Versatile timber is a healthy choice

Versatile timber is a healthy choice

The construction and materials used in mental health facilities are at the core of how care is ultimately delivered – a critical factor with a direct effect on the physical and psychological wellbeing of the end-users. Timber technology can be... View Article

Throwing light on dementia design

Oliver Buchan, head of innovation at Luxonic, argues that, while the lit environment is often an underestimated consideration when creating a dementia-friendly building, relatively simple lighting solutions can be very effective When designing a facility with dementia sufferers in mind... View Article

There’s more to paint than meets the eye

Dulux Trade Brand Manager Daniel Hall explains how selecting the most appropriate paint types and finishes for different spaces within a healthcare building can create enhanced environments for patients and staff A healthcare building is a working facility with a... View Article
Safe furniture design should also be comfortable and stylish

Safe furniture design should also be comfortable and stylish

With an increasing focus on creating stimulating mental health environments which nurture recovery, intelligent furniture design is playing a more important role than ever writes Neville Byng, sales and marketing consultant with healthcare furniture specialist Pineapple Contracts In mental health and other challenging... View Article

Focus on the right flooring for dementia

John Mellor, Polyflor’s Market Manager for safety flooring, explains why selecting a floor covering embodying modern, dementia-friendly design principles is increasingly important and spotlights the research behind the thinking According to latest figures from the Alzheimer’s Society, more than 850,000... View Article
How dementia-friendly is your building... really?

How dementia-friendly is your building… really?

Poor research and verification means newly-built healthcare facilities are often wrongly claimed to be dementia-friendly, argues Professor June Andrews, director of the influential Dementia Development Services Centre (DSDC) at the University of Stirling Architects make a difference to how people... View Article

Time to rise to the dementia challenge

Britain can learn from the Japanese experience of designing and building for dementia care, argues Jitesh Patel, Senior Development Manager, Kajima Partnerships. Every three seconds someone somewhere in the world is diagnosed with dementia. In the UK there are over 850,000 people living with... View Article
Suspended Animation – Hotel Hotel, Canberra

Suspended Animation – Hotel Hotel, Canberra

Thousands of pieces of reclaimed timber were used to create a “directional vortex” and a monolithic grand staircase for the award-winning Hotel Hotel interior in Canberra. Stephen Cousins reports Walking up the grand staircase and into the lobby of Hotel... 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
museum

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
paints

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
Beating the UK climate with correct render choice

Beating the UK climate with correct render choice

With severe weather events becoming more frequent in the UK, more detailed consideration of the type of materials we specify and their capability to withstand a climate that is so unpredictable is crucial. By Steven Keitley, general manager, Parex Render... View Article

Introducing Biosolar

Deciding between a green roof and photovoltaics (PV) has been a question faced by many industry professionals over recent years when designing a flat roof; however these two technologies are no longer mutually exclusive options with the introduction of biosolar... View Article
timber

Specifying timber for your project’s exterior

Nick Taylor, managing director at Silva Timber discusses what to consider when specifying timber products including species, sustainability and finishing. Wood is natures most versatile and unique material. The fact that it has been used in building for hundreds, even... View Article