Features

Bricks are one of the world’s oldest building materials and have been used in the construction of many iconic structures, including New York’s Empire State Building. Scott Denham, Sales Director from IG Masonry Support, gives insight into the limitless design opportunities bricks enable across commercial and residential applications.

As the construction industry emerges from a difficult period where the safety of high-rise buildings has been questioned, Tamlite Lighting’s Managing Director, John Allden, explains how we can collectively restore confidence.

Carefully considered colour schemes for commercial buildings such as offices can benefit users by assisting with wayfinding, wellbeing and even productivity. With the majority of people still working from home at the moment, now is the ideal time to refresh workplaces to create an inviting interior that staff will look forward to returning to. Here, Crown Paints’ Colour Consultant, Kathryn Lloyd, addresses how to style a fresh and on-trend colour scheme which will tick all the right boxes.

In this article, Sean Ballard, Managing Director of Sunray Doors, unearths the dos and don’ts of timber fire door specification for high-rise buildings. Speaking on behalf of Sunray’s Timber Fire Door division, he briefly runs through the essential elements to consider for optimum specification and installation, and outlines key points you should address to ensure high performance and compliance.

If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is the importance of the outdoors – the spaces between and around buildings, as well as the public realm – to our health, safety and wellbeing. But a fresh approach is needed to designing and selecting paving for multifunctionality, sustainability and the ability to adapt to changing needs over time – as Chris Hodson of the trade association Interpave explains.

Surfaces have a big role to play in the overall look and feel of a space. In the kitchen and bathroom, in particular, practical considerations need to be made while also bearing in mind the visual impact of such visible fixtures as worktops, countertops, splashbacks and even flooring. Here, Simon Boocock, Managing Director of C. R. Laurence of Europe, takes us through the key trends in surfaces to look out for.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increased focus on renewable technologies and the part they will play in the country’s road to economic recovery as the UK ‘builds back greener’.

The latest RIBA CPD theme focuses on the ‘bubble’ that surrounds us as we live, play and work indoors. It suggests that as the physical boundary between the conditioned and unconditioned environment of a building, the building envelope must keep its users safe while also addressing the practicalities of day-to-day living. Many of the manufacturers and service providers which these CPDs feature are industry leaders in providing that protection. It reminds us that many of their popular seminars are still available online. Below are a selection of other pre-spring observations.

The Grenfell Tower tragedy exposed fundamental and deep-rooted issues over competency, highlighting major skills and knowledge gaps amongst those responsible for the design, construction, maintenance and day-to-day operation of buildings. In this article, Jonathan O’Neill OBE, Managing Director of the Fire Protection Association (FPA), explores whether the issue of competency has become clearer since Grenfell, and argues that a greater degree of focus must be placed on fire safety competence and accountability for those responsible for building design.

Designed by Mecanoo, The National Kaohsiung Centre for the Arts symbolises the transformation of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. What was once a major international harbour is now a modern, diverse city with a rich cultural climate. The design is located on a former military site, as an integral part of the adjacent subtropical park and has a positive social impact on the residents of Kaohsiung, whose population counts almost three million.