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
product-update
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.
product-update
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.
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
Reduce embodied carbon from the start
Measure, compare and reduce upfront embodied carbon using trusted UK data and pre-built assemblies.
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
New in development - NBS Chorus Designer
1. Better coordinated design and specification One of the most popular features of NBS Chorus is the ability to plug the platform into design tools such as Autodesk Revit, Graphisoft Archicad or ...
Design and SpecificationProduct update
Five practical tips on coordinating project information and specifications
This article is from the RIBA Construction Contracts and Law Report 2022. It has been reproduced for the NBS website with added illustrations showing how NBS tools can be used to address the ...
Design and SpecificationNBS Source
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Uniclass and NBS Chorus
The specification libraries in NBS Chorus are structured either by Common Arrangement of Work Sections (CAWS) or Uniclass. Understandably, one of the most common questions that we receive at NBS is ...
Design and SpecificationUniclass
Summary schedules in NBS Chorus
Introduction The writing of a specification is a process where information is developed from the concept design stage through to tender, and potentially through to a record of what is built at ...
Design and SpecificationProduct update
NBS Chorus for those that write contract Preliminaries
Within the NBS Chorus software platform we have developed content packages that are tailored to specific user requirements. For example, users can subscribe to separate libraries for ‘architectural’, ...
Design and SpecificationProduct update
NBS in 2021: Top 10 highlights
Throughout the year, we’ve focussed on the improving the way the construction industry specifies projects, finds products and uses data. We’ve also aimed to tackle the major issues of the day, ...
Design and SpecificationSustainability
5 Key Takeaways from the Construction Leaders' Summit: Building Better
In September NBS hosted its second digital conference of 2021 the Construction Leaders’ Summit: Building Better, chaired by Richard Waterhouse who was joined by leading figures in the construction ...
Design and SpecificationSustainability
Construction specifications: Everything you need to know
Specifications for architecture, engineering, landscape, and the built environment give construction teams a detailed overview of the project work, required performance, and product selections. This ...
