James Stephens, Managing Director of Offsite Solutions, looks at how bathroom and utility pods are helping contractors in the coronavirus pandemic.

In 1899, Wilbur and Orville Wright, the inventors of the aeroplane, put their first model to flight. They faced several problems, including insufficient lift and deviation from the intended direction. Following a trial flight in 1901, Wilbur said to Orville that man would not fly in a thousand years. Since this occasion, good design has dispelled Wilbur’s theory. Here Jonathan Wilkins, Marketing Director at industrial obsolete automation equipment supplier EU Automation, discusses how virtual reality (VR) can be used to improve the design engineering process.

Adrian Doyle from McMullen Facades, part of the Lakesmere Group, takes a closer look at how the development of off-site manufacturing techniques is reaching new heights in the high-rise residential market.

Until now, the greatest period of timber building was between 1200 and 1700 AD. Fast forward over 300 years and we are now truly realising the full capabilities of this strong, sustainable and technically-advanced structural solution. Here, Alex Goodfellow, Chairman of the Structural Timber Association and Group Managing Director of Stewart Milne Timber Systems, shares his technical insight.

Mumford & Wood, manufacturer of Britain’s finest timber windows and doors, has launched a RIBA-Assessed factory tour CPD. This follows substantial investment in their extended state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Tiptree, Essex.