A sporting advantage

Navjot Dhillon and Nick Egan of Gerflor discuss why specifying better quality flooring will give architects a key advantage in sports facilities A key function of sports flooring is to help protect players from injury, and enhance their athletic performance.... View Article

Waterproofing inverted roofs

Sarah Spink, CEO of the Liquid Roofing and Waterproofing Association (LRWA) provides specification advice on waterproofing inverted roofs, which are increasingly popular The popularity of inverted roofs continues to grow with the construction of these systems offering many benefits. From... View Article

View Point: Camilla Siggaard Andersen of Arup

Camilla Siggaard Andersen of Arup explores how, regardless of the construction industry’s myriad motives, the worth of projects that architects and designers create is ultimately about their social value – how they shape peoples’ lives Why do we build? Depending... View Article

A new hope

A pioneering cancer treatment centre in Manchester saw international architects HKS harnessing high-tech methods for attacking tumours using proton beams, while providing a human-centred facility. James Parker reports Proton beam therapy is an advanced and highly precise form of radiotherapy... View Article

Raising the standard

Jack Wooler explores the architects’ strategy behind a social housing scheme in Much Wenlock, Shropshire – a project which shows how Passivhaus can be achieved in a design that also worked with difficult terrain On the steeply sloping site of Callaughtons... View Article

Housing delivery programme appoints prize-winning architect

City of York Council’s programme to deliver 600 homes in the next five years has added another building block with the appointment of a widely-celebrated and multi award-winning architect’s practice. Following a national competition which saw over 50 entries from... View Article

Need for a planned approach to drainage maintenance

When it comes to drainage maintenance, many organisations are still adopting a shorted-sighted strategy which is costing them in the long-term. Contractors and facilities management professionals need to make the case for a planned approach, as Clark Williams of Jet... View Article

Ask the Architect: Margherita Cesca

Margherita Cesca of Saunders Boston Architects answers ADF’s questions on what drives her personally and professionally Why did you become an architect? Art and architecture have always been a big part of my life; from a very young age, I... View Article

Forest canopy

Inspired by the ‘Bamboo Forest’ of a nearby national park, the Wuxi Taihu Show Theatre near Shanghai marks the entrance to a huge new tourist attraction in its city. Roseanne Field reports The city of Wuxi sits on the banks... View Article

West End wellness

The Crown Estate’s first coworking venture, off London’s Regent Street, offers a nurturing environment for small businesses in a refurbished building which is also the first Well-accredited project of its kind. James Parker reports A new coworking space completed in... View Article

Practice Profile: Shepheard Epstein Hunter

Shepheard Epstein Hunter may have garnered a strong reputation in its long history, from an initial focus on high quality public housing, but the practice hasn’t been resting on its laurels. James Parker spoke to two of its directors Evolving,... View Article

Climb every mountain

Challenged by steep topography, unspoilt alpine surroundings, and a devastating fire after its initial construction, the creation of a community sports and activity hall brought architect, client and locals together in the Swiss village of Le Vaud. Sébastien Reed speaks... View Article

All hands on deck

The UK’s official agency for shipping and Royal Navy data has a new headquarters in Somerset, designed to push collaboration to the fore, in an open and fluid structure enhanced by timber throughout. Jack Wooler reports on how the AHR-designed... View Article

Assured solutions in a crisis

Andrew Carpenter of the Structural Timber Association says that the timber solutions already exist for building the energy-efficient low-carbon dwellings the Government is calling for to address the housing crisis, now underpinned by robust assurances Offsite construction presents many new... View Article

Growing opportunities for specifying timber

Kevin Underwood of the British Woodworking Federation discusses the challenges as well as wide-ranging benefits of using wood as a construction material Wood, the world’s oldest and most traditional building material, is increasingly being re-evaluated as a modern-day first choice... View Article

Mayor of London cancels Tulip tower

Plans for the Tulip tower, a 305 metre high project proposed for Bury Street (beside the Gherkin), have been blocked by London Mayor, Sadiq Khan. Khan wrote to Annie Hampson, chief planning officer of the City of London, to tell... View Article

Practice Profile: Maber Architects

After recently turning 35, well-established practice Maber decided to reinvent and ‘reboot’ itself, James Parker spoke to managing director Ian Harris to find out why Maber Architects was founded by keen cricketer Colin Maber in Nottingham in 1983, and as... View Article