Future watch – March

Norman Hayden hears the case for more urban extensions put by LK2’s Tom Drew. All across the country there is a struggle going on to access facilities which support health, well-being, community and leisure. Developments in our industry have been... View Article

Smarter glass

Russell Shipton, marketing manager, ESG, explains why smart glass has come of age and why it has clearly got a bright future. The past 20 years has seen a dramatic increase in the use of glass as both an external... View Article

When scale, safety and style collide

For large scale, modern constructions, virtually anything is achievable in glass. Andrew Lake, Vetrotech UK general manager explains why selecting the right fire-rated glass system is therefore critical to the specifying process. From the dizzying heights of the Burj Khalifa... View Article

Aesthetics and functionality in glazing for historical buildings

Preservation efforts are primarily orientated towards maintaining historical structures and, if possible, cautious restoration. However, when material loss or irreparable damage threatens to halt the effort, alternative options need to be considered explains Ulrich Huber, Sales Manager EMEA, SCHOTT AG.... View Article

Legal Compliance for fire-resistant glazing

Steve Rice, director of technical affairs for the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF), outlines the compliances and CE marking issues that impact all those responsible for making the glazing in a building fire-resistant. Making Insulating Glass Units (IGUs) with a fire-resistance characteristic... View Article

A study in glass

A landmark educational building featuring an innovative use of glazing has lit up a run-down part of the Spanish town of Torrelavega, writes Steve Menary. A mix of squares, circles and an innovative use of glazing has been used to create... View Article

The Vinden Partnership reacts to the Budget 2016

Peter Vinden, Managing Director of The Vinden Partnership – a leading multi-disciplinary consultant company to the built environment – said: “The Chancellor has talked of uncertain economic times ahead and it would seem that with this budget he doesn’t intend... View Article

kbb back at Birmingham

Celebrating an impressive 30 years, kbb Birmingham, the UK’s largest gathering of the world’s best kitchen, bedroom and bathroom brands, returns to the NEC, Birmingham from 6 – 9 March 2016. Since the recession, which caused many businesses in the... View Article

Modern design houses stories from deep time

The Jurassic Coast is getting its first dedicated fossil museum thanks to National Lottery Funding and one collector’s generosity, reports Steve Menary. Over the past four decades, Steve Etches has collected more than 2,200 fossils from along the area of... View Article

Y:Cube: Rogers’ return to the prefab home

Sir Richard Rogers’ innovative offsite housing concept has been held up as a potential solution to the housing crisis, providing compact and affordable flats for sites not normally suitable for development. Stephen Cousins reports. The UK housing crisis, that so... View Article

How to rapidly meet environmental standards

Jim Gowan, design manager at Actavo | Building Solutions, explains how to rapidly meet environmental standards using modern construction methods. He has worked in the offsite and modular sector for over ten years. Back in 1998, a government report ‘Rethinking... View Article

Alternative paints can tick all the boxes

What do you look for in a paint? Performance and aesthetics, for sure. But what about sustainability? Environmental and health benefits? Is it possible to tick all the boxes? Until relatively recently, the answer was no. But a new generation... View Article

GGF defends members and confirms industry position

The Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) has released a statement in defence against recent allegations made by Anthony Jones, Chairman of National Federation of Glaziers. Jones claimed GGF members had brought “consumer biased laws” upon the industry and also accused theFederation of being “afraid to... View Article