Some 5% of all deaths in the UK’s largest towns and cities are linked to toxic air exposure. Now, with air pollution thought to exacerbate the symptoms of COVID-19, there is an even greater need to review infrastructure, improve sustainability and meet our carbon-zero goals. Richard Hyams, Founder of astudio, investigates.

There is no predicting what the UK will look like by the time this piece is published so here’s a reminder of the UK in mid-June: consumer lockdown is easing, queues for non-essential stores re-opening were featured on the news, the weather is good, property viewings are up, and houses are selling. You’d be tempted to think that life is getting back to normal, says Santtu Kottila, Chief Marketing Officer and Co-Founder of Leadoo Marketing Technologies.

Writing in the Times last month, Architect Norman Foster relates how he was asked in a BBC documentary to name his favourite building. Without hesitation, he cited the now disappearing Jumbo 747. Six storeys high at the tail, with about 3000ft2 of space, five lavatories, three kitchens and room for 367 guests, he believes the 747 is genuinely architectural both in its design and its thinking. And, what’s more, it flies!

Barry Wark’s project for the Glasgow School of Art proposes the creation of new educational studios, public spaces and gardens, forming a block-wide strategy in response to the series of fires that have destroyed Mackintosh’s national icon.

Suzanne Blair studied architecture at Newcastle University, graduating in 2008 before qualifying in 2010. She spent her year-out placement at Ryder Architecture and then formally joined the practice after graduating. Suzanne worked there for 11 years, progressing through to Associate before joining GT3 Architects in 2016. Here, FC&A talks to Suzanne about her successful career in architecture.

Powdertech Corby Ltd has recently used its popular Evolution ‘Peat Fire’ powder coating finish on the refurbishment of a Greggs store at the Glasgow Fort shopping and leisure destination.

A major new residential building in Bristol is defined by its 170m long façade, clad in Nordic Brown Light pre-oxidised copper, complementing its modern, listed neighbour.

How grooved solutions have been making contractors and engineers reimagine the way they construct risers in vertical buildings.

This has been an unprecedented year on many levels, what with construction sites having to implement social distancing measures and four in 10 architects reportedly struggling with their mental health during lockdown . The industry has been battling to keep sites open and building work progressing, and the UK’s 2020 outlook now sits between a contraction of 5 to 12%, with the bounce back in 2021 forecast to be between 1 and 10%.

Major construction projects are becoming increasingly more complex, involve multiple task teams and span several years, making projects fraught with challenges. As individual task teams work in isolation from other members of the delivery team, the result is unsynchronised processes and procedures with no defined standards for quality control. As a result, issues are only identified as work commences on site, causing abortive work and wasted materials which all come at a cost to the project and the environment, says Paul Hargreaves, Group BIM Manager at TÜV SÜD.

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Future Constructor & Architect is a specification platform for architects and building contractors, which focuses on top-end domestic and commercial developments.

As well as timely industry comment and legislation updates, the magazine covers recent projects and reviews the latest sustainable building products on the market. Subscribe here.

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