Practice Profile: Lead8

Multidisciplinary practice Lead8 has ascended quickly to global status since founding in 2014, picking up numerous accolades along the way. ADF’s Tom Boddy speaks to co-founders Christine Hau and David Buffonge Despite being among the 100 top international firms, Lead8... View Article

Practice Profile: White Ink Architects

James Parker spoke to a Belfast practice founded at the start of the 21st century, which expanded to specialise in “difficult” mixed use schemes, and is now the first in Northern Ireland to be completely employee owned White Ink Architects... View Article

View Point: Rory Bergin from HTA Design

Rory Bergin from HTA Design says that with timber under fire in the complex testing landscape post-Grenfell, specifiers are being wrongly deterred from choosing the material for taller buildings, while being asked for more sustainable designs Current amendments to Building... View Article

The devil is in the brickwork detail

What are the modern techniques that enable housebuilders and developers to produce details in masonry facades that take buildings to new levels in terms of design and aesthetics? Scott Denham from IG Masonry Support investigates Deep reveals, soffits, flying beams... View Article

Offsite gets another chance

Dr Jonathan Evans of metal envelope supplier Ash & Lacy gives a counter view to the consensus on offsite, saying that in the push towards MMC there is a strong case for some key design elements remaining onsite 20 years... View Article

Site Lines: A natural train of thought

Irina Adam of Twelve Architects & Masterplanners describes an adaptive reuse project in Manchester which transformed a Victorian viaduct into a nature-rich public amenity The rise in prominence of cities in the global economy over the past two centuries has... View Article

Ask the Architect: Rory Bergin

Rory Bergin, a regular contributor to ADF, is an architect and offsite specialist who set up and runs the Sustainable Futures team at HTA Design. He leads a specialist team of architects and engineers analysing building performance, and has overseen... View Article

Fire safety in the frame

David Atkinson from Metsec discusses the increased focus on through-wall fire testing post-Grenfell, and how steel framing systems can contribute to improved performance as well as thermal efficiency Light gauge galvanised steel framing systems (SFS) are primarily used for wall... View Article

Rolling out offsite benefits

Marian Kubisz of Adept Consulting (UK) looks at the increased specification of cold rolled steel frames in the current push for offsite construction solutions, and why system design considerations need to be brought into projects at the earliest stage Hot... View Article

View Point: Hywel Davies of CIBSE

With Covid-19 sadly not likely to disappear any time soon, achieving the correct ventilation of workplaces is critical to mitigate the spread in future. Hywel Davies of CIBSE discusses the issues for designers Covid-19 is not going away any time soon.... View Article

Practice Profile: Broadway Malyan

Tom Boddy speaks to Broadway Malyan about their journey to becoming a global architectural firm, and how the practice philosophy has evolved to increasingly embrace “holistic building design” It was in 1958 in Weybridge, Surrey that Cyril Broadway and John... View Article

View Point: Sean Ronnie Hill

Sean Ronnie Hill from RISE Design Studio looks at how and why the whole project team needs to be upskilled to maximise design benefit in pursuing net zero goals in residential retrofits Retrofitting and refurbishing existing dwellings is a large... View Article

Ask the Architect: Jo Wright

Jo Wright, director of architecture for the UKIMEA region at Arup, answers ADF’s questions on her inspirations and challenges What made you want to become an architect? I enjoyed studying physics, maths and art and I relished the breadth of... View Article

Practice Profile: White Red Architects

Joe Haire, co-founder and director of White Red Architects tells Roseanne Field how the ambitious practice has built on a foundation of a friendship between two undergraduates to place collaboration at the heart of its work Becoming friends while attending... View Article

Ask the Architect: Nigel Ostime

Regular ADF contributor, and partner at Hawkins\Brown, Nigel Ostime answers our questions on the role of the architect, and what designers need to learn from other sectors when it comes to efficiency What made you want to become an architect?... View Article

Site Lines: A home fit for the future

HLM Architects is raising its profile in the residential sector with a design concept showcased in a major Government design initiative to create ‘age-friendly’ and sustainable housing. Matthew Thomas explains more Last year HLM Architects’ ‘Forever Home’ concept was one... View Article

Innovative school design isn’t the enemy of fire safety

Keith MacGillivray of the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association looks at the debate around whether automatic fire sprinklers are in conflict with innovative school design What could be more beneficial to the design of a school than the inclusion of... View Article

Learning to live with change

Rob Charlton of Space Architects discusses his practice’s ethos of delivering buildings that improve people’s lives in the context of education, and the changes the sector has undergone recently Having been in practice for almost 30 years, I have spent... View Article

Practice Profile: Stride Treglown

Pierre Wassenaar from the top 10 UK practice speaks to Tom Boddy about how the firm’s social value ethos has sustained since its inception, and has led to it achieving a demanding business standard for inclusivity and sustainability Since its... View Article

View Point: Richard Hill of Arup

Despite the technical challenges, designers have an obligation to explore the potential to conserve and reuse heritage structures, says Richard Hill of Arup While there is an inherent desire in our industry to build new and start afresh, it is... View Article