All Buildings, design and specification articles – Page 2
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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
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NewsIn pictures: Florentia Village shows value of colour and placemaking branding
Florentia Village, a makers’ community in north London, has been transformed through a major upgrade and extension by Turner Works. The 3.5-acre former textile-manufacturing site has been revitalised to form a vibrant makers’ campus with a distinctive visual identity created by place-branding agency DNCO
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NewsNew Masonry Association technical committee raises concerns over zero-compression cavity fire barriers
First guidance from Masonry Association’s new technical committee raises concerns about the increasing use of zero-compression cavity fire barriers, which it believes present a foreseeable long-term life-safety risk
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NewsWhat made this project… Majid Al Futtaim mosque by Kettle Collective
WA100 International Architect of the Year 2025 finalist Kettle Collective guides us through the unique specification challenges at the Majid Al Futtaim mosque
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OpinionWhy choosing the right weatherproofing for penetrations at data centres is key
Matt Jones explains why weatherproofing penetrations represents a particular challenge at data centres – and how specialist weatherprooding solutions can be a vital detail when specifying this cornerstone of digital economy infrastructure
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NewsWhat made this project… Rosalind Franklin Wing at St Paul’s Girls’ School by Jestico + Whiles
Finalist for Education Architect of the Year Award 2025, Jestico + Whiles guides us through the specification challenges present at St Paul’s Girls’ School
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OpinionMaster the plan: what masterplanning means, and why it matters
Masterplanning and urban design are frequently conflated but serve very different roles, says Jonathan Tarbatt at Corstorphine & Wright. It is important that we clarify the language, challenge lazy assumptions and advocate for a more rigorous, place focused approach to large-scale development
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FeaturesSuch buildings can change lives… Regenerating safe spaces that young people can call their own
Horizon Youth Zone has just opened in a refurbished warehouse in Grimsby – one of a flurry of youth centres to have completed in the past three years in disadvantaged areas. As the government promises a £500m investment in youth services, Debika Ray considers the importance of creating civic buildings ...
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NewsIn pictures: conversion of iconic former US embassy into luxury hotel
The transformation of the former American embassy in London’s Grosvenor Square into a luxury hotel recently completed after more than a decade’s work
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OpinionDesigning for difference: How thoughtful architecture can transform SEN environments
Being prepared to question standard solutions within the constraints of budget and safety leads to learning environments that are not only functional, but uplifting, Richard Paige of NVB Architects explains