What does lower occupancy mean for future of commercial buildings?

London’s Canary Wharf is currently operating at 10% capacity, with most employees working from home. To put that in perspective, that’s about 12,000 people...

Embracing online training during lockdown

Simon Horn, technical development manager at Stewart Milne Timber Systems discusses the benefits of embracing online training in a locked-down world.  As restrictions to safeguard...

Our products are net carbon negative – but our journey is not over yet!

Steve Roebuck, European health & safety director at West Fraser explains why achieving net carbon negative status for the products is not the end...
Mark Murphy

The evolving role of sustainability in business

The role of sustainability in business is constantly evolving, but as Mark Murphy, chief risk officer at the Donaldson Group explains, it should always...

Let’s not let our high streets fall by the wayside

The UK Government recently announced plans to invest billions of pounds into infrastructure to help rebuild the economy. The decline of the British high...

The evolution of soil stabilisation

The remedial practice of soil stabilisation has been widely employed in the construction and building sectors for thousands of years, and even after more...

Time to start breaking down planning barriers

BY Andrew Mickel, director of Mactaggart & Mickel Group PLANNING may not be the most exciting subject in the world, and most people don’t think...
Michael Ross

Collaboration is key to delivering decarbonisation goals in public sector infrastructure

By Michael Ross, chief executive of hub South West Scotland AS Scotland faces increasing economic challenges, the need for innovation and collaboration in public sector...

Putting a price on nature is a good way to save it

By Neil Bancroft, associate at HarrisonStevens ASTLEY Ainslie Community Trust (AACT) will be going out to public consultation with its plans for this historic site...

Blend of digital and low carbon skills key to bridging talent gap in construction

By Lisa Deane, head of programme performance at Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) THE construction sector has shown remarkable resilience over the last couple of...

How open-plan living became the norm

By Hazel Davies, sales and marketing director at Queensberry Properties In 1999, the very first episode of Grand Designs aired on Channel 4. It followed...
Riverside classroom Architype. Image credit: David Barbour

Scotland’s Passivhaus schools teach construction industry important lessons

By Sarah Lewis, research & policy director, Passivhaus Trust THERE are estimated to be 35 Passivhaus schools currently underway or in the pipeline in Scotland....
Longniddry Village

Longniddry Village: a masterclass in multi-generational living

By Hazel Davies, sales and marketing director for Cruden Homes IN today’s housing landscape, developers have a greater responsibility than ever before. While addressing the...

New towns meet housing need and changing property demands

By Nick Waugh, commercial director at Buccleuch Property, which is jointly developing Shawfair SCOTLAND plans to deliver 100,000 new homes by 2032 to meet strong...

Demolishing RAAC-affected homes may not be the only answer

By Alan Ferns, director – structural engineering at Dougall Baillie Associates It sometimes feels that, in the opaque realm of official decision-making, the temptation to...
Tim Metcalfe, Keepmoat

Challenges and opportunities associated with transforming brownfield sites

By Tim Metcalfe, regional MD at Keepmoat Scotland I’M the regional managing director at Keepmoat, Scotland with 25 years’ experience in the housing sector. Previously,...

It’s time to invest in young people

By Peter Russian, chief executive of Remarkable (formerly Investors in People Scotland) IN an environment where margins are being squeezed more tightly and the demands...

Apprenticeship experiences go beyond what I thought would be possible

To mark Scottish Apprenticeship Week, Tyler Buchan, graduate apprentice at Space Solutions, shares his insights into his current role I have been an apprentice project...

Training for today and tomorrow

With a more buoyant construction market, it is those firms continuing to invest in training that are best placed to help housing providers bring their homes up to modern standards. Billy Baird, Projects Director at roofing and cladding services provider Marley Contract Services, looks at how the company has managed to maintain its skills base. THE skills shortage is particularly acute in the construction industry and encompasses a wide range of disciplines from bricklaying through to plumbing. A lack of...

Retentions: will proposed deposit scheme help to rebuild trust?

By Keith Emmerson, an associate in Gillespie Macandrew LLP’s dispute resolution team, specialising in construction IN April 2020, I wrote on the Scottish Government’s consultation...