Design versus functionality

Jon Palethorpe, commercial director at Sapa Building Systems, examines the growing trend for using aluminium curtain walling systems and explains why they’ve become integral to contemporary architectural design . Creating beautiful and striking buildings that are also innovative and push... View Article

Mount Pleasant Mail Centre sorted

For Boyes Rees, architects working on the project to redevelop London’s historic Mount Pleasant Mail Centre, the differing styles in the external envelope were to present a challenge, particularly with regard to the windows and glazing. Steve Menary reports. The Mount... View Article

Gehry’s Parisian Dream

Featuring 12 giant glass and steel ‘sails’, the £80 million Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy Foundation for Creation in Paris is arguably Frank Gehry’s most structurally daring project to date, requiring a plethora of innovative construction products and technologies to realise.... View Article

The design options for internal glazing

The design options available for internal glazing are as wide as the design options available on the external face of a building, but there are two clear trends emerging at the moment and they sit at opposite ends of the... View Article

Ladders – not such a simple piece of equipment

Ladders can seem like such a simple piece of equipment, but there is plenty of evidence that they are not used and understood properly by people within a surprising range of industries. Myths about ladder use are nothing new –... View Article

Making the right choice

In influencing the choice of heating and ventilation systems architects can ensure these systems support their designs while delivering optimum building performance. Phil Brompton of Powrmatic explains: As regulations require improved thermal performance of buildings – through better thermal insulation... View Article

Single ply roofing systems – a sustainable alternative to metal

Hard-wearing and aesthetically pleasing, metal roof surfaces have long been a popular choice for refurbishments and new builds alike. However, these systems also include a number of potential drawbacks. Paul Martin, architectural sales manager at Langley Waterproofing Systems Ltd, looks... View Article

SFS systems: improving insulation while saving space

The demand for increasing levels of thermal performance is driven by both the market and regulatory pressures and can be answered by innovations in Structural Framing Systems (SFS) technology, writes Knauf The advantages of SFS methods of construction in terms... View Article

Putting train manufacturing back on track

This summer a new factory opens in the North East of England – the first large-scale railway train building facility to be built in Britain for more than a century. Ray Philpott finds out what makes it special. Aswathe of... View Article

The art of stairs

Architectural engineering elegance and intelligent design integrates into its surrounding environment transforming architecture into art. CANAL Architectural explores the art of stairs. Every piece of architecture should be as unique as the person who initially designed it. The ability to... View Article

Development draws home heating direct from the Thames

Kingston Heights, a pioneering mixed-used development near Kingston-upon-Thames’ town centre has won the prestigious Best Green Scheme award at a national housing awards ceremony.  The awards ceremony organised by 24 Housing magazine took place in Birmingham and was attended by... View Article

Autumn Statement reforms stamp duty

Housing commentators had to wait until almost the end of the government’s Autumn Statement before George Osborne announced major reforms to stamp duty. Before he detailed the changes to the threshold payments the Chancellor explained: “I am introducing today a... View Article

Mortgage Advice Bureau comments on the ONS House Price Index

Brian Murphy, Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), comments: “House prices have experienced a slight slowdown in recent months, with seasonal variations as well as tighter mortgage regulation reining in property prices. However, average prices are still well... View Article

Council planning budgets should be ring fenced, says FMB

Council planning departments should be treated as front line services and protected from local authority spending cuts, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Commenting on the recommendations of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee Report on the... View Article