All articles by Alex Smith – Page 27
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Flight and fight
The new museum pavilion at RAF Hendon is home to some supreme examples of aeronautical engineering. To create a building fit for planes such as the Hawker Harrier and Sopwith Camel, architect Feilden Clegg Bradley came up with a roof made of materials associated with aviation – stainless steel and ...
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FeaturesLifetime costs: roofing
Metal prices have gone through the roof – which means the cost of your copper covering is sky-high. So which material is best value? Alex Smith reports, Davis Langdon & Everest crunches the numbers
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FeaturesPlanes, brains and panels of steel
Those clever architects at Feilden Clegg Bradley didn't take the easy route to their RAF museum pavilion in Hendon. Alex Smith divebombs on the challenges of cladding a semi-circular roof in stainless steel and lining it with tensile fabric
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FeaturesYou dirty old man
That means us, folks – Britain has easily the worst record in adopting European environmental law. And, with less than two years before the UK must start eco-rating all new buildings, it seems the upcoming rules on energy efficiency will offer no exception.
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FeaturesNew Part L
The second part of our super E-Z-Read® guide to next year’s likely changes to Part L looks at killer details such as refurbishing existing buildings, clashes with other regulations and why the product manufacturers are hopping mad.
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Housebuilders face extra costs over seller's packs
House Builders Federation says detailed surveys to protect buyers of homes under 10 years old are 'superfluous'
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Guild chief quits in Part M row
The head of the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers has resigned after the publication of a report sponsored by his firm that recommended the use of a type of door handles that it makes
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Playing by the rules
The Princess Royal Sports Arena in Boston, Lincolnshire, is a wooden wonder. Constructed entirely from timber, the sports centre looks like an ark awaiting a flood on its site at the edge of the North Sea. One of the most remarkable things about the arena is that architect BGP McGonaghy ...
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FeaturesNow even tougher
The new Part L is to come into force three years before we thought it was! Oh my God!! What are we going to do??? Well, why not pour yourself a drink, sit back in a large leather armchair and peruse the first part of Building's E-Z-Read® guide to what's ...
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FeaturesIt's wood all the way
Finding a way to protect Boston's athletes from the bitter Lincolnshire winds created a hurdle for the team building a sports arena. But local supplier Finnforest had a natural solution, as Alex Smith discovered
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Lessons in sight and sound
Bexley Business Academy is a radical new school that will change the way education buildings are designed in the UK.
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FeaturesQuiet at the back please
Foster and Partners' Bexley Business Academy encourages integration through its transparent, open-plan, triple-height design. But how do you stop the noise disturbing other classes – and comply with acoustic rules? We listened in on a lesson
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EU law may push up cement cost
Fears are growing that proposed European safety legislation will push up the price of cement
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FeaturesRefurbishment of Plymouth Tinside Lido: Pool life
Closed for a decade, Plymouth’s Tinside Lido has finally been restored to the glory of its 1930s heyday. How could the council afford it? Alex Smith finds that it’s amazing how much you can save by intelligent specification
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Working in harmony
This month, a double issue of Specifier looks at doors and windows and flooring – and what dynamic sectors they are. Despite a flurry of new rules, architects are still turning out some great pieces of work – and Tinside Lido in Plymouth is one of them. The project team ...
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The rules: Doors and windows
All door-closing devices and door handles must comply with the new Disability Discrimination Act, says Alex Smith – plus, best practice U-values for windows
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The rules: Flooring details
Acoustic flooring standards for new dwellings have become much tougher. Alex Smith checks out the guidance and reviews BSI changes