Features

The BBA is a well-known and respected certification body which, through its testing, inspection and approvals activity, has been supporting innovation in the construction products industry for more than 50 years.

This month’s focus, Refurb & Retrofit, centres on British Standards BS5543 from Klober, and BS 8612 from BMI.

Zaha Hadid Architects and A_Lab have won the architectural competition to design the Fornbuporten and Fornebu Senter stations, two of the six stations planned for the new Fornebubanen metro line in Oslo.

Extra safety has been incorporated into an extra care housing development for over-55s, courtesy of GEZE UK.

Despite the serious risks associated with sub-standard products, there are currently no mandatory standards in place to regulate the manufacture and sale of flat-roof skylights in the UK. Justin Seldis, Managing Director at leading provider Sunsquare, explains what this means for specifiers – and what they can do to help make a change.

In this article, FC&A speaks with Dr Sarah Peake, Sustainability Manager at Sika UK and market-leading, single-ply roofing manufacturer Sika Sarnafil, about the latest BREEAM standard updates.

When it comes to the decoration of exterior building facades, aesthetic appeal must be balanced alongside key issues such as planning guidelines and maintenance requirements. Kathryn Lloyd, Colour Specialist from leading paint manufacturer Crown Paints, explains how the confident use of colour can assist specifiers in creating building designs that stand the test of time.

Established approximately 20 years ago, Staticus is one of the biggest building facade contractors in Northern Europe, with a factory in Lithuania, an R&D centre in Vienna and offices in Norway, Sweden and London. Staticus was appointed by HG Construction on behalf of Alumno Developments to deliver the building facade for the Aspire Point development – student accommodation for Queen Mary University of London.

Assurance of quality and safety are key to building product specifiers, installers and end-users. But how do you know the product being considered matches its published specification? It’s an issue that has become more critical post-Grenfell and one that the British Board of Agrément – the UK-leading building products certification body – had been considering for some time. Its answer, launched last year, was the ground-breaking Product Excellence Programme (PEP). Here Head of the BBA Testing Unit, Alvaro Enguita-Gonzalez, explores the objective of the programme.

Following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, the negative spotlight on cladding materials had a major knock-on effect for the construction industry, from builders and sub-contractors to architecture firms. Days after the incident, cladding installed on buildings more than 18m in height was called into question by the Government, leading to significant increases in premiums for Professional Indemnity Insurance. Bryan Banbury, Managing Director of leading independent insurance broker Russell Scanlan, discusses the impact on the insurance industry and advises how companies can plan ahead when renewing policies.