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.
Siderise: Positive Mechanical Retention For Open State Cavity Barriers
Horizontal open state cavity barriers (OSCBs) are essential to the safety and performance of ventilated rainscreen facade systems. To ensure long-lasting protection throughout a building's lifecycle, ...
Construction Products
Reduce embodied carbon from the start
Measure, compare and reduce upfront embodied carbon using trusted UK data and pre-built assemblies.
How DEVI Leads the Way in Sustainable Electric Underfloor Heating
With the construction industry moving towards safer, smarter and more sustainable buildings, the sector must recognise heating systems' impact on the built environment.
Construction Products
Uniclass - April 2025 update
This is the latest in our quarterly updating programme for Uniclass. It includes updates to five tables.
UniclassClassification
The EU Construction Products Regulations 2024 and Digital Product Passports
Background This article is about the rules concerning placing construction products on the market in the United Kingdom. It has been written in light of the EU Construction Product Regulations 2024 ...
Design and SpecificationStandards and Regulations
Five essential tips for writing effective specifications
A well-written and robust specification is vital to the success of construction projects. It is the document that details the product quality, the execution requirements, and the tasks and ...
Design and SpecificationUniclass
Making Specification Safer: The BBA and NBS
Since the introduction of the Building Safety Act, architects, manufacturers and construction professionals, in general, face additional responsibilities when it comes to building safety. From the ...
Design and SpecificationConstruction Products
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The building blocks of style: Blockleys Sterling Grey bricks in Edinburgh’s Tram Sheds
Specifiers in the UK must constantly balance a need for high-performance, sustainable materials against aesthetic considerations/requirements. However, architects can offer the best of both worlds ...
Construction Products
Designing for NHBC Compliance: Future-Proofing Wet Rooms and Bathrooms
Protecting the fabric of the building with reliable waterproofing has always been vital, and now NHBC’s Technical Guidance 9.2/06 ‘Substrates for tiling bath and shower enclosures, wet rooms and ...
CAWS content updates for alteration, refurbishment and retrofit work
In 2024, over 50,000 refurbishment projects were undertaken in the UK, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (see the breakdown of sectors below). This constitutes around a third of all ...
Design and SpecificationResources
Uniclass - January 2025 update
This is the latest in our quarterly updating programme for Uniclass. It includes updates to four tables.
UniclassClassification
The Building Safety Act: Revisited - key learnings from the panel discussion
The recent NBS webinar The Building Safety Act: Revisited was chaired by Richard Waterhouse, Non-Executive Director of the British Board of Agrément (BBA). It brought together experts from ...
