Construction industry
Introduction
Architecture has evolved over the years. There are various periods in the history of architectural that has evolved with every period having its own styles distinct from the previous building. Therefore, the architecture industry in British has evolved. Some of the important architectural periods that have contributed and defined Britain architecture include medieval, classical, Victorian and modern. This paper seeks to elaborate on various buildings in these periods, present the current construction nature and structure of the industry and identify the contributions of project managers in the construction process
Part 1: Types of building during various architectural periods
Medieval architecture
There were different forms of architecture styles that were developed during this period. One of the buildings that characterized this period was the white Tower. This building was the earliest castle in London that was built by stone. The building was also referred to as to Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress. The building was commissioned by William the conqueror in 1078[1]. The building main purpose when it was constructed was to serve as a palace for her majesty. However, this was not to be as it was turned into a den of infliction and oppression. The building was turned into prison by the new ruling elite that came into power[2]. Apart from these roles, it has also served as a treasury, armory, menagerie, and a public records office, a home of the royal mint as well as a home of the crown Jewels of UK. The building was also used to store ammunitions and as hostage of the offenders. Currently the building is used as one of the most popular tourist attraction center in UK. The building is viewed as a world heritage site hence still significance building to the people of UK.
Features of the building
White tower was the most magnificent forms of architecture during this medieval period. It was built on the river Thames and it was made of three enclosures of wards. The innermost phase was the realists to be constructed as it contained the white Tower[3]. The second ward was inner and was constructed during the reign of Richard the Lionherat while the outermost ward was constructed under the leadership of Edward I. The building was provided with space for expansions but since the first expansion under Edward I in 1285, there has been no more expansion on the building. The building sits on 12 acres of land with addition 6 acres surrounding the tower London. The original building was a three stored building with a height of 27 meters with a base measuring 36 by 32 meters[4]. This measurement is an exclusion of the projecting corner towers. The building has basement floor, entrance door and an upper floor. Every floor has there chambers. The building was mainly built with Kentish rag stone, with local mudstone and timbers. However, there have been various alterations that have been done on the building. It has been replaced with Portland stones during the 17th and 18th century[5]. The windows were also enlarged from their original size; it was also terraced into a mound. The floors and the interior parts of the house have also been altered as timber vaults have been replaced with bricks.
White tower building
Classical architecture
Classical architectural designs are types of architecture that was derived from the Roman and Greek architecture. There is no significant date that specifies the beginning or the end of this era. One of the buildings built during this era was Colosseum. This building was built at the centre of the Rome city. The building was commissioned by Emperor Vespasian in the 70 AD. It was one of the world’s largest amphitheatres that brought together various Roman engineers and architecture. The building was made of stones and concrete. Upon its commissioning, the building was completed in 80 AD by Titus who was Vespasian heir. The building was used for various purposes. This included, executions, drama, reenactments of famous battles, mock sea battles, public spectacles, gladiatorial contests and animal hunts among many others
Features
This was one of the largest buildings during the period. It has a sitting capacity of 50,000 spectators. The building is different from most of the Greek theaters as it stands freely. The building is 189 meters long, 156 meters wide sitting on a base of 6 acres. The building outer wall is 48 meters[6]. The exterior part of the building has various entrances and windows that surround the entire building. Since its original construction, the building has undergone various alterations. The building has been ruined by the devastating earthquakes and stone robbers that have contributed to its poor status[7]. During the 6th century the building was altered as a small church was built in the amphitheatre. Spaces under the seating were also converted into workshops and housing for people. The building was also altered and some of the spaces were used to set up hospitals and wool factory[8]. Currently the building is used as a tourist attraction site. Many people from all walks of life visit the site to observe the building because of its historic significance.
Colosseum building
Victorian architecture
This style was exhibited during the mid and late 19th century. The name Victoria was used in reference to the reign of Queen Victoria who was born in 1837 and died in 1901[9]. Therefore, it is during this period that Victorian styles were used in construction of many building. This style became popular during her reign and it adopted some of the historical styles that were mixed with the Middle East and Asia styles. There are many buildings that were constructed during this period in UK. One of them was the Manchester Town Hall.
This building was built in England. Its construction began in 1868 after the laying of its foundation stone on 26 October by lord mayor Robert Neil. The building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse. The building was completed in 1877 after taking nine years[10]. It took 14 million blocks to complete the building. The building was used to house various government departments. The building a triangular site that faces the Albert square and has grand memorials as well as office such as the great hall. It is also decorated with Manchester murals that depict the history of the city[11]. The sculpture hall and the entrance has statues and busts of influential figures such as those of Joule, Dalton and Barbirolli the building is 85 meter tall and has six floors.
The exterior part of the building has clocks tower that rises up to 87 meter. There are some alterations and additions that have been made to the building. In 1938, a detached town hall expansion was completed and it connects to the main building with two covered bridges that crosses over the, Lloyd Street. Some of the features of gothic revival styles of architectures are also exhibited in the design of this building such as tall arched windows and low rib vault ceilings. The exterior part of the building is made up of hard sandstone and Spinkwell stone while the interior is painted with various colors.
Manchester Town Hall
Modern
Modern architecture in the most recent or rather the current styles in architecture. This style is simple in form and it has few or lacks applied decorations. This style of architecture begun in 20th century with the aim or reconciling principles of design using technological advancements and the modernization of the society. One example of the building that was constructed during this period is the Kings place. This building is found at the kings cross in London. It hosts various businesses that provide various services to the people such as visual arts and music. The building has seven office floor spaces, a location that hosts guardian newspaper and a network rail headquarter[12]. The building also hosts the London bass office of Logical which is a global IT and management consultancy company.
The building was build under the architect of Dixon Jones. It was started in 2005 and was completed in October 2008. The building design and materials are of high quality. It was built factoring in the requirements of urban center as well as considering environmental impact. Hall one of the buildings which is the main concert hall is build within a building which gives it a acoustic separation from the rest of the building[13]. This building sits on rubber springs, the structural columns are designed in a way that they allow the curtains to be drawn between the walls and the columns to modify the amplified music or the acoustic for speech[14]. The building has wavy glass that runs along the west facing York way frontage. These glasses are important because they help to reduce heat gain and also make the building look beautiful and distinctive.
Kings place building
Part II: Characteristics of the UK construction industry
Construction is an important sector in UK. The sector as defined by BERR and it encompasses a range of different activities which covers the whole construction supply chain. It includes quarrying, mining, production and sale of material and products[15]. The UK structure industry also covers construction contracting including, repair and maintenance, large scale civil engineering and house building[16]. Professional services offered include, architectural, mechanical, and electrical design, structural and project management.
The UK construction company is highly fragmented by both domestic and international standards and sectors. The industry has more than 270,000 active enterprises. Most of the company are one man operations and employ fewer than 10 workers. There are many construction companies and this therefore, has limited the markets as the highest or the largest company Balfour Beatty only holds 3.5% of the market share. This is a small percentage and therefore, it is difficult for such firms to compete and even to be placed among the top ten construction companies around the globe.
In UK Construction Company, most of the contractors rely on sub contracting. Most of the non housing projects, main contractors bid for the work at a fixed prices and delegate the duties to other sub contractors who deliver most of the work[17]. Specialist sub contractors, furthermore, sub contract work making many firms to get involved in accomplishing the task. The moment projects are completed, every team part ways and proceed to look for new ventures. Some of them may regroup and work together again over a number of projects but this is not highly experienced as it is not the norm of the industry in UK.
In UK according to the construction statistics, the major areas of construction include construction of new public and private houses, and other new works which includes infrastructure, private industrial and commercial as well as public. The volume of order for new construction by main contractors in UK for the all new work in the second quarter of 2012 was 9,713 million while the third quarter it was 10, 239 orders. This was an increase of 5.4%. When compared to the same period in 2011, there was a decrease in 2011 of 6.7% and a decrease of 8.8% in 2010. Therefore, 2012 received an increase in the orders which shows that the number of new work in housing increased. Therefore, it implies that the contractors had a lot of work to do. Value for new orders that were obtained by the main contractors in various periods in 2012 was as follows; the first quarter the value of the order was £2,114 million second quarter was £ 2042 million while in the third quarter it was £2332 million. This shows that there was an increase in the value of the orders from the first quarter to the third quarters. The value of order for new construction obtained by main contractor in UK based on the current prices and the type of work is also presented. The total value for the first, second and third quarters in 2012 included notices, entertainment, garages, shops, agriculture and miscellaneous and was £ 12,643 million, £10,577 million and £ 11, 050 million respectively. There was a slight decrease and then an increase in the value during the year.
The value of orders for new construction obtained by main contractors in UK based on period growths during the year 2012 is as follows. There was an increase of 15.9% in first quarter in 2012, a decrease of 16.3% in the second quarter and an increase of 4.5% during the third quarter. When it comes to the volume of construction output in new housing, other new work, all new work output in the third quarter of 2012 was £ 85.3 million compared to the output on the repair and maintain which was £85.2 million. Therefore, using these two statistics it indicated that the output on all new work and all work that was repaired almost was similar having a difference in margin of £ 0.1 million. The industry also recorded a decrease in the volume of construction output in all new work from September 2011 to August 2012.[18] This reduction in the level of output may have affected the industry level of profits. For instance, it reduced from £6144 million in September 2011 to £5328 in August 2012. Total output in terms of the volume of construction output in the second and third quarter in 2012 was £24412 million, £23784 million respectively. This was a decrease of 2.6%.
Part III: The function of project manager makes to the construction process
Project manager is a professional in the field of project management. This person performs various functions in his capacity of a project manager. In the construction process, a project manager is essential in ensuring that the construction process moves on smoothly. One of the functions of a project manager is to ensure proper planning to ensure that the project moves on smoothly[19] . In planning the manager must be able to come up with a budget that will ensure that the project is completed successfully. Therefore, he is in charge of allocating resources to ensure that they are well utilized. The manager is also in charge of ensuring that he controls the costs of the project by ensuring that resources are not misused or stolen from the site by other people. He also is ensures that the construction process is completed within the time provided. Therefore, he plans for time, costs and the allocation of the resources.
Furthermore, it is the function of the project manager to ensure that the quality of the work or the building is of high standards. The manager must ensure that the workers mix various materials well and use their skills to ensure that the right materials are used in the construction process to ensure that the building is of high quality[20]. Therefore, it is the duty of the project manager to liaise with various authorities dealing with issues of quality of the materials to verify whether the materials are of the required set standards or not.
A project cannot move on smoothly without the cooperation and recruitment of skilled workers. Project managers therefore, ensures that the workers that are recruited are qualified and that have requisite skills to execute their responsibilities[21]. He also ensures that the workers work as a team to ensure that the project is accomplished within the stated time and within the allocated resources. He therefore makes sure that the entire workforce understands their role and therefore empowers them and directs them towards achievement or successful completion of project.
A project manager also is given the responsibility to manage any conflicts that might ensue at the construction site[22]. Workers may get involved in a conflict because of their personal differences or because of work and therefore, it is the responsibility of the project manager to quell such conflicts and restore order at the construction site.
He also manages the project risk. He has the capacity to stop the construction of a building if to the best of his/her knowledge he/she feels that the building is not stable and therefore risky. He therefore averts the risk associated with continuation of the construction process such as loss of life and los of money[23].
The project manager at the construction site therefore plays a myriad of role and is essential to successful completion of various projects. He therefore must work in a professional manner to ensure positive results. The role of project managers in charge of construction will always tend to be similar regardless the site of the project or the location.
In conclusion construction is an industry that has evolved for many years. The architectural styles have continued to change as architectures adapts to new models. The modern architecture has evolved thousands of years and is the most recent architecture which uses technology in designing of the buildings. More sophisticated designs will be developed as technology continues to advance.
Bibliography
Alexander, Styhre, ‘The bureaucratization of the project manager function: The case of the construction industry,’ In International Journal of Project Management, 24.3(2006), 271- 276.
Allen Brown, Reginald and Curnow, Tower of London, Greater London: Department of the Environment Official Handbook, (Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, 1984).
Campkin, Ben, ‘Urban Image and Legibility in King’s Cross, London,’ Advances in Art, Urban Futures, 4(2004): 63-79.
Crawford, Alan, Victorian heritage,’ History Today, 33. (1983), 45.
Evers, Christof, T., Architectural Theory from the Renaissance to the Present (Taschen, 2011).
Fraser, Murray., The Global Architectural Influences on London,’ Architectural Design, 82.1(2012), 14-21.
Fionn, MacKillop, Climatic city: Two centuries of urban planning and climate science in Manchester (UK) and its region,’ In Cities, 29.4(2012), 244-251.
Gundes, Selin, ‘Input structure of the construction industry: a cross-country analysis, 1968-90,’
Construction Management & Economics, 29.6(2011), 613-621.
Hahn, Inae et al., ‘Agility of project manager in global is project,’ Journal of Computer Information Systems, 53.2(2012), 31-38.
Harman, A., Sketches of the Tower of London as a Fortress, a Prison, and a Palace, (J. Wheeler, 1864).
Hopley, Claire., Manchester Queen of the North,’ British Heritage, 28.2(2007), 22-31.
House of Commons business and enterprise committee. Construction matters, Ninth report of session n 2007-2008, vol. 1. (2008).
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Berrie, Michele, Project Manager Responsibilities, PM Hut. Accessed 16. May 2013.
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Olwig, Kenneth R., ‘Performance, ætherial space and the practice of landscape/architecture: the case of the missing mask,’ Social & Cultural Geography, 12.3(2011), 305-318.
Summerson, John, The Classical Language of Architecture, (Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1980).
Parnell, Geoffrey, The Tower of London: Past & Present, (History Press, 2009).
Watkin, David, A history of Western architecture. 4th ed. (London: Laurence King, 2005).
Wilson, Derek, The Tower of London: A Thousand Years (2nd ed.), (Allison & Busby, 1998).
[1] Allen Brown, Reginald and Curnow, Tower of London, Greater London: Department of the Environment Official Handbook, (Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, 1984).
[2] Wilson, Derek, The Tower of London: A Thousand Years (2nd ed.), (Allison & Busby, 1998).
[3] Harman, A., Sketches of the Tower of London as a Fortress, a Prison, and a Palace, (J. Wheeler, 1864).
[4] Parnell, Geoffrey, The Tower of London: Past & Present, (History Press, 2009).
[5] Impey, Edward and Parnell, Geoffrey, The Tower of London: The Official Illustrated History, (Merrell Publishers in association with Historic Royal Palaces, 2000).
[6] Summerson, John, The Classical Language of Architecture, (Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1980).
[7] Evers, Christof, T., Architectural Theory from the Renaissance to the Present (Taschen, 2011).
[8] Watkin, David, A history of Western architecture. 4th ed. (London: Laurence King, 2005).
[9] Crawford, Alan, Victorian heritage,’ History Today, 33. (1983), 45.
[10] Hopley, Claire., Manchester Queen of the North,’ British Heritage, 28.2(2007), 22-31.
[11] Fionn MacKillop, Climatic city: Two centuries of urban planning and climate science in Manchester (UK) and its region,’ In Cities, 29.4(2012), 244-251.
[12] Campkin, Ben, ‘Urban Image and Legibility in King’s Cross, London,’ Advances in Art, Urban Futures, 4(2004): 63-79.
[13] Fraser, Murray., The Global Architectural Influences on London,’ Architectural Design, 82.1(2012), 14-21.
[14] Olwig, Kenneth R., ‘Performance, ætherial space and the practice of landscape/architecture: the case of the missing mask,’ Social & Cultural Geography, 12.3(2011), 305-318.
[15] House of Commons business and enterprise committee. Construction matters, Ninth report of session n 2007-2008, vol. 1. (2008).
[16] ibid
[17] ibid
[18] Gundes, Selin, ‘Input structure of the construction industry: a cross-country analysis, 1968-90,’
Construction Management & Economics, 29.6(2011), 613-621.
[19] Alexander, Styhre, ‘The bureaucratization of the project manager function: The case of the construction industry,’ In International Journal of Project Management, 24.3(2006), 271-276.
[20] Russell, D, Accountability. In Succeeding in the project management jungle: How to manage the people side of projects (New York, NY: AMACO, 2011).
[21] Berrie, Michele, Project Manager Responsibilities, PM Hut. Accessed 16. May 2013.
[22] Hahn, Inae et al., ‘Agility of project manager in global is project,’ Journal of Computer Information Systems, 53.2(2012), 31-38.
[23] Kerzner, Harold and Saladis, Frank P., What Functional Managers Need to Know About Project Management,’ In: [The IIL/Wiley Series in Project Management]. (Online text), (Hoboken, N.J.New York : Wiley., 2009), in EBook library, accessed 16 May 2013.
