1. data
Information Sheet 2/2007 – 12th
January 2007
Project Management | Cost Management | Management Consulting | Legal Support | Specification Consulting | Engineering Services | Property Tax & Finance
1. London rents
As part of DTZ’s tenth annual Global Office
Occupancy Costs (GOOCs) Survey, published
this week, London’s West End has retained its
position as the world’s most expensive office
location. Hong Kong and Paris were second and
third with London (City) ranked fourth. The survey
was carried out across 131 business districts in 46
countries worldwide.
www.dtz.com January 2007
2. The year ahead
A month by month overview of the major changes
expected in the industry in 2007. Amongst them is
the introduction of revised Construction (Design
and Management) Regulations in April this year
and the release of the ODA’s Olympic budget in
their corporate plan and the detailed design for the
stadium.
New Civil Engineer 11-01-07 pp12-14
3. I can manage
An article that reviews what happens when a
manager takes over a new post or division.
According to the author, the taking charge
process follows five predictable stages: taking
hold, immersion, reshaping, consolidation and
refinement all characterized by alternating periods
of intense learning and then action. The study’s
results remove the myth that an all-purpose general
manager can be used in any situation.
Harvard Business Review January 2007 pp104-117
The importance of networking as an essential
activity for an ambitious manager. Defined as the
creation of personal contacts to provide feedback
support, insight and resources, the study identifies
three distinct types. Operational networking
facilitates work and will usually involve colleagues,
personal networking enhances self advancement
and strategic networking facilitates business goals.
The latter is seen to be employed by those with
natural leadership skills.
Harvard Business Review January 2007 pp40-47
4. Breath of fresh air
British scientists have developed an air-purification
technology that claims to offer protection against
viruses such as MRSA and bird flu. When tested at
government laboratories it was found to kill
99.9999% of a test virus in five minutes. The
system is said to be the most important
development in air quality engineering in the last
50 years.
The Sunday Times Business 7-01-07 p.33
5. Leading the way
An award-winning project to redevelop a run down
estate in the heart of Chicago has become an
exemplary model for the future of sustainable,
affordable and green urban planning. Renamed
Park Boulevard the project replaces eight high-rise
blocks, built in 1958, with mixed-income low-rise
housing. The entire scheme was planned financed
and constructed by private developers whilst being
subject to a community consensus-building
process.
RICS Business January 2007 pp36-38
6. Heating up
A summit convened by the Home Builders
Federation and attended by CABE, Ofgem, RICS
and housing minister Yvette Cooper, amongst
others, has resulted in immediate action for plans to
review the future of local energy markets. Other
issues raised were the establishment of a project
database, new targets for green homes and a
better definition of a zero carbon home.
Building 12-01-07 p.13
A new environmental taskforce has been formed
through the Confederation of British Industry.
Members come from 17 of Britain’s largest
companies such as Willie Walsh, British Airways
chief executive and James Smith, chairman of Shell
UK. Headed by BT chief executive Ben Verwaayen
the team will take the Stern Report as their starting
point.
Financial Times 12-01-07 p.4

2. Information Sheet 2/2007 – 12th
January 2007
For further information please contact - E: the.library@davislangdon.com
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for inspection at MidCity Place, 71 High Holborn, London WC1V 6QS, the firm’s
principal place of business and registered office.
Davis Langdon LLP is a member firm of Davis Langdon & Seah International,
with offices in: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Spain, Poland,
Lebanon, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Brunei, China, Hong
Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand,
Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Botswana and the USA
7. People and companies
An interview with the new chief executive of
Partnerships for Schools, Tim Byles, that looks at
how the former local authority bureaucrat aims to
lead the £45bn reconstruction of Britain’s
secondary schools building stock.
Building 12-01-07 pp32-34
Head of British Land, Stephen Hester, talks about
his first two years at Britain’s second-biggest
quoted property company and how the company’s
move to modern offices will bring it in line with its
new dynamic image.
The Sunday Times 7-01-07 p.7
8. News in brief
• The Bank of England has shocked financial
markets this week by raising interest rates a
further quarter point to 5.25%, the third rise in
six months.
Financial Times 12-01-07 p.1
• Developer Westfield has submitted a detailed
masterplan and environmental strategy for
Stratford City, the regeneration project that will
form a key part of East London’s Olympic
legacy.
Building 12-01-07 p.11
• Unions representing Britain’s nuclear industry
workers have called for urgent government talks
to discuss a shortfall in funding to the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority.
The Guardian 8-01-07 p.23
• The government has launched a drive to secure
better value for the £3bn it currently spends on
external management consultants every year,
urging permanent secretaries to use civil service
staff where possible.
Financial Times 9-01-07 p.3
• Research carried out by a Chinese government
environmental watchdog has warned that
China’s fastest growing cities will not be able to
cope with refuse production by 2020.
The Guardian 10-01-07 p.17
9. Davis Langdon jobs
Britain’s first exhibition on the cold war opens next
month in the purpose built, £12.3m RAF museum
in Cosford. Designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley
Architects the hangar-style building houses two
Soviet Mig fighters beside three of Britain’s nuclear
V-bombers.
The Guardian 9-01-07 p.9
The National Waterfront Museum, Swansea has
scooped a top Regeneration Award for the best
design-led regeneration project in the UK.
Designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects the museum
was also officially handed an award from the Royal
Institute for British Architects (RIBA) for its
architecture and design.
www.swanseafutures.co.uk 5-12-06
…costs
Davis Langdon Mott Green Wall review the latest
available wireless technology for building
management systems together with its potential
application, benefits and cost.
Building Services Journal January 2007 pp50-52
…people
In Davis Langdon's latest feature on sustainability,
Simon Rawlinson discusses how the business
case for investment in sustainable offices is
changing and examines appropriate sustainability
strategies. The article also discusses how the gap
between expected and actual sustainability
performance can be closed through action during
design, construction, commissioning and operation.
A case study discusses how a tenant was able to
introduce significant sustainability enhancements
into an office scheme as part of a pre-let deal.
Building 12-01-07 pp54-58
10. Information received
1. The Building Regulations Part B, Volume 1 –
Dwellinghouses. TSO. December 2006
2. The Building Regulations Part B, Volume 2 –
Buildings other than Dwellinghouses. TSO.
December 2006