From home to office, fast

Architect Alireza Ravanshad is the creator of Dandi Space, a whole new architectural approach to combining work and living space through smarter design. Here, he makes the case for challenging the traditional spatial divide between working life and home life.... View Article

Using oak, with confidence

Oak-framed buildings are enjoying a renewed popularity due to the material’s strength characteristics. Ed Hamilton of Oakmasters explores why green oak has a place in modern construction and addresses structural questions. Centuries-old barns, houses and churches all prove that oak can... View Article

Site lines – BRE’s James Fisher

The BRE’s James Fisher describes how commercial clients are seeing the need to analyse and improve the environmental impact of their buildings in use, to increase asset value. For many businesses, operating their buildings presents a major cost overhead, often... View Article

Future watch – Norman Hayden looks at Building Biology

Norman Hayden looks at how Building Biology, an established design methodology for creating healthier environments, is seeing a comeback as architects look to increase user wellbeing. Creating green buildings, but also being able to accurately assess their environmental properties, is... View Article

Different strokes for different folks

Swimming pool designs can successfully combine safety with creativity, but also need to be closely aligned to the particular requirements of users. Specialist pool industry association SPATA provides some design advice. The design of a swimming pool, whether indoors or outdoors,... View Article

Turn down the volume

Adrian Pargeter of Kingspan Insulation describes how ‘lower lambda’ insulation can be the architect’s friend, as more efficiency means less volume is needed to achieve regulations compliance. Building Regulations have recently become more demanding when it comes to insulating properties... View Article

Sophie Nguyen, Architect

“Playing around with visual ideas is my motivation.” Architect Sophie Nguyen is a one-woman powerhouse of ingenuity. Based in a west London studio, which she designed and built, she is the go-to architect for homeowners in need of clever ideas... View Article

Complex stone cladding solutions

Tamsin Pickeral, business development manager, Szerelmey, explains how a combination of technology and tradition is overcoming the challenges of stone cladding for the 21st Century. The relationship between a contemporary visual aesthetic and fulfilling structural and legislative requirements is one that... View Article

Buyer beware

Designing a roof requiring tapered insulation is beset with challenges, with consequences for the contractor and specifier. Andrew Rowley, tapered design manager for Gradient Roofing, explains. Designing tapered insulation for a flat roof used to be relatively simple. The Building... View Article