Knowledge

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.

What we learnt about artificial intelligence in the built environment from ICE's Forrest Lecture 2017

This year's James Forrest lecture looked at the impact Artificial Intelligence (AI) could have on the built environment sector.

Design and SpecificationVideo
NBS-LCA

Reduce embodied carbon from the start

Measure, compare and reduce upfront embodied carbon using trusted UK data and pre-built assemblies.

Heritage Open Days return for 2017

From 7 to 10 September 2017, a host of places and spaces – many of which are usually off limits – will be free for visitors to explore.

Historic BuildingsMuseums

The construction industry expos and conferences you have to attend in 2017

January February March April May June July August September October November December September 2017 5 to 7 September Coasts, Marine Structures and Breakwaters 2017 Where? Liverpool Waterfront What? ...

Design and SpecificationSustainability

VR app helps designers understand problems of sight loss

Around two million people in the UK are affected by sight loss and augmented reality gives us the potential to better understand the effects of a range of eye conditions.

Design and SpecificationVideo

Microsoft make IoT play with thermostat smarts controlled by Cortana

It's been a few years since we last looked at intelligent heating controls on theNBS.com and in the intervening period things have got smarter, sleeker and more integrated. The British weather ...

SustainabilityConstruction Products

Practical examples of how to develop and coordinate information on a BIM project

Speaking at this year's Autodesk University London event, Dr Stephen Hamil, Director of Research and Innovation at NBS, presents Practical Examples of How to Develop and Coordinate Information on a ...

Digital TransformationVideo

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Introducing Autodesk Forge and its role in BIM workflows: A success story with NBS

Speaking at this year's Autodesk University London event, Dr Stephen Hamil, Director of Research and Innovation at NBS,took to the stage with Brian Roepke from Autodesk to deliver a class on the ...

Digital TransformationVideo

NEC4 Contracts and NBS. What's new?

NEC was last fully reviewed in 2005, and in the intervening 12 years, the producers have been gathering user feedback, leading to the 2017 launch of the NEC4 suite which has been updated and extended.

Standards and RegulationsContracts and Law

What is the Asset Information Model (AIM)?

The Asset Information Model or AIM is a term used to describe the collated set of information gathered from all sources that supports the ongoing management of an asset.

Digital Transformation

What is papercrete?

Papercrete - a portmanteau of paper and concrete - is essentially an industrial-strength papier mâché drawing on paper/cardboard, sand and Portland cement or clay. It can be fashioned in blocks, ...

SustainabilityConstruction Products

The NBS guide to CE marking

The letters CE appear on many products traded in the European Economic Area (EEA).

Design and SpecificationSustainability

Integrating Project Delivery

The construction industry's inherent inefficiencies have long been documented. Over the course of the last 60 years reviews from Simon, Emmerson, Banwell, Latham, Egan and Wolstenholme have all ...

Design and SpecificationDigital Transformation