Jane Embury reflects on the Building Safety Bill The Building Safety Bill has passed its committee stage. It now proceeds to its final Commons stage before moving to the House of Lords. The Bill gives residents more power to hold developers to account. A building safety regulator will also ensure the management and resolution of […]
fire escape routes
Living on the high street
Jane Embury looks at innovative ways to meet the housing shortage The UK government recognises the scale of the country’s chronic housing shortage and has pledged to “build, build, build.” It’s estimated by the BBC’s Housing Briefing that the UK has built 1.2 million fewer homes than we should have. Not only that, but there […]
New thinking for the new normal
Jane Embury looks at a new kind of blended architecture As the UK unlocks, and things start to get back to normal, we all want to know what the new normal will look like. For many, it will mean a return to their places of work or, for some, a blended pattern of partial homeworking. […]
The architecture of fear
Jane Embury looks at the threat of explosive attack Architecture and urban planning have evolved over the centuries as countries and communities have responded to potential threat. The earliest communities sought shelter and protection in caves. From ancient Egypt onwards, architecture has not only been about comfort and convenience but defensive capability. Nowadays, we might […]
Testing for fire safety
Jane Embury looks at the importance of third-party fire testing Fire safety in modern buildings is a multi-layered issue that starts at the design stage. It involves determining a building’s capacity to withstand fire, and therefore the appropriate strategies to mitigate against it. That includes everything from appropriate suppression measures such as sprinkler systems to […]
