Nick Clegg: Latest film looking back at the past 12 months

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOqr0XwldBM

Sustainability and the Altered Towers - Chalcots

The rain screen cladding applied to the Chalcots is being well tested this winter with below freezing temperatures having been reached, residents are reporting improvements to energy consumption reductions and improved heating to rooms with exposed corner flanking walls. What a pity that Black mould (Fungus) growing on the NEW window frames hits the £150M PFI "Chalcots" project. This serious and potentially hazardous situation has continued to become worse due to the moisture condensation during these cold and dump winter nights. See update for more info on the rise of the mould.

The cladding to these exterior walls has increased the thermal efficiency of the building as a whole, although only to just what is now considered the building minimum standards, it is a welcome improvement on what residents living in the 1968 design buildings had experienced for the past 40 years.

Reported by Stephen Kennett in Building Sustainability "Chalcot estate: Altered towers, 2008 Issue 19" Refurbishment is increasingly seen as the sustainable option when tackling social housing, and in the process of overhauling the Chalcot estate’s 717 flats, the London Borough of Camden is aiming to deliver a 30% cut in CO2 emissions.”
Author: Nigel Rumble

Chalcots PFI enters the Christmas shutdown

It is hoped as the £150M PFI "Chalcots" project enters the Christmas shutdown period that any emergencies such as lift breakdowns; etc will be dealt with the urgency that is required of buildings housing 161 properties.

Last year an emergency contact number was published and circulated that had a "out of service" number advising all callers "this line does not receive in-coming calls".

And on the Christmas Eve 2007, site lights for one of the buildings failed! So lets hope that this Christmas will be uneventful and all emergency protocols are in place.