Given the need to support the increased weight associated with deeper soffit liners, the performance of mechanical fixings is more important than ever

Raising the bar on soffit insulation performance

Increased thermal, acoustic and fire performance required from soffit liners means ever increased insulation depths are being specified. But without careful consideration of how...

High-rise health and safety: mitigating risk with formwork safety screens

Steve Duthie, associate director at Altrad RMD Kwikform, discusses how temporary works can improve health and safety for site operatives working on high-rise projects THE...

Diversity: it is a real agenda item

By Emma Marriott, a Construction Scotland Innovation Centre board member Tokenistic. Tickbox. Lip Service. These are just a few of the words that are commonly...

Transition time – why the UK’s construction sector can’t afford to take its eye...

By Viv Sutherland, Strategic Development Director, Morris & Spottiswood BREXIT may have slipped down the news agenda for the moment, but the importance of the...

The latest building design trends

By Kirsty Henderson, design and technical manager at Queensberry Properties ARCHITECTURE has always played a critical role in both shaping and reflecting the society of...
Stephen Slessor

Thinking inside the (sand) box could help solve water industry challenges

By Stephen Slessor, CEO of Scottish clean water technology company RSE IT will come as no surprise that the UK’s water industry is struggling. A...

Insulation specification for higher-risk buildings

Changing regulations mean that architects and specifiers designing high-rise and higher-risk buildings in Scotland need to meet much stricter and, in some cases, conflicting,...

Time to scale up action to reduce building emissions

By Beverly Quinn, environmental engineer at TÜV SÜD, an international building services engineering consultancy specialising in sustainable MEP (mechanical, electrical and public health), BIM,...

Architects have pivotal role to stimulate culture of health and wellbeing

By Alasdair Rankin, MD, Aitken Turnbull THE last year has brought into sharp focus that one of the lasting legacies of Covid-19 – when the...
Alan Ferns

RAAC and ruin? Timely advice can relieve panic over aerated concrete

By Alan Ferns, director – structural engineering at Dougall Baillie Associates Panics come and panics go in the pragmatic world of engineering. It is part...

Sentencing guidelines to impact on Scottish firms

By Clare Bone, Partner and Criminal Solicitor Advocate, bto solicitors THE Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 has UK wide application and Scottish courts...

The circular economy is taking shape within the construction industry

By Scott Brewster, MD of Brewster Brothers Is the circular economy just a fashion with too many people jumping on the bandwagon without any real...

Designs liability: lessons to learn from recent decision

By Sandra Cassels, a partner in the commercial litigation team at Morton Fraser, specialising in construction and engineering disputes What happened A design consultant was involved...

Humanising the workplace

By Bruce Kennedy, architect director at BDP's Glasgow studio As a designer of workplaces, I’m fascinated by the adaptability of millions of people around the world...

Carbon footprints of formwork and scaffolding will become more visible

Robert Hauser, CEO of Doka GmbH, explains why the firm’s introduction of a product carbon footprint KPI marks a significant shift towards a more...

Who owns what on a partially built off-site construction project? 

As the government continues to push the construction industry to move more of the building process off-site and into factories, Roddy Cormack, construction specialist...
John Forster, chair of Forster Group

The challenges of achieving a just transition in the built environment

By John Forster, chair of Forster Group The transition to net zero presents unique challenges for the built environment, a sector that is both a...

Later living housing design: learning from Covid-19

By Stuart Carr, director at Inglis & Carr The new reality In a recent trip to Verona, prior to the majority of the population of the...
Colourful render example

How render colour defines a home’s identity

Colour plays a powerful and emotive role in shaping the built environment, far beyond mere decoration. The visual appeal of a building’s outer skin,...

Communication is crucial to driving project success

By Ed Monaghan, a non-executive director at Perceptive Communicators  LONG-term regeneration projects are often made up of a consortium of multiple businesses, across several teams...