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.' "

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

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

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

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:

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.

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:

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:

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!

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

The importance of securing an education

An opinion piece concerning school security, by Kevin Shieber of Capita Symonds’ Security team recently appeared in Construction News:

Read the article in full on the Capita Symonds website

Sustainable solutions brochure

For all those at Ecobuild or interested in sustainability, we've produced a new Capita Symonds Sustainable solutions brochure.

Find out more about our experience and expertise - view our Sustainable solutions brochure

Update from Ecobuild

It was a great day at Ecobuild yesterday - with the Capita Symonds' theatre packed for every session.

Don't forget to catch Rob Firth, Head of Architecture, today talking about "Building Zero Carbon Schools" today at 12:00.

• Follow Kate Nelson's Ecobuild updates on Twitter (Kate is Capita Symonds' Principle Sustainability consultant - kate.nelson@capita.co.uk)
• See what people are saying about Ecobuild on Twitter
• Watch Boris Johnson talk about his green vision for London
• Watch Alastair Campbell at Ecobuild
  

Here are a few photos from yesterday:

New Education Brochure

We've produced a new education brochure - "Building better futures", showcasing our expertise and experience in the Education sector.

There's some really great case studies, including schools, colleges and academies we've worked on, have a look:

Building better futures