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.
Making better use of masters
NBS Schumann is a specification-writing and consultancy service, with over three decades of experience creating specifications for various global projects. In this article, Mark Schumann (Global Head ...
Reduce embodied carbon from the start
Measure, compare and reduce upfront embodied carbon using trusted UK data and pre-built assemblies.
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
Uniclass - April 2023 update
This is the latest in our quarterly updating programme for Uniclass. It includes updates to seven tables.
UniclassClassification
Noise distracts: How acoustic design improves workplace productivity
Noisy phone calls, loud typing, disruptive cleaning, constant office gossip… there’s no end to the cacophony of sounds that can be a distraction at work. Acoustic design is sometimes assumed to only ...
Design and SpecificationConstruction Products
Ask the specification experts: your questions answered
We recently hosted a webinar where our panel of industry experts answered your questions about everything to do with specification. Tina Pringle, Director of Technical Information, Dr Stephen Hamil, ...
Design and Specification
Uniclass - January 2023 update
This is the latest in our quarterly updating programme for Uniclass. It includes updates to eight tables, and the first publication of two new tables, Materials and Properties & characteristics. ...
UniclassClassification
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NBS sample specifications – Uniclass or CAWS classification
Recently at NBS we have made a full set of sample specifications available to download in both Uniclass and CAWS (Common Arrangement of Work Sections) format.
Design and SpecificationUniclass
NBS in 2022: Key highlights
After another busy year, we wanted to reflect on some of the key highlights of 2022.
Design and SpecificationSustainability
NBS’s launch of the US Master Specification (USMS) library
1. NBS - a global platform When launching NBS Chorus in 2019, we set out to create a best-in-class specification platform that worked with pre-written content libraries for building projects around ...
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 ...
Uniclass - October 2022 update
This is the latest in our quarterly updating programme for Uniclass. It includes updates to seven tables, and is predominantly for the addition of new classifications and corrections to existing ...
UniclassClassification
Sustainable housing
Defining sustainable development There are two widely-accepted definitions of what constitutes sustainable development:
