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
sustainability
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.
sustainability
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.
2017 Timber Scorecard
The scorecard covers key sectors such as construction and home-builders as well as paper / printing and publishing, general retailers and furniture retailers.
SustainabilityConstruction Products
Reduce embodied carbon from the start
Measure, compare and reduce upfront embodied carbon using trusted UK data and pre-built assemblies.
According to the Solar Trade Association the number of solar panels being installed in the UK has fallen by more than 80%, with a withdrawal of subsidies and hikes in business rates being blamed.
Design and SpecificationSustainability
Beyond graphene: scientists are creating an atomic 'Lego set' of 2D wonder materials
The strongest material known to mankind was first discovered with sticky tape. Today, this two-dimensional (2D) version of carbon known as graphene is the subject of intense research around the ...
SustainabilityConstruction Products
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
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
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
Subscribe
The NBS guide to CE marking
The letters CE appear on many products traded in the European Economic Area (EEA).
Design and SpecificationSustainability
Why the world needs to get smarter about water consumption
In 1900, just 15% of the world’s population lived in cities. Now that proportion is over 50%, which is a lot of people. In fact, it means around 4 billion human beings rely on urban infrastructure to ...
Design and SpecificationSustainability
Wood
You'd be hard pressed to find a more enduring construction material than timber. It's (potentially) sustainable, impressively durable and its flexibility and aesthetic qualities have made it a go-to ...
Design and SpecificationSustainability
Green space - how much is enough, and what's the best way to deliver it?
Half of the world’s people now live in urban areas.This creates competition for resources and increases pressure on already limited green space.
Design and SpecificationSustainability
Wooden 'plyscrapers' - the rise and rise of tall timber buildings
The solid case for wood As a construction product, there’s much to be said for good, dependable, ‘old-fashioned’ timber. It’s lightweight yet strong – Timber’s cellular make-up makes it incredibly ...
SustainabilityConstruction Products
Unlocking the secrets of street ambience
Our research uses global data to describe how to achieve the ideal functions of a main street. We have done this by developing a systems abstraction hierarchy, which allows a main street to be ...
