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

A specifier’s guide to BREEAM New Construction V7

Discover how specification can support BREEAM New Construction V7, with practical guidance from NBS and BRE on assessment requirements, evidence and more sustainable project outcomes.

Must Reads

  • Sponsored

    Designing sustainability into construction – proof over promises in sustainable construction

    With tightening regulations and growing client demand, the construction industry is under increasing pressure to demonstrate measurable progress against carbon reduction targets. For specifiers, that ...

  • Construction Products

    Dulux Trade launches new solution for high-humidity spaces

    Because of how they are used, kitchens and bathrooms experience more moisture, more contact, and more ongoing maintenance. Standard emulsions are not designed for this level of use. Over time, ...

  • specification

    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 ...

A century of building specification works

Advice on specifying has a long history, beginning perhaps with 'On Architecture' by the Roman architect Vitruvius (24 BC). However, it has usually only been covered incidentally in works on other ...

Design and SpecificationSpecification
NBS-LCA

Reduce embodied carbon from the start

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

The benefits of master specifications

Specification is an essential part of the design process. Unfortunately, for most engineers, it is the least enjoyed task. This often results in specifications of inferior quality. If a specification ...

Design and SpecificationSpecification

Yes! We have no specifications

Like Nero's Domus Aurea, little remains of Ian McGlinn's Maison d'Or – though a legal (rather than archaeological) legacy lives on. John Gelder looks at what this legacy tells us about specification.

Design and SpecificationSpecification

Specifying colour

The visible electromagnetic spectrum ranges between about 400 nm (violet) and 700 nm (red). In building, colours are rarely pure spectral colours (like the yellow from low pressure sodium vapour ...

Design and SpecificationSpecification

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