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CPD for architects

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RIBA extends 2020 Core CPD Programme

Sign up for all 10 Core webinars or choose on an individual basis. All will be presented across February and March 2021

27 January 2021

Sustainable architecture

Despite its embodied carbon, masonry is still the default construction method. What are the alternatives?

Masonry is still the default construction method, but it needn’t be

The Norwegian-based practice will use the material, made from mineral waste, on a pilot construction project planned for next year

The Norwegian-based practice will use the material on a pilot construction project

You don’t need to watch Godzilla vs Kong for monster drama – housing’s building revolution has it all. Whose robot is leading the race for speed, strength and affordability? We compare four of the leading construction robots

Four house-building robots put through their paces

Counterspace’s Serpentine Pavilion wins critics’ plaudits – though the client’s ‘carbon negative’ claim for the concrete structure fails to convice. More sustainably, ZHA announces designs for Italy for truly zero carbon transport hyperloop

Critics welcome outward looking structure as ZHA's Italian hyperloop shows what real carbon negative is

The Class Q four-bedroom house in the countryside is an inventive mix of materials and spaces, using corrugated sheeting, larch, glass and ply – half water, half home inside

The Class Q house is an inventive mix of materials and use of space – half water, half home inside

Architecture for social purpose

Too often, racial diversity in architecture favours people who match the profile of those already in elite positions rather than representing the majority of underprivileged racial groups, argues Indujah Srikaran

Racial diversity in architecture comprises people in elite positions rather than representing underprivileged racial groups

7N Architects' worked with five Scottish communities to discover their ambitions for local spaces in response to the Venice Biennale theme of how we live together

Modest ideas with community benefits – project unveils local ambitions

The ‘creeping epidemic’ of privatised public space is the subject of The Garden of Privatised Delights, the biennale's British Pavilion curated by Madeleine Kessler and Manijeh Verghese of Unscene Architecture

The ‘creeping epidemic’ of privatised public space is the subject of installations at the biennale's British Pavilion

Having grown up in a compound house in Kenya, RIBAJ rising star Bushra Mohamed has researched the use of such multi-generational shared living throughout Africa, and argues that the building type is very relevant today

Bushra Mohamed on the use of the compound house throughout Africa and its relevance today

Bevk Perović Arhitekti's Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre centres around the mosque, but opens physically to Ljubljana to act as a social generator for the area, says Andrej Strehovec

Bevk Perović Arhitekti's set of buildings centre around a mosque, designed to be open and transparent

Health, safety & wellbeing

Latest ACM-clad housing block fire sparks fury at inadequate action post-Grenfell. Plus Urban Splash saves Brick by Brick, Caruso St John goes neoclassical and how much concrete does a temporary pavilion need?

Residential tower fire highlights inaction and cost contradictions

A shift from minimum compliance to ownership and responsibility for safety is needed for construction to move on after Grenfell, and that starts with procurement, heard the final discussion in the Rebooting Construction series

Industry must move from minimum compliance to full responsibility for safety

As the government announces a capital boost for schools, practice alma-nac has used the pandemic to deepen its relationship with schools by producing a new guide

Guidance offers post-Covid promise too

This investigation, shortlisted in the RIBA President’s Awards for Research, looks at replacing man-made panels with plant-based material to return dwellings to appropriate, breathable products that are resilient to regular inundation

Plant-based material is breathable and flood-resilient

We love tall buildings, but architects must ensure they don’t present hidden dangers for vulnerable people. That means designing to avoid opportunity for self harm

We love tall buildings... but we must address hidden dangers

Business, clients and services

How can we reduce the number of disputes that plague construction? Assessing where problems may lie is key to taking essential preventative action

Identify, collaborate, mitigate. Network Rail’s DAPs show the way

Construction workers are ageing, returning to the EU and rethinking after furlough, but Build Back Better needs the industry to expand. We’re back in skills shortage territory – big time

Who wants a job in construction? And who will train them?

The RIBA is transcending boundaries to create a far-flung community, based on core ambitions and common goals, says Alan Jones

Near and far strategy for people, practices and profession

Ai-Da is a humanoid robot made by gallerist Aidan Meller, that can converse and be creative. She is exhibiting at the Design Museum

This humanoid robot can converse, draw and paint

Post-Brexit materials certification set to slow building-led bounce back, but moves to help overseas architects work in UK could combat staff shortages. Climate remains controversial in Derby and for Grimshaw profits, but Grenfell bereaved press for tower to become vertical forest memorial

Government struggles to combat materials and staff shortages

Legal, regulatory and statutory compliance

David Hare might consider Alison Brooks’ Hampstead house an ‘elephant’s backside’, but it's on Lendlease and Peabody’s Thamesmead masterplan team. Meanwhile NeoBankside residents go one more round with Tate Modern and City plans for office-to-resi would triple its homes count. And RSHP defends China airport job

… but its Hampstead house upsets wordsmith David Hare

Better designs consider how the building will be used, right from the start of the process. How does RIBA’s Plan for Use Guide fit into the Plan of Work?

How best to design for comfortable, sustainable use

The many grim legacies of the Grenfell fire include its effects on construction’s reputation, nowhere more so than PI cover which has all but vanished. Hope is scarce, but it does exist

PI cover has virtually disappeared post Grenfell

Brexit red tape sees RSHP establish Paris office as potential damage limitation. Meanwhile, with fire still in the news as MPs and RIBA slam government's post Grenfell cladding plan, ZHA wins the toss for its timber football stadium. And Denise Scott Brown gets a new career as comic strip star

Brexit red tape forces Paris office, and ZHA's all-timber stadium

Huge changes are coming to the industry, said Jane Duncan, chairing a virtual round table discussion covering competence, insurance and procurement. The first of four articles places these key themes in context

Hilti’s virtual round table discussion sets the context for key themes

Procurement and contracts

Gundry + Ducker’s Christian Ducker explains why his procurement style is to go for bespoke and tailored – lighting, furniture and frontages

Christian Ducker favours bespoke lighting, furniture and frontages

Fewer than 13% of the construction workforce are women. In the first of an occasional series, Rosa Turner Wood, who has just completed her Part II, takes over some space to consider how we can rebalance our gender-unequal, and aging, workforce

Could women be the answer to tackling the UK’s declining construction workforce?

Most construction sites are operational again, but problems with supplies and managing safe distances between workers are hampering efforts to recoup lost time

Loosened lockdown leaves gaps in supplies and staffing in its wake

John Walker, director at Walker Simpson Architects, chooses three of his specification favourites

Three specification favourites from the director at Walker Simpson Architects

Paul Strudwick, associate at HKS Architects, chooses his specification favourites

Paul Strudwick of HKS chooses three of his specification favourites

Inclusive environments

Sumayya Vally’s Serpentine Pavilion, which opens today, investigates migration and the creation of places of belonging. She spoke to Dingle Price about communities and cultures, and the building’s legacy for London

This year’s pavilion is part of a bigger story, says Counterspace’s Sumayya Vally

Homs-based architect Marwa al-Sabouni has found the same ‘sense of deprivation and alienation’ in Western cities as in her own. She spoke to Pamela Buxton about her book Building for Home, which looks at how to rebuild after crises

Homs-based Marwa al-Sabouni explores how the built environment can help mend society

AL_A's outreach centre and undergraduate centre is the third of a new generation of unexpected Oxford University buildings by women-led practices

AL_A's outreach centre and undergraduate centre for Wadham College adds a touch of shine

Jordan Whitewood-Neal, commended in RIBAJ/Future Architects writing competition, considers whether the AA can reconcile its progressive agenda with its inaccessible building to make disabled inclusion central to architectural education

AA’s progressive teaching conflicts with its inaccessible premises

As its workload recovers from lockdowns, nimtim continues to put community involvement, remuneration and diversity high on its busy agenda.

From board games to diversity, listening is key

Places planning & community

A new report by parliament’s Housing, Communities & Local Government Committee reviews the government’s proposed reform of the planning system. The committee chair discusses the issues

How complicated is it to simplify planning?

Has the pandemic presented a solution to small town decline and urban over-crowding? Marina Engel reports on an Italian scheme to revive its rural borghi, which has lessons for planners everywhere

Squid Revolution restores la dolce vita to Italian borghi

This week's roundup covers a Passivhaus primary school, a hostel for homeless families, retrofitting of Bristol industrial buildings and 'a secret palace of relaxation'

A Passivhaus primary school, a hostel for the homeless, retrofitting of industrial buildings and 'a secret palace of relaxation'

Is a collection of inventive architects, including 6a and SelgasCano, enough to create a convincing new area in an emerging part of south east London? Greenwich is giving its new Design District its best shot

Archiecture 00 and David Kohn are among nine practices designing 'blind' – will it work?

Changing working habits and a shift to adaptive reuse will see more office-to-resi conversions. Responsibility and regulation will be vital

Responsibility and regulation are vital for sustainable re-use

Building conservation and heritage

Enthusiastic architect led by chance into housing design, who believed that good architecture would help create a better future for all

Veteran housing architect who also worked on No 1 Poultry and the British Library

From ancient artistic splendours to modern political upheavals, this exhibition tells a long and rich story through a design based on the architecture of a city

Pamela Buxton reviews Epic Iran exhibition, which ranges from artistic splendour to political upheaval

If shoes say it all about a person, floors certainly do that in buildings. And in apartments that sell for up to £18m, quality must be unsurpassed

How to finish floors in apartments priced at up to £18m

Mohit Buch enjoys a vicarious journey through Yemen, which offers a rare understanding of the region’s architecture through the details of buildings’ reconstruction

Revelations on a cornerstone of Yemeni culture and heritage

As DK-CM’s Harrow Arts Centre demonstrates, reinvigorating public buildings doesn’t have to include carbon-intensive interventions, just some imagination and an ambition to put refurbishment first

Why ‘refurbishment first’ is the right approach to public buildings

Design, construction and technology

Despite its embodied carbon, masonry is still the default construction method. What are the alternatives?

Masonry is still the default construction method, but it needn’t be

The Norwegian-based practice will use the material, made from mineral waste, on a pilot construction project planned for next year

The Norwegian-based practice will use the material on a pilot construction project

Has the pandemic presented a solution to small town decline and urban over-crowding? Marina Engel reports on an Italian scheme to revive its rural borghi, which has lessons for planners everywhere

Squid Revolution restores la dolce vita to Italian borghi

Purple STEAM in Durham, USA, is one of the largest completely 3D-printed public sculptures yet built. How did architect Volkan Alkanoglu do it?

High tech meets low tech in Volkan Alkanoglu’s Purple STEAM art pavilion

You don’t need to watch Godzilla vs Kong for monster drama – housing’s building revolution has it all. Whose robot is leading the race for speed, strength and affordability? We compare four of the leading construction robots

Four house-building robots put through their paces

Books

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