New electrical safety rules for rental properties

New rules for carrying out electrical safety checks every five years in private sector tenancies are being introduced from July this year, with fines of upto £30,000 for non-compliance. Checks will initially be required for all new tenancies let from... View Article

No one taking the blame for Grenfell Tower tragedy

The public inquiry into the Grenfell tragedy has resumed but it quickly became evident that none of the many designers, contractors and consultants were willing to shoulder responsibility for mistakes that allowed a fire to engulf the building more than... View Article

Addressing a national problem

Nicolas Maari of multi-disciplinary firm Pellings looks at the challenges for designers around providing interim accommodation for the homeless Homelessness is an ongoing and growing problem, with the number of homeless people increasing by a third between 2012 and 2018.... View Article

Automatic for the people

Listen here. Ken Price of the Automatic Door Suppliers Association looks at how access control is fast becoming part of a bigger ‘automatic solution’ – linking access control with automatic doors for improved safety, security and smart facilities management You... View Article

The wellness factor

Sophie Weston at Geberit explains the role that architects and designers can play in improving wellbeing, by helping create a sensory ‘sanctuary’ in the bathroom Wellbeing. We all know what it is – but just how many of us truly... View Article
Sustainable surfaces

Sustainable surfaces

Permeable external surfaces provide the starting point for sustainable surface water drainage (also known as SuDS), but concrete block permeable paving offers far more than flood prevention, explains Chris Hodson of Interpave It’s over three years since the Government chose... View Article

BREEAM Awards 2020

ADF previews the shortlisted entries for the BREEAM Awards which presents the best in international construction sustainability, and features a new ‘personal’ award for 2020 The annual BREEAM Awards, says their organiser BRE, showcases “the most innovatively sustainable BREEAM rated... View Article