Building Insights

In this Ask the Expert episode in association with BuildStore Mortgage Services, James Parker speaks to Tom McSherry, National Business Development Manager at BuildStore Mortgage Services. He explains how the company, which is 25 years old this year, has unlocked the possibility of self-build and home renovation for a much wider demographic thanks to innovative mortgage products such as guaranteed...

Highlights of the Building Insights LIVE round table held in London in July, on Inclusive & Sensory Design for Education Environments. Sponsored by Interface and Dulux Trade, it saw designers discussing challenges for creating education environments that can support the widest range of neurodiverse needs in mainstream education.

Highlights of the second meeting of a new cross-disciplinary Design for Inclusivity Network for sharing good practice on inclusive design. This round table was sponsored by Amtico Flooring and Johnstone's Trade Paints and took place at Amtico's London Flooring Studio. Expert designers, academics, manufacturers and care professionals tackled many challenges, from design for dementia to br...

Highlights from the recent Building Insights LIVE round table staged by Housing Management & Maintenance magazine, looking at how to manage data to provide the ‘Golden Thread of Information’ on higher-risk buildings. Sponsored by K Systems and Winkhaus, the event at the Institute of Directors in London saw a range of experts exchanging strong views about what the sector needs to optimise safet...

Will the Future Homes Standard come into force in 2025 as planned? This was just one of many questions addressed around the challenges of building homes 75%-80% lower carbon emissions than current standards, by our expert round table held at the Institute of Directors in London in May. Held just as the controversial Home Energy Model was due to launch, this well-timed event featured major housebui...

Jon Lowy talks James Parker through the ins and outs of performance specifications, why they’re important for specifying zinc roofs and walls correctly, and what architects tend to get wrong. He also explains how VMZINC is helping specifiers navigate current territory where cost-based value engineering is still occurring, even post-Building Safety Act.

In association with RENOLIT, ADF editor James Parker speaks to Steve Hatcher, UK Technical Manager at RENOLIT ALKORPLAN. He explains how the company’s ‘pure white’ ALKORPLAN Bright roofing membrane provides class-leading solar reflectance to help offset cooling requirements as well as bringing other sustainability benefits.

The need to increase the efficiency of water appliances and fixtures in commercial environments is becoming increasingly acute for clients and specifiers tasked with sustainability goals. However it is low on the agenda compared to carbon, and low on regulation, so we brought together a panel of experts from the construction and water sectors to help establish the practical challenges and solution...

James Parker, managing editor of Housing Management and Maintenance magazine, presents a special edition of Building Insights focusing on the Building Insights LIVE round table held to discuss the Social Housing (Regulation) Act. Beginning with Awaab’s Law this October, the legislation has been called “the most significant reform of the sector in more than a decade,” and places a new set of requir...

In association with Kingspan Insulation. James Parker, editor of ADF, is again joined by Rita Singh, head of public affairs at Kingspan Insulation. She explains the complex and rigorous lengths the company goes to in order to show its products are compliant with relevant regulations.

In this Ask the Expert episode of Building Insights, in association with Charlton and Jenrick, managing editor of The Selfbuilder, James Parker, speaks to Peter Mintoft, MD of the fire and stove manufacturer. He explains the options for self-builders looking to create an eye-catching and efficient secondary heat source for their home.

In this special episode of Building Insights, James Parker visits the HQ of Futurebuild in Twickenham, to speak to event director Martin Hurn about the changes and sustained selling points the show has seen over its 20 year history.

James Parker speaks to managing director of SME developer City & Country Wayne Douglas, about the crucial contribution that SME firms like his are making to the delivery of good quality housing in the numbers asked for by Government. However he explains how the smaller end of the sector is being continually squeezed on viability, and why more support is needed now. 

In this audible article, Dulux Heritage's Dawn Scott explains why selecting the right paint colours for each room is more than just a matter of aesthetics. It involves understanding how colours interact with light, influence mood, and establish a sense of continuity.

Highlights from the Building Insights LIVE round table staged in November 2024 at the Building Centre on Water & Energy Saving Innovations in New Build Housing. Sponsored by Hansgrohe, Triton Showers, and waste water heat recovery solutions supplier, Showersave, it featured housebuilders Vistry and Barratt Homes, Thames Water, and the Future Homes Hub, among others.

James Parker, managing editor of Housebuilder and Developer speaks to Hugo Reeve, Development Director & Co-Founder of new housebuilder BRiCS. Focused on placemaking and high quality design, Reeve describes how he managed to launch the firm in the teeth of Covid, with the help of former Crest Nicholson colleagues, to offer a more bespoke solution to buyers in the south east.

James Parker speaks to Neil Walker, Design Manager at Russell Homes, about how the award-winning north west-based housebuilder is prioritising green features over maximising margins.

In this audible article, Greg Blee, founder of Blee Halligan, tells ADF how he found himself working in architecture almost by accident, and why he now focuses on creating projects overseas which blend into their landscapes.

In our third Building Insights episode in association with Saniflo, James Parker speaks to Conor Reeves, UK sales manager. The growth of adaptive reuse projects which convert ex-commercial premises into residential schemes in urban centres has a range of potential benefits. However as Conor explains there are also many inherent challenges including adapting  and adding plumbing for current and fut...

In association with Saniflo. James Parker speaks to David Cook, managing director of Saniflo about the rising demand for bathrooms which work for elderly users and the rest of the family, to support multi-generational living. He also has some strong views about the need for housebuilders to be driven to focus on whole-life performance.

In this episode, James Parker, editor of ADF , introduces highlights from our recent Building Insights Live round table held in September 2024 at RIBA, focusing on improving the design of dementia care facilities to offer better support to all people living with the condition. The multi-disciplinary debate included expert academics, people with lived experience of dementia and neurodiversity, arch...

In association with Saniflo, James Parker speaks to Scott Taylor, area sales manager for Scotland and North East England at Kinedo. He discusses the rising trend for more decorative wall panels in bathrooms and other settings, and how the Kinewall brand is helping specifiers meet the demand.

Christian Hale, MD of housebuilder Hale works in the high-end luxury home sector, but even his end of the market isn’t immune from the perils of value engineering post-tender, in fact it’s getting more common. He explains how clients’ expectations from their homes need managing so that cost cutting isn’t inevitable, and makes a plea to reduce extra costs like urban parking suspensions.

For the third time on the podcast, we are joined by Nick Haughton, Head of ESG at Sapphire Balconies, who are sponsors of this episode. James Parker discusses with Nick the crucial topic of why we need to strive to keep sustainability data as simple as possible, as more and more is unravelled in products’ life-cycles assessments, and Sapphire’s rigorous approach to transparency.

In this special episode of Building Insights, we capture some of the key sessions of a seminar held at RIBA recently to discuss ways to drive specification of timber buildings in the UK, as one of the chief ways to move the country to net zero by 2050. It features highlights of talks by leading lights in timber design; Alex de Rijke of dRMM, Anthony Thistleton of Waugh Thistleton, Jerry Tate of Ta...