There’s more to paint than meets the eye

Dulux Trade Brand Manager Daniel Hall explains how selecting the most appropriate paint types and finishes for different spaces within a healthcare building can create enhanced environments for patients and staff A healthcare building is a working facility with a... View Article
Safe furniture design should also be comfortable and stylish

Safe furniture design should also be comfortable and stylish

With an increasing focus on creating stimulating mental health environments which nurture recovery, intelligent furniture design is playing a more important role than ever writes Neville Byng, sales and marketing consultant with healthcare furniture specialist Pineapple Contracts In mental health and other challenging... View Article

Focus on the right flooring for dementia

John Mellor, Polyflor’s Market Manager for safety flooring, explains why selecting a floor covering embodying modern, dementia-friendly design principles is increasingly important and spotlights the research behind the thinking According to latest figures from the Alzheimer’s Society, more than 850,000... View Article
How dementia-friendly is your building... really?

How dementia-friendly is your building… really?

Poor research and verification means newly-built healthcare facilities are often wrongly claimed to be dementia-friendly, argues Professor June Andrews, director of the influential Dementia Development Services Centre (DSDC) at the University of Stirling Architects make a difference to how people... View Article

Time to rise to the dementia challenge

Britain can learn from the Japanese experience of designing and building for dementia care, argues Jitesh Patel, Senior Development Manager, Kajima Partnerships. Every three seconds someone somewhere in the world is diagnosed with dementia. In the UK there are over 850,000 people living with... View Article
Suspended Animation – Hotel Hotel, Canberra

Suspended Animation – Hotel Hotel, Canberra

Thousands of pieces of reclaimed timber were used to create a “directional vortex” and a monolithic grand staircase for the award-winning Hotel Hotel interior in Canberra. Stephen Cousins reports Walking up the grand staircase and into the lobby of Hotel... View Article

kbb back at Birmingham

Celebrating an impressive 30 years, kbb Birmingham, the UK’s largest gathering of the world’s best kitchen, bedroom and bathroom brands, returns to the NEC, Birmingham from 6 – 9 March 2016. Since the recession, which caused many businesses in the... View Article
Beating the UK climate with correct render choice

Beating the UK climate with correct render choice

With severe weather events becoming more frequent in the UK, more detailed consideration of the type of materials we specify and their capability to withstand a climate that is so unpredictable is crucial. By Steven Keitley, general manager, Parex Render... View Article

Introducing Biosolar

Deciding between a green roof and photovoltaics (PV) has been a question faced by many industry professionals over recent years when designing a flat roof; however these two technologies are no longer mutually exclusive options with the introduction of biosolar... View Article
timber

Specifying timber for your project’s exterior

Nick Taylor, managing director at Silva Timber discusses what to consider when specifying timber products including species, sustainability and finishing. Wood is natures most versatile and unique material. The fact that it has been used in building for hundreds, even... View Article
entrance

Making an entrance better by design

The debate of form and function has long been raging in architecture. Here we speak to Kaz Spiewakowski, managing director of GEZE UK, about whether aesthetics and function are mutually exclusive when it comes to making an entrance. Entrances and... View Article
water

Managing water in a wetter world

Michael White, business development director of Alumasc Water Management Solutions, says climate change, increased urbanisation and more extreme weather is causing problems for our built environment. Incorporating high capacity steel rainwater systems into our buildings is an effective and affordable... View Article
Inclusive

Inclusive building design under the spotlight

By Kelvin Grimes, project manager for ‘away from home’ assisted accessible toilets at Clos-o-Mat. As a result of developments in the past couple of months alone, architects need to be even more aware of accessibility and inclusivity in their design... View Article

Buying into biomass

As a sustainable low-carbon technology, biomass has become an increasingly popular option for housing associations. What’s more, registered landlords who have installed biomass have seen a reduction in fuel bills for their tenants, making it even more attractive – particularly... View Article
Blending fire safety with aesthetics

Blending fire safety with aesthetics

Steve Bond, customer support manager, fire products, at Pilkington United Kingdom Limited, explores how developments in glazing are enabling businesses to meet fire safety regulations without compromising on design or energy performance. Arguably the first consideration for architects, before aesthetics or... View Article
Home Defence force: effective flood defence measures explained

Home Defence force: effective flood defence measures explained

How architects can keep the planning authorities happy and homeowners reassured, by adopting simple, cost effective flood defence measures to both new builds or as ‘retrofits’ to existing properties, explains Frank Kelly, leading flood design engineer the founder of Flood... View Article

Just another day at the office

Trevor Bowers, director at Washroom Washroom, which has carried out a number of high profile office washroom projects in recent years, discusses the key trends which have helped shape today’s office washroom. Far from seeing the death of the office... View Article