All Buildings, design and specification articles
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NewsCertification scheme for audio-inclusive design launched
A new scheme will offer independent verification of buildings’ audio inclusivity post occupancy
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NewsWhat made this project… Harmeny learning hub by Loader Monteith
Loader Monteith, finalist for Social Value Architect of the Year at last year’s Architect of the Year Awards, guides us through the specification challenges at its Harmeny Learning Hub
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OpinionSecurity by design – rethinking public spaces in the era of Martyn’s Law
Richard Hilson says architects can use the principles of crime prevention through environmental design to make public spaces safer, using spatial planning, circulation logic, and environmental cues to reduce vulnerability, support risk assessment obligations, and enhance user confidence
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OpinionCan the Future Homes and Buildings Standard deliver on its promise?
The homes element of just launched new energy regulations promises big savings on bills. It’s a pity that the benefits will come too late to help with the impact of the current energy crisis, writes Thomas Lane
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OpinionWhy texture is replacing flat surfaces in modern interiors
Paul Moody explains what’s behind the trend away from smooth surfaces towards texture in interior design
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Information - BDIn pictures: Campfield – adaptive reuse of Victorian market halls as tech hub and workspaces
The Campfield project sees a pair of Manchester market halls retrofitted with contemporary insertions to give the iron and glass structures new life as a tech hub/workspace with a public market area. We talked to the designer to learn about some of the challenges of this type of heritage retrofit
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OpinionWith healthcare buildings facing tougher conditions, how can performance keep up?
As healthcare buildings are asked to do more, under more extreme weather conditions and with less margin for error, Colin Rees argues the solution lies in using digital tools to narrow the gap between design intent and operational reality
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NewsWhat made this project… 1 Blossom Yard by TP Bennett
Interior Architect of the Year 2025 finalist TP Bennett guides us through the unique specification challenges at 1 Blossom Yard
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Information - BDWienerberger Denton set to become world’s first hydrogen brick-kiln plant
Wienerberger has secured government funding for what is thought to be the world’s first commercial-scale hydrogen kilns at its brickworks in Denton, Greater Manchester
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OpinionArchitecture is the missing piece in the UK’s creative industry ambitions
UK film and high-end television production spend rose by 17% to about £5.5bn in the first nine months of 2025. Oliver Tyler, managing director at WilkinsonEyre, explains why developments such as Marlow Film Studios will be crucial to its continued success
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NewsDemonstrator homes from different eras to provide retrofit data for social housing
A research and demonstrator project at Liverpool John Moores University is set to offer practical data-driven insights on retrofitting homes of different ages
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NewsOpportunities and threats for wider UK hardwood use explored at V&A event
Ways to scale the use of UK hardwood in construction were unpacked at a V&A museum symposium that tackled the question: what if our built environment was shaped by local, climate-resilient, mixed-species forest? The audience heard about projects across the country that are facilitating the use of homegrown timber – ...
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OpinionEngineering the future: We already have the materials and the techniques to transform how we build
Decarbonising our industry means prioritising existing buildings, treating them as structural and material resources, and rediscovering efficient forms and the craft behind the processes that earlier builders refined under constraint, writes Rob Nield
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OpinionNatural does not necessarily mean durable: why we need to think again about how we specify stone
Kristian Goodenough makes the case for rethinking how stone is specified – better informed by geology, performance characteristics and detailing
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OpinionEnergy-efficiency retrofits don’t have to create damp and mould – but only if they are tackled in the right way
Barrie Francis argues there is no need for retrofits to cause damp problems – providing the right steps are followed…
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OpinionMy response to the new Design Planning Policy Practice Guidance
Consultation on the latest guidance ended earlier this week. David Rudlin considers what it got right – and where it went wrong
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OpinionWomen’s sport is forcing a rethink over stadium design
When venues work for women, families and first-time attendees, they become more commercially resilient and socially valuable for everyone, writes HOK’s Kirsty Mitchell
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OpinionDesigning for intergenerational care: an innovative way to bring people together and support communities
Delve Architects is working on what is believed to be a UK first by creating a forest nursery alongside three carehome facilities in rural Lancashire, Ed Martin writes
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OpinionMy hopes and fears for Manual for Streets 3
The DfT has circulated a draft of the eagerly awaited Manual for Streets update. It must not become just another well-meaning advisory document, writes Christopher Martin, managing director at Urban Movement
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NewsMore picks from the Surface Design Show
Here’s a second batch of finds and innovations from the Surface Design Show 2026