More news – Page 3144
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NewsPart L: Arguing over the details
After four years of robust testing of the Part E acoustic regulations, Robust Details Limited is ready to extend its pattern book approach to Part L. But some specifiers still see it as an expensive, unfocused and unproven means of compliance. Here, we get both sides to fight it out…
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High-performance timber windows
Aimed at housing associations and developers with large-scale developments who are trying to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes and BREEAM criteria, Green Building Store has launched the Ecocontract range of timber windows.
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Heat-pump boiler
A heating system that harnesses energy from the air to provide heat and hot water in the home has been launched by Mitsubishi Electric.
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Dual-flush WC
Impulse Bathrooms has launched a dual-flush WC that is designed to cut domestic water use in homes by half.
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Grey water recycling
For designers looking to meet level three and beyond of the Code for Sustainable Homes, Polypipe Sanitary Systems has launched a micro greywater recycling system.
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Solar powered ventilation
Monodraught has launched a solar powered natural ventilation system for use in dwellings.
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NewsIntegrated photovoltaics
Photovoltaics integrated into roof and cladding panels have been launched by Arval, part of Arcelor Construction.
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NewsPhase change materials
One of the disadvantages of modern lightweight construction is its lack of thermal mass, which means this type of building can overheat in the summer and can’t retain heat in the winter.
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Solar hot water
Velux has launched a solar hot water system. The company, which is known for its rooflights but also markets itself as a ‘daylight engineer’, says the system could provide up to 70% of homes’ hot water requirements.
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FeaturesHow they made it: Will Alsop
How they made it - Do things your own way, work for someone you respect, steer clear of venture capitalists, and don’t hurry lunch … Will Alsop is full of advice for budding architects. Over a leisurely afternoon drink, he shares some of it with Roxane McMeeken
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Features30 St Mary Axe: A gherkin to suit all tastes
Having dominated London’s City skyline for four years, the Gherkin is now appealing to a wide range of occupiers. Shame about the windows, though.
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FeaturesNew Orleans reconstruction: We shall overcome
Three years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, the city is still in ruins and 40,000 people are homeless. The government has abandoned reconstruction in favour of commercial development, but the residents of the Lower Ninth Ward, determined to stop their district becoming an industrial park, have engaged charities, architects ...
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Comment
Wonders & blunders
A tale of two London stations this week – one a glorious example of what the new can bring to the old, the other a grim warning of what it can take away, says Robert Clark
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FeaturesSite canteen competition: And Britain's best-fed builders are...
In December, Building launched a contest to find the best site canteen in the UK. With the shortlist whittled down to three, Katie Puckett joined our intrepid judges as they worked their way through the finest ‘grill-ups’ and porridge in the land. It was a tough job, but eventually a ...
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CommentWhen the fix is in
There’s nothing wrong with prequalification in theory. Alas, there’s no shortage of things wrong with it in practice. Greg Verhoef explains how the system works
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Comment10 years of the Construction Act
Ten years after it became law, the Construction Act is a boisterous, perplexing triumph. Here’s its biography. Overleaf, Rudi Klein and Dominic Helps add their views, and we hear from one man who went through the mill and survived
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Comment
A sunnier picture
I was somewhat bemused by your recent article on the lack of demand for zero-carbon housing (4 April, page 68-71), because it almost completely contradicts our experience of supplying solar photovoltaic systems to homeowners and housebuilders.
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Comment
All open and above board
I read with interest Liam Holder’s letter (4 April, page 38) suggesting that my article on SGS vs Barratt (14 March, page 70) breached some kind of “assumed” confidentiality.Although I acknowledge the general assumption is that adjudication is private and notionally confidential, I have yet to see any law that ...