A wide range of interesting articles that help you make informed decisions and deliver the best projects for your clients authored by our team of NBS subject specialists and construction industry contributors.
Sustainability
NBS Guide: Embodied Carbon Calculations
Learn how to align your carbon assessments with BIM workflows. This guide to Embodied Carbon Calculations, developed by NBS and Circular Ecology, sets out a practical, standardised approach to calculating the embodied carbon of building materials and products, and how to apply this data to BIM objects.
Must Reads
The hidden cost of compliance: why architects are demanding a new era of product transparency
Few pieces of legislation have reshaped the UK construction industry as significantly as the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA). Introduced to improve accountability, traceability and safety standards ...
Design and Specification
Brick slip cladding systems – the need for robust specification
This article from the NBS technical team outlines specification for brick slip technology, including history, technology, design, safety and testing.
When product data creates risk, AluK delivers the clarity and support architects need
The need to build more homes, more quickly, has not changed. If anything, the pressure has intensified. However, the conversation around Modern Methods of Construction has evolved.
Early-stage specification: new content for Uniclass and CAWS in Chorus
What is early-stage specification? The addition of early-stage content provides a place to record information that forms the basis for the design development, which is information that is essential ...
Design and SpecificationUniclass
Reduce embodied carbon from the start
Measure, compare and reduce upfront embodied carbon using trusted UK data and pre-built assemblies.
Designing for sustainability: Creating a healthy environment at work, school and play
Sustainable construction and design take in a built asset's economic, environmental, ethical and social impacts over its lifetime. It emphasizes sustainable performance at every juncture, from asset ...
SustainabilityNBS for CIS
Targeting net zero: addressing energy efficiency, ventilation and thermal comfort
Net zero and greenhouse gas emissions What do we mean by net zero? It is essential to understand that while human activity contributes to increased greenhouse gas emissions, the Earth requires a ...
Sustainability
Specification and the golden thread of information
Integrating a golden thread of information into construction specifications is vital for meeting Building Safety Act 2022 requirements, making taking the time and effort to create robust, thorough ...
Daylighting
In architectural terms, ‘daylighting’ refers to using natural light to provide occupants with the level of lighting they need for essential activities. For a building to be considered ‘daylit’, the ...
Design and SpecificationSustainability
All about concrete
The concrete most widely used today is a composite material made from a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate, and water. Once mixed, concrete is pliable and must be worked and then held in shape ...
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Moving from linear to circular: incorporating circular economy thinking into the built environment
What is a circular economy? While sustainability has become a key topic in the construction and other industries, most of the world's economy still relies heavily on a linear "take, make, dispose" ...
The NBS approach to sustainable specification
What is sustainable specification? Sustainable specification is a specifying style that emphasizes responsibly selecting manufacturing and building methods, services, materials and products to align ...
Design and SpecificationStandards and Regulations
Sustainability: An NBS guide to combating light pollution
Light pollution is an unwanted by-product of artificial light. It's most problematic in urban settings where artificial light sources exist en masse.
Design and SpecificationHealth and Safety
The three pillars of sustainability
Our Common Future, the Brundtland Report Our Common Future is the 1987 publication by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) credited for introducing the concept of sustainable ...
Sustainability
Specification: A living document, golden thread, and essential to digital project success.
As seen in this specification example, specification plays a crucial role in every successful project, providing a clear representation of the built asset and creating a continuous, thorough, ...
Design and SpecificationConstruction Products
Inclusive Design and the RIBA Plan of Work
This article is based on a webinar by guest speaker Jane Simpson, Managing Director at Jane Simpson Access and NBS Technical Author Astrid Lund. In it, we explore inclusive design in construction and ...
