Reading list

The following titles relate to design and specification , and are available to buy from RIBA Bookshops.

Indoor Environment Handbook

Ensuring that buildings are healthy and comfortable for their occupants is a primary concern of all architects and building engineers. This highly practical handbook will help make that process more efficient and effective.

It begins with a guide to how the human body and senses react to different indoor environmental conditions, together with basic information on the parameters of the indoor environment and problems that can occur. It then moves on to give a background to the development of the study and control of the indoor environment, examining the main considerations (including temperature, light, ventilation and noise) for a healthy and comfortable indoor environment and discussing the drivers for change in the field. The final section presents a new approach towards health and comfort in the indoor environment, where meeting the wishes and demands of the occupants with a holistic strategy becomes the overriding priority. The book is filled with useful facts, figures and analysis, and practical methods which designers who are keen to assess and improve the user experience of their buildings will find invaluable and can begin using straight away.

Specification In Detail

First published in 1898 and then revised many times during the 20th century, this reprint contains examples of model specifications from the 1904 edition. It therefore provides an extensive reference to all the materials and construction in use at the end of the Victorian era.

The book is divided by trade and offers detailed specifications for masonry, bricklaying, carpentry, slating, tiling, thatching, plastering, painting and the many other construction processes. The text is illustrated throughout with clear, small drawings showing how the materials and details were applied. The specifications not only give the conservation practitioner a high level of construction detail but offer a fascinating snapshot of the life of the times, with as much thought being given to the housemaid's sink or the stables for horses as the grand galleries or ornamental plasterwork.

RIBA Product Selector 2010

RIBA Product Selector is a three volume building product directory for UK construction industry professionals.

The 2010 edition includes more than 22,000 trade names, 8,700 manufacturers, 1,000 structured technical pages and 1,000 advisory organisations. Fully classified and arranged by CI/SfB, it is the most comprehensive directory of product manufacturers on the market today.

The third volume incorporates the RIBA CPD Providers Network Directory providing information on RIBA Assessed Material available.

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