Design and specification
Micro-perforated tiles
Micro-perforated metal tiles from Armstrong Ceilings have been specified for the offices of Birmingham council’s new workplace at 10 Woodcock Street
Curtain walling
Kawneer’s curtain walling was used on an office block in Manchester to revitalise the site
Thermally efficient envelope
Celotex GA4000 PIR insulation was specified for a new office building at Watermead business park in Leicestershire
Commercial air-conditioning solutions
Daikin has launched its new Sky Air Seasonal Smart and Seasonal Classic commercial air-conditioning solutions
Wakefield council offices: A model of modesty
Cartwright Pickard’s considered, pragmatic design has allowed Wakefield’s council offices to come in at under half the price of some other recent civic buildings. Could this be a template for more hubristic architects to follow, asks Ike Ijeh
Timber door sets
Door manufacturer Jeld-Wen has released the Farndale range of engineered timber door sets. It says the range is available in single or double-leaf options and a choice of sidelights or a top-fixed fan light. There is also the option for the door to be fully glazed. Jeld-Wen says all Farndale door sets comply with Part L Building Regulations. The door set is 54mm thick and 2,094mm high, with a range of standard widths and bespoke systems available.Jeld-Wen:
Modified wood for outdoor use
Accsys Technologies has launched a modified wood product called Alder for door and window frames, which it says has gone through a process to improve its durability, hardness and water absorption, while retaining its strength, making it suitable for outdoor use. The Accoya product line carries a 50-year above-ground and 25-year below-ground warranty against rot and decay. The wood comes from Forest Stewardship Council and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification-certified ...
Halls of residence fit out
Assa Abloy Security Solutions has supplied its products for use in a halls of residence in the University of the West of Scotland, in Paisley.
Shutting the door on danger
Only 5% of electric gates meet safety guidelines - a shocking fact that goes some way towards explaining why they have caused two deaths and four accidents since 2010. With increasing numbers of these security devices being installed every day, it is time the industry woke up to the risks they can pose, argues Richard Jackson
Design Council boss steps down
Design Council chief executive David Kester to stand down after nine years - move comes a year after merger with Cabe
Special report: Building envelopes
Upgrading a facade not only brings aesthetic benefits, it can help extend the building’s life and improve environmental performance. Here we look at facade systems that can be installed with minimal disturbance and, crucially, do not require a building to be vacated. Andy Pearson reports
Designing a dancefloor: Ramboll's new moves
When Ramboll was faced with the problem of designing a lightweight, long-span floor capable of withstanding the combined weight of a school dance class, it needed to come up with some exciting new moves … Building reports
Movers & makers: Education
A round-up of news from manufacturers including Portakabin and Kingspan Insulation
Kitchen design for the over 65s: Older and wiser
The number of over 65-year-olds is growing fast and kitchen designers are having to adapt fittings to meet their particular needs. Building looks at the ingredients of ‘inclusive design’
Raindrops keep falling: The Oxford Natural History Museum's leaking roof
The Oxford Natural History Museum has been plagued by water dripping through its roof since its completion but after years of buckets and botched jobs one architect has finally solved the problem. Building finds out how you fix a 154-year-old leak
Quadruple glazing: Fancy a fourth layer?
It’s winter and our thoughts turn to keeping warm by any means necessary. Is quadruple glazing the solution? Thomas Lane peeks out from behind his curtains to ask the experts
Zero carbon housing using underfloor thermal heat stores
When you’ve got houses and flats on a tiny plot, no room to store fuel and little roof space, finding a zero-carbon heating solution is tricky. One team went underground to find the answer
Fibre cement cladding
Marley Eternit’s Pictura fibre cement cladding has been used on a learning resource centre at Bournside School in Cheltenham.
Cam action door closers
DORMA, TS 92 and TS 93 cam action door closers were specified for Rochdale’s new £19m sixth-form college
Smoke detection system
Gent by Honeywell has launched a range of Air Sampling Detection (ASD) systems which detect smoke
Timed flow washroom control
Rada has launched a range of timed flow washroom controls for taps and shower units
Deptford: Mixed to the max
On a single 7,000m2 site in Deptford, architect Pollard Thomas Edwards has managed to fit a community centre, artists’ studios, flats, a school and two playgrounds. Building finds out how
Brettstapel envelope: The natural choice
Getting planning permission to build a house in the stunning Scottish Borders requires a sensitive design, which is why architect Gaia specified a wooden Brettstapel envelope for this project
10 ways to make your office outstanding (in BREEAM’s eyes, at least)
These days the corporate world is falling over itself to improve its environmental credentials. Thomas Lane takes a look at the newest, greenest, office building on the block and finds out how your office can be ’outstanding’ too
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Five interior trends: Sci-fi design
Silent kitchen appliances, hobs operated from an iPad and intuitive showers - all on display at kbb London, last month’s kitchen, bedroom and bathroom event. Grahame Morrison, editor of kbb News, highlights five interior trends
The shape of Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe leisure centre rises from the landscape as a series of interlinked domes, more in number than the Eden Project. We find out how you specify roofing for such a complex project, where nearly every element is unique
Feeling the heat: Fire door specification
Incorrectly specified fire doors could, at worst, cost lives. Now a landmark legal case could mean that it’s the contractor and specifier who will end up in court.
Kohn Pederson Fox unveils Indian project
Residential neighbourhood in Gurgaon will include duplex apartments and 40-storey towers
Passivhaus diaries: Keeping it all in
It’s taken longer than expected to turn a leaky Edwardian house into an exemplar of energy efficiency. Now it’s finished project architect reports on the exterior insulation, finishing off and how the house is performing
Standardised schools: Here’s one we made earlier
Thanks to a streamlined procurement and design process, councils can now choose a school from a brochure and get it delivered in just 13 months. Is this a revolution in the classroom
Three of a kind: Dublin airport's Terminal 2
?Dublin airport’s new Terminal 2 consists of three different elements, straddling a road. What unites the building is the curving roof form - made up of more than 300 flat panel shapes. Stephen Kennett meets the designers
Heathrow T2 uses cool concrete
Low-temperature Cemex mix intended to reduce cracking risk
Ashley Primary School: Any colour as long as it’s green
Ashley Primary School is run with such zeal for the environment that when an expansion became necessary, it grabbed the chance to increase its sustainability credentials
Building envelope solutions
Tata Steel has provided building envelope solutions for two commercial units at Hawarden business park in Flintshire
Wiring accessories
The Wandsworth Group has extended its Series Two range of data and media outlets
Fully glazed partitioning system
SAS International has launched a new fully glazed partitioning system
Movers & makers 11 May 2012: Offsite construction
A round-up of news from off-site manufacturers
Clip-on cills
Halo has introduced a range of PVC-U clip-on cills to simplify the installation of external insulation to existing buildings. The cills are compatible with the company’s four doors and windows systems and are available in depths of 122mm, 192mm and 242mm. The firm says cill damage is a common defect, so fitting them at the end of the building process helps minimise snagging before handover.Halo: www.whshalo.com
Hygienic pre-hung door sets
Boomer Industries supplied the Ministry of Defence’s medical rehabilitation centre at Headley Court, Epsom, with pre-hung door sets. The centre caters for combat casualties, and houses 360 military and civilian staff. Boomer was chosen as it offered the door set with Formica coating and PVC frames, to help maintain a hygienic environment. The firm says the anti-microbial PVC in its products helps control the spread of harmful organisms.
Single-glazed doors
Architectural metalwork company Drawn Metal Group has launched a range of doors designed for single-glazed applications using glass up to 13.5mm thick. Called Premier 2000 Metal Framed Door, the series is designed to be used for entrances to shops, offices, precincts or any place that has high levels of pedestrian traffic. The range is available in standard configurations of up to 3,000m high and 1,400mm wide.
Housing ventilation: Bit of an air con
In the race to build ever more airtight homes, it appears that housebuilders are sacrificing air quality, with some 95% of new dwellings failing Part F ventilation standards
Kingspan insulation collection scheme: Waste away
Kingspan has piloted an insulation collection scheme in Dudley that aims to help contractors edge closer to their zero-waste-to-landfill targets
Movers and makers 23 March 2012: Flooring
A round up of the latest news from flooring manufacturers
London Design Review panel launched
Design Council Cabe unveils new offer to private sector and London boroughs as part of shift to self-funding consultancy
The University of Bradford: The stuff of BREEAM
For a university to have one building with an unprecedented 95% BREEAM score is impressive, but to have two suggests it really knows what it is doing. Building examined Bradford’s Sustainability and Enterprise Centre to find out its secret
Cladding the Dorchester extension: The rich kid next door
When you’re building a hotel for the young and fabulously wealthy, bronze cladding may not sound excessive, but it was still proving beyond the means of the team behind the Dorchester’s new extension project - until they discovered a spray-applied alternative … Building reports
A lot to live up to: Building houses that meet predicted energy use
The gap between a house’s predicted energy use and actual performance has been comprehensively panned. Building meets three developers who reckon their projects will show that low carbon on paper can mean low carbon in practice
Cladding: Facing the future
The cladding market is being tested by the influx of new regulations and cost pressures. The good news is that facades can now be designed on a more human scale, says Stephen Ledbetter, director of the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology
Thin joint lintels
Catnic has introduced a selection of lintels suitable for use with thin joint masonry called CTJ90
Insulated wall panels
Kingspan Curvewall architectural exterior insulated wall panels have been used in a student hall of residence in Dundee
Anti-bacterial doorsets
Leaderflush Shapland supplied doors to the Francis Coombe Academy in Watford
Gypsum-based board
British Gypsum has launched a water-resistant plasterboard called Glasroc H Tilebacker
Movers & makers: Education
This week’s news from education products manufacturers
Triple glazing: Clear technology
Triple glazing is no longer the preserve of environmental zealots, it has become a practical and accessible way to reduce energy loss in buildings and hit environmental targets. Building guides you through the market and latest developments
The first Olympic velodrome: Tour de force
The 2012 Olympics are fast approaching but in all the hype we musn’t forget sports venues of the past. Building visits the first Olympic velodrome as it undergoes a restoration to its former glory
Toulouse School of Economics: An education
How do you get lots of natural light into a university building without it getting too hot? Thomas Lane finds out how to shut out the sultry Toulouse sun using medieval building materials and fresh air
Engineering Britain's biggest retained facade: Going to great lengths
?This was once a dilapidated hotel that just so happened to be on prime land overlooking Hyde Park. To convert it into luxury flats the whole thing had to be demolished and rebuilt – apart from the facade. Building talks to the team responsible for the largest ever retained Victorian elevation in the country
Q & A with AKII – Structurally sound
The downturn, increasing materials prices and regulatory changes are all having an impact on structural engineers. Building asks Paul Scott, a director at structural engineering practice, AKT II, how the sector is holding up
Which domestic renewables incentive is best?
Adam Mactavish of Cyril Sweett provides a brief review of the incentive schemes for domestic renewables
Rebuilding Iraq: Mott MacDonald's Marsh Arab school
How do you start to rebuild a country devasted by war? When Mott MacDonald was asked to make a school for the Marsh Arabs, it went back to using traditional woven reed – reconnecting the community to its roots.
Ecobuild: Five top trends
In this week’s Ecobuild special, we take a look at five top trends to find out about at the show on 1-3 March. And there are some surprising suggestions to help you get more green
Changing the rules: Make's straw bale cladding at University of Nottingham
Architect Make decided a new university biosciences building deserved the UK’s first straw curtain walling system. So how did they do it?
Domestic heat pumps: So you think this will do the job, then?
Given that the government seems bent on promoting heat pump technology to help it meet its carbon reduction targets, it’s odd that evidence for its effectiveness has been so thin on the ground. Now at last a study reveals the truth…
Bpod: Prefab just got fabber
A concrete volumetric system for multistorey buildings with a unique loadbearing structure
District heating: The heart of the community
District heating could hold the key for greening the UK’s existing homes. So why, when the technology exists and is used throughout Europe, do we still rely on individual systems?
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