a Principal Lecturer and Director of the Built Environment Visualisation Centre at Northumbria University’s School of the Built Environment. She said: “Clients are increasingly seeking energy efficient, durable, low maintenance and cost effective buildings that incorporate new materials and innovative construction techniques. The role of the Architectural Technologist is to resolve detailed design issues within an increasingly multidisciplinary context and computer visualisation skills are essential to support this.”

“Mark has produced an outstanding animation which has captured the attention of one of the world’s leading companies in this increasingly important, and specialised, field and we are especially pleased that his exemplary piece of work is being showcased to other students in a drive to raise the understanding, knowledge and ability of a new generation of construction specialists,” she adds.

Have a look at Mark's impressive animation below:

Free Tree Seminar

The Trees and Design Action Group - of which Capita Lovejoy is a founding member - has organised a free seminar to discuss the issues surrounding trees and planning.

The event takes place at Barcham Trees near Ely in Cambridgeshire, the largest container tree nursery in Europe:

Date: 20th May 2009
Venue: Barcham Trees Plc, Eye Hill Drove, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5XF
Bookings: Jules Baird, Barcham Trees, T: 01353-720748 E: jules@barchamtrees.co.uk

A word of thanks from Jam tribute band

Over 100 Capita Symonds staff turned out to see Lindsay Carroll from Capita Symonds' Blackburn office play a charity gig for Macmillan Cancer Support recently.

Lindsay’s band - "Snap! The Sound of the Jam" - pays homage to the songs (and spirit) of one of the UK’s most important and influential rock bands of the last 30 years.

Lindsay said: "Thanks very much to everyone who came along to Blakey’s Bar on the 17th April to support SNAP! and Macmillan Cancer Support. It was the first time the lads and I had played in Lancashire and it definitely won’t be the last, you guys really know how to enjoy yourself and you’re a joy to play to!”

“A special mention of thanks needs to go to the staff at King Georges Hall who couldn't have been more friendly and accommodating, Donna Neely and Andy Hawthorne for their organisational skills and Martin, Gemma, Karen, Nick and Sharon for collecting all the lovely cash on the night - we raised almost £600! All I had to do was shout and strum, it was great fun!” he adds.

Find out more about the band on their myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/snapjamtribute or http://www.snapjamtribute.co.uk/

And a special thanks must go to Lindsay and his band for all their efforts!

Westminster Accademy Video on BBC

BBC have added a video on their website featuring the Westminster Accademy, which Capita Symonds project managed. Watch the video below.



Go to the full article on the BBC's website

Capita Symonds helps the summer festivities

This year we're working on some really exciting projects that are helping us get into the summer-vibe, including sporting venues and festivals.

Find out about just a small selection of the projects we're currently working on:

• Henley Festival and Regatta
• Relentless Boardmasters Festival
• Wimbledon Centre Court
• Epsom Down's Racecourse
• The Grand National (as part fo our partnership with Sefton Council)

And watch this space, there'll be plenty more we're involved in across the summer!

Wales Millennium Centre photo challenge

In honour of it's 5th birthday, the Wales Millennium Centre are encouraging budding photographers to submit their photos of the centre.

Each month will have a different theme:

• May: Warm Welsh Welcome
• June: Moving
• July: Belonging
• August: Heritage
• September: Celebrate

Photos should be submitted via the 'Celebrating 5' Flickr Group

To find out more go to the WMC website

The WMC, and the later addition the BBC Hoddinott Hall were both designed by Capita Architecture (and their previous incarnations).

Find out more about our involvement in the project:
BBC Orchestra gets a new home
Official opening for Wales Millennium Centre

Below are the photos submitted so far:




Happy 5th Birthday!!

Video: Liverpool 1 - Building's Project of the Year

Building magazine have recently posted a video about the award winning Liverpool 1 development on Paradise Street - where 25 architects designed over 30 new buildings for Gosvenor. Grosvenor's Rod Holmes gives a tour: Watch the video

Teams from Capita Symonds’ London, Liverpool, Altrincham, Colwyn Bay, Carlisle and East Grinstead offices provided Transport Planning, Health & Safety, CDM, and Highway and Public Realm Design services on the scheme which covers 42 acres in the heart of Liverpool city centre.

More coverage on the Wimbledon roof

Inhabitat.com (a weblog devoted to sustainable design and Architecture) has posted an article about the Wimbledon roof and some of it's sustainable aspects e.g. did you know the roofing farbric is fully recycleable?

Read the Wimbledon article on inhabitat.com

Or just have a look at their blog

Structures team works on Wimbledon's Centre Court roof

You've probably seen all the coverage of Wimbledon's new retractable roof in the media today - but did you know Capita Symonds provided Structural Engineering services on the project? (Well now you do!)

The retractable roof will bring an end to washed-out games – and potentially Cliff Richard's singalongs! (Cliff famously entertained the crowd when rain stopped play in 1996).

Find out more about the project on our website

View a video of how the roof works, below (taken from www.building.co.uk)

Capita Symonds advises on Boardmasters Festival

Capita Symonds will be providing Event Safety consultation for the Relentless Boardmasters Festival - a surf, skate and music festival in Newquay, Cornwall - 5th - 9th August.

Read the full article on our website

Photo courtesy of Relentless

Capita Architecture's Rob Morgan discusses off-site production techniques...

....in a recent article, "Out of site, not mind" for Construction News

Find out more, read the article on Construction News' website