Merchants’ sales break records in July

The latest data released in the BMF’s Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) confirms Total Builders Merchant value sales were up 8.3% in July compared with July 2017, helped by one more trading day this year. Overall sales in July were 1.1% higher than... View Article

HBA: Planning statistics demonstrate we need planning reform

The Construction Index reports that there were fewer planning applications made in the year ending June 2018 compared to June 2017. Statistics released by the Ministry for Housing and Local Government showed a decline of 2% in major residential planning applications,... View Article

Attractive options for energy-efficient house design

Vanessa Howard of Roof Maker explores how taking a rigorously ecological approach to design can improve energy efficiency without compromising on aesthetics and individuality, focusing on rooflights. In 2017 the average UK household spent £102 per month on electricity and... View Article

Strawberry Fields forever home

When a couple decided to build their Beatles-inspired ‘forever’ home in a north London suburb, the speed at which their kit home took shape left them suitably impressed. Roseanne Field reports. From the street, Mr and Mrs Young’s house, while... View Article

Millwood appoints new managing director

Tonbridge-based homebuilder Millwood Designer Homes has appointed Nick Stonley as its new Managing Director. Nick joins at an exciting time when the company is pursuing rapid growth, having recently acquired several new sites in prime areas across Kent, Sussex and... View Article

View Point – Richard Harral of CABE

Richard Harral of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE) says the lessons we need to learn from Dame Judith Hackitt’s post-Grenfell review must include a wider look at our society’s relationship with its buildings, and regulatory reform Attention has been... View Article

Danish Architecture Firms Join Forces With Beijing Design Week

DISSING+WEITLING architecture and KRAGH & BERGLUND landscape architects are among the Danish companies participating in Asia’s biggest design event and attraction, Beijing Design Week 2018. Together, the two companies represent the Danish human-centred way of designing public architecture and urban... View Article

Setting the standards for structural timber

Structural Timber Association board member and managing director for Kingspan Timber Solutions and Potton, Mark Stevenson answers self-builders’ queries on how to use structural timber, and why solutions are increasingly likely to be factory-built. The Structural Timber Association (STA) has... View Article

Roofing elements of designing to Passivhaus

As designing to the Passivhaus standard continues to grow in popularity, not only for residential builds but also increasingly for commercial constructions, architect Nicolas Tye shares insights on the specific considerations a Passivhaus-accredited roof requires Over the last few years,... View Article

Ask the Architects

Leading female UK architects share their experiences of being a woman in the profession, and the challenges that still exist for achieving gender diversity. Participants: Sadie Morgan, co-founder, dRMM Architects; Jane Duncan, director at Jane Duncan Architects & RIBA past president; Fionn... View Article

NFB: Lead by example before you lead small business

According to the NFB, if the Labour Party wants to offer meaningful loans and advice to SMEs, it needs to first understand the environment in which they operate. Shadow Business Minister Bill Esterson MP has spoken to The House magazine... View Article