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We need beauty to survive

Tuesday, 22nd September 2020

Open letter from Lina Ghotmeh On the 4th of August 2020 just before 18h00, while I had just arrived to Beirut from Paris, a massive explosion hit the city, erasing its beating heart by the Port. Killing more than 191... View Article

60% of local authorities delay fire door maintenance and inspection programmes – leaving safety to chance

Monday, 21st September 2020

Over half (52%) of UK local authorities responding to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request reported delays to planned fire door maintenance and replacement in the first half of 2020. The number rises to 60% when inspection delays are also... View Article

FMB Elects First Woman National President

Monday, 21st September 2020

Members of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) have elected Jan Etchells as their new National President at their Annual General Meeting, held virtually on 18 September. Jan, of Syntonic Kitchen Technicians Limited, and a long-term member of the FMB’s... View Article

Dementia-friendly places could reduce burden on social care, says RTPI report

Monday, 21st September 2020

Good quality housing and well planned local environments could reduce the burden on social care by ensuring people living with dementia stay in their own homes for longer, according to new advice published by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).... View Article

Tech for good: How technology can reduce the environmental and social impact of our built environment

Friday, 18th September 2020

From Richard Hyams, founder of astudio The built environment accounts for approximately 40% of the UK’s total carbon footprint. With the Government having announced a £3bn green investment package in its Summer Statement, there is a clear effort to improve... View Article

Dangerous cladding: “Put a stop to arguing over who’s responsible and put this right”

Friday, 18th September 2020

Three years after the Grenfell Tower disaster in which 72 people lost their lives, only a third (155 out of 455) of high-rise buildings with Grenfell-style flammable cladding due to be fixed by now have had their cladding replaced with a safe... View Article

Luxury Bracknell apartments completed 4 months ahead of schedule

Friday, 18th September 2020

The transformation of the former One Thames Valley commercial office building into a luxury apartment development has been completed four months ahead of schedule. Leading UK property developer SevenCapital, which acquired the premises in May 2019 with permitted development rights... View Article

Graven Hill answers your self-build questions at Build It Live

Friday, 18th September 2020

On 19 and 20 September, Bicester-based self and custom build development site, Graven Hill, will be talking all things self-build at Build It Live. The event is going virtual this year, taking place entirely online. From the comfort of your... View Article

Assael Architecture win planning permission for Connected Living development in Southall

Thursday, 17th September 2020

Connected Living London has been given the go-ahead for a new scheme at Southall Sidings, designed by award-winning architect, Assael Architecture. The development at Southall Sidings, close to Southall station in the London Borough of Ealing, will provide 460 apartments... View Article

New social housing scheme in Lewisham given the go-ahead

Thursday, 17th September 2020

The City of London Corporation has been given the green light to build 110 new social housing homes in the borough of Lewisham. On Thursday (27 August) Lewisham Council’s planning committee unanimously agreed the development on the land at Sydenham... View Article

2025: New Homes Without Gas – a new guide from the NHBC Foundation

Thursday, 17th September 2020

Current Government proposals indicate that from 2025, newly built homes will not be allowed to be heated with the use of fossil fuels under the ‘Future Homes Standard’. This standard aims to significantly reduce the energy use of new homes... View Article

Apple Marina Bay Sands – a new gemstone on the Singapore waterfront and a celebration of light

Thursday, 17th September 2020

Recently opened to the public, Apple Marina Bay Sands creates a new distinctive presence on Singapore Bay. The 30-metre-diameter structure is a fully glazed dome with a black glass base, complementing the sister pavilions through its scale and materiality. The... View Article

Invest in planning to help house building sector bounce back, says FMB

Monday, 14th September 2020

The Government must release bottlenecks in housing delivery with more resource for local authority planning departments and mechanisms to hold them to account if they are slow to respond to applications, according to the Federation of Master Builders. This comes... View Article

Snug’s Eternal Wall ‘prayer’ landmark design gets green light

Monday, 14th September 2020

Paul Bulkeley, who founded Snug Architects in Southampton, is en route to become one of the UK’s most noteworthy architects after his design for a new national prayer landmark, Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer got the green light for build.... View Article

Construction begins on state-of-the-heart hospital in Cairo

Monday, 14th September 2020

Construction on the Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre Cairo has begun. It is the newest outpost of the Aswan Heart Centre founded by renowned Egyptian surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub and provides free state-of-the-art treatment for the people of Egypt and... View Article

The pros and cons of zonal planning

Monday, 14th September 2020

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has published a new report which sets out the strengths and weaknesses of zonal planning systems. Planning Through Zoning provides an insight into the use of zonal planning in a number of different nations... View Article

Lords Committee raises concerns about substantial and wide-ranging changes to planning legislation

Monday, 14th September 2020

The Lords Secondary Legislation Committee has published a report highlighting concerns about substantial and wide-ranging changes to planning legislation which result in a lighter touch approval process for certain local developments. The Committee scrutinises policy aspects of all secondary legislation... View Article

Ceremony marks new council housing milestone

Monday, 14th September 2020

A topping-out ceremony was held on Thursday at a new 100% affordable block that will become council homes at council rents for 90 Croydon families when it is completed. Next spring, local people on the borough’s housing waiting list will... View Article

London studio of global architecture firm Perkins and Will wins internal co-living design competition

Friday, 11th September 2020

The London studio of global design practice Perkins and Will has won an internal firmwide competition to design a co-living community concept that responds to the housing crisis affecting major cities worldwide. The annual Phil Freelon Design Competition was renamed... View Article

Boutique developer launches contemporary living developments in Eastcote

Thursday, 10th September 2020

Boutique developer Life Less Ordinary has further demonstrated its confidence in the North West London suburb of Eastcote with the launch of two new contemporary developments that are anticipated to appeal particularly to first-time buyers for whom the eclectic mix... View Article