All articles by Alex Smith – Page 27

  • Features

    The rules

    2004-03-12T00:00:00Z

    An attack of the vapours? Here's how to deal with permeable roofing membranes … Plus, a bill is in the offing that could beef up building regs.

  • Comment

    Flight and fight

    2004-03-12T00:00:00Z

    The new museum pavilion at RAF Hendon is home to some supreme examples of aeronautical engineering. To create a building fit for planes such as the Hawker Harrier and Sopwith Camel, architect Feilden Clegg Bradley came up with a roof made of materials associated with aviation – stainless steel and ...

  • Features

    Lifetime costs: roofing

    2004-03-12T00:00:00Z

    Metal prices have gone through the roof – which means the cost of your copper covering is sky-high. So which material is best value? Alex Smith reports, Davis Langdon & Everest crunches the numbers

  • Features

    Planes, brains and panels of steel

    2004-03-12T00:00:00Z

    Those clever architects at Feilden Clegg Bradley didn't take the easy route to their RAF museum pavilion in Hendon. Alex Smith divebombs on the challenges of cladding a semi-circular roof in stainless steel and lining it with tensile fabric

  • Features

    You dirty old man

    2004-02-27T00:00:00Z

    That means us, folks – Britain has easily the worst record in adopting European environmental law. And, with less than two years before the UK must start eco-rating all new buildings, it seems the upcoming rules on energy efficiency will offer no exception.

  • Features

    New Part L

    2004-02-20T00:00:00Z

    The second part of our super E-Z-Read® guide to next year’s likely changes to Part L looks at killer details such as refurbishing existing buildings, clashes with other regulations and why the product manufacturers are hopping mad.

  • ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV

    Housebuilders face extra costs over seller's packs

    2004-02-20T00:00:00Z

    House Builders Federation says detailed surveys to protect buyers of homes under 10 years old are 'superfluous'

  • ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV

    Guild chief quits in Part M row

    2004-02-20T00:00:00Z

    The head of the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers has resigned after the publication of a report sponsored by his firm that recommended the use of a type of door handles that it makes

  • Features

    The rules

    2004-02-13T00:00:00Z

    Cladding and sports facility specifiers beware: Part L is to be revised next year – with some tough consequences. Alex Smith highlights the main issues

  • Comment

    Playing by the rules

    2004-02-13T00:00:00Z

    The Princess Royal Sports Arena in Boston, Lincolnshire, is a wooden wonder. Constructed entirely from timber, the sports centre looks like an ark awaiting a flood on its site at the edge of the North Sea. One of the most remarkable things about the arena is that architect BGP McGonaghy ...

  • Features

    Now even tougher

    2004-02-13T00:00:00Z

    The new Part L is to come into force three years before we thought it was! Oh my God!! What are we going to do??? Well, why not pour yourself a drink, sit back in a large leather armchair and peruse the first part of ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV's E-Z-Read® guide to what's ...

  • Features

    It's wood all the way

    2004-02-13T00:00:00Z

    Finding a way to protect Boston's athletes from the bitter Lincolnshire winds created a hurdle for the team building a sports arena. But local supplier Finnforest had a natural solution, as Alex Smith discovered

  • Features

    Face LIFT

    2004-02-06T00:00:00Z

    You'll be aware that the government has a programme to improve local healthcare buildings. But did you know that smart developers and councils are using it to catalyse the wholesale regeneration of rundown areas?

  • Comment

    Lessons in sight and sound

    2003-11-14T00:00:00Z

    Bexley Business Academy is a radical new school that will change the way education buildings are designed in the UK.

  • Features

    Quiet at the back please

    2003-11-14T00:00:00Z

    Foster and Partners' Bexley Business Academy encourages integration through its transparent, open-plan, triple-height design. But how do you stop the noise disturbing other classes – and comply with acoustic rules? We listened in on a lesson

  • ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV

    EU law may push up cement cost

    2003-11-07T00:00:00Z

    Fears are growing that proposed European safety legislation will push up the price of cement

  • Features

    Refurbishment of Plymouth Tinside Lido: Pool life

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    Closed for a decade, Plymouth’s Tinside Lido has finally been restored to the glory of its 1930s heyday. How could the council afford it? Alex Smith finds that it’s amazing how much you can save by intelligent specification

  • Comment

    Working in harmony

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    This month, a double issue of Specifier looks at doors and windows and flooring – and what dynamic sectors they are. Despite a flurry of new rules, architects are still turning out some great pieces of work – and Tinside Lido in Plymouth is one of them. The project team ...

  • Features

    The rules: Doors and windows

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    All door-closing devices and door handles must comply with the new Disability Discrimination Act, says Alex Smith – plus, best practice U-values for windows

  • Features

    The rules: Flooring details

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    Acoustic flooring standards for new dwellings have become much tougher. Alex Smith checks out the guidance and reviews BSI changes