News

The temporary House of Commons & restoration of the Palace of Westminster

Palace of Westminster

What was the question this proposed temporary Parliamentary chamber and the restoration of the Palace of Westminster endeavours to answer? Is it reinstating and refurbishing Barry’s 165+ year old Palace of Westminster which is now clearly no longer fit for purpose, too small and inadequate, in need of reform, and in a country desperately needing…

Survey Results on UK Government Framework Agreements 2018

Results from the survey to discover if SMEs found the widely adopted Framework Agreement a simple and rewarding process for winning new business from government are now reported below and available HERE. The survey has been run on behalf of the Frameworks Working Group, a part of the independent SME Advisory Panel advising on central…

Architects face insurance wake-up call post-Grenfell

As Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance costs rise following Grenfell fire, Project Compass Director Russell Curtis joins calls from the profession for the shift to Integrated Project Insurance (IPI). “Now more than ever it’s surely time to consider alternatives,” .. “Integrated project insurance (IPI) is beginning to gain momentum among some enlightened clients as this leads…

Project Compass director gives keynote address at RIAI Conference 2018

Project Compass director Russell Curtis has given a keynote address at the Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland (RIAI) Annual Conference where he discussed the challenges of public procurement in the UK and how Project Compass is campaigning for reform to improve the dire situation experienced by most architects bidding for work in the public…

Northern Ireland is now open to fixed fee tenders

In N. Ireland methodologies on the procurement of design, where lowest price is no longer the determining factor have now been agreed between the Central Procurement Directorate (CPD), the RSUA & the construction sector (announced Sept. 2018). This halts the race to the bottom. Under the pilot all construction services contracts to be awarded by…

No Brexit deal – Accessing Procurement Notices

If there is no Brexit deal significant questions need answering about how all UK public contracts covering services, works and supplies, will be published, accessed, completed and remain transparent for public clients and commerce. Government announced on 13 September 2018 that if there is no deal a new UK e-notification replacement system will be made…

25 May 2018, 7.00-8.30pm, Palazzo Widmann, Venice

Competition Culture in Europe will be gathering and launching the publication ‘Competition Culture in Europe: Voices’ on 25 May 2018, 7.00-8.30pm, Palazzo Widmann, Cannaregio, Venice (Calle Larga Widmann 30121 Venice).   The publication arises from the European call in December 2017 for essays on architectural competitions. The detailed programme is below. In 2017 the collaboration of Project Compass…

The Competition Grid: Experimenting With & Within Architecture

  The Competition Grid: Experimenting With & Within Architecture Competitions   (Theodoru. M., Katsakou A. (eds) RIBA Publishing, 2018. Project Compass Director Walter Menteth has contributed Chapter 10, ‘E-Procurement Delivering Better Design Competitions’ in Part 3-‘Experimenting with Architectural Competitions’.  “This is an engaging and extensive review of architectural competitions. Merging the immediacy of practitioners’ competition experience…

Public Procurement Policy 2018 guide

A new and updated PUBLIC PROCUREMENT POLICY 2018 guide covering directives, regulations, policies and guidance relating to the procurement of services, supplies and works for the public sector was issued by Crown Commercial Services on March 26, 2018