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  1. Learning

CPD Video: To Be or Not to OSB?

The Benefits and Applications of Oriented Strand Board

1 May 2019

Architecture for social purpose

Our response to the housing shortage is broken; its effects deeply damaging. We need a different system built on different values

Social and economic realities of the homes shortage need new thinking

Dramatic fall in clubs and centres prompts a celebration of their role in their communities

Queer Spaces at the Whitechapel Gallery

An inspiring RIBA lecture by the founders of MASS Design Group argued convincingly for design driven by local and public involvement

MASS sets the case for impact

Everyone involved in MacEwen winner Star and Shadow Cinema is an enthusiast or expert – but all are volunteers. MawsonKerr was called in to make its latest, permanent, venture happen

Winner: Star and Shadow Cinema, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

At Bridgend Inspiring Growth, critically assisted by architect Halliday Fraser Munro, people can make, mend, grow and cook – but most of all socialise

Commended: Bridgend Inspiring Growth, by Halliday Fraser Munro

Health, safety & wellbeing

Three new Practice Notes from the RIBA will help architects keep their projects safe from fire risk

Guidance from three new Practice Notes by the RIBA

Canadian exhibition explores increasingly prevalent ideas of wellbeing and considers their impact on the built environment

What does growing interest in wellbeing mean for architects?

Dangerous quality lapses in construction, such as that at Oxgangs School, show why architects and clerks of works must get back on site

Grenfell and Oxgangs School show need for professional inspection

Becky Clark, also secretary of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England, talks about Notre-Dame and how to ensure such an event doesn't happen here

Church of England director on the lessons of Notre-Dame

Designing a more efficient office building or improving the working environment? Often the two come together

Everyone could have a nicer and more energy-efficient office

Business, clients and services

Hong Kong is a very different proposition to almost anywhere in the world, but it’s essential to have a foothold in this exciting and fast-paced region

It’s essential to have a foothold in Hong Kong, but what is working there like?

Japanese house builder Sekisui House has just announced its £22m investment in Urban Splash House Holdings, a 35% stake that will allow the UK firm to ramp up its delivery of modular homes. We ask Urban Splash co-founder and architect Jonathan Falkingham what the deal means for the company

What does Sekisui House's £22m mean for Urban Splash?

Architects are none too excited about future prospects, and it looks like they have good cause to be gloomy

Signs are there's cause for serious concern

Impressive productivity gains are offset by rising payroll costs in the RIBA Business Benchmarking Survey this year

Revenues are rising twice as fast as staff numbers

Brexit chaos aside, how does it look for construction? The underlying trend is gently positive, but that could change all too quickly

Can modest growth sustain amid Brexit chaos?

Legal, regulatory and statutory compliance

Despite uncertainties around Brexit, by the end of 2019 the UK will adopt the new European Standard that deals with daylight in buildings. What could it mean for your project?

European Standard EN 17037: Everything you need to know

Sued architect thought he was on a journey of design exploration with his clients but they weren’t even on board

Sued architect left clients behind on ‘design journey’

Not setting clear, express terms in your contract could leave you facing the danger of unlimited liability

What could lead to a £40m liability?

Rich in references, Amin Taha’s controversial building announces its presence with an intriguing range of finishes on its structural limestone facade

Intriguing finishes on Amin Taha's controversial building

Procurement and contracts

Housing and commercial uplift send average fees higher – but hourly rates fail to keep up with inflation

Rising fees leave hourly rates standing still

Just defining ethical priorities can be a minefield, never mind enforcing them. But, as evidenced by the RIBA’s new CPD subjects, there’s no getting away from it

There's no getting away from ethical sourcing

Who owns the copyright on architects’ drawings? It depends, of course

Who owns the copyright on your drawings?

The invention of tough yet flexible concrete could halve the duration of road and paving works

This is stronger, lighter – and it bends

For owners to win redress under the 1972 Act, a dwelling must be unfit to live in

What does it take to win redress under the 1972 Act?

Sustainable architecture

A varied and intriguing show uncovers many projects that ‘stimulate and respond to their cultural expectations’

Shortlisted projects ‘stimulate and respond to cultural expectations’

Material could be used for flooring, kitchens and bathrooms, a reception desk, bench and even bespoke furniture

Reused waste product would help circular economy, say creators

Cambridge carries off a clutch of awards as works by both established and up-and-coming practices head hopefully towards the Stirling Prize

Established and up-and-coming practices head hopefully towards the Stirling

The 17 Stirlings’ Architects Declare initiative is gaining ground, but where are the rest of you?

Today there are 442 signatures. Where are the rest of you?

Derek Latham’s near zero-energy house in Derbyshire was a labour of love and inquiry – full of lessons for climate-aware designers

Derek Latham’s near-zero energy house in Derbyshire

Inclusive environments

The teachers’ mantra that no two children are the same also applies to school buildings. Architects must maximise the benefit to pupils, students, staff and site

Like pupils, no two schools are the same

A strong and varied entry to this year's competition has produced a rich – and long – longlist

Strength and variety characterises a long list

In the rush to create more secondary capacity, schools are featuring mixed use developments and their premises are doubling up for other community uses.

Premises double up for other community uses

Living with Buildings offers a welcome breakdown of the link between environment and wellbeing, especially in the post-Grenfell context

Living with Buildings charts the link between environment and wellbeing

Tradition, modernity, pastiche and cultural fusion: what is the architectural style of the British mosque?

What is the architectural style of the British mosque?

Places planning & community

Hong Kong’s reputation for densely packed building and land reclamation continues its forward march

Reclamation and invention keep construction at full throttle

Bartlett's CASA wins £160,000 to help develop its crowd-sourced platform, which will create a databank of building details across the capital

Colour your building to create an open data source on London’s stock

Fresh back from Hong Kong, Hugh Pearman wonders how useful the aesthetic agonising of our planning system is

Would things be worse if there was no planning at all?

Sometimes there’s a case not to improve – but how do you keep that under control?

Will Wiles argues the case for dilapidation

How 360° views helped a Slough residential scheme, the Chiswick Curve Enquiry, Cross-Harbour and 225 Marshwall win planning approval

How 360° views help schemes win planning approval

Building conservation and heritage

Use of an experimental render means rainwater has been migrating into the house since it was built. Until a long-term solution can be found, Carmody Groarke's protective structure allows the building to dry out

Carmody Groarke's 'jewel box' for Scottish gem

Cultural destruction is a powerful way to attack a nation’s people. This show at the Imperial War Museum investigates the targeting and saving of heritage

‘When our cultural heritage is lost, so are people'

Hugh Broughton Architects has excelled itself with its sumptuous conservation work at the Old Royal Naval College's Painted Hall

How the Painted Hall was restored to full glory

Titles to enjoy on the lounger this summer cover women architects in China, neighbourhood planning, and rescue and reuse

Three titles to enjoy on the lounger

Museum of London Docklands explores the history of the capital's many rivers, now mostly covered and culverted, and considers hopes to 'daylight' them

Secret Rivers exhibition explores the capital's hidden watercourses

Design, construction and technology

Architect who prized functionality with creativity, who worked tirelessly on ecclesiastical buildings and who devoted much of his retirement to South Downs Health Trust

Architect who prized functionality and creativity

Six schemes, diverse as always, are within touching distance of the coveted Stirling Prize

Pick your predicted winner

Top flight football is all about ambience – and Tottenham Hotspur’s new roof on its London stadium creates a cauldron of atmosphere to steal the show

Populous steals the show with its new stadium roof

Landscaping and drainage is getting interesting…

PiP’s specifieds researchers go to ground

Ancient skills and modern technology, practice and academia, theory and making, Ireland and China: Superposition in Hong Kong purposefully mixes it all up

Why Hong Kong based Superposition merges vernacular means and methods with digital tools

Flooring

The flooring manufacturer's award-winning Flotex Colour collection takes its inspiration from urban landscapes and now includes new designs, shades and formats

Forbo's Flotex textile flooring now has more options

The specialist flooring firm's carpets for medical and care home settings are made from Econyl regenerated nylon

Regeneration game: Care home carpets made from waste nylon

Flooring specialist's high-impact, noise-reducing Powershock 300 tiles are a perfect fit for a penthouse-level gym installed above apartments in Dún Laoghaire

Gerflor rubber tile works out for Dublin gym facilities

Polished concrete with inlays and trims demands expertise in design and a masterful touch in installation. Lazenby's floors are shining examples

Lazenby brings elegance and beauty to concrete floors

Junckers' Oak Boulevard hardwood flooring is durable, beautiful and - in a new Rustic White oiled finish - a thoroughly modern solution for light-filled interiors

Junckers extends its signature Oak Boulevard flooring range

Kitchens and bathrooms

At up to 1.8m metres long, the Superplan XXL brings super-sized, floor-level showering to the Nine Elms development

Superplan XXL shower surface specified at Nine Elms development

The architecture and interior design firm has fitted out its London HQ with Billi taps to fulfil all its hydration needs

Office refresh: Billi taps and dispensing systems at London office refit

An underground Sanifos pump has been specified for an extension to an off-mains rural cottage

Underground pump solves off-mains drainage dilemma

Sottini's new bathroom ranges feature finer edges and contemporary curves, offering specifiers multiple product combinations and maximum design flexibility

Sottini bathroom collection offers multiple design solutions

Washroom Washroom’s design team has delivered a fresh contemporary washroom facility at London's Camden Market influenced by vintage design

Washroom Washroom designs retro facilities at Camden Market

Books

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