WHY IS CONSTRUCTION SO BACKWARD? by James Woudhuysen and Ian Abley, Woudhuysen, James. ISBN 9780470852897, 0470852895 instant download

WHY IS CONSTRUCTION SO BACKWARD? by James Woudhuysen and Ian Abley, Woudhuysen, James. ISBN 9780470852897, 0470852895 instant download

Construction is vital both to Gross Domestic Product and to today's politics. Prime Minister Tony Blair himself chairs a cabinet committee on the Thames Gateway development, to the east of London. Housing has proved a big factor in Chancellor Gordon Brown’s worries about the Euro. But the construction sector is one of the world’s weakest in innovation. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott’s target of just 4000 homes to be made through prefabrication shows how building remains a 19th century affair, not a 21st century one.

Drawing on the latest technologies that have emerged both inside and outside the sector, Why is construction so backward? forms a detailed, practical alternative to the conventional wisdom in building design and urban planning. It is a powerful call for reform, and a sharp polemic against architecture as social engineering and environmentalist dogma.

• Contains a foreword by Martin Pawley


• Includes contributions from such high profile figures as Stefan Muthesius and Miles Glendinning

Praise for Why is construction so backward?:

‘Very compelling… a significant piece of research and thought leadership. Essential.’ Colin Bartle-Tubbs, UK Operations Director, Deloitte

‘Welcome and timely… takes on an industry that has revelled in complacency for too long.’ Bernhard Blauel, Principal, Blauel Architects

‘The authors are prepared to be daring, reframe the question and posit new paradigms. Reflecting effortlessly across the literature of property, business, market research and construction, the book’s kaleidoscope of ideas, examples and images gives it a refreshing depth of insight and breadth of vision.’ John Worthington, Founder, DEGW

‘A tour de force of polemical provocation. This timely work forces one to think about construction in the broadest terms. Required reading.’ Paul…