Seeing a smart future beyond the pandemic

Neil McSporran of NSG Group discusses how ‘smart’ antimicrobial glass for tackling infections beyond the pandemic, and how smarter building materials will help designers to create safer environments Curbing the transmission of diseases will be a priority for those who... View Article

The natural solution

Charlie Sharman of Cantifix discusses how the recent months have reminded us how much we need sunlight, and how glass technology innovations can help architects design for maximised natural light There are many lessons we can take from 2020 about... View Article

The visible future

Conversions from office to residential under Permitted Development Rights are becoming more commonplace as we move to widespread home working. Structura UK’s Manny Patel looks at the implications for facades Life has changed radically under Covid-19. The epidemic is changing... View Article

Multi-functional glass

The conversation around fire safety glass tends to focus on fire protection alone. However as Andy Lake of Pyroguard explains, when specified correctly, this glass can be combined with other products to create a multi-functional system that offers so much... View Article

Reinforcing the message

William McDowell of Hambleside Danelaw puts the case for why GRP rooflights in metal roofing systems can help solve the many problems such as light levels that face architects when designing industrial buildings Think rooflights and you might think of... View Article

Sliding versus bifold

LISTEN HERE 🔊 Edward Stobart of ID Systems looks at how recent trends in residential glazing are affecting the sliding versus bifold doors debate For the past two decades, the trends in home design and customer demand have seen significant... View Article

Light reading

James Parker reports on how a Parisian firm of architects created a highly transparent, modern multimedia library flooded with light, that feels at home in historic Bayeux The new ‘media library’ or ‘mediatheque’ serving the 30,000 citizens of Bayeux. Normandy,... View Article

Glass Trends 2021. What to keep an eye on in 2021!

It’s no secret that 2020 forced us all to look at our homes in a different way, the pandemic kept us at home with kitchen tables becoming schooling desks, living rooms became office spaces and home offices became long term... View Article

Getting brickwork right

Sean Wilkins of the Brick Development Association gives specification, design and workmanship tips that will ensure that your brickwork is successful Despite being used for thousands of years with evidence of their use in the UK dating back to the... View Article

Light relief

LISTEN HERE 🔊 Heatherwick Studio’s first completed healthcare scheme is a new Maggie’s Centre that turns an unloved patch of city centre hospital estate into a landscape-festooned, lightweight timber refuge for cancer patients. James Parker reports. Heatherwick Studio’s first completed... View Article

Bull in the Oak

Nestled away in a hamlet just outside Market Bosworth lies what appears to be a typical Leicestershire farmstead. Except this country idyll has pushed the boundaries of design and planning and is now home to a bespoke development of five... View Article

Natural Stone Awards – Shortlist Announced

Stone Federation are delighted to announce the shortlisted projects for the 2020 Natural Stone Awards. In spite of the challenges that this year has presented, it was incredibly encouraging to see that both the quantity and quality of entries was... View Article

A copper partner for corten

Phase 2 of a major residential development in Bristol is an industrially inspired block of apartments faced in copper, designed to complement a former tobacco company HQ. James Parker reports Ferguson Mann Architects (FMA) were appointed to design Urban Splash’s... View Article

An introduction to standing seam roofing design

Standing seam roofs are a popular choice with architects and specifiers looking for a design that really stands out. Simon Walker of SIG Zinc & Copper discusses what architects and specifiers should consider when designing standing seam roofing Traditional standing... View Article

Sustainability defined

With increasing pressure to specify building systems offering clearly defined sustainability, Andrew Cross of Kestrel Aluminium Systems gives his thoughts on the use of aluminium as a key building component In construction terms, aluminium is considered to be a ‘permanent’... View Article